All stories by JONATHAN MANDELL on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent by Jonathan Mandell

It was “Macbeth” that drew Judi Dench to the theater, after she overheard her older brother in a school production  recite the line from the play: “What bloody man is that?” and s…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:54PM
Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Broadway Poll: Your Five Favorite Fall 2024 Shows by Jonathan Mandell

Choose the five Broadway shows that you are most looking forward to, among the 15 that are opening  on Broadway in September, October, November and December 2024. The shows are listed belo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:14PM
Monday, July 22, 2024

Boop, Redwood, Last 5 Years get Broadway dates. Shakespeare and Suffs get Presidential. #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

The startling political developments of late are being viewed through a theatrical lens, repeatedly.   A surprising number of professional commentators have invoked Shakespeare, sometimes …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:35PM

Inspired by True Events Review. An Actor Kills. by Jonathan Mandell

There is a moment in Ryan Spahn’s backstage play that leaves the characters screaming and the audience gasping, but also laughing at how shocking it is, fulfilling anybody’s expectations…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:53PM
Sunday, July 21, 2024

Joe Biden Drops Out of Presidential Race, Endorses Kamala Harris by Jonathan Mandell

Joseph Biden Jr. announced on social media that he is withdrawing from the race for the Presidency. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:33PM
Saturday, July 20, 2024

A Hundred Circling Camps Review by Jonathan Mandell

In the summer of 1932, some 17,000 veterans and their families descended on Washington D.C. to demand the pay that Congress had promised them years earlier as a bonus for their service durin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:56PM
Friday, July 19, 2024

The Widow Review. María Irene Fornés first play by Jonathan Mandell

María Irene Fornés was a thirty-year-old aspiring New York painter visiting relatives in her native Cuba with her then-lover Susan Sontag, when she stumbled upon a cache of old letters. Th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:30PM
Thursday, July 18, 2024

4 “Best Books of the 21st Century” for theater lovers by Jonathan Mandell

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, as compiled by the New York Times, includes no plays, nor any non-fiction books about the theater. I might have featured at least two of the dozen gre…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:26PM
Wednesday, July 17, 2024

The State of Broadway 2024 according to Ken Davenport by Jonathan Mandell

Broadway shows have lower attendance than they did before the pandemic, and make less money, but “we are no longer in recovery,” Broadway producer Ken Davenport says. “This is the new …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:55PM
Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Theater Blog Roundup: Summer Amusements and Anxieties by Jonathan Mandell

Summer for theater folk is usually a time to savor the past season, as illustrator Ray Kampf did in his clever rendition of “Stereophonic” as an Archie comic book. (The play didn’t wi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:29PM
Monday, July 15, 2024

The Ides of July. Sondheim on Assassins. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

“Oh, Mary,” which opened on Broadway this past week, is meant to be funny and deliberately tasteless; one scene in it, reimagining the first American presidential assassination, turns ou…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:14AM
Sunday, July 14, 2024

Ain’t Done Bad Review by Jonathan Mandell

In “Ain’t Done Bad,” a gay boy who feels like a misfit in his hometown leaves to find love in the big city. Although there are 17 songs over the ninety minutes of the show, it could n…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:09PM
Saturday, July 13, 2024

Watch 2024 Broadway in Bryant Park Week 1 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are video snippets of the performances by the casts of five Broadway shows — The Who’s Tommy, Water for Elephants, The Wiz, Back to the Future, and Hell’s Kitchen — in the firs…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:33PM
Friday, July 12, 2024

Empire The Musical Review by Jonathan Mandell

There was a thrilling dance number in  last year’s Kander, Ebb and Miranda musical “New York, New York,” in which iron workers dance in mid-air on a beam of a skyscraper under constr…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:47AM
Thursday, July 11, 2024

Oh, Mary! on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

The opening of “Oh, Mary!” tonight at the Lyceum marks the Broadway debut of Cole Escola as both playwright and performer, but the Off-Broadway run earlier this year of this campy comedy…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:27PM
Wednesday, July 10, 2024

2024 New York Independent Theater Award Honorees Announced by Jonathan Mandell

The League of Independent Theater has announced the half dozen recipients of the 2024 New York independent Theater Awards, honoring “outstanding leadership, service, artistry and commitmen…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:05PM

Get Cool, Boy: A Broadway Songlist to Beat The Heat by Jonathan Mandell

Let’s show our PresidentWe’re glad he’s the White House resident. Step on the gasAnd dance to a rhythm that’s class-A,Hey, hey,This is the wayWe’re keepin’ cool with Coolidge. Th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:29PM
Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Watch These 10 For Free: Theater newly on tape at TOFT by Jonathan Mandell

These ten titles are newly available to watch for free at the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT), in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, which since 1…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:29PM
Monday, July 8, 2024

Merrily We…End. July heats up. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

A friend writes about the final performance of Merrily We Roll Along on Sunday: “The Merrily performance was so moving. Worth every penny. The crowd was high energy   Saw some people with…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:29AM
Sunday, July 7, 2024

Nobody Cares: Laura Benanti in your ear by Jonathan Mandell

Laura Benanti’s autobiographical show is far from the first live performance that Audible has produced at the Minetta Lane Theater in order to turn it into an audiobook; the company has be…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:21PM
Friday, July 5, 2024

Rank 10 Broadway Musicals About American History by Jonathan Mandell

My latest patriotic poll: Rank these ten Broadway musicals that take actual American history as their subject, from most to least favorite.  Two are currently on Broadway; one is scheduled …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:02AM
Thursday, July 4, 2024

For the 4th of July: Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s Dissent in Full. by Jonathan Mandell

“Because our Constitution does not shield a former President from answering for criminal and treasonous acts, I dissent,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent of Trump v. United …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:38AM
Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Broadway Schedule for 4th of July Weekend 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

Only “Merrily We Roll Along” is performing on the 4th of July itself; its acclaimed run ends on Sunday! But more than a dozen of the 27 currently running Broadway shows have added perfor…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:23AM
Tuesday, July 2, 2024

July 2024 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of New York theater opening* in July,, including two Broadway plays, “Oh,Mary” and “Job,”  both of which are transferring from sold-out runs Off Broadway;  t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:33AM
Monday, July 1, 2024

Boop on Broadway. Christian as a Christian. Hillary vs. Havel on Political Theater. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

The patriotic fireworks arguably started early this year, with the fallout from the Presidential debate, which arguably was the very definition of “political theater” – something that …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:04AM
Sunday, June 30, 2024

Theater Quiz for June 2024: Politics, Prizes and Pride by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to theater news this past month? Answer these ten questions (plus a bonus question) to find out. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:01PM
Saturday, June 29, 2024

Visiting the Stonewall National Monument Visitors Center on its first day by Jonathan Mandell

Fifty-five years to the day after the riot that launched the modern gay rights movement, a group called Pride Live celebrated the official opening of a visitor center in the room where it ha…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:05PM
Friday, June 28, 2024

Politics as Performance. Vaclav Havel on its Downside by Jonathan Mandell

One debater vigorously delivered one lie after another, but the other spoke with a raspy voice and a tentative manner.  (debate transcript.) So Republicans gloat and Democrats panic. It�…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:54AM
Thursday, June 27, 2024

N/A Review. A different political debate! by Jonathan Mandell

Holland Taylor and Ana Villafañe are perfectly cast in this intelligent and illuminating comedy about the relationship between the  first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:24PM
Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Affective Memories. Laurence Luckinbill on The Boys in the Band, Lucille Ball, his nine decades by Jonathan Mandell

When he first met Lucille Ball, his future mother-in-law, Laurence Luckinbill  accidentally set his apartment on fire.  He had been preparing a meal for her, and left the eggplant sizzli…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:42PM

Broadway in Bryant Park 2024 Free Summer Concert Schedule by Jonathan Mandell

Broadway in Bryant Park has announced the lineup for this summer’s four free Thursday lunchtime concerts, performed by the casts from current Broadway shows, which will begin on July 11. …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:39AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre