All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Broadway Poll for the Final Stretch by Jonathan Mandell

Ten plays and six musicals  are opening on Broadway in March and April, in the final six weeks of the Broadway 2025-2026 season, starting this week and ending April 26, the final date of el…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:28AM
Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Burnout Paradise Review by Jonathan Mandell

This hyperactive, interactive, competitive show may not wind up running for 34 years at Astor Place Theater like “Blue Man Group,” a previous tenant, but “Burnout Paradise” runs ever…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:00AM
Monday, March 9, 2026

#Stageworthy News, Jonathan Groff edition by Jonathan Mandell

Jonathan Groff, “matinee idol” (Ben Brantley in the NY Times), heartthrob (Deadline) Broadway conqueror (Town&Country), will perform in a play by William Shakespeare for the first ti…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:31AM
Sunday, March 8, 2026

Cold War Choir Practice Review by Jonathan Mandell

Ro Reddick’s play with original music promises a light, knowing comedy about a Black girl and her family in Syracuse, New York in 1987, but swerves into a dark cloak-and-dagger tale of the…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:49AM
Saturday, March 7, 2026

What We Did Before Our Moth Days by Jonathan Mandell

  Those of us who couldn’t get tickets to see the production, and instead bought Wallace Shawn’s published play (What We Did Before Our Moth Days, Faber and Faber, 96 pages) are treated…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:30PM
Friday, March 6, 2026

Grey Arias Review by Jonathan Mandell

Call it “Madame Butterfly” with ADHD.  “Grey Arias,” which is running only through tomorrow at the Flea, stars an unlikely duo whose divergent life experiences, talents and idiosyn…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:02PM
Thursday, March 5, 2026

Fringe: The Amazing Sex Life of Rabbits by Jonathan Mandell

I was maybe 15 years old when a middle-aged man stopped me on the street and asked me if I was a swinger. I suddenly remembered the encounter while watching the soft porn comedy “The Amazi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:46AM
Wednesday, March 4, 2026

How to Succeed in Musical Theatre Without Really Dying by Jonathan Mandell

“One of the biggest surprises for me in being on Broadway is that there are a lot of unhappy people there,” Tony winner Jonathan Groff writes in a foreword to this book co-written by Lin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:23PM
Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Footnotes Review. A puppet guide to walking by Jonathan Mandell

Gandhi was famous for walking, both for exercise and for the liberation of India, clocking some 49,000 miles on his protest marches. Aristotle believed that great thinkers are all great walk…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:53PM
Monday, March 2, 2026

Off Broadway Rules! #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

February ended with a bang, and not just overseas. There were some heavy shows Off Broadway. The six I reviewed just this week are full of sickness and sexism, personal betrayals and public …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:09PM

Night Side Songs Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Night Side Songs” is in part an original musical that tells the story of the terminal illness of a character named Yasmine Holly (portrayed by Brooke Ishibashi.)  But it’s also a �…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:07AM
Sunday, March 1, 2026

Bigfoot Review by Jonathan Mandell

Bigfoot’s mother, Francine Foot, explains how her big, kind, hairy monster came to be: “You have sex with a carnie next to a nuclear power plant, you end up with a giant son.” That’s…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:35PM

Puppetopia: The Magnificent Ms. Pham by Jonathan Mandell

This elaborate, tuneful puppet musical doesn’t just tell the story of the journey of Kim Pham from Vietnamese “hometown girl” riding a water buffalo to young romantic in Saigon to war …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:20PM
Saturday, February 28, 2026

Theater Quiz for February 2026 by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to the New York theater news, views and reviews in the month of February? Find out with this ten-question quiz, plus a doozy of a bonus question. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:24PM
Friday, February 27, 2026

March 2026 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a day-by-day calendar of selected theater opening* this month in New York, including three starry plays on Broadway: A solo turn by Daniel Radcliffe (opening March 12), a British im…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:18PM
Thursday, February 26, 2026

Chinese Republicans Review by Jonathan Mandell

The four power-suited Chinese-American women who work at the same Wall Street bank meet every third Tuesday for lunch at Golden Unicorn in what they call an affinity group. But it doesn’t …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:52PM
Wednesday, February 25, 2026

“The scale of the corruption is unprecedented” Democratic Response to the 2026 State of the Union video and transcript by Jonathan Mandell

“Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family?” Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger asked in her 12-minute Democratic response to President Trump’s 10…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:17AM
Tuesday, February 24, 2026

The Reservoir Review by Jonathan Mandell

Early on in Jake Brasch’s comedy about an alcoholic helped to sobriety by his grandparents, Josh (Noah Galvin), recovering from his latest full-on bender (blacked out, 11 stitches), is com…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:15PM
Monday, February 23, 2026

Mother Russia Review by Jonathan Mandell

Near the beginning of Lauren Yee’s dark farce set in Russia after the collapse of Communism,  Evgeny (Adam Chanler-Berat) reunites with his old friend Dmitri (Steven Boyer), reminiscing …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:27PM

Snow Day on the Great White Way. #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

For the first time in a decade, a blizzard canceled all of Broadway. The Broadway League announced the cancelation of all performances Sunday evening “due to anticipated travel impacts fro…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:21AM

Marcel on the Train Review by Jonathan Mandell

It’s easy to see how the dynamic physical performer Ethan Slater, Broadway’s SpongeBob and Hollywood’s Boq, would be drawn to the irresistible true story of the world’s most famous…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:11AM
Sunday, February 22, 2026

You Got Older Review by Jonathan Mandell

Mae is awkward and messy, and so is the play she is in, a revival that is the second theatrical production at the Cherry Lane Theater under its new owners, the A24 movie studio.  Portrayed …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:03PM
Saturday, February 21, 2026

Teatro Fest 2026 by Jonathan Mandell

TeatroFest 2026, a citywide festival of twenty-four productions by the ten member theaters of the Alliance of Teatros Latinos NY , launches February 27 with a free Spring Preview at the New …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:09PM
Friday, February 20, 2026

Puppetopia: Parched and Ruby & Charlie by Jonathan Mandell

“Ruby & Charlie,” one of the three works of puppetry at the fifth annual Puppetopia festival presented at HERE,  uses the music of Ray Charles, played by a live band, to chronicl…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:02PM
Thursday, February 19, 2026

The 5 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts by Jonathan Mandell

A day in an abortion clinic; children killed in Gaza; children killed in school shootings in America; the life and death of a war photojournalist; donkeys in the desert.  These are the sub…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:53PM

Watch The 5 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts by Jonathan Mandell

Alfred Nakache, a swimmer of Algerian Jewish descent who competed for France in the Olympics both before and after he was sent to Auschwitz, might seem an unlikely subject for an animated fi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:57AM
Wednesday, February 18, 2026

The 5 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films by Jonathan Mandell

A France in which kissing gets the death penalty; a Palestinian butcher accused by his Israeli co-workers; a spoof of Jane Austin. These are among the five Live Action Short Films nominated …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:37PM
Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Family Trauma on Stage. Robert Duvall (1931-2026). #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

February is usually the peak month for SAD  (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but it’s still striking that four of the five plays I reviewed this past week involve family trauma. Three do o…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:11AM
Monday, February 16, 2026

The Dinosaurs Review by Jonathan Mandell

In the middle of the Saturday Survivors weekly recovery meeting that is the heart of Jacob Perkins’ play, Elizabeth Marvel as Joan introduces herself, announces that she is an alcoholic, a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:00PM

Presidents on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

Only four of the 45 presidents of the United States were born in February, but they include the two most revered, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who are also the two most frequently …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:03AM
Sunday, February 15, 2026

Twelve Minor Prophets Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Twelve Minor Prophets” might sound like a Hebrew School pageant, since it’s an educational and playful stage adaptation based on the last twelve books of the Old Testament. But the pl…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:18PM

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off