All stories by David Rooney on BroadwayStars

Sunday, December 17, 2017

'Farinelli and the King': Theater Review by David Rooney

Mark Rylance stars in his wife Claire van Kampen's play with music as the 18th-century Spanish monarch whose chronic melancholia could be soothed only by the heavenly singing of the celebrat…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 07:52PM
Wednesday, December 13, 2017

David Rooney: The Best New York Theater of 2017 by David Rooney

THR's chief theater critic glances back over a year of stage highlights including bold new American plays, stellar productions of vintage musicals, and Bruce Springsteen, up close and person…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:56PM
Monday, December 4, 2017

'SpongeBob SquarePants': Theater Review by David Rooney

Nickelodeon brings its long-running underwater toon franchise to Broadway with this eye-popping, psychotropic (geddit?) musical fantasia about friendship and community, directed by Tina Land…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 07:50PM
Sunday, December 3, 2017

'Once on This Island': Theater Review by David Rooney

The plight of real-world communities struck by natural disasters adds a powerful emotional charge to Michael Arden's immersive revival of this captivating 1990 musical fairy tale by Lynn Ahr…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 08:12PM
Thursday, November 30, 2017

'The Parisian Woman': Theater Review by David Rooney

Uma Thurman plays a seductive liberal socialite in Trump's Washington, using her wiles to bolster her marriage and her husband's career in this updated play by 'House of Cards' creator Beau …

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:20PM

'Meteor Shower': Theater Review by David Rooney

Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Laura Benanti and Jeremy Shamos square off in Steve Martin's absurdist comedy about the collision of the id and the super-ego in the treacherous marital cosm…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 06:30AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Bette Midler's Final 'Hello, Dolly! Bow to Benefit Actors Fund by David Rooney

The star's Jan. 14 farewell performance caps a historic run that has shattered house records at the Shubert Theatre eight times, most recently nudging $2.5 million during Thanksgiving week.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 01:00PM
Monday, November 20, 2017

'The Wolves': Theater Review by David Rooney

A high school girls' soccer team warms up to face the large and small challenges of adult life in Sarah DeLappe's debut play, a 2017 Pulitzer finalist.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:11PM
Thursday, November 9, 2017

'The Band's Visit': Theater Review by David Rooney

Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub share a quasi-romantic connection in the desert in this Middle Eastern musical by David Yazbek and Itamar Moses, based on the 2007 Israeli film.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:12PM
Thursday, November 2, 2017

'Junk': Theater Review by David Rooney

Steven Pasquale plays a Junk Bond King in Pulitzer-winning 'Disgraced' author Ayad Akhtar's drama about the white-collar crimes behind the high-yield bonds and leveraged buyouts of the 1980s.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:19PM
Friday, October 27, 2017

'The Red Shoes': Theater Review by David Rooney

Director-choreographer Matthew Bourne reimagines the classic Powell and Pressburger dance drama as a sumptuous full-length ballet, set to the music of Bernard Herrmann.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:22PM

'M. Butterfly': Theater Review by David Rooney

Julie Taymor directs Clive Owen and newcomer Jin Ha in David Henry Hwang's 1988 drama about a French diplomat embroiled in a romantic web of espionage and betrayal with a Beijing Opera perfo…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 06:07AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2017

'People, Places & Things': Theater Review by David Rooney

Denise Gough reprises the role that won her an Olivier Award in London, that of a drug- and alcohol-addicted actress spinning out of control before seeking help in Duncan Macmillan's raw dra…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:43PM
Monday, July 10, 2017

Donna Murphy in 'Hello, Dolly!': Theater Review by David Rooney

In a savvy stroke of alternate casting, two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy breathes her own distinctive brand of joy and generosity into the blockbuster Broadway revival.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:00PM
Sunday, January 8, 2017

'The Present': Theater Review by David Rooney

Richard Roxburgh plays a philandering schoolteacher and Cate Blanchett the love that slipped through his fingers in Andrew Upton's post-perestroika update of Chekhov's first play, which come…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:39PM
Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Broadway Celebrates New Year With Record Weekly Grosses by David Rooney

'Hamilton,' 'Wicked' and 'The Lion King' all soared past $3 million, with a host of other $1 million-plus earners pushing the overall total close to $50 million for the history-making week.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 05:44PM
Thursday, December 29, 2016

Pumped by 'Hamilton,' Broadway Box Office Hits Record Annual High of $1.367 Billion by David Rooney

Lin-Manuel Miranda's unstoppable blockbuster dethroned Disney's 'The Lion King' in 2016 after three years at the top, followed by 'Wicked' and 'Aladdin.'

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:27PM

12 of the Most Eagerly Anticipated New York Stage Shows of Spring 2017 by David Rooney

Plays by Tracy Letts, Martin McDonagh, August Wilson, John Guare, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams are high on the must-see list of THR's chief theater critic.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:23AM
Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Broadway's 'Falsettos' Revival to Air on PBS by David Rooney

The critically lauded William Finn-James Lapine musical will be filmed before its Jan. 8 closing date for broadcast as a 'Live From Lincoln Center' special.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 06:33PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2016

David Rooney: The Best New York Theater of 2016 by David Rooney

A 19th century electro-popera, a real-time reflection on a turbuluent election cycle, a Shakespeare tragedy electrified by star wattage and an emotionally raw musical about adolescent isolat…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 10:26PM
Sunday, December 4, 2016

'Dear Evan Hansen': Theater Review by David Rooney

Ben Platt stars as a painfully insecure teenage outsider whose life is transformed by an inadvertent lie in this new emo-musical with a score by 'La La Land' lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin …

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:24PM
Sunday, November 20, 2016

'Sweet Charity': Theater Review by David Rooney

Sutton Foster returns to the stage between seasons of 'Younger' to play the unlucky-in-love dancehall hostess in this musical based on Federico Fellini's 'Nights of Cabiria.'

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 05:48PM
Friday, November 4, 2016

'Kristin Chenoweth: My Love Letter to Broadway': Theater Review by David Rooney

The Tony-winning star returns with this concert of personal favorites, which follows the release of her latest studio album of American Songbook classics, 'The Art of Elegance.'

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 04:35PM
Thursday, November 3, 2016

'Sweat': Theater Review by David Rooney

The fabric of a Pennsylvania steel-town community unravels as workers are robbed of their livelihood in 'Sweat,' Pulitzer winner Lynn Nottage's drama on the human toll of economic injustice.…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:00PM

Corey Hawkins Joins Cast of 'Six Degrees of Separation' by David Rooney

The 'Straight Outta Compton' star will return to Broadway next spring in the revival of John Guare's play, appearing alongside Allison Janney and John Benjamin Hickey. read more

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 02:20PM
Wednesday, November 2, 2016

David Tennant to Return to London Stage in 'Don Juan in Soho' by David Rooney

The former 'Doctor Who' star will take the lead next spring in writer-director Patrick Marber's contemporary update of the Moliere tragicomedy about a serial seducer. read more

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 12:59PM
Sunday, October 30, 2016

'The Color Purple' Sets Broadway Closing Date by David Rooney

The Tony-winning revival, which made a New York stage star out of British unknown Cynthia Erivo, will play its final performance on Jan. 8, before launching a North American tour in fall 201…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 06:00PM
Saturday, October 29, 2016

'Les Liaisons Dangereuses': Theater Review by David Rooney

Liev Schreiber and Janet McTeer engage in a lethal battle of sex and power, love and revenge in Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses,' the 18th century novel a…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 03:38PM
Thursday, October 27, 2016

'Falsettos': Theater Review by David Rooney

Christian Borle, Stephanie J. Block and Andrew Rannells star as a New York neurotic, his ex-wife and his lover in 'Falsettos,' the 1992 musical by William Finn and James Lapine, which redefi…

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 09:00PM
Tuesday, October 25, 2016

'Sunday in the Park With George': Theater Review by David Rooney

Jake Gyllenhaal stars opposite Annaleigh Ashford in this concert staging of the Pulitzer-winning 1984 musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine about art and human connection.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 05:27PM

Glenn Close to Reprise 'Sunset Boulevard' on Broadway by David Rooney

The actress returns to the role that won her a Tony Award 21 years ago, in a production first seen earlier this year at the English National Opera in London. read more

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 11:59AM

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