All stories by David Rooney on BroadwayStars

Thursday, October 24, 2024

‘Romeo + Juliet’ Theater Review: Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler Shake up Shakespeare With Brat-Coded Attitude by David Rooney

Sam Gold directs the high-energy, TikTok-generation Broadway revival, which brings original Jack Antonoff tunes and a notably young ensemble to the classic romantic tragedy.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:00PM
Sunday, October 20, 2024

‘Sunset Blvd.’ Theater Review: Nicole Scherzinger Is Sensational in a Bold Reimagining of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical by David Rooney

Director Jamie Lloyd strips down both the material and the staging, threading film into theater in his radical take on the 1993 show based on the classic Hollywood noir about a forgotten scr…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 10:00PM
Thursday, July 11, 2024

‘Oh, Mary!’ Theater Review: Comedy Genius Cole Escola Serves Revisionist American History as Riotous Queer Silliness by David Rooney

Escola portrays first lady Mary Todd Lincoln as an alcoholic wannabe cabaret star, with Conrad Ricamora as her long-suffering husband and James Scully as her acting coach.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:00PM
Saturday, May 25, 2024

‘Romeo & Juliet’ Theater Review: Tom Holland Disappoints in Return to the Stage But Another Star Is Born by David Rooney

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is magnificent in Jamie Lloyd’s overly subdued, minimalist version of Shakespeare’s doomed romance, playing in London’s West End

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 10:02PM
Friday, April 26, 2024

‘Illinoise’ Theater Review: Justin Peck Transforms Sufjan Stevens’ Concept Album Into a Soaring Rush of Late Adolescent Experience by David Rooney

Co-written with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, the dance musical is a transcendent distillation of youth in all its pain and glory.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 01:00PM
Saturday, April 20, 2024

‘Stereophonic’ Theater Review: David Adjmi’s Audaciously Original Play Is a Transfixing Look at Building Art Out of Emotional Wreckage by David Rooney

Daniel Aukin’s lauded production, featuring new songs by Will Butler of Arcade Fire, transfers to Broadway with its gifted ensemble of actor-musicians intact.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:00AM
Monday, March 18, 2024

‘An Enemy of the People’ Review: Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli Set Off Sparks in Visceral Distillation of 1882 Ibsen Drama by David Rooney

Sam Gold directs the Broadway revival in a new adaptation by Amy Herzog, who penned last year’s scorching update of the Norwegian dramatist’s ‘A Doll’s House.’

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 10:00PM
Friday, February 16, 2024

‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ Theater Review: Sarah Snook Is Phenomenal in Bravura Oscar Wilde Adaptation by David Rooney

The Emmy-winning 'Succession' star steps into all 26 roles in Kip Williams' lauded Sydney Theatre Company production on London's West End, with rumored plans in the air for a Broadway run to…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:22PM
Thursday, December 27, 2018

The Most Anticipated New York Theater of 2019 by David Rooney

The Hollywood Reporter looks ahead to the busy pipeline of productions opening from January through summer, on Broadway and off.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:14PM
Sunday, December 16, 2018

David Rooney: The Best New York Theater of 2018 by David Rooney

Angels and executioners, a pop Shakespeare rom-com and a brooding Bob Dylan tone poem, a Northern Irish pastoral and a deep dive into American foundational law were among the year's stage hi…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 10:55AM
Sunday, October 21, 2018

'The Ferryman' Theater Review | Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

Buoyed by multiple awards from London, Sam Mendes' production of the boisterous new Jez Butterworth play set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles hits Broadway with Paddy Considine and La…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:27PM
Thursday, October 4, 2018

Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow to Star on Broadway in 'Hillary and Clinton' (Exclusive) by David Rooney

Set during the 2008 Democratic primaries, the play about the complex workings of a marriage reunites Metcalf with producer Scott Rudin and playwright Lucas Hnath, whose 'A Doll's House, Part…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:46PM
Thursday, July 12, 2018

Tony Winner Ivo van Hove to Direct 'West Side Story' on Broadway (Exclusive) by David Rooney

The Belgian avant-garde theater-maker will collaborate with modern dance choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker on the first major American revival to depart radically from the original Je…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:31PM
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

All the Broadway Shows of the 2018-2019 Season by David Rooney

Gender-blind Shakespeare, an Elizabethan frolic set to 1980s girl pop, a giant gorilla, a young Rupert Murdoch, triple Cher and a wealth of new plays to counter last season's shortage are on…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:21AM
Thursday, April 12, 2018

