All stories by FRANK SCHECK on BroadwayStars

Friday, June 3, 2011

Review: The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman by Frank Scheck

The Best is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman, the new musical revue inspired by the famed composer of such Broadway hits as Sweet Charity, Barnum, City of Angels and many others, raises …

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:52AM
Thursday, June 2, 2011

Norbert Leo Butz, starring in Broadway's 'Catch Me If You Can,' may win a Tony - NYPOST.com by FRANK SCHECK

For much of "Catch Me If You Can," Norbert Leo Butz plays a paunchy, arthritic FBI agent -- until he morphs into a singing, dancing dynamo. That showstopper, "Don't Break the Rules," may we…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:21PM
Wednesday, June 1, 2011

He catches hold of something good by Frank Scheck

For much of "Catch Me If You Can," Norbert Leo Butz plays a paunchy, arthritic FBI agent -- until he morphs into a singing, dancing dynamo. That showstopper, "Don't Break the Rules," may …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:24PM

Wild West musical is a barely OK chorale by Frank Scheck

The legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral reportedly lasted 30 seconds. "I Married Wyatt Earp" goes on 2½ hours longer. Thomas Edward West and Sheilah Rae's new musical has an intriguing…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:45AM
Thursday, May 26, 2011

Reviews: Knickerbocker & Cradle and All by Frank Scheck

Two new Off-Broadway comedies demonstrate that the current crop of playwrights is clearly grappling with parenthood issues. Both Jonathan Marc Sherman’s Knickerbocker and Daniel Goldfa…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 12:07AM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Review: It's Maye In May! by Frank Scheck

Marilyn Maye's not-to-be-missed new show at Feinstein's at Loews Regency shows off her vibrancy, youthfulness, and emotional range.

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 10:00AM
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Not a 'shore' thing by Frank Scheck

Like the naughty activ ity for which it's named, "Sex on the Beach" can be fun, but can also cause irritation. That's certainly true of this one-man show depicting the lives of three sex …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:07PM
Monday, May 23, 2011

Hard one-acts to follow (not in a good way) by Frank Scheck

It's a depressing sign of the times that the only affecting work in the Ensemble Studio Theatre's "Marathon 2011: Series A" was written more than three decades ago. In a fitting tribute t…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:49PM

Review: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Frank Scheck

Lynn Nottage’s new comedy couldn’t be more different from her last effort, the Pulitzer Prize winning, Rwanda-set Ruined. A satirical portrait of the subservient roles assigned t…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:56AM
Friday, May 20, 2011

Review: A Minister's Wife by Frank Scheck

A little show called My Fair Lady provides ample demonstration that the works of George Bernard Shaw are certainly ripe for musical treatment. But the latest attempt, A Minister’s Wife…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 03:15AM
Thursday, May 19, 2011

11th plague of Egypt by Frank Scheck

'Prepare yourself for a modern classic," says a soothsayer at the start of "The Sphinx Winx," before adding: "Eat your heart out, Shakespeare." The Bard has nothing to worry about. Neithe…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:33AM
Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Play grounds by Frank Scheck

Even if you’re not usually moved by Shakespeare, you will be this summer — literally. From July 6 to 24, the New York Classical Theatre will shuttle theatergoers between England and Fra…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 01:30AM

Melodramatic script goes over the top by Frank Scheck

'Tearing Down the Walls" is the latest work from Daniel Beaty, who has enjoyed considerable success with such solo plays as "Emergence-See!" and "Through the Night." But this musical about t…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:45AM
Sunday, May 15, 2011

The chance he's been 'weight'-ing for by Frank Scheck

Ryan O'Connor eats his feelings. And judging by his size, he has a lot of feelings, as he is the first to admit. The 29-year-old performer has used his lifelong addiction to food to launc…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:00PM
Friday, May 13, 2011

Study in media-crity by Frank Scheck

You feel as if you've stumbled onto a rave when you enter the theater for the Irondale Ensemble's "Murrow's Boys." The young cast members are dancing happily to techno music, and invite you …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:32PM
Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Fails to go forth and Prospero by Frank Scheck

One of the most pow erful moments in all of Shakespeare's plays occurs at the conclusion of "The Tempest," when the aging magician Prospero renounces his otherworldly powers. But it only wor…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:50PM

Review: Lena: A Lovesome Thing by Frank Scheck

Nnenna Frelon's new tribute show at Feinstein's at Loews Regency showcase her goregous voice and emotional expressiveness.

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 10:30AM

Puppets take Neverland by Frank Scheck

We're so used to sunny versions of "Peter Pan" that the darkness of "Peter and Wendy" comes as a shock. Based on J.M. Barrie's 1911 novelization of his play, this is a richer, deeper telling…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 01:36AM
Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Review: King Lear by Frank Scheck

Most actors play King Lear as an imperial monarch, the better to contrast with the character’s subsequent descent into madness. But in the new production of the play at the Brooklyn Ac…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:40AM
Monday, May 9, 2011

Unfocused tribute a bit Vega by Frank Scheck

Ever since she saw her photo on a book jacket as a teen, Suzanne Vega's been obsessed with Carson McCullers. Sadly, that passion surfaces only occasionally in "Carson McCullers Talks About L…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:34PM

Review: Julia by Frank Scheck

That life doesn’t always offer the opportunity to neatly right past wrongs is a promising theme for a drama. Too bad, then, that Julia squanders it.       The centr…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:08AM
Friday, May 6, 2011

Review: The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures by Frank Scheck

If the title of Tony Kushner’s new play premiere puts you off, wait until you actually sit through it. The overlong and overstuffed The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitali…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:56AM
Wednesday, May 4, 2011

It's a very Gouda choice for the kids by Frank Scheck

You may want to think twice before tak ing your children to see "The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy": This exquisitely performed piece is so enchanting, they may never be content with your simpl…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:08PM

Review: The School for Lies by Frank Scheck

Playwright David Ives has clearly had a ball adapting Moliere for his screwball verse comedy The School for Lies, and his enjoyment is infectious. Retaining the basic characters, situations …

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:51AM
Monday, May 2, 2011

'Future' apocalyptic satire now by Frank Scheck

The stock market's crashed. The Chinese have taken over. And "the world is falling apart." No, it's not Donald Trump's latest rant -- it's "Future Anxiety," an apocalyptic satire at the F…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:30PM
Friday, April 29, 2011

Review: The People in the Picture by Frank Scheck

A musical whose themes encompass the Holocaust and Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t exactly qualify as a feel good experience. That’s perfectly fine—there’s plenty o…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 04:14AM
Thursday, April 28, 2011

Review: The Normal Heart by Frank Scheck

It may be a time capsule of a play, but the sterling new Broadway revival of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart reveals that it has lost none of its urgency or power. A semi-fictionalized…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:12AM

Review: Baby It's You! by Frank Scheck

You can’t say that the new musical Baby It’s You! is shy about its intentions. In the opening moments of this show about the mega-selling ‘60s girl group The Shirelles, an …

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:10AM
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Review: The House of Blue Leaves by Frank Scheck

In his revelatory production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, director David Cromer unearthed the darkness underlying a play that is usually presented as a paean to a more innocent Ameri…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:55AM
Monday, April 25, 2011

Review: Born Yesterday by Frank Scheck

The title of Garson Kanin’s play proves all too accurate with the new Broadway revival of Born Yesterday. This comedy about a crooked businessman in cahoots with corrupt politicians ma…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:23AM

Broadway Expands its Stage With Movie Theater Shows by Frank Scheck

If you can't come to Broadway, Broadway is going to come to you.That's the philosophy behind the upcoming nationwide movie theater showings of two current Broadway shows.

SOURCE: Backstage at 01:27AM