All stories by D on BroadwayStars

Friday, July 26, 2019

Look Ahead: The hottest Seattle events for August 2019 by Moira Macdonald, Brendan Kiley and Michael Rietmulder

From The Rolling Stones and THING music festival to Seattle Art Fair, our Seattle Times arts writers dish on next month’s most buzzworthy arts and entertainment events.

SOURCE: The Seattle Times at 09:00AM
Tuesday, July 23, 2019

OKLAHOMA                   Chichester Festival Theatre by Libby Purves and Friends

COWBOYS WITHOUT INDIANS         I suppose it’s perverse to start at the end, but of all the aspects of Jeremy Sams’ handsome production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein crowd-pleaser…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 11:34AM
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA       Noel Coward, WC2 by Libby Purves and Friends

FALLEN ANGELS ENDURING THE STORM         You can feel the heat in Rae Smith’s design,  Mexican sun on the rock overhead, and the corrugated iron roofs of the rundown hotel. Somewher…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 05:30AM
Sunday, July 14, 2019

Theater Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (National Tour) by Tony Frankel and Lawrence Bommer

THE PLAY ABOUT THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG GOES WRONG The title of this play is brutally honest — and you can’t say you weren’t warned. In the style of Monty Python and Michael Frayn’s …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:17PM
Friday, July 12, 2019

   JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOUR DREAMCOAT                London Palladium W1 by Libby Purves and Friends

  IT’S BACK,  YOUNGER THAN EVER…     We love a starry debut, especially on opening night in a huge theatre:   a 21-year-old not yet through drama school making a stonking, belting …

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 10:31AM
Wednesday, July 10, 2019

An operetta about Julia Child, with servings of chocolate cake at the end? It’s happening at The Rendezvous | Art Outings by Tantri Wija and Gemma Alexander

Two writers for The Seattle Times attend “Bon Appétit!: The Julia Child Operetta," in which family stories about Julia Child combine with opera, and the result is a (literal) chocolate ca…

SOURCE: The Seattle Times at 09:00AM
Monday, July 8, 2019

Martin Charnin, Tony-winning ‘Annie’ lyricist who was active in Seattle-area musical-theater scene, dies at 84 by The Associated Press and Misha Berson

Martin Charnin, who won a Tony Award for the score of the Broadway hit “Annie,” and who lived in Issaquah during the 2000s when he became active in the Seattle theater scene, died Saturd…

SOURCE: The Seattle Times at 03:47PM

Work the room: can comedians teach you to boost your confidence? by Alexandra Haddow and Jamie Allerton

Standups Alexandra Haddow and Jamie Allerton offer their tips and tricks for speaking in public Almost every time we tell someone we perform standup comedy, we get the same response: “Oh …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:36AM
Saturday, July 6, 2019

West End rediscovers the pure joy of farce (and missing trousers) by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Broad stage theatre comedy full of plot twists, puns and frantic action is finding a new audienceThe stage is set like a hotel bedroom where a scantily clad woman is hiding inside a wardrobe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM

National Theatre defends asking lesbians to leave bar by Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

Women claim staff did not ‘like the T-shirts we are wearing’ but NT says the action was ‘a result of a series of disturbances’ The National Theatre has become embroiled in a bitter w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54PM
Friday, July 5, 2019

MEASURE FOR MEASURE Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon by Libby Purves and Friends

DEVOTION , DISGUISE,  DECADENCE     What a strange and stirring play this is!    Set in convent, court and condemned-cell,  it is spiked with moral ambiguities and fuelled equally by s…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 01:03PM

What to see this week in the UK by Andrew Pulver, Harriet Gibsone, John Fordham, Andrew Clements, Jonathan Jones, Miriam Gillinson and Lyndsey Winship

From Midsommar to Olafur Eliasson, here’s our pick of the best films, concerts, exhibitions, theatre and dance over the next seven days Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48AM
Thursday, July 4, 2019

THE END OF HISTORY Royal Court SW1 by Libby Purves and Friends

BLAIR TO BREXIT – A FAMILY TALE         Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany,  are the Harry Potter team.  They know how not to bore.   But they’ve been here before too in a  R…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 05:29AM
Wednesday, July 3, 2019

NOISES OFF Lyric, Hammersmith by Libby Purves and Friends

FARCE AS LIFE, LIFE AS FARCE, FRAYN AGAIN TRIUMPHANS        It felt like a pilgrimage,  homage to pay.   37 years ago Michael Frayn’s greatest of comedies, a wicked love-song to the …

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 06:01AM
Sunday, June 30, 2019

PRESENT LAUGHTER Old Vic SE1 by Libby Purves and Friends

COMEDY SHADING TO MELANCHOLY: WHAT’S TO COME IS STILL UNSURE…     First of all  let’s say that  Andrew Scott is a marvel, a 21st century Ur-Coward hero,  who manages to do it with…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 06:06PM
Saturday, June 29, 2019

AFTER DARK – A DRAMA OF LONDON LIFE Finborough, SW10 by Libby Purves and Friends

A SHILLING SHOCKER IS A JOY FOREVER     To come clean:  one reason I dashed to catch this fresh back from holiday is  not only that the Finborough is always interesting,   but that  fa…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 03:40AM
Friday, June 28, 2019

Look Ahead: The hottest Seattle events for July 2019 by Moira Macdonald, Brendan Kiley and Michael Rietmulder

From the Capitol Hill Block Party to "Spider-Man: Far From Home," our Seattle Times arts writers dish on next month’s most buzzworthy arts and entertainment events.

SOURCE: The Seattle Times at 09:00AM

What to see this week in the UK by Andrew Pulver, Michael Cragg, John Fordham, Andrew Clements, Jonathan Jones, Miriam Gillinson and Lyndsey Winship

From Yesterday to Ed Ruscha, here’s our pick of the best films, concerts, exhibitions, theatre and dance over the next seven days Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:03AM
Thursday, June 27, 2019

THE HUNT Almeida, N1 by Libby Purves and Friends

GUEST CRITIC BEN DOWELL SHIVERS – ADMIRINGLY – AT A TROUBLED TALE   In this hypersensitive age of MeToo accusations, anxieties about online pornography and even deeper-seated disquiet a…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 09:58AM
Tuesday, June 25, 2019

‘King Kong’ and ‘Cher Show’ Musicals Announce Closings by Scott Heller and Nancy Coleman

Each show arrived on Broadway with a big name in its title and major creative talents behind the scenes. But audiences kept their distance.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:06PM
Monday, June 24, 2019

Edinburgh fringe 2019: 10 essential shows by Brian Logan, Miriam Gillinson, Mark Lawson, Mark Fisher, Judith Mackrell, Bridget Minamore and Lyndsey Winship

Jessie Cave’s intimate standup, a beatbox Frankenstein and a twist on the star-crossed lovers are among the Edinburgh shows we’ve previously reviewed. Here’s what we said … Pleasance…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:48AM
Sunday, June 23, 2019

All change! Meet the new artistic directors shaking up British theatre by Susannah Clapp, With Interviews By Killian Fox and Lisa O'Kelly

Our critic reflects on the exciting developments sweeping our stages and below, some of the top new recruits share their stories and ways of working British theatre is in the process of a ma…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12AM
Friday, June 21, 2019

Sir Mark Rylance quits Royal Shakespeare Company in protest over BP sponsorship by Staff and Agencies, Staff and Agencies

Oscar-winning actor calls on RSC to set a positive example for the future of arts sponsorship

SOURCE: The Independent at 10:18PM
Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Can a Kung Fu Musical Get (Way) Off the Ground? by Devin Yalkin, Reggie Ugwu and Mohamed Sadek

“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise,” the unlikely offspring of a Chinese-American opera impresario and the writers of “Kung Fu Panda” — with songs by Sia — aims to show just how high th…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24AM
Friday, June 14, 2019

Edinburgh festival 2019: 50 theatre, comedy and dance shows to see by Mark Fisher, Lyndsey Winship and Brian Logan

There’s a Belle and Sebastian play, a show in a hair salon, Frances Barber performing Pet Shop Boys songs and top comics including Josie Long and Stephen Fry. Here’s our guide to the wor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06AM
Thursday, June 13, 2019

Female playwrights star in new National Theatre lineup by Lanre Bakare Arts and Culture Correspondent

Season includes Kate Tempest reimagining of Greek classic and version of Guardian microplay Death of England Kate Tempest’s reimagining of a Greek classic and an adaptation of a short film…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:42AM

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY    Jermyn St Theatre WC2 by Libby Purves and Friends

RANCID LILIES, GORGEOUS WORDS       All the little Jermyn needs to complete this reimagination of Wildean epigrammatic decadence is to scent the auditorium overwhelmingly with lilies and …

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 08:02AM
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Tony Awards 2019: The shows and actors we think should win this year by Asbury Park Press, Ilana Keller and Bill Canacci, Asbury Park Press

The 2019 Tony Awards are Sunday, June 9, from 8 to 11 p.m. on CBS. Here are the actors and shows we think should win.       

SOURCE: USA Today at 09:06AM
Tuesday, June 11, 2019

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Bridge, SE1 by Libby Purves and Friends

FLYING,   FUNNY,  FABULOUS     This is a dream of a Dream.  One expected fun from the  combination of Nicholas Hytner,  a roiling mass of promenaders in the pit  and a Bunny Christie…

SOURCE: theatrecat.com at 04:38PM
Monday, June 10, 2019

The Best and Worst of the Tony Awards 2019 by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green, Scott Heller and Margaret Lyons

Swinging lights. Broadway beefs. Words of wisdom. And a restroom serenade. If only some of the highlights were on TV.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:12PM