'Carousel': Theater Review by David Rooney

Joshua Henry and Tony winner Jessie Mueller head the cast of this stirring revival of the classic 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, also featuring celebrated lyric soprano Renee Fleming.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 08:49PM
Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Olivier Awards 2018: Full List of Winners by Alex Ritman and David Rooney

'Hamilton' scored seven wins, while top prizes went also to 'The Ferryman,' 'Angels in America' and 'Follies,' with Bryan Cranston, Sam Mendes, Shirley Henderson and Laura Donnelly among hon…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 06:55PM
Monday, April 2, 2018

'Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert': TV Review by David Rooney

John Legend, Sara Bareilles, 'Hamilton' veteran Brandon Victor Dixon and Alice Cooper headline NBC's Easter Sunday special, performing the 1971 rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:23AM
Thursday, March 29, 2018

'Three Tall Women': Theater Review by David Rooney

Glenda Jackson, Laurie Metcalf and Alison Pill star in Edward Albee's biting expressionistic drama in which a woman nearing death reflects back on her life choices and the experiences that f…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 08:25PM
Monday, March 26, 2018

'Lobby Hero': Theater Review by David Rooney

Chris Evans makes his Broadway debut alongside Michael Cera, Brian Tyree Henry and Bel Powley in Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan's examination of moral conflict built around a murder investiga…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:03PM
Sunday, March 25, 2018

'Angels in Americas': Theater Review by David Rooney

Andrew Garfield stars as 20th-century prophet Prior Walter with Nathan Lane as closeted political fixer Roy M. Cohn in Tony Kushner's masterwork, transferring to Broadway after garnering wil…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:29PM
Thursday, March 22, 2018

'Frozen': Theater Review by David Rooney

The top-grossing animated film of all time comes to Broadway as a new Disney musical fairy tale about a queen in icy self-exile and the loving sister who sets out to melt her heart and thaw …

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:11PM
Monday, March 12, 2018

'Admissions': Theater Review by David Rooney

Jessica Hecht plays an administrator intent on diversifying the student body at a New England prep school until progressive values conspire to derail her son’s Ivy League path in Joshua Ha…

SOURCE: edit.hollywoodreporter.com at 09:43PM
Monday, February 26, 2018

Tatiana Maslany to Appear in Tracy Letts' 'Mary Page Marlowe' by David Rooney

The Emmy-winning 'Orphan Black' lead will make her New York stage debut in the off-Broadway production this summer.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 01:23PM
Monday, February 12, 2018

First Broadway Revival of Musical Favorite 'The Secret Garden' to Bloom Next Season by David Rooney

Based on the Victorian children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the show premiered on Broadway in 1991 and ran for more than 700 performances, winning three Tony Awards.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 02:25PM

Five-Time Tony Nominee Jan Maxwell Dies at 61 by David Rooney

The versatile stage trouper was one of only a handful of performers to have been nominated in all four possible acting categories — lead and featured — for plays and musicals.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:13PM

Betty Buckley Will Take Tony-Winning 'Hello, Dolly!' Revival on the Road by David Rooney

The revered Broadway musical theater veteran will step into the iconic role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, kicking off the blockbuster production's first national tour in Cleveland in the fall.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:11PM
Friday, February 9, 2018

Jez Butterworth's 'The Ferryman' Charts Course for Broadway by David Rooney

An award-winning hit in London, Sam Mendes' production will wrap its West End run in May before a fall transfer to New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:15PM

Huey Lewis and The News Musical Sets Fall World Premiere by David Rooney

'Heart of Rock and Roll' builds an original story around the hits of the band that helped define the MTV era of the 1980s and early '90s, generating 19 Billboard top 10 singles.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:14PM
Thursday, February 8, 2018

Huey Lewis and the News Musical in Development by David Rooney

'Heart of Rock and Roll' will build an original story around the hits of the band that helped define the MTV era of the 1980s and early '90s, generating 19 Billboard top 10 singles.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:08PM
Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Stacy Keach to Return to Hemingway Bio-Drama 'Pamplona' by David Rooney

The single-character play's initial run at Chicago's Goodman Theatre was cut short on opening night last year when the actor suffered a mild heart attack.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:35PM
Monday, February 5, 2018

'Hangmen': Theater Review by David Rooney

Martin McDonagh finds cruel imbalance in the scales of justice in this savage black comedy starring Mark Addy as a British executioner who keeps a noose handy even after capital punishment i…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:04PM

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