All stories by Ja on BroadwayStars

Monday, September 27, 2021

For a Broadway Torn by a Pandemic, a Split-Personalities Tonys by Jesse Green, Elisabeth Vincentelli and James Poniewozik

The streaming part of the ceremony actually did a better job conveying the electricity of being in a theater than the CBS special billed as “Broadway’s Back!”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Tuesday, August 17, 2021

A restaurant critic and a theater critic walk into a belly-dancing show by Soleil Ho and Lily Janiak

Berber, a North African restaurant in Russian Hill, hosts a weekend circus dinner show. Two Chronicle critics wrote a play about it.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Lend Us Your Ears, and Don’t Forget Your Farm Boots by Michelle V. Agins and Julia Jacobs

Theater and agriculture intersect at Willow Wisp Organic Farm, where an arts collective performs site-specific plays about climate change amid the greenhouses and flower beds.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:48PM
Friday, July 23, 2021

‘Dream Life of Malcolm X’ heightens the debate about who has the right to tell which story by Lily Janiak and Morayo Ogunbayo

Though playwright John Wilkins identifies as African American, he is light-skinned enough not to get followed at the grocery store.

SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle at 07:00AM
Thursday, July 1, 2021

China’s Communist Party Turns 100. Cue the (State-Approved) Music. by Javier C. Hernández and Joy Dong

A wave of nationalistic music, theater and dance is sweeping China, part of Beijing’s efforts to improve the party’s image and strengthen political loyalty.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM
Friday, May 21, 2021

Cultural Institutions Still Waiting for $16 Billion in Federal Aid by Julia Jacobs and Stacy Cowley

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program has been marred by delays, but officials say some applicants could learn next week if they have been approved for aid.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:54PM
Sunday, April 11, 2021

After Scott Rudin bullying exposé, there are mostly crickets by Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr and Mark Kennedy

How have Hollywood and Broadway responded to an exposé detailing routine abuse and bullying by producer Scott Rudin? Mostly, with crickets.

SOURCE: apnews.com at 09:00AM
Sunday, April 4, 2021

Performing Arts Make a Cautious Return in New York by Matt Stevens and Julia Jacobs

More than a year after the pandemic abruptly shuttered theaters and concert halls across the city, limited audiences were welcomed back inside.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:24PM
Thursday, March 25, 2021

Coming to Broadway: Vaccinations for New York’s Theater Workers by Julia Jacobs and Michael Paulson

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city would create a vaccination site for theater workers to try to help Broadway shows reopen by the fall.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:06PM
Thursday, March 11, 2021

The Night New York's Theaters, Museums and Concert Halls Shut Down by Michael Paulson, Julia Jacobs and Jason Farago

Chocolate fountains, Debbie Harry and an artist’s swan song cut short. We gathered scenes from the New York City cultural landscape in the last moments before lockdown.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:42AM
Thursday, December 17, 2020

We Begin Again: a musical for 2020 – video by Noah Payne-Frank, Jess Gormley, Amy Hodge, James Graham, Jim Fortune, Emily Lim and Lara Taylor

Written by the Olivier award winner James Graham and produced by the Guardian in partnership with the National Theatre, this short musical film is a unifying song for the country to take …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AM
Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Hudson imposes curfew to tamp down late-night rowdiness by James Walsh, Paul Walsh and Mary Lynn Smith

City hopes to makes crossing border less appealing to subset of Minnesotans causing trouble after 10 p.m.

SOURCE: StarTribune at 07:33AM
Monday, November 30, 2020

Barbra Streisand Is, as Ever, Firmly in Control by James B. Stewart, Collier Schorr and Mel Ottenberg

Since her breakout in the 1960s, she’s been able to convince the world around her to listen — not by chasing trends but by remaining always and fully herself.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Saturday, November 28, 2020

Sarah Bryan Miller, longtime Post-Dispatch classical music critic, dies by Amy Bertrand and Jane Henderson St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Miller, whose passion for classical music took her from performing on the opera stage to reviewing world-class orchestras, died Nov. 28.

SOURCE: St. Louis Today at 09:24PM
Tuesday, November 10, 2020

“Parts of Life Will Be Damaged Forever” — Arts Workers Describe the Pandemic’s Impact on Their Mental Health by Jacinthe Flore, Averyl Gaylor, and Natalie Hendry

The arts industry is among the most devastated by the pandemic. Artists and arts workers often rely on casual, project-based, or fixed-term contracts, and COVID-19 restrictions have left ma…

SOURCE: thetheatretimes.com at 10:27PM
Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Is British theatre about to go out of business? by Presented By Anushka Asthana With Elizabeth Newman and Llanre Bakare, Produced By Elizabeth Cassin and Axel Kacoutié, Executive Producers Nicole Jackson and Phil Maynard

Every year, 34 million people go to the theatre, double the number that attend Premier League football. But lockdown and physical distancing rules mean the industry is on the edge of collaps…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:03AM
Friday, May 22, 2020

The Circus Came to Town, Then It Couldn’t Leave by Jason Horowitz and Nadia Shira Cohen

One of Italy’s famed family-owned circuses has been sitting out the coronavirus pandemic in a field outside Rome.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:24AM
Friday, April 24, 2020

Track-By-Track Breakdown: Bobby Conte Thornton On His New Jazz Album Blame It On My Youth by Bobby Conte Thornton and James Sampliner

With album producer James Sampliner, Thornton shares the narrative trajectory of the cabaret act-turned-record.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:23AM

Track-By-Track Breakdown: Bobby Conte Thornton On His New Jazz Album Along the Way by Bobby Conte Thornton and James Sampliner

With album producer James Sampliner, Thornton shares the narrative trajectory of the cabaret act-turned-record.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:23AM
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

How ban on gatherings, to slow coronavirus spread, is affecting Seattle-area arts and music groups by Michael Rietmulder, Brendan Kiley, Moira Macdonald and Janet I. Tu

Gov. Jay Inslee has banned event gatherings of more than 250 people in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. King and Snohomish counties went further, prohibiting events under 250 people, unl…

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 03:16PM
Friday, October 11, 2019

How a Prison Play Goes on Tour by Jack Healy and Trent Davis Bailey

Thirty Colorado inmates staged “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” for nearby prisons. For some, it was the first time in years they were outside 20-foot walls and razor fences.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Friday, September 6, 2019

Cracked actor: stage stars review Boris Johnson's debut as PM by Jon Culshaw, James Graham, Bridget Christie and Mark Lawson

Impressionist Jon Culshaw, playwright James Graham, comedian Bridget Christie and critic Mark Lawson on the prime minister’s opening week in Westminster I’ve been doing Boris impressions…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24PM
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: www.seattletimes.com at 09:00AM
Monday, July 8, 2019

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
Friday, February 8, 2019

Moulin Rouge’s Jacqueline B Arnold, Oh To Be A Dog’s Shannon Sardella Arnold, and Rocko by Told By Jacqueline B Arnold and Shannon Sardella Arnold

Jacqueline B Arnold is an actor, singer, and vocal coach and can be seen in Moulin Rouge on Broadway this summer. Shannon Sardella Arnold is the founder and owner of Oh To Be A Dog. Rocko is…

SOURCE: www.petsofbroadway.org at 12:57PM
Wednesday, January 9, 2019

The Demolition Artist: 3 Critics Debate Ivo van Hove by Ben Brantley, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Jason Zinoman

Visionary stylist or one-trick pony? With “Network” on Broadway and “All About Eve” on the horizon, the multimedia-mad stage director is ready for his close-up.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:24AM
Sunday, August 26, 2018

The New York Times Reviews Neil Simon by Erik Piepenburg and Jason Bailey

Mr. Simon was a prolific chronicler of New York City life. Here’s a look at reviews of “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and other plays and ad…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PM
Thursday, August 9, 2018

Review: "West Side Story" at Barrington Stage by Mark G Auerbach and Benjamin Jacek

Westfield News Group Review: "West Side Story" at Barrington Stage, in celebration of the centennials of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins. Dynamic choreography by Robert LaFosse. .

SOURCE: thewestfieldnews.com at 09:04AM
Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Meet the Plastics (and the Rest) With a Deep Dive Into the Mean Girls Cast Album by Nell Benjamin and Jeff Richmond

Tony nominees Nell Benjamin and Jeff Richmond break down their Mean Girls work song by song.

SOURCE: Playbill at 10:25AM
Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Does It Matter if You See a Film in a Theater or at Home? by Ben Kenigsberg and Jason Bailey

Cannes and Netflix clashed over this question, so we asked our critics to debate the pros and cons. Where do you stand?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:00AM
Thursday, February 8, 2018

Top 10 Things to Do Around DC for Valentine’s Day by Nicole Hertvik and Darby Dejarnette

Hearts, flowers, chocolates…love is in the air here in the DC area! While this part of the country may be more known for partisanship than romance, we’ve got plenty of awesome events to …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 05:53PM

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