All stories by Brittani Samuel on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Review: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Bad Cinderella’ is an uninspired derivative of the famous tale by Brittani Samuel

Ugly is not a life sentence. Nearly every inch of the human body can be tweaked, sucked and tightened, and there’s nothing quite like a makeover scene to remind us of this. Whether it’s …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:10PM
Sunday, March 19, 2023

Review: ‘Bob Fosse’s Dancin’’ is eight counts of wonderful by Brittani Samuel

New York City streets dance with Bob Fosse’s influence. The American artist materialized as one of the great, idiosyncratic talents of the mid-20th century with a genre of choreography tha…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:02PM
Thursday, March 16, 2023

Review: Broadway’s ‘Parade’ resurrects the soured and shameful dream of Atlanta  by Brittani Samuel

On January 6, 2021, Kevin Seefried traveled 100 miles to join thousands who stormed the U.S. Capitol, and the image of him armed with a Confederate flag became synonymous with insurrection. …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:50PM
Thursday, February 9, 2023

Review: ‘Pictures from Home’ is missing a distinct artistic lens by Brittani Samuel

Take a picture, it’ll last longer. This phrase transcended from sarcastic adage to artistic mission in the hands of American photographer Larry Sultan. In 1992, Sultan published “Picture…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:20PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Review: ‘The Collaboration’ is an unfinished portrait of the artist as a young and old man by Brittani Samuel

Jean-Michel Basquiat catapulted to fame during the 1980s with his carnal, colorful paintings. Since then, contradiction has been his most loyal fan. He’s been labeled genius and absurd. He…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:07PM
Thursday, December 8, 2022

Flat direction threatens to kill Adrienne Kennedy’s masterful “Ohio State Murders” by Brittani Samuel

In a recent “Vanity Fair” profile, six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald named her current role of Suzanne Alexander in Broadway’s “Ohio State Murders” as the hardest to date. …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:32PM
Monday, December 5, 2022

Time has sharpened ‘Ain’t No Mo’ ’s points and edges by Brittani Samuel

My dearest Black sisters, brothers and ”those that don’t give a damn,” I regret to inform you that we have lost our right to complain. “Brother ‘Righttocomplain,’” that is. He …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:28AM
Sunday, December 4, 2022

In Broadway’s ‘A Beautiful Noise’ the music is more interesting than the man by Brittani Samuel

By now, fans of Neil Diamond know that the man is from New York. He references the city in a string of time-held hits like “New York Boy,” “Brooklyn Roads” and “I Am…I Said.” I…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:31PM
Sunday, November 27, 2022

Broadway’s underdeveloped ‘KPOP’ is saved by the music by Brittani Samuel

The musical style K-pop is enjoying incomparable success on the global stage, but “KPOP” on Broadway is just getting started. The original musical from creator Jason Kim and the troupe W…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 06:00PM
Monday, November 21, 2022

Broadway’s solo ‘Christmas Carol’ is all dressed up with nowhere to go by Brittani Samuel

English scribe Charles Dickens wrote more than 40 characters for his famed novella “A Christmas Carol.” In the latest theatrical adaptation playing Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre, Amer…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:30PM
Thursday, November 17, 2022

‘& Juliet’ is a pop musical that remixes the Bard with Backstreet Boys by Brittani Samuel

Allow Juliet to reintroduce herself. Or rather, let Anne Hathaway do it for her. No, not the Oscar-winning actress known for “The Devil Wears Prada.” The Anne Hathaway I’m referring to…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Sunday, November 13, 2022

In ‘The Old Man & the Pool,’ Mike Birbiglia uses backstrokes as a method of moving forward by Brittani Samuel

A wise man once said, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” The identity of this savant has been debated, but the quote is most often attributed to the legenda…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:59PM
Tuesday, November 8, 2022

‘Kimberly Akimbo’ is the only reason to go back to high school by Brittani Samuel

Kimberly may be a teenager with an incredibly rare genetic disorder, but it’s everyone in her midst that has an affliction. Her pregnant mother is hypochondrial. Her father teeters between…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:09PM
Thursday, November 3, 2022

‘Almost Famous’ may be a new rock musical, but it strikes tired notes by Brittani Samuel

Musical genres do not have perfect opposites, but if heavy syncopation and electric guitar are foundational to rock, the breezy melodies and steel pan of soca music — what populates my pla…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Thursday, October 27, 2022

Review: In ‘Walking with Ghosts,’ there is little spirit to be found by Brittani Samuel

One-person shows actually have two jobs. The first is to tell a captivating story. The second is to make a case for why only one person is needed to tell that story. In “Walking with Ghost…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 04:51PM
Thursday, October 20, 2022

Review: In ‘Topdog/Underdog,’ nothing is holier than the hustle by Brittani Samuel

“Topdog/Underdog” tells on itself before the curtain rises in the first scene. House lights fade to the song “Grinding All My Life” by Nipsey Hussle. In 2019, Hussle — a Crenshaw-b…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:59PM
Thursday, October 13, 2022

LaTanya Richardson Jackson’s sharp direction keeps ‘The Piano Lesson’ mostly in tune by Brittani Samuel

August Wilson is one in a sacred selection of American playwrights who is recognized as a canon all their own. His plays — a series of 10 titled “The Pittsburgh Cycle” — chronicle Bl…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:12PM
Sunday, October 9, 2022

Review: Director Miranda Cromwell breathes stunning Black life into ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Brittani Samuel

For over 73 years, “Death of a Salesman” has gotten away with its foreboding title. Ironically, no play in the theater canon better asserts its characters’ aliveness. Sure, Willy Loman…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:59PM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

New vision for ‘1776’ is not as revolutionary as it thinks by Brittani Samuel

Men are shouting. Representatives from the same state are divided. Everyone is named John. It must be a Congressional debate. The Tony-winning “1776” first premiered on Broadway nearly 2…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 05:23PM
Monday, October 3, 2022

Review: Paralysis and poverty go heart to heart in Pulitzer-winning masterwork ‘Cost of Living’ by Brittani Samuel

Somewhere in Bayonne, New Jersey, a middle-aged truck driver pines to care for his estranged wife, a woman he’s loved “the fuck outta” for “two decades and a year almost.” A car ac…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Why Funny Girl Might Be for You by Brittani Samuel

The Broadway Applause Series salutes Funny Girl!

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:07AM
Friday, July 22, 2022

Why The Lion King Might Be for You by Brittani Samuel

The Broadway Applause Series Salutes The Lion King.

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:54PM
Thursday, July 21, 2022

Review: A distilled ‘Kite Runner’ struggles to fly on Broadway by Brittani Samuel

High school love is often blind. My affair with Khaled Hosseini’s novel “The Kite Runner” was no exception. Equally harrowing and hopeful, the book was easy to cherish as a child. But …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Sunday, July 10, 2022

‘Into the Woods’ is talent forward in every sense by Brittani Samuel

Like most folks who lay claim to being a former theater kid, a solid portion of my childhood was spent watching a grainy PBS taping of “Into the Woods” on Youtube. There is at least a de…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:30PM
Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Why Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Might Be for You by Brittani Samuel

The Broadway Applause Series Salutes Tina.

SOURCE: Playbill at 05:18PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Review: ‘POTUS’ aims for fresh satire and mostly succeeds by Brittani Samuel

There are an infinite number of ways a comedy can get its audience to laugh. Selina Fillinger’s Broadway-debut play, “POTUS,” successfully tries its hand at most. Raunchy language? Wel…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 07:39PM
Monday, April 25, 2022

Review: Visionary Lileana Blain-Cruz spearheads contemporary take on ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ by Brittani Samuel

Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that change is the only constant of life. In “The Skin of Our Teeth,” Thornton Wilder argues that tragedy is another. His sweeping comedy, now resurrect…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Review: The breathtaking beauty of ‘for colored girls’ by Brittani Samuel

It starts with a step. Stomp. Clap. A crescendo of joyous movement and affirmations (“ayeee, yessss, you better”) erupts on stage and is immediately echoed by members of the audience, mo…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Monday, April 11, 2022

Review: ‘The Little Prince’ travels, but does not transport by Brittani Samuel

The titular character of “The Little Prince” travels between planets. The theatrical adaptation of the acclaimed novella is traveling between nations — France, Australia, the United Ar…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:02PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards