All stories by MICHAEL RIEDEL on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Spacey doesn’t mind being ‘25th person asked’ to host Tonys by Michael Riedel

Kevin Spacey, a tennis fanatic, rarely misses the US Open if he can help it. But last fall, as he watched Phil Collins perform at the opening ceremonies at Arthur Ashe Stadium, he had a thou…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:07PM
Tuesday, May 9, 2017

These star-studded London plays could be coming to Broadway by Michael Riedel

Let’s give the Tonys a rest for a minute and look to London, where three productions — past, present and future — may be Broadway-bound. Everybody’s talking about Nathan Lane, pl…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:24PM
Thursday, May 4, 2017

Will Kevin Kline win a Tony Award without campaigning? by Michael Riedel

Can you win a Tony Award without campaigning? It looks as if Kevin Kline is going to try. Kline, 69, was nominated this week for his portrayal of an aging matinee idol in “Present Laughter…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:37PM
Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Our bets for the 2017 Tony race by Michael Riedel

We are off and running with the Tony nominations, announced Tuesday, and while it’s easy to predict some of the winners, a lot of categories are up for grabs. “Natasha, Pierre and the Gr…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:01PM
Friday, April 28, 2017

It’s time to place your bets for Tony nominations by Michael Riedel

Tony nominations are out Tuesday, so let’s read the tea leaves. Producers are gnawing their nails over Best Musical. So many shows, only four (maybe five) slots. “Come From Away” and �…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:16AM
Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Broadway’s biggest drama is happening right now in a courtroom by Michael Riedel

Who knew “Rebecca,” the musical at the center of a civil trial now playing at the New York State Supreme Court Theater, was the next “Phantom of the Opera”? Lawyers for “Rebecca”…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:46PM
Monday, April 24, 2017

‘Frank Serpico’ catches up with the NYC cop who made Al Pacino famous by Michael Riedel

Nearly 50 years after Frank Serpico exposed endemic corruption in the New York City Police Department, his name still divides people. For some, especially those on the left, Serpico is a whi…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:41AM
Thursday, April 20, 2017

Barry Manilow: ‘I cannot spot a hit song — even if I write it’ by Michael Riedel

In 1976, just as his career as a pop superstar was taking off, Barry Manilow moved into an apartment in the San Remo on Central Park West. His neighbor was Broadway’s Fred Ebb, the lyricis…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:58PM
Tuesday, April 18, 2017

For a ‘15th choice,’ Spacey’s a pretty smart pick for the Tonys by Michael Riedel

In Washington, DC, the name Frank Underwood inspires fear and loathing. But on Broadway, he’s a hero! Underwood, otherwise known as Kevin Spacey, swooped in Tuesday and saved the Tony Awar…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:11PM
Saturday, April 15, 2017

‘Groundhog Day’ star suffers painful injury during show, finishes anyway by Michael Riedel

The new musical “Groundhog Day’’ had its own “Spider-man’’ moment Friday night when its star, Andy Karl, suffered a painful injury during a preview and finished his performance o…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:39AM
Thursday, April 13, 2017

With just weeks to go, the Tonys still can’t find a host by Michael Riedel

Tina Fey turned down an offer to host this year’s Tony Awards, and now Broadway’s scrambling to find a ringmaster in time for the June 11 telecast. Fey, who’s working on a musical adap…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:12PM
Tuesday, April 11, 2017

‘Crazy For You’ may be returning to Broadway by Michael Riedel

It played only one night, but the concert version of “Crazy For You” was such infectious fun, there’s talk of a Broadway revival next season. The concert, which Susan Stroman staged Fe…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Friday, April 7, 2017

This off-Broadway musical should have fabulous costumes by Michael Riedel

Anyone who’s been knocking around theater in New York as long as I have surely has fond memories of Howard Crabtree’s “When Pigs Fly.” That campy revue opened at the Douglas Fairbank…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:24AM
Tuesday, April 4, 2017

You’ll never get tickets to these shows after the Tonys by Michael Riedel

As the April 27 cutoff for Tony eligibility approaches, the season is heating up. Here’s a snap shot of the terrain: We may have to throw a pity party for “Amélie,” which just opened …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:29PM
Tuesday, March 28, 2017

This theater’s chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the ‘Tonight’ show and porn by Michael Riedel

In the spring of 1912, Henry B. Harris and his wife went to London, looking for plays to produce for the Hudson Theatre, the showpiece of his thriving Broadway empire. Built in 1903, the Gre…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:22PM
Friday, March 24, 2017

Danny Devito used to be a New Jersey beautician by Michael Riedel

Broadway loves an overnight sensation — a newcomer heralded by critics and adored by audiences. The fresh face this season belongs to . . . Danny DeVito. OK, so he’s not exactly an u…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:54AM
Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Monopoly is becoming a musical by Michael Riedel

Broadway loves brand-name titles, from movies (“Groundhog Day”) to books (“Wicked”) to television shows (a “Wonder Years” musical is in the works). So why not . . . board gam…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:37PM
Sunday, March 19, 2017

Meet the ‘fierce’ heiresses wielding unchecked power on Broadway by Michael Riedel

Broadway has always been a boys’ club. Sure, there are some powerful female producers — Daryl Roth (“Kinky Boots”), Lynne Meadow (the head of the Manhattan Theatre Club) and Fran Wei…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:47AM

How driving ambulances during World War I inspired Hemingway by Michael Riedel

When it comes to visionaries, give war a chance. Several major artists and innovators of the 20th century served as volunteer ambulance drivers during World War I, shaping their experiences …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:02AM
Thursday, March 16, 2017

A hit ‘80s play is coming back to Broadway by Michael Riedel

When Mark Medoff attended a reading on Monday of his Tony Award-winning play “Children of a Lesser God,” he was apprehensive: He hadn’t seen the play in a few years and was worried it …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:54PM
Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Playwright Terrence McNally is living NYC history by Michael Riedel

Most people in the theater world run to the spotlight. Not Terrence McNally. Modest, shy and industrious, he’s let his work speak for itself. Fortunately, his plays — “Lips Together, T…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:24PM
Thursday, March 9, 2017

Liberace’s sordid life story is hitting the stage by Michael Riedel

After the high ratings and great reviews for “Behind the Candelabra,” HBO’s 2013 ghoulish but absorbing bio about Liberace, producer Jerry Weintraub wanted to turn it into a Broadway m…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:38PM
Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Robert Evans’ tempestuous Hollywood tenure takes the stage by Michael Riedel

If Norma Desmond is ready for her Broadway close-up, surely Robert Evans is, too. Hollywood’s suntanned, sunglasses-wearing legend is putting the finishing touches on the stage adaptation …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:47PM
Thursday, March 2, 2017

Rip Torn’s daughter salutes her actress mother by Michael Riedel

Angelica Page developed her one-woman show about her mother, Oscar-winning actress Geraldine Page, at the Actors Studio in New York. It was a fitting place to work, since her mother was a me…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:43PM
Tuesday, February 28, 2017

‘Mean Girls’ musical is searching for its star by Michael Riedel

Tina Fey and “Saturday Night Live” executive producer Lorne Michaels are revving up for what they’re calling a “developmental lab” of their “Mean Girls” musical. The script, wh…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:01PM
Thursday, February 23, 2017

‘Devil Wears Prada’ is this comedy legend’s first musical by Michael Riedel

Paul Rudnick is one of the funniest writers around. Reading his collected plays the other day, I burst out laughing at lines from “I Hate Hamlet,” starring the vainglorious ghost of John…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:43PM
Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Agatha Christie’s ‘Orient Express’ steaming toward B’way? by Michael Riedel

There’s something for everybody on Broadway this spring: comedies (“The Play That Goes Wrong”), dramas (“Sweat”), star vehicles (“War Paint”) and revivals (“Hello, Dolly!…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:21PM
Thursday, February 16, 2017

Broadway’s two best performances can’t win Tonys by Michael Riedel

The two performances Broadway’s raving about — Glenn Close in “Sunset Boulevard” and Jake Gyllenhaal in “Sunday in the Park With George” — are ineligible for Tony Awards. For C…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:07PM
Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A new play’s cast has some harsh words for Michael Riedel by Michael Riedel

My column last week about the nonmusical plays struggling at the box office prompted all sorts of e-mails and calls from producers imploring me to give them a chance. Nobody likes to come ou…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:01PM
Sunday, February 12, 2017

How Churchill engineered one of the world’s first ‘dirty’ wars by Michael Riedel

Bletchley Park is one of the most famous World War II sites in England. Tourists flock to the estate, where Alan Turing cracked the Nazis’ Enigma machine, enabling the Allies to read secre…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:22AM
Thursday, February 9, 2017

New plays on Broadway are already in danger by Michael Riedel

There are plenty of nonmusical plays coming to Broadway this spring, but producers are fretting that few of them are selling. Three of those plays — “Sweat,” “Indecent” and “Sign…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:24PM

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