All stories by MICHAEL RIEDEL on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The best films about Broadway beyond ‘Birdman’ by Michael Riedel

The best movie about Broadway is — and I will brook no discussion — “All About Eve.” “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” is a...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:10PM
Thursday, October 16, 2014

Convicted forger, Garth Drabinsky, returns to the stage by Michael Riedel

Garth Drabinsky, Broadway’s real-life Max Bialystock, is hanging around the stage door again. Out on parole after serving three years in a Canadian clink for fraud and forgery in connectio…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Kevin Spacey’s heartfelt tribute brings response from his co-star, Michel Gill by Michael Riedel

Many thanks to Kevin Spacey for taking over this space last week and delivering a fine tribute to his former acting teacher, Marian Seldes. His column generated plenty of e-mail,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:11PM
Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Betty Buckley’s 5 best songs of all time by Michael Riedel

Of all the Broadway divas, my favorite — and my good friend — is Betty Buckley. She won a Tony singing “Memory” in “Cats,” and she broke my heart as...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:28AM
Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Booze, broads & Bond: Roger Moore’s memoir by Michael Riedel

Whenever Roger Moore, who will be 87 on Tuesday, gets depressed thinking about all his movie friends who have gone to “that great cutting room in the sky,” he recalls...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:45PM
Thursday, October 2, 2014

Harvey Weinstein ices out the Post’s Michael Riedel for ALS by Michael Riedel

I went up to Cambridge, Mass., last weekend to play on Harvey Weinstein’s turf, “Finding Neverland.” Today he plays on mine, “Hunsecker-land,” as in J.J. Hunsecker, the Broadway go…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:50PM
Thursday, September 25, 2014

Royal showdown this spring on B’way, led by Helen Mirren by Michael Riedel

For a nation that broke away from the British Empire with quite a bit of fanfare, we still love all things English, especially the Monarch. Chelsea Clinton’s pregnant? No one...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:13PM
Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Could Slattery and Hamm be Broadway’s next dynamic duo? by Michael Riedel

I’d just finished my 50th lap in the Equinox pool when somebody jumped into my lane. It turned out to be John Slattery, the “silver fox,” as my girlfriend calls...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:24PM
Thursday, September 18, 2014

‘American Psycho’ musical causing a bloody skirmish by Michael Riedel

The gossip at the American Theatre Wing’s classy salute to Angela Lansbury Monday night centered on the spat between the producers of “American Psycho” and their former partner, off-Br…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:18PM
Friday, September 12, 2014

Broadway’s next hit could be ‘Bandstand’ by Michael Riedel

Let’s shine the spotlight today on a show nobody’s ever heard of but everyone’s talking about. Well, those in the know (which now includes you, dear reader) are talking about...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:07AM
Thursday, September 11, 2014

Richard Kiel: James Bond’s favorite baddie by Michael Riedel

On paper, the character must have seemed campy, to the point of ridiculousness. “The Spy Who Loved Me,” the 1977 Bond movie starring Roger Moore, perhaps sought to capitalize on...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:37PM
Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Broadway relents, dims marquee bulbs for Joan Rivers by Michael Riedel

“There are enough dim lights on Broadway and they’re all at the League.” That’s one producer’s assessment of the Broadway League, which set off a social media firestorm this we…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:18PM
Thursday, September 4, 2014

You’ll never guess who inspired Joan Rivers to take to the stage by Michael Riedel

Joan Rivers, God bless her, was here because of Ray Bolger. Bolger, the Scarecrow from “The Wizard of Oz,” once starred in an old Frank Loesser musical called “Where’s Charley?”...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:45PM
Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The plank might be out again for ‘Finding Neverland’ by Michael Riedel

Me thinks Harvey Weinstein is preparing to put out the plank again on the good ship “Finding Neverland.” The victim this time? Jeremy Jordan, who’s playing J.M. Barrie in the...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:32AM
Sunday, August 31, 2014

Hammerstein kin cheated producing partner out of profits: suit by Kathianne Boniello and Michael Riedel

The hills are alive with the sound of scandal. Oscar Hammerstein II is famed as the lyricist behind such wholesome Broadway classics as “The King and I” and “The Sound...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:17AM
Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Pan-demonium! Harvey’s peeved at our review recap by Michael Riedel

Harvey Weinstein begs: Please come to Boston, you ramblin’ columnist. He took issue with my column last week about the Times’ Ben Brantley and deadline.com’s Jeremy Gerard reviewing �…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:06PM
Friday, August 22, 2014

Shuberts intend to build a brand-new theater by Michael Riedel

The Shubert Organization, Broadway’s biggest and most powerful landlord, is expanding its Times Square empire. The company recently made a bid for New World Stages, the complex of undergro…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:21AM
Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Weinstein’s ‘Peter Pan’ musical may never land by Michael Riedel

The reviews are in: “Finding Neverland,” Harvey Weinstein’s new Broadway-bound musical, is “evolving,” “determined,” “twee” and “the kind of show that kids drag their par…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:28AM
Monday, August 18, 2014

NYC will fall for Broadway’s ‘Shakespeare in Love’ by Michael Riedel

Almost everybody I know who’s seen the stage adaptation of “Shakespeare in Love” in London thinks the show is terrific. Charles Spencer, a longtime friend and drama critic of The...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Friday, August 15, 2014

Before ‘Jaws,’ James Bond swam with sharks by Michael Riedel

Two decades years before Peter Benchley terrified swimmers with “Jaws,” Ian Fleming deployed a shark to sinister effect in his 1954 novel “Live and Let Die.” The evil Mr. Big...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:07PM

Recalling Lauren Bacall, as adored as she was formidable by Michael Riedel

In 1959, Lauren Bacall left Hollywood for New York and Broadway. Her husband, Humphrey Bogart, had died two years before, and an engagement to Frank Sinatra went off the rails...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:56AM
Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Robin Williams’ few forays onto the Broadway stage by Michael Riedel

‘I have a little present for you,” producer Robyn Goodman told director Moisés Kaufman and playwright Rajiv Joseph. “Robin said yes!” The play was “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:40AM
Friday, August 8, 2014

Corden’s exit may strike a blow to ‘Forum’ revival by Michael Riedel

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum — James Corden took another job. The news this week that Corden, a Tony winner for “One Man, Two Guvnors,”...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:05AM
Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Dale and Thomas land emotional punches in recent roles by Michael Riedel

It’s always a pleasure to see a pro at work. I don’t care what the play is — if Brian Dennehy or Frank Langella or Eileen Atkins is in it,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:11AM
Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Brawl on the boards as Webber sues ‘Superstar’ producer by Michael Riedel

I love a lawsuit — and this one promises to be fun! Andrew Lloyd Webber, the most successful composer in theater history, is going after Michael Cohl, the rock ’n’...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:13PM
Friday, July 25, 2014

A thin line between love & hate for Laurents & Sondheim by Michael Riedel

There’s nothing more bracing on a hot summer day than sipping an ice-cold martini while reading Stephen Sondheim’s letters to Arthur Laurents on the subject of their flop musical “…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:21AM
Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Broderick, Lane rule Broadway again with ‘It’s Only a Play’ by Michael Riedel

The boys still have it! Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, starring this fall in Terrence McNally’s “It’s Only a Play,” are still box office gold. The revival, which opens Oct....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:50PM
Wednesday, July 16, 2014

The Muppets likely to take on Broadway by Michael Riedel

If you’re a certain age — 40 and up should do it — you’ll have fond memories of the Muppet movies, particularly 1984’s “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” which finds Kermit...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:06AM
Thursday, July 10, 2014

Bill’s return to Broadway is Nighy by Michael Riedel

One of my favorite actors is Bill Nighy, so I’m pleased to report he’s likely headed back to Broadway next spring in David Hare’s fine play, “Skylight.” Nighy and his...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:51PM
Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Sting’s ‘The Last Ship’ sails smoothly but main character needs back story by Michael Riedel

We’re only a month into the new theater season, and already we’ve got Tony contenders. From Chicago comes word — and reviews — that “The Last Ship,” a new musical...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:21AM
Thursday, June 26, 2014

Sunday in the snark with Steve: More of Sondheim’s snipes by Michael Riedel

Let’s have some more fun today with those letters to Arthur Laurents that Stephen Sondheim doesn’t want you to see. Laurents, you’ll recall, left his papers to the Library of...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:10PM

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