A HOLIDAY GREETING FROM TOM by Tom Andersen

SOMEONE LIKE YOU- TOM ANDERSEN by Tom Andersen

CONSTANT STANISLAVSKI (62) by Robert Shuman

The spectator would not be bored in looking at us and listening to us; he would find it pleasant to believe us all of the time, for the spiritual content of Gorky and of ourselves would just…

JAGGED LITTLE PILL: Not So Hard to Swallow by Peter Filichia

Sophisticated writers often stack the deck when writing about suburban families. JAGGED LITTLE PILL, now at the Broadhurst, seems to...Continue Reading The post JAGGED LITTLE PILL: Not So Ha…

Some Tidbits on Hamilton and Barnes by Trav S.D.

We learned about the team of Hamilton and Barnes from this promotion Christmas card of theirs, which was shared on LongIsland.com. Helene Hamilton and Jack Barnes were a husband-wife vaudevi…

Chalet chic: accessories for a mountain retreat interior

Objects from natural materials create harmony between the indoors and the rugged landscape

BWW Review: Gerard Alessandrini Directs ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE THEATER: THE MUSICAL WORLD OF MAURY YESTON

A world-famous director can suffer a creative block during a midlife crisis, an unsinkable ship can go under on its initial voyage and death can even take a holiday. These are just three exa…

Universal Sends Theaters Updated Version Of ‘Cats’ With “Improved Visual Effects” After Debut by Anthony D'Alessandro

If you watched Cats on opening night, you may have seen a different version than others who saw it later in the weekend as sources tell Deadline that Universal Pictures sent out a memo to …

Watch the first clip of Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin in the teaser trailer for RESPECT by Gabi Bergman

There was no one quite like The Queen of Soul. Aretha Franklin’s influence on the music industry is completely undeniable. A renowned performer, her songs have concreted their place in the…

Phase 2, An Innovator Of Aerosol Art, Has Died At 64 by Artsjournal2

“In the South Bronx at the dawn of the 1970s, all the creative components that would coalesce into what became widely known as hip-hop were beginning to take shape. At the center of them a…

Ithaca College Responds To A ‘Racially Charged’ Incident In A Theatre Class by Artsjournal2

Students responded not only to one incident, in which the lecturer for the class was removed, but many other experiences at the college: “Some of the quotes and scenarios on the board read…

Who’s Up And Who’s Down In Oscar Predictions? by Artsjournal2

Men are wimping out of seeing Little Women‘s award showings, which is tanking its chances; despite the awfulness of Cats, Ian McKellen’s chances are up; and more. – Vulture

The Creator Of A Joyful Game About Golden Poop Says Yes, We Can Be Happy by Artsjournal2

Keita Takahashi, an artist and an “unconventional” game developer, is beloved for his game “Katamari Decency,” and now he’s got a new game out – ostensibly about golden poop. The…

Is Anyone Happy Anymore? by Artsjournal2

Indeed: “The catastrophe of climate neglect, the toxic politics, the tangible sense of so many things worsening in your own lifetime, along with a sense of your obscure or outright complic…

Ruth Roman: Started Out in a Carnival! by Trav S.D.

Ruth Roman (1922-1999) definitely had an interesting career, with enough notable projects, both well-known and quirky ones, that I had long intended to give her some attention in these annal…

What do former Christians hold dear over the holidays? by Michelle Nugent

Sure, there are plenty of reasons for a queer feminist atheist to look back bitterly on a Catholic upbringing—but exiting a life of faith isn’t so simple. Michelle Nugent considers.

This Week on Broadway for December 22, 2019: Sing Street and Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven by James Marino

Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Sing Street @ NYTW, The Thin Place @ Playwrights Horizons, A Frank and Ella Christmas @ The New York Pops, Halfway Bitches Go…

Phyllis Brissenden, Opera Theatre founder and philanthropist, dies at 86 by Sarah Bryan Miller St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mrs. Brissenden loved music, birds and animals, and supported them.

'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Series Fuels A Themed New York Bus Tour by Jeff Lunden

The success of Amazon Studio's Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has spawned a bus tour of some of the show's New York locations.

PPAC presents its Contemporary Photography Exhibition IX by Katy Scarlett

A pair of photographers emerge as the top talents of PPAC’s annual juried contemporary photography exhibition, exploring holes in the American dream and fresh real-life narratives. Katy Sc…

Review: Sweet Bear, Sticky Situation in ‘Paddington Gets in a Jam’ by Laurel Graeber

Despite a meanspirited neighbor — spoiler alert! — things work out just fine.

The Guardian’s Top Classical Albums Of 2019 by Artsjournal2

This is the calm before the storm of 2020 – a year sure to see a deluge of Beethoven for his 250th birthday. Opera was neglected shamefully, while Clara Schumann, Offenbach, and Berlioz ga…

New Movies, Old Formats by Artsjournal2

The popularity of older formats is growing, including black and white and things like Canción sin nombre‘s 4:3 format. – Los Angeles Times

‘A Christmas Carol’ comes to life at Museum of the Bible by Darby Dejarnette

Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol comes to life in a unique living history experience at Museum of the Bible in the aptly named A Christmas Carol Experience. This cha…

‘My Fair Lady’ at the Kennedy Center is sheer melodious pleasure by Peter Marks

The touring production matches the splendid Broadway version.

How this nomadic music group is bridging cultural divides by Artsjournal1

“The band Tinariwen hails from the deserts of Mali in North Africa. Its sound blends ancient Saharan instruments with electric guitars, and has earned the band devoted fans around the worl…

Cleveland Institute of Music wins $150,000 diversity grant by Artsjournal1

“The Cleveland Institute of Music has received a $150,000 grant from the Sphinx Organization, to launch an initiative for graduate students of African American and Latin descent, young pro…

Museums Have Yet to Embrace Augmented Reality. But Microsoft Wants to Help Them Use It as a Tool for Education and Social Justice by Artsjournal1

“A new exhibition at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle offers a window into how the tech giant hopes to fuse art and AR for the public good.” – artnet

The landscape architect who’s confronting climate change by Artsjournal1

In Los Angeles, Portland, Shanghai,. and especially San Francisco, Pamela Conrad has worked on solutions to the problems of invasive plant species, sea level rise, and earthquake readiness. …

Class, control, and classical music by Artsjournal1

“Something that has increasingly bothered me over 20 years as a practitioner and educator, is that “music education” as we conceive it (right down to state/county/national syllabi/stan…

Kent Monkman Reverses Art History’s Colonial Gaze by Artsjournal1

Monkman’s two large paintings, the first in a series of commissions for the Met’s Great Hall, “highlight the Museum as both a byproduct and beneficiary of colonizing forces, and illumi…

The Sceptered Isle And Its Many (Many) Historically Important Buildings by Artsjournal2

Historic England has released a new list of 500 additions to the built environments it accords “enhanced” or new status. Why does anyone care? “They grow not only ever more surprising …

The Bestselling Adult Novel Of 2019 Started Small In 2018, And Has A Very Long Tail by Artsjournal2

It’s a tough selling environment for fiction; the numbers are bleak and falling fast. But Where Late the Crawdads Sang has been going, and going, and going, and going … “Crawdads has s…

Do Music Genres Even Exist Anymore? by Artsjournal2

Music critics may resist the idea, but “what if the genre killers are right? What if it doesn’t matter whether they’re right, but it’s happening anyway? Start to finish, 2019 gave …

Jeanette Winterson Is Worried About AI by Artsjournal2

The author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and 10 other novels, along with much nonfiction and several children’s books as well, Winterson says, “People always say ‘let’s get the t…

Poll: Worst Broadway Show of the Decade by Jonathan Mandell

Welcome to my annual Worst Broadway Show Poll. Pick the show you thought was the worst to open on Broadway between 2010 and 2019. Most of the 20 nominees were the two highest scorers in each…

The Annenberg Center and The Crossing present ‘The Crossing @ Christmas’ by Aaron Pond

‘The Crossing @ Christmas’ came to Rittenhouse Square for an evening of death, devastation, and birds. Aaron Pond reviews.

Cyrano by Carey

“A great nose may be an index of a great soul,” Edmund Rostand wrote in Cyrano de Bergerac. When considering the latest adaptation of this popular tale of love and tragedy, which pointed…

2019 Wrap-Up: Broadway.com Picks the Best Performances of the Year by Broadway.com

In a year filled with so many remarkable performances, it’s an unenviable task to single out only five as the best of 2019. Yet, the stage turns listed below are the ones we haven’t been…

Celebrate the Holidays as Elaine Paige on Sunday Plays Your Favorite Christmas Tunes by Broadway.com

Olivier-winning actress Elaine Paige is giving Broadway.com listeners a chance to hear her BBC Radio 2 show, Elaine Paige on Sunday, and this week is all about, you guessed it, Christmas! W…

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents the Gamut Bach Ensemble by Cameron Kelsall

An evening of cantatas, presented by Gamut Bach Ensemble and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, put critic Cameron Kelsall in a Christmas mood.

Year in a word: Be water

Hong Kong protesters take inspiration from Bruce Lee’s philosophy

Theatre Review: ‘7 (x1) Samurai’ at Theatre Project by Max Garner

Gaines' boiled-down adaptation of Kurosawa delivers the feast with most of its trimmings in under an hour; and with a cast consisting only of Gaines himself.

Act II Playhouse presents Stephen Temperley’s ‘Souvenir’ by Ellen Wilson Dilks

Act II’s ‘Souvenir’ celebrates the joy of doing what you love with the story of the infamously beloved Florence Foster Jenkins. Ellen Wilson Dilks reviews.

VIDEO: World Premiere ‘Human Interest Story’ to launch Fountain Theatre 2020 season on Feb 15 by Fountaintheatre

More Info/Get Tickets

Off-Broadway Review: WP Theater/Second Stage Theater’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” at the McGinn/Cazale Theater by David Roberts

“Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” is a stunning and unsettling piece of theatre that will stay with audience members long after the curtain call. The memory will either result in dramatic shifts…

A Digital Update For ‘Cats’ by Artsjournal2

Perhaps that won’t improve its dismal showing at the box office this weekend, but at least it might improve the moviegoing experience. Director Tom Hooper “has been upfront about the fac…

Abbey Simon, Pianist Who Interpreted The Romantics With Breathtaking Skill, Has Died At 99 by Artsjournal2

Simon “was often called a pianist’s pianist — greatly admired by musicians and critics if not strictly a household name. Known in particular for his interpretations of the Romantic lit…

No Surprises In Star Wars’ Dominance Of The Box Office by Artsjournal2

Despite rather lackluster reviews, the film is on track to take in almost $400 million internationally. And wow, does that benefit Disney. “Disney said that it had booked The Rise of Skywa…

The Chaotic Glories Of A Real Department Store by Artsjournal2

Perhaps many of us – at least those who depend on Amazon and the wide world of other online shopping options – have forgotten, but department stores still exist. At least, a few do. “T…

Backstage At Matthew Bourne’s ‘Swan Lake’ by Artsjournal2

Twenty-two years after the groundbreaking production had its U.S. debut in Los Angeles, it returned – “as gloriously relevant as ever.” And here is a photo gallery of what happens back…

Christmas, With Its Fights And Fury And Beauty, Is A Gift To Novelists by Artsjournal2

And, famously, short story writers. Why? “It’s a chance to bring together a wide cast of characters at a time when the sense of occasion allows them and the novelist to take the long vie…

FROM DOWN UNDER: Chicago in Melbourne by Simon Parris

Set to dazzle and divert, the Broadway revival of Chicago returns for its third Melbourne sentence with as sexy and sinewy a company of dancers as could possibly be wished for.

Metamorphosis” at Soho Playhouse, Fringe Encore Series by Jeff Myhre

One of the highlights of this year’s edition of the Annual Fringe Encore Series is Sam Chittenden’s take on Kafka’s novella, “Metamorphosis.” While the script is intriguing, the pe…

Emma Bentley: I Think I’m Done With Scratch Nights by Emma Bentley

In the third of multi-talented AYT writer, Emma Bentley’s series of very personal articles, she talks about the pros and cons of doing scratch nights. But is she done with them completely?…

Stage Directions: Inside Diane Paulus’ Vision for Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill by Mervyn Rothstein

The Tony Award-winning director of Pippin shares how she became a director, her directing philosophy, and forming the story of her latest musical with Alanis Morissette and Diablo Cody.

Circus 1903 review – Christmas offering oozes old-school charm by Lyndsey Winship

Royal Festival Hall, London In a culture of special effects, it is the moments of connection, creativity and wonder that matter Circus 1903 – in pictures Playing its second year as an alte…

The week in theatre: The Ocean at the End of the Lane; Swive [Elizabeth]; Teenage Dick – review by Susannah Clapp

Dorfman; Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; Donmar Warehouse, LondonA Neil Gaiman adaptation delivers spooky childhood spectacle; and the teenage years of Elizabeth I and Richard III Sometimes it is n…

CATS Film is Getting Upgraded With 'Improved Visual Effects'

The Cats film has just debuted in theatres and it is already getting an upgrade.

Adam Driver Will Host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE in January 2020

It was announced last night, during the episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Eddie Murphy, that Adam Driver will host the first episode of 2020 on January 25. The episode will feature Ha…

‘An absolute treat’: THE RED SHOES – Sadler’s Wells ★★★★★ by Debbie Gilpin

The Red Shoes is an absolute tour-de-force, and the perfect example of how to make dance (and ballet, in particular) accessible and engaging to a wider audience. It’s an absolute treat.

‘Beach Blanket Babylon’: A San Francisco treasure nears the end by Chuck Barney

Legendary cheeky musical revue "Beach Blanket Babylon" tearfully prepares to close on New Year's Eve after 45 years as a San Francisco institution.

Classic Space Mountain coaster to return soon after Disneyland removes Star Wars overlay by Brady Macdonald

A fleet of X-Wings, TIE fighters and Star Destroyers will soon be departing Hyperspace Mountain after a limited-time run of the Star Wars overlay on the Tomorrowland roller coaster..

Homer’s epic, re-imagined by Cogency

An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, directed by Rebecca Wright at the Arden Theatre, Philadelphia, through December 15, 2019.   One of Philadelphia’s best actors, Mary Tuomanen,…

A Landline Lamentation by Artsjournal2

Roger Cohen misses the world of the landline. “In the landline world there was down time. You left the house, you looked around, you saw people, you daydreamed, you got lost, you found y…

So How Exactly Did They Get Carrie Fisher, Who Died In 2016, Into The New Star Wars Movie? by Artsjournal2

The movie was supposed to be about her, or be “her movie,” according to The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams. But she died long before this one started shooting. The way it worked …

Building A Better (Well, Bigger) Sistine Chapel by Artsjournal2

It’s for Netflix, y’all. For The Two Popes. – Los Angeles Times

Christmas with Only Fools and Horses The Musical by Official London Theatre

‘There’s just a whole lot of arrestingly good fun to be had here’: CURTAINS – West End by Ian Foster

A Kander & Ebb premiere in the West End you say? Curtains makes its bow at the Wyndham’s Theatre and I had an arrestingly good time with it.

Off-Broadway Premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s Seared Ends Its Extended Run December 22 by Dan Meyer

The new comedy about the restaurant world, starring Raúl Esparza and Krysta Rodriguez, opened October 28.

Bonnie Greer seeks to diversify history in a new podcast

The writer explores how black stories have been marginalised or erased through time in an Audible series

Pantomimes: Dame Fortune

A box office revival of these British extravaganzas is under way

Idina Menzel Headlines CBS Holiday Special December 22 by Andrew Gans

The Tony winner recently released her second holiday album, Christmas: A Season of Love.