All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Masquerade Review: An Immersive Phantom even for non-Phans by Jonathan Mandell

Midway through “Masquerade,” the Phantom of the Opera himself suddenly grabbed hold of me, his touch light and electric, and pushed me aside. The masked musician and magician had crept u…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:11PM
Monday, October 13, 2025

Cats, Lost Boys on Broadway. Staging Resistance. Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

How do you respond to a creeping authoritarian takeover? Resistance takes many forms. This coming Saturday, people will take to the streets throughout the country for “No Kings” protests…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:48PM

Dishonoring Columbus On Stage by Jonathan Mandell

What’s surprising about the fight over Christopher Columbus is not that this year’s official White House proclamation about Columbus Day crudely attacks “left-wing arsonists” for t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:40AM
Sunday, October 12, 2025

NYC Election 2025: Where, how, when to vote by Jonathan Mandell

Election Day in New York is Tuesday, November 4, 2025, for mayor of New York and other city-wide and local offices, as well as six ballot proposals. Here is what you need to know in order to…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:59PM
Saturday, October 11, 2025

Diane Keaton (Jan 5 1946 – Oct 11 2025): Her short career on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

Diane Keaton, who died today at the age of 79, made her Broadway debut in the original company of “Hair” (above is a publicity photograph of her for the musical.) But the actress who wen…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:22PM
Friday, October 10, 2025

Limelight. The making of a musical by Jonathan Mandell

What goes into the making of a musical theater production? The process, from audition to curtain call, is presented in verse and illustrations about the people involved, from director to ac…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:39PM
Thursday, October 9, 2025

Crooked Cross Review by Jonathan Mandell

After an alarming vacation in Germany, British writer Sally Carson wrote “Crooked Cross” about the rise of Nazism as told through its effect on one ordinary German family.  It was publ…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:59PM
Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Art Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Art” is not about art, and it’s not really about friendship. If it’s about anything at all, the Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s 30-year-old play is about the celebrity of Bobby…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:59PM
Tuesday, October 7, 2025

The Least Problematic Woman in the World Review by Jonathan Mandell

Dylan Mulvaney has chosen an obviously ironic title for her extravagantly staged solo show about her viral life story as a targeted trans social media celebrity. But she also exudes an innat…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:05PM
Monday, October 6, 2025

Broadway: New Spring Shows! New Discounts! Strike? Fringed NYC. Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

Last week, four new Broadway shows announced their dates and venues for Spring 2026: Dog Day Afternoon, opening March 30. Fallen Angels, April 19. Schmigadoon, April 20. The Rocky Horror Sh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:12AM
Sunday, October 5, 2025

The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows Review. Painful Loss Fringed in Comedy by Jonathan Mandell

In her hour-long solo show, Abby Wambaugh both spoofs and nails a wide variety of comedy styles, from standup to slapstick to Moth-style storytelling to musical comedy. At various times, she…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:26PM
Saturday, October 4, 2025

Mexodus Review. A Riff on Freedom, Then and Now by Jonathan Mandell

In its thrilling opening rap, “Mexodus” gives an overview of the little-known history of Mexico as a refuge for thousands of escaping American slaves before the Civil War. Rhythmic, unco…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:30PM
Thursday, October 2, 2025

And Then We Were No More Review by Jonathan Mandell

Elizabeth Marvel has been summoned to an ominous-looking room by a uniformed official; she doesn’t know why,  and the chatty official keeps her (and us) in suspense. She is the lawyer wh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:29PM
Wednesday, October 1, 2025

October 2025 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of New York theater opening* in October, including three opening on Broadway. “Ragtime” originated at the Encores concert series, “Liberation” had a brief run Of…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:58PM
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Schmigadoon on Broadway. Keanu Reeves and John Leguizamo try something new. Stageworthy News of the Week. by Jonathan Mandell

The first month of the Fall theater season is coming to an end with disparate worries – that “the Broadway musical is in trouble” and that there’s a “fascist takeover of the Americ…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:25AM
Monday, September 29, 2025

Punch Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

In one of the most moving scenes that I’ve ever witnessed in a theater,  Jacob finally meets the parents of the young man whom he killed. Making an extraordinary Broadway debut, Will Har…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:32PM
Sunday, September 28, 2025

Waiting for Godot Review. Keanu Reeves Broadway Debut. by Jonathan Mandell

“Back to back like in the good old days,” Keanu Reeves as Estragon says to Alex Winter as Vladimir; then they shout something together that makes the audience explode in cheers and laugh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:40PM

Weer at Cherry Lane Theater Review by Jonathan Mandell

In the first play officially opened to the public at the Cherry Lane under the ownership of movie studio A24, Natalie Palamides portrays a man and a woman simultaneously,  an exercise in g…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:21PM
Saturday, September 27, 2025

Theater Quiz for September 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to the theater in September? Answer these ten questions, plus a bonus question, to find out. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:22AM
Friday, September 26, 2025

Sixties Surreal at the Whitney by Jonathan Mandell

“Sixties Surreal,” a just-opened exhibition at the Whitney Museum, offers some 150 works (paintings, sculptures, photographs, illustrations, films, collages, assemblages, an album cover,…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:30PM
Thursday, September 25, 2025

The Other Americans Review. John Leguizamo writes a tragedy. by Jonathan Mandell

John Leguizamo’s new play is a sober family drama inspired by some of the same people and places from Leguizamo’s past that powered “Freak” and the five other solo stage comedies he …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:40PM
Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Watch Jimmy Kimmel’s full monologue, plus Robert De Niro as FCC Commissioner by Jonathan Mandell

“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Jimmy Kimmel said in his opening monologue below, when his la…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:33AM
Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Xhloe and Natasha on the Fringe by Jonathan Mandell

By Jonathan Mandell. Xhloe and Natasha made Edinburgh Festival Fringe history with three consecutive award-winning shows, but even the most successful Fringe acts struggle to break even.

SOURCE: HowlRound at 12:38PM

Watch Broadway: A Jewish Journey (Happy New Year!) by Jonathan Mandell

“You’ll Be Back” from “Hamilton” with Yiddish lyrics!? That’s one of the songs in the 90-minute concert below sung by four cantors and nine Broadway veterans, including Julie Ben…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:54AM
Monday, September 22, 2025

Kimmel, Kirk and Queer Theater. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

No, theatergoers do not have the Constitutional right to shout “Fire” in a crowded theater. But theater artists can still present queer characters on stage without losing their governmen…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:14AM
Sunday, September 21, 2025

Weather Girl Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Weather Girl,” a solo play about the California climate apocalypse, was a hit at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe that Netflix is said to be developing into a series. “Fleabag…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:39PM
Saturday, September 20, 2025

Saturday Church Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Saturday Church,” an amped-up Off-Broadway musical adaptation of a 2017 indie movie of the same name, screams Broadway-level ambition; the screaming is sometimes literal.  The movie w…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:18AM
Friday, September 19, 2025

10 Most Produced Theater in the US 2025-2026 by Jonathan Mandell

“Come from Away” is the most-produced work of theater in the United States this season, according to American Theatre Magazine — the first time the magazine’s annual list has include…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:32AM
Thursday, September 18, 2025

This Is Not a Drill Review. 38 minutes that changed their lives. by Jonathan Mandell

Holly Doubet was vacationing in Hawaii in 2018 at a time of tensions between the US and North Korea when an emergency alert warned everybody in the state of an incoming missile attack. “Se…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:00PM
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Galas Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Galas,” a play with music that tells the story of soprano Maria Callas, is surprisingly straightforward if not entirely straight.  The current revival is a fun and affordable night ou…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:08PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Art Broadway Reviews by Jonathan Mandell

The verdict on the Broadway revival of “Art” starring Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannvale and James Corden as three friends who argue about art ranges from “clever and engaging” to �…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:37PM

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