All stories by Barbara Hoffman on BroadwayStars

Friday, September 16, 2016

The next best thing to seeing 'Hamilton' by Barbara Hoffman

Dan Rosales was waiting tables at Isabella's three years ago when a man and a pregnant woman sat down in his section. It didn't take long for the Boston Conservatory grad to recognize the ma…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:49AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 2, 2016

Finally, proof that cats love dogs by Barbara Hoffman

Some cats love dogs " at least, many actors in Broadway's "Cats" do. After shows they leave their feline personas in the Neil Simon Theatre dressing room and cuddle at home with their canine…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:36AM[SHARE]

Controversial all-naked Shakespeare is back by Barbara Hoffman

Never has a "Tempest" touched off such a tempest. The all-female, bare-bodied Bard production that played Central Park in May was both warmly reviewed ("Liberating," trilled the Huffington P…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:53AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 26, 2016

Josh Groban, Diane Lane and more on Broadway this fall by Barbara Hoffman

Psyched for fall? Josh Groban and Robert Morse are. At 35 and 85, respectively, they can't wait to get to Broadway. "I'm working harder than I ever have in my life and I'm loving every minut…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:14PM[SHARE]

This new 'Hamilton' star turned down his role three times by Barbara Hoffman

“Hamilton" has a new Mr. Burr, sir! Brandon Victor Dixon stepped into Leslie Odom Jr.'s boots this week, but he's no Broadway newbie: The 34-year-old Maryland native helped create the …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:03AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 20, 2016

This 81-year-old got fired from Disney " and refuses to stop working by Barbara Hoffman

He worked on "Sleeping Beauty," "Mary Poppins" and "The Jungle Book." But while those Disney films are ageless, their animators are not " which is why Floyd Norman found himself canned becau…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:32PM[SHARE]
Friday, August 12, 2016

The ghost of Christopher Walken haunts the NY Fringe Fest by Barbara Hoffman

The 20th annual New York International Fringe Festival rolls into town Friday, and for the next two weeks, you and sundry hungry off-Broadway producers are invited to look for the next "Urin…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:45AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 5, 2016

Julie Taymor will be back on Broadway next season by Barbara Hoffman

Decades before she soared with "The Lion King" " even longer before she crashed with "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" " Julie Taymor saw her first Shakespeare play. It was 1960, and young Jul…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:11AM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 24, 2016

How Broadway star's dogs helped her love again after divorce by Barbara Hoffman

When Chilina Kennedy, the star of Broadway's "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," decided to adopt, she thought she was doing it for Molly. That was six years ago. Kennedy was living in her…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:27PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 22, 2016

I'm an opera singer " and I got to backup the Rolling Stones by Barbara Hoffman

You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you just might find … you're singing backup for Mick Jagger. Hey, it happened to Matthew Ciuffitelli. Three years ago he wa…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:43AM[SHARE]
Saturday, June 4, 2016

Meet the NYC artist who crucified Santa Claus by Barbara Hoffman

Robert Cenedella may be an "art bastard," but he comes by it legitimately: Not only did his parents never marry, but he's an art-world pariah, and proud of it. You can see his work on-screen…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:46AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 3, 2016

Michelle Williams on Brooklyn, Kristen Bell and Broadway by Barbara Hoffman

“I wish I was more of a go-getter," Michelle Williams says, laughing. "I just sort of sit and wait for things to come my way." So far, plenty's come her way, from "Dawson's Creek" to "…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:02AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 29, 2016

Food culture gets roasted on Broadway by Barbara Hoffman

Dining with Jesse Tyler Ferguson at Momofuku and Eleven Madison Park on someone else's dime? For most of us, that's priceless. For "Fully Committed" playwright Becky Mode, that was research.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:39AM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 23, 2016

'Psycho' lives on in the most unlikely place by Barbara Hoffman

No, there isn't a shower in there. But anyone who's seen "Psycho" will recognize that rickety Victorian on the Met's roof: Norman Bates, are you in there? Not a chance. Like the house in the…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:37PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 1, 2016

Ben Whishaw thinks Daniel Craig will return as James Bond by Barbara Hoffman

Somewhere under the massive beard he sports in "The Crucible" lies Ben Whishaw. The fine-boned British star of "London Spy" and the last two James Bond flicks hasn't been this furry since vo…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 26, 2016

These are the weirdest jobs on Broadway by Barbara Hoffman

When it comes to making theatrical magic, Broadway often relies on specialists, such as dialect coaches, fight directors " and even actual magicians. But a number of current shows require mo…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:32PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 19, 2016

The Met has gone totally hipster by Barbara Hoffman

Oh, what a difference a da Vinci makes " and a Rembrandt, a Michelangelo and a van Gogh. A whole who's who of old masters and impressionists is hanging on the walls of the old Whitney. The l…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:37AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 18, 2016

'Hamilton' star's secret health struggle by Barbara Hoffman

It’s the rare star who covers for his own understudy. But Lin-Manuel Miranda did just that when Javier Muñoz, his alternate in "Hamilton," missed a Sunday matinee. Considering Sunda…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:55AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 15, 2016

Laurie Metcalf loves torturing Bruce Willis by Barbara Hoffman

What’s it like beating up Bruce Willis? Laurie Metcalf " whose character does it eight times a week in "Misery" " says it's "a lot of fun," though both have the bruises to show for it.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:13AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Audiences may wind up at the doctor after seeing Ed Asner's new play by Barbara Hoffman

For years he starred with Mary Tyler Moore. Now Ed Asner's coming to New York to star in "A Man and His Prostate," in which the former Lou Grant enacts the tale of an American abroad, felled…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:14AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Here's how a fab drag queen spends his weekend by Barbara Hoffman

What better way to chase all that sickly sweet holiday cheer than with a bracing dose of bitters? Enter Lypsinka, the acidic, lip-syncing alias of John Epperson. For now, Epperson, 60, is in…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:33PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 21, 2015

Slobs are manspreading at the theater, too by Barbara Hoffman

Manspreading is spreading. That scourge of park benches and subways is coming to a theater near you. Hell, it's probably already there. And on Broadway, no less " where the seat you spent $1…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 9, 2015

I weigh 300 pounds and I'm totally OK with that by Barbara Hoffman

Randy Blair is 5-foot-8 and weighs 300 pounds " and says he's OK with that. Years of struggling with his weight inspired his off-Broadway musical "Gigantic," based on his recollections of fa…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:30AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 6, 2015

Former Rockettes reveal life behind the scenes " including a flirty Richard Nixon by Barbara Hoffman

To audiences, they're a precision dance troupe " a line of sky-high legs and synchronized smiles. But as any Rockette will tell you, theirs isn't just a job. It's a legacy. Some 200 retired …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:50PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 29, 2015

A 19-year-old from New Jersey is the star of 'The Wiz' by Barbara Hoffman

She may be playing Dorothy, but Shanice Williams is feeling like Cinderella at the ball. The 19-year-old star of "The Wiz Live!" " airing live on NBC Thursday " is still getting her head aro…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:13AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 19, 2015

BILLY'S THE BEST by Barbara Hoffman

IT’S got heart, passion, killer choreography – and the best Elton John score ever. When all is said and sung, “Billy Elliot: The Musical” promises to be the biggest L…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:45PM[SHARE]

'TEMPEST' TRAINED by Barbara Hoffman

THAT bearded man muttering Shakespeare on the subway? It might have been Mandy Patin kin. Eight years since he last played a New York stage, the Tony-winning, concertizing TV star (“Ch…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:45PM[SHARE]

LIVIN' LA VIDA LENNY & LUCIANO by Barbara Hoffman

TWO giants get their due in the weeks ahead as the opera and classical worlds hail Luciano Pavarotti and Leonard Bernstein. The Lenny love-in – a citywide festival marking what would h…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:45PM[SHARE]

CELEBS BREATHE LIFE INTO REVIVALS by Barbara Hoffman

THERE is no “Godspell” – but a raft of other revivals are headed our way. Virtually everything old is new again this fall, thanks to some starry casting. And there’s …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:45PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 13, 2015

'OITNB's Taystee is living her dream on Broadway by Barbara Hoffman

What happens when you mix "Orange" and "Purple"? Danielle Brooks is about to find out. The "Orange Is the New Black" star " she plays Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson " is making her Broadway debut…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:38AM[SHARE]
Friday, October 23, 2015

Why this actress went to dog obedience school by Barbara Hoffman

If Annaleigh Ashford wins another Tony, she may thank Los Angeles' Zoom Room. No, it's not an acting academy: It's a dog school. It was there, while shooting "Masters of...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:00AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off