All stories by Maureen Lee Lenker on BroadwayStars

Friday, April 21, 2023

Schmicago star Patrick Page is having a moment — and he's ready to make the most of it by Maureen Lee Lenker

In a wide-ranging conversation a few days before Page finished Lear, he discussed everything from reaching this career high at the age of 60, what he hopes for the future of King Lear, how S…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 11:26AM
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Greg Kinnear will make his Broadway debut in To Kill a Mockingbird by Maureen Lee Lenker

Stand up, your father’s passing. Soon, Greg Kinnear will be that father — the patriarchal figure at the heart of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one Atticus Finch. On Tuesday, prod…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 05:36PM
Friday, February 21, 2020

Sophia Anne Caruso abruptly exits Beetlejuice on Broadway by Maureen Lee Lenker

Sophia Anne Caruso will no longer count herself among the strange and unusual. The actress, who originated the role of Lydia Deetz in Broadway’s Beetlejuice, has abruptly exited the produ…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 04:51PM
Thursday, February 20, 2020

Watch the cast of Broadway's Sing Street deliver 'Up' in charming music video by Maureen Lee Lenker

When director Rebecca Taichman saw Sing Street when it debuted on screens in 2016, she wrote her agent while the credits were still rolling, tears streaming down her face, to see if the sta…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 03:30PM
Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Zoe Caldwell, four-time Tony Award winner, dies at 86 by Maureen Lee Lenker

Broadway actress Zoe Caldwell, who won four Tony Awards over the course of her decades-long career, died Feb. 16 from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. She was 86. Her son Charlie …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 10:43PM
Thursday, February 13, 2020

Jason Alexander directing Broadway-bound adaptation of The War of the Roses by Maureen Lee Lenker

Jason Alexander is about to go to war. The award-winning actor is attached to direct a Broadway-bound adaptation of The War of the Roses. The play is based on the original novel by Warren …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 04:03PM
Saturday, January 25, 2020

What the Constitution Means to Me still vital and incisive at the Mark Taper Forum: Review by Maureen Lee Lenker

For centuries, women’s pain has been deemed the only narrative worthy of storytelling. Whether in gonzo revenge fantasy or prestige drama, if we’re not suffering, it’s not worthy of se…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 03:20PM
Thursday, January 16, 2020

Rock of Ages in Hollywood makes dinner theater sexy again: Review by Maureen Lee Lenker

The words “dinner theater” usually conjure up images of linen-covered tables, black-tie-wearing waiters, and productions of classic fare like Hello, Dolly! or Showboat. But a new immersi…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 06:25PM
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Is the musical theater podcast the new concept album? by Maureen Lee Lenker

5,6,7…podcast? Musical theater has always made superb use of aural formats, with original Broadway cast albums filling the gap for theater-goers who can’t shuffle off to the Great White …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 09:00AM
Friday, January 10, 2020

Exclusive: Katy Keene will slay with a screening and panel at BroadwayCon by Maureen Lee Lenker

Katy Keene may dream of seeing herself on a runway, but first she’s headed to Broadway — BroadwayCon, to be exact. EW can exclusively announce the highly anticipated new addition to the …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 10:00AM
Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Sing Street to transfer to Broadway this spring by Maureen Lee Lenker

The team behind Sing Street are driving their Off Broadway musical like they stole it — straight to the Great White Way. The new stage production, based on the John Carney film of the sam…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 12:01AM
Monday, December 23, 2019

How Hadestown and the underworld came out on top in 2019 by Maureen Lee Lenker

“It’s an old song, and we’re gonna sing it again.” The opening hymn of the hit musical Hadestown offers a promise — not just to the eight shows a week for the folk musical that dom…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 08:00PM

How Oklahoma! and Ali Stroker made Broadway history in 2019 by Maureen Lee Lenker

Known affectionately as “the Oklahoma! that f—s,” this Rodgers and Hammerstein revival broke away from its roots, with its in-the-round presentation and potent carnal energy. But the b…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 11:00AM
Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Hear Jonathan Groff and the Little Shop of Horrors cast sing 'Skid Row/Downtown' by Maureen Lee Lenker

Need a break from holiday music and looking for something a little more horrific instead? Suddenly, Seymour is here to provide you. The Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, s…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 04:06PM
Monday, December 16, 2019

How Sonya Tayeh brought two epically different movie musicals to the stage this year by Maureen Lee Lenker

On the surface, Sing Street and Moulin Rouge couldn’t be more different. The former uses the synth sounds of the 1980s to tell the story of a Dublin teenager who forms a band to impress a …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 08:30AM
Monday, December 9, 2019

Beetlejuice sets Broadway closing date, announces national tour by Maureen Lee Lenker

It’s time for Beetlejuice to move on from Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre (though no word yet on whether their ghosts might stick around to haunt the new owners). On Monday, producers …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 06:01PM

Tony Goldwyn will join Broadway's The Inheritance for four months only by Maureen Lee Lenker

The Inheritance is about to get hit with some Scandal. The much-lauded Broadway play, which transferred from London’s West End, is about to add Tony Goldwyn to its ranks. The former Scan…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 09:45AM
Friday, December 6, 2019

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is still an exquisite stunner: Review by Maureen Lee Lenker

In 1995, Matthew Bourne rose to international prominence for his daring reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, casting male dancers for the corps of swans and lending the story’s themes…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 05:55PM
Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Dan Stevens among cast announced for Martin McDonagh's Hangmen Broadway run by Maureen Lee Lenker

Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen has roped up its Broadway cast. The Olivier-winning play is coming to the Great White Way this spring, and it’s got a cast full of British heavyweights, includ…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 10:00AM
Friday, November 22, 2019

Key Largo is a rip-roaring noir ride buoyed by a magnificently malevolent Andy Garcia: Review by Maureen Lee Lenker

Key Largo, adapted from the 1948 Floridian film noir of the same name, is currently making a splashy world premiere at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse. It’s a straightforward tale of veter…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 03:34PM
Monday, November 11, 2019

Tootsie to close on Broadway in January by Maureen Lee Lenker

It’s time for Santino Fontana to hang up his heels. On Monday, producers announced a closing date for Broadway’s Tootsie, the musical based on the 1982 film of the same name. The produ…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 07:30PM
Monday, November 4, 2019

Watch the cast of Broadway's Jagged Little Pill perform 'You Learn' in new video by Maureen Lee Lenker

Trying to swallow something like a jagged little pill? Wash it down with this exclusive video of the cast of Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill performing “You Learn” through the course of…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 10:00AM
Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Watch all 4 current Evan Hansens come together for stirring new rendition of 'For Forever' by Maureen Lee Lenker

All we see is Evan Hansens for forever. In an unprecedented move, the producers of Dear Evan Hansen have brought together all four of the world’s current Evan Hansens to mark the opening…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 05:49PM

Bernard Slade, creator of The Partridge Family, dies at 89 by Maureen Lee Lenker

Bernard Slade, the creator of The Partridge Family, has died. He was 89. Slade died on Wednesday from complications of Lewy body dementia, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A seasoned …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 04:20PM
Thursday, October 24, 2019

Darren Criss to return to Broadway in revival of American Buffalo by Maureen Lee Lenker

From teenage dream to pursuing a cut of the American Dream… Darren Criss is poised to return to Broadway next spring in a revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, a tale of three sma…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 10:00AM
Monday, October 21, 2019

The Who's Tommy will return to Broadway in 2021 by Maureen Lee Lenker

The Who’s Tommy is once again inviting audiences to see it and feel it on Broadway. On Monday, producers announced plans for a revival of the iconic rock musical aimed at hitting Broadway …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 06:35PM

Kristin Chenoweth and Cheyenne Jackson have a Descendants family reunion with Dove Cameron by Maureen Lee Lenker

Dove Cameron had one wicked family reunion with her onscreen parents Cheyenne Jackson and Kristin Chenoweth this weekend. In an Instagram photo shared Sunday, Jackson — who portrayed Hades…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 04:08PM
Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Mrs. Doubtfire Broadway musical gets full cast, opening date by Maureen Lee Lenker

Broadway is about to be hit with a run-by fruiting. On Wednesday, producers announced the full cast and a spring Broadway opening date for Mrs. Doubtfire, a musical based on the 1993 film …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 08:00AM
Monday, October 14, 2019

Dove Cameron and Renée Fleming shine in staid The Light in the Piazza at L.A. Opera by Maureen Lee Lenker

The Light in the Piazza occupies a strange space somewhere in between musical theatre and opera, with its sweeping, operatic score paired with a more traditionally theatrical mode of storyte…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 04:41PM
Thursday, October 10, 2019

David Byrne on bringing American Utopia to a more 'open-minded' Broadway by Maureen Lee Lenker

While jukebox musicals may never die (at least based on the enduring popularity of titles like Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia), Broadway is also expanding its space for pop and rock musicians, in…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 09:30AM
Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Joni Mitchell reunited with Cameron Crowe at the Almost Famous musical premiere by Maureen Lee Lenker

We’re guessing the cast members of the Almost Famous musical weren’t wishing for a river to skate away on when Joni Mitchell showed up at their show. The iconic folk singer made a rare p…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 03:28PM

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 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic