All stories by Joel Benjamin on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The Hard Nut by Joel Benjamin

"The Hard Nut" is certainly beautiful to behold, its production design based on the work of Charles Burns whose graphic novels feature vividly surreal and haunting images. But, it’s also …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:14PM
Thursday, December 17, 2015

Plaid Tidings by Joel Benjamin

The humorous banter among the four and their slide-splitting re-creation of the Ed Sullivan show, the main feature of the second act, are reason enough to see "Plaid Tidings." Add in their …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:02PM
Monday, December 14, 2015

Steve by Joel Benjamin

Malcolm Gets, Jerry Dixon, Mario Cantone and Matt McGrath in as scene from “Steve” (Photo credit: Monique Carboni) Joel Benjamin, Critic Although its emotional impact is universal, Mark …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:04PM
Sunday, December 13, 2015

The Golden Bride by Joel Benjamin

It has taken years and many people, to restore the book and score of the 1923 "The Golden Bride" which was last performed in 1948. A concert performance by the National Yiddish Theatre Fo…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:29PM

A Wilder Christmas by Joel Benjamin

The Peccadillo Theater Company’s "A Wilder Christmas" is a gentle and genteel evening of theater:  two early Thornton Wilder one-act plays, directed with an attention to detail and a leis…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:43PM
Friday, December 4, 2015

Allegiance by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Inspired by George Takei’s experiences in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, "Allegiance" is a sometimes moving, sometimes stodgy musical about t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:46PM
Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Night Is a Room by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin The pleasure of" Night Is a Room" is watching these three expert actors speak Wallace’s rich, insightful language which veers from wittily highfalutin to exci…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:55PM
Saturday, November 28, 2015

Incident at Vichy by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Arthur Miller is having a great posthumous 100th birthday! "A View from a Bridge" opened on Broadway to sensational reviews to be followed soon by "The Crucibl…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:51PM
Thursday, November 26, 2015

Pilobolus’ Shadowland by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin "Shadowland" follows the young girl, played to perfection by Heather Jeane Favretto, on a surreal journey, exposing her fears and pleasures, leaving her forever…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:37PM
Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Twyla Tharp is a choreographer who can infuriate and charm audiences in equal measure. (Paul Taylor also comes to mind.) Her choreography is clearly the resul…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:09PM
Friday, November 20, 2015

Dada Woof Papa Hot by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin It was inevitable that legalized gay marriage would lead to plays about gay parenthood. "Dada Woof Papa Hot," Peter Parnell’s sweet-natured, but frustratingl…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:33AM
Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Sylvie Guillem: Life in Progress by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin On a portal shaped screen, films of Ms. Guillem (by the very clever Elias Benxon) are soon substituted by Ms. Guillem in the flesh. She disappeared behind this…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:09AM
Thursday, November 12, 2015

Circa: Opus by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin The sobriquet “tricks” is probably not a fair or adequate description of the acrobatic feats these fourteen gymnasts displayed. Their tours de force includ…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:10PM
Monday, November 9, 2015

Sylvia by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Directed with comfortable assurance and a leisurely sense of timing, this "Sylvia" benefits from a (mostly) strong cast, including three Tony Award winners: Ma…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:53PM
Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Ripcord by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Holland Taylor and Marylouise Burke in a scene from “Ripcord” (Photo credit: Joan Marcus) The usually hilarious, wickedly witty, Pulitzer Prize-winning Davi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:26AM
Thursday, October 29, 2015

Broadway Close Up: William Finn by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Two veterans of the most recent revival of On the Town were splendid interpreters of Finn’s songs. First, Stephen DeRosa conjured a second-rate out-of-town p…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:30PM

José Limón International Dance Festival by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin The Limón Dance Company celebrated its 70th Anniversary by presenting the José Limón International Dance Festival at the Joyce Theater. The Limón dancers …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:40AM
Friday, October 23, 2015

H.T. Chen & Dancers: “South of Gold Mountain” by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin "South of Gold Mountain," the latest dance work from the iconic Chinatown-based H.T. Chen & Dancers, is a warmhearted, historically-based piece that illumi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:02PM

Eryc Taylor Dance: “The Exhibit” by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Mr. Taylor, who was the “stylist” on all works, shared this credit with Mr. Patterson and Andy Corsten. Often the choreography looked like slow-motion Vogu…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:11AM
Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Gin Game by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Now the frail-seeming, but elegant Cicely Tyson and imposing, stout-voiced James Earl Jones have taken on "The Gin Game" and make it totally their own, finding …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:22AM

General Mischief Dance Theatre: Up and Away by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin The choreography, mostly by Emily Smyth Vartanian, tends toward the musically unsophisticated, combining ballet (piqué turns, little jumps, attitude and arabes…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:10AM
Monday, October 12, 2015

Hard Love by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin The revelation of the play is Mr. Lerner’s detailed knowledge of both the orthodox sect and its place in modern Israeli society. He manages to make the age-o…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:44PM
Tuesday, October 6, 2015

“Les Misérables” Revisited by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Two starry new cast members add luster to the show: English musical and opera star Alfie Boe as the tragic Jean Valjean and Tony Award nominee Montego Glover a…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:21PM
Thursday, October 1, 2015

Career Transition for Dancers: 30th Anniversary Pearl Jubilee by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Ann Marie DeAngelo, the longtime producer and director of the Career Transition for Dancers: 30th Anniversary Pearl Jubilee, has outdone herself this year with …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:21AM
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Legend of Georgia McBride by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Lopez knows these characters and how they speak. He is helped immensely by his director Mike Donahue who allows just enough comic exaggeration without ever let…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:47AM
Sunday, September 27, 2015

Balanchine’s Harlequinade: Commedia dell’arte Explored by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Dance historian Doug Fullington of the Pacific Northwest Ballet was the expert who, using slides and excerpts from both the Balanchine and Petipa versions, show…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:17PM
Thursday, September 24, 2015

Fulfillment by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin "Fulfillment" by the always surprising Thomas Bradshaw is about anything but the contentment and success implied by its ironic title. The Flea Theater’s prod…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:15PM
Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: Rice by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Opening this year’s Next Wave series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s "Rice," a ritualistic ballet conceived an…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:17PM
Friday, September 18, 2015

Whistleblower by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Dendy uses his fertile imagination to tell Manning’s story beginning with his repressed childhood, on through enlisting in the Army where he was trained in co…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:47AM
Monday, September 7, 2015

A Delicate Ship by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin Anna Ziegler’s "A Delicate Ship" is an intelligent, intensely absorbing play that treats its three thirty-something characters like chess pieces moving warily…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:06AM
Friday, September 4, 2015

Love & Money by Joel Benjamin

This post is by Joel Benjamin "Love & Money" is light, literate entertainment, impeccably acted by its small cast led by the charismatic Ms. Anderman. Mr. Paulik amusingly projects his…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:25AM

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