All stories by Chris Willman on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

‘Shucked’ Actor Kevin Cahoon on Starring in Pasadena’s ‘La Cage aux Folles’ Revival: ‘It’s 2024, and We’re Still Talking About People by Chris Willman

When Kevin Cahoon got his Tony and Drama Desk nominations in 2023 as a featured actor in Broadway’s “Shucked,” he played a hayseed character whose sexuality might or might not have bee…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:37PM
Saturday, November 23, 2024

‘Wicked: The Soundtrack’ Album Review: Stephen Schwartz’s World-Beating Song Score Gets Its Due, and So Do the Divas Who Deliver It by Chris Willman

When the sing-along screenings of “Wicked” go down beginning Christmas Day, I’ll be there — but not because I have any intention of personally raising my voice in song. (Or maybe I�…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:50PM
Friday, October 11, 2024

Yola on the ‘Gig Energy’ of Playing Persephone in Broadway’s ‘Hadestown,’ and Why She’s Taking a Turn in Her Music Career to Do Things Her by Chris Willman

The name Yola is not to be confused with YOLO, but if her moniker were to be an acronym, it might stand for You Only Live Awe-Inspiringly. The British-born singer has been expanding her hori…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:33PM
Friday, September 27, 2024

‘Randy Newman’s Faust,’ the Songwriter’s Brilliant but Rarely Produced Stage Musical, Rises Again for a Weekend in L.A. at the Soraya by Chris Willman

The devil is making them do it… or maybe it’s actually an exercise in divine justice. “Randy Newman’s Faust,” the only musical comedy ever written for the stage by the dean of barb…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:43PM
Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Grammy Winner Allison Russell to Step Into Broadway’s ‘Hadestown’ as Persephone by Chris Willman

Singer-songwriter Allison Russell had a song called “Persephone” on her debut solo album, so there may be some destiny in the fact that she will soon step into a role with that name in t…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:29AM
Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Sara Bareilles’ First Orchestral Concert at Hollywood Bowl Features Ravishing Treatments of Broadway Hits, Feminist Anthems and New Material: Concer by Chris Willman

Whatever counts as Sara Bareilles’ day job right now, it’s not regualrly releasing albums and touring. Her last studio album (2019’s “Amidst the Chaos”) and tour are both five year…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:49PM
Tuesday, August 6, 2024

At a ‘Reefer Madness’ Reunion Concert, Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell and Other Cast Veterans Retell the Satirical Show’s History Via Signatur by Chris Willman

If you were cataloging the signs of a stage musical that has had a robust life over a period of not just years but decades, here are two things that might be included on that list: A) The sh…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:23PM
Friday, June 28, 2024

’A Strange Loop’ Review: One Man’s Mind Games Get Funny, Then Wrenching, in Superlative L.A. Take on the Bold Broadway Hit by Chris Willman

At some point, if you are enthusiastically trying to get everyone you know in Los Angeles out to see “A Strange Loop” — and anyone who hasn’t should try to, as the production come…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:01PM
Friday, June 21, 2024

‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ Review: Pasadena Playhouse Production Brings a Too-Rarely Revived Classic Jazz Musical Back to Rousing Life by Chris Willman

It’s been just over one year since the Tonys gave the Pasadena Playhouse an award for regional theater, and that honor looks more justified than ever now that the venue is presenting a muc…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:13PM
Sunday, June 16, 2024

‘Reefer Madness: The Musical’ Review: Campy or Not, an L.A. Revival of the Weed-Themed Spoof Doesn’t Bogart the Show-Biz Razzle-Dazzle by Chris Willman

A lot of bong water has passed under the bridge since “Reefer Madness: The Musical” first premiered at the Hudson Theatre on Santa Monica Blvd. in 1998. Like, legalization of the demon w…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:50PM
Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Ben Platt and Brandy Clark on Their Haunting Duet, ‘Treehouse,’ a Joint Summer Tour, and How Platt’s ‘Honeymind’ Album Expands the Queer Ame by Chris Willman

For his new “Honeymind” album, singer and actor Ben Platt brought in an especially honeyed voice as a counterpart on one song, Brandy Clark. He had written “Treehouse” in a writing s…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:45PM
Thursday, June 6, 2024

Dolly Parton Announces Plans for Broadway Musical Based on Her Life, ‘Hello, I’m Dolly’ by Chris Willman

Not to be confused with “Hello Dolly,” there’s a musical earmarked for Broadway by the name of “Hello, I’m Dolly,” with country-pop superstar Dolly Parton spearheading the effort…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM
Monday, April 15, 2024

‘Lion King’ Live-to-Film Hollywood Bowl Concert to Feature Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Eichner and More (EXCLUSIVE) by Chris Willman

The 30th anniversary of the original animated film version of “The Lion King” will be celebrated at the Hollywood Bowl next month with a live-to-film concert/screening that will include …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:29AM
Sunday, March 24, 2024

‘One of the Good Ones’ Review: Pasadena Playhouse’s Cross-Cultural Comedy Brings a Norman Lear Sensibility to the Stage by Chris Willman

Does “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” count as a genre unto itself, given how many plotlines in the last half-century have relied on the suitor-out-of-water supper guest as a linchpin? T…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:03PM
Thursday, March 7, 2024

Steve Lawrence, Singer and Actor Who Found His Greatest Fame as Half of Steve and Eydie, Dies at 88 by Chris Willman

Steve Lawrence, a king among easy-listening crooners who rocketed to fame in the ’50s and ’60s as half of the duo Steve and Eydie, died Thursday at age 88. Lawrence died at home in Los A…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:33PM
Thursday, January 25, 2024

‘Kate’ Review: Kate Berlant Navel-Gazes, Hilariously, in an Unpredictable One-Woman Show at Pasadena Playhouse by Chris Willman

It’s not exactly breaking news in the world of show-biz satire that actors can be vain, or insecure; it’s been mined. But for as long as time and human consciousness still exist, there w…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:17PM

‘The Journals of Adam and Eve’ Review: Hal Linden and Sally Struthers Go East of Eden (and Studio City) in a Charming Stage Two-Hander by Chris Willman

There’s no IP more innately suited for adaptation as a pure two-hander than the tale of Adam and Eve, a story in which, initially at least, there are no other characters, excepting the cre…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:15AM
Monday, January 15, 2024

Broadway’s ‘Shucked’ Set for Feature Film Adaptation From Mandalay Pictures by Chris Willman

The musical-comedy “Shucked” had its closing performance on Broadway Sunday night, but the show went out with an even louder set of whoops than expected, as the curtain call included the…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:56AM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Barbra Streisand Talks About Her Epic Memoir: ‘God, I Hope People Like This Book… I Forgot What I Wrote 10 Years Ago, When I Started’ by Chris Willman

Hello, beautiful. That’s what some Barbra Streisand fans have been murmuring to their physical editions of “My Name Is Barbra,” her memoir, since it came out one month ago, and over th…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:11AM
Saturday, November 11, 2023

Alex Edelman on Bringing ‘Just for Us’ to L.A.’s Mark Taper, and Why It Feels Right to Do a Comedic Piece About Jewish Identity Amid Darker Time by Chris Willman

Southern California comedy aficionados have experienced some FOMO when it comes to on-and-off L.A. resident Alex Edelman having become the toast of the town in New York theater circles with …

SOURCE: Variety at 03:07PM
Tuesday, August 22, 2023

‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ Review: If Pratfalls Piling Up Is Wrong, This Ahmanson Production Doesn’t Want to Be Right by Chris Willman

“Peter Pan Goes Wrong,” now playing at L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre, has its roots partly in silent-film slapstick, partly in British pantomime and partly in Python. But maybe the best shor…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:58PM
Sunday, August 13, 2023

‘Fantasticks’ Lyricist Tom Jones Was Sanguine About the Musical’s Tangled History With Hollywood, Including a Near-Miss With Barbra Streisand by Chris Willman

“Try to Remember,” the most famous song to have come out of the stage musical “The Fantasticks,” was noted for its autumnal feel, sung by someone reflecting back on youthful days. Th…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:27PM
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

The Making of ‘Here Lies Love’: How David Byrne, Disco, Dictators and Filipino Pride Come Together in Broadway’s Boldest New Musical by Chris Willman

You remember the famous Talking Heads song with the lyrical hook, “This ain’t no disco…”? Part of the mission of the producers of “Here Lies Love,” a stage musical created by Dav…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:39PM
Saturday, July 1, 2023

‘Into the Woods’ Review: A Tour for Stephen Sondheim’s Masterpiece Brings Broadway Brilliance to L.A.’s Ahmanson by Chris Willman

In “Into the Woods,” the audience laughs at the gluttony of the Little Red Ridinghood character, especially in the earliest, most deliberately cartoony parts of the production. But in a …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:40PM
Thursday, June 15, 2023

Mark Taper Forum Cancels All Productions Planned for 2023-24 Season, Due to ‘Crisis Unlike Any Other in Our 56-Year History’ by Chris Willman

In a move certain to shock Los Angeles theatergoers, the Center Theatre Group (CTG) announced Thursday that it is canceling plans for a 2023-34 season at the Mark Taper Forum, one of the mos…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:22PM
Monday, June 5, 2023

Filipino Producers of David Byrne’s ‘Here Lies Love’ and Union Demanding a Live Orchestra Explain What They Each See at Stake for Broadway’s F by Chris Willman

In front of the Broadway Theatre at the corner of Broadway and 53rd Street in Manhattan are posters for the venue’s incoming production, “Here Lies Love,” advertising a score by David …

SOURCE: Variety at 04:59PM
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Broadway’s ‘Some Like It Hot,’ ‘Life of Pi,’ ‘A Doll’s House,’ ‘Sweeney Todd’ Rack Up Multiple Drama Desk Awards Wins by Chris Willman

Nobody’s perfect, but “Some Like It Hot” was close enough for the 67th annual Drama Desk Awards, which gave the Broadway adaptation of the classic film comedy eight honors on Wednesday…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:58PM
Saturday, April 8, 2023

‘Bodyguard’ Musical Halted by ‘Mini-Riot,’ as Rowdy Theatergoers Loudly Singing Along With ‘I Will Always Love You’ Are Dragged Out by Chris Willman

A touring production of the stage version of “The Bodyguard” was brought to a halt and canceled in Manchester, England on Friday night after patrons would not stop singing along with the…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:51PM
Wednesday, April 5, 2023

How Broadway Got ‘Shucked’: The 12-Year Journey to a Riotous Production That Could Be the Musical-Comedy Sleeper of the Season by Chris Willman

The verdicts on the new Broadway musical-comedy “Shucked” are in, and the critics have asked you to lend them your ears — so to speak — as they’ve cobbled together their reactions …

SOURCE: Variety at 03:55PM
Thursday, January 12, 2023

‘Here Lies Love,’ David Byrne-Cowritten Musical, to Open on Broadway in Immersive, Standing-Room Setting by Chris Willman

“Here Lies Love,” a celebrated “disco pop” stage musical with a score by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, dramatizing Imelda Marcos’ rise to prominence and downfall in the Philippines,…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:42AM
Thursday, December 1, 2022

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo Give Musical Theater Their Best Shot With L.A. Premiere of ‘Invincible,’ on Heels of Rock Hall Honors by Chris Willman

It’s a few days after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony when we find Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo holed up in the green room of a Beverly Hills performing arts center, talk…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:01PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime