All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Sunday, May 8, 2011

A Minister’s Wife Review by Jonathan Mandell

What does a woman want? What does a marriage mean? Is Socialism the answer? Was “My Fair Lady” a fluke? These are the questions raised by “A Minister’s Wife,” a musical adapted fro…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:00PM
Friday, May 6, 2011

Arthur Laurents, 1917-2011, West Side Story, Gypsy by Jonathan Mandell

Arthur Laurents died Thursday at the age of 93. A playwright, director, librettist, screenwriter, gay role model, and inspiration for generations, he was involved in 23 productions on Broadw…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 12:59AM
Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tony Award Nominations 2011 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the list of nominations for the Tony Awards for 2011. The Book of Mormon has the most nominations at 14. The Scottsboro Boys has the second-most at 12 — and may be the most ev…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:21AM

Locker No. 4173b by Jonathan Mandell

Two members of the New York Neo-Futurists bought two storage lockers at auction in the Bronx and piece together the lives of the former owners in this intriguing but overstuffed play.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM
Monday, May 2, 2011

New York Theater Tweets 70 by Jonathan Mandell

The Broadway theater season has ended, and the theater awards season begun. Of the 18 shows that opened on Broadway in the Fall, only two are still playing — Lombardi and Rain. But 21 …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 02:00PM
Saturday, April 30, 2011

Broadway Season 2010-2011: A Dozen Magical Moments In New York Theater by Jonathan Mandell

The Broadway season that just ended featured 40 plays and musicals — 18 in the Fall and 22 in the Spring. Many of them with magical moments. Here is a selection of just 12, not all fro…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:21PM

Drama League Awards 2011 Nominations by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a list of the nominations for the Drama League Awards for 2011. (Unlike other theater organizations that give out annual awards, membership in the Drama League is open to the genera…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:22AM

Outer Critics Circle 2011 Theater Awards Nominations by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a list of the nominations for the 2011 Outer Critics Circle Awards, which honor the best in Broadway and Off-Broadway theater. Winners of the awards will be announced May 16. The an…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:09AM
Friday, April 29, 2011

Drama Desk Award Nominations 2011 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the full list of nominees for the 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards, honoring excellence in Broadway, off-Broadway, and non-profit New York theater. The winners will be announced at a c…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:41AM
Thursday, April 28, 2011

Elvis Meets Sholom Aleichem? The People in the Picture Review by Jonathan Mandell

One of the jokes in “The People in The Picture,” a Broadway musical starring Donna Murphy as both a young Yiddish theater star and an elderly grandmother, has a man harassed by two thugs…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:57PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Baby, It’s You Review (No, Ma, It Ain’t) by Jonathan Mandell

“Baby, It’s You,” a jukebox musical featuring nearly three dozen pre-Motown pop songs and a thoroughly inept script, must have struck its creator (Floyd Mutrux, creator of “ Million …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:48PM

AIDS, Anger and Assholes: The Normal Heart Review by Jonathan Mandell

Theatergoers leaving “The Normal Heart,” a revival of the 1985 play about the AIDS crisis, were greeted by activist Larry Kramer handing out a leaflet from the curb. He was not urging a …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:01PM
Monday, April 25, 2011

The House of Blue Leaves Review by Jonathan Mandell

“For once could you let my emotions come out?” Edie Falco as Bananas says to Ben Stiller as her husband Artie Shaughnessy in the David Cromer-directed revival of “The House of Leaves,�…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:23PM

War Horse, Jerusalem, Born Yesterday, Sister Act, High, Wonderland. New York Theater Tweets 69 by Jonathan Mandell

In the busiest week on Broadway all year, I saw three plays involving nuns, three involving drug dealers – and one with both a nun and a drug dealer. Two performers debuted on Broadway and…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:37AM
Sunday, April 24, 2011

Born Yesterday Review. The Dumb Blonde At 65. by Jonathan Mandell

Whatever else its charms, “Born Yesterday” is most noteworthy for having made a star out of Judy Holliday, and for having given the dumb blonde joke a novel twist. Its latest revival wit…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:07PM
Saturday, April 23, 2011

War Horse Review by Jonathan Mandell

“War Horse” is a touching love story between a boy and his horse, it is a shocking war story, but above all, it is a breathtaking work of stagecraft, employing theatrical ingenuity at th…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:08PM
Friday, April 22, 2011

Wonderland Review: The Mad Hatter As The Wicked Witch?!! by Jonathan Mandell

“Take some more tea, “ the March Hare says to Alice. “I haven’t had any yet, so I can’t take more.” “You mean you can’t take LESS,’ says the Mad Hatter: “It&#…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 06:23PM
Thursday, April 21, 2011

Jerusalem Review. Mark Rylance’s Rooster Rules by Jonathan Mandell

In the very first moment that Mark Rylance appears on the stage and in the very last, “Jerusalem” soars from his daredevil performance as Johnny “Rooster” Byron, a fiery spirit about…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:51PM
Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Sister Act Review by Jonathan Mandell

Patina Miller, the newly-discovered diva making her Broadway debut as star of “Sister Act,” doesn’t thank God in her Who’s Who bio, and thank God for that. She thanks Whoopi Goldberg…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:19PM
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

High Review: Kathleen Turner on Broadway’s New Drug Corner by Jonathan Mandell

“High,” a play starring Kathleen Turner as a tough nun who tries to save a drug addict, is playing on a street of Broadway that has become a drug corner: Right next door is “The Mother…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:46PM
Monday, April 18, 2011

Broadway Bombardment. The MotherF**ker With The Hat. Hair! New York Theater Tweets 68 by Jonathan Mandell

The end of April offers the ultimate test for the Broadway decathlete: 10 openings in two weeks. The schedule of Broadway shows from January to July include: War Horse 4/14, Wonderland 4/17,…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 12:19PM

Discover Love by Jonathan Mandell

Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Koliada's powerful play is the most conventional, focused, and accessible of the three shows being offered in repertory by Belarus Free Theater.

SOURCE: Backstage at 10:00AM

Zone of Silence by Jonathan Mandell

Conceived by Natalia Koliada, Nikolai Khalezin, and Vladimir Shcherban this repertory offering of Belarus Free Theatre is most effective when most political.

SOURCE: Backstage at 10:00AM
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Broadway Openings January – July 2011 by Jonathan Mandell

January, 2011 The Importance of Being Earnest American Airlines Theater Opened: January 12, 2011 Director: Brian Bedford Cast: Brian Bedford (as Lady Bracknell) Bedford directs and stars (in…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 12:52AM
Friday, April 15, 2011

The MotherF**ker With The Hat Review by Jonathan Mandell

Before Chris Rock even appeared on stage, “The MotherF**ker With The Hat,” despite its off-putting title, had me hooked. Veronica is talking on the phone with her mom, in-between snorts …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 03:56AM
Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Palestinians at the Public. Urge For Going Review by Jonathan Mandell

The Palestinian family in “Urge for Going” argues about what happened in 1948 and 1967, and why they now live in Lebanon, in “temporary camps built 60 years ago.” But they argue the …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:53PM
Monday, April 11, 2011

Anything Goes. Company. Catch Me . Cellphone Solutions. New York Theater Tweets 67 by Jonathan Mandell

The most talked-about show this week in New York theater closed after four performances. That was the plan — an all-star New York Philharmonic “concert” of Stephen Sondheim’s “…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:16PM
Sunday, April 10, 2011

Catch Me If You Can Review by Jonathan Mandell

The con man sums up his story shortly after “Catch Me If You Can” begins: “I flew over five million miles as a Pan Am pilot, practiced medicine at a top Atlanta hospital, and worked as…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:32PM
Saturday, April 9, 2011

Company Review. All-Star Sondheim Sublime by Jonathan Mandell

Just about the time early in “Company” when Martha Plimpton karate chops Stephen Colbert to the ground – long before Neil Patrick Harris strips off his shirt and beds Christina Hendric…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:02PM
Thursday, April 7, 2011

Anything Goes Review. Cole Porter in Red, White and Blue by Jonathan Mandell

Born in the Depression, blessed with some of Cole Porter’s most popular songs, and featuring a book equal parts funny, dopey and embarrassing, “Anything Goes” is being revived once aga…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:00PM
Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Other Place Review: Laurie Metcalf, Leaving Roseanne Behind by Jonathan Mandell

Laurie Metcalf, still best-known as the sister in “Rosanne” but currently mesmerizing audiences every night in “The Other Place,” is the latest of a surprising number of faces famili…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 07:28PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic