All stories by Michael Riedel on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

How do you sell a bloody musical about a serial killer? by Michael Riedel

The two women marched up the aisle at intermission and spotted a man lingering at the back of the theater. “Do you have anything to do with this show?” one woman demanded. “I’m the p…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:09PM
Thursday, April 21, 2016

‘Hamilton’ might jack up premium tickets to $995 by Michael Riedel

That backlash against “Hamilton” I’ve been fomenting is really starting to take hold. In the past week, the musical won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, its advance sale hit $80 million, …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:34PM
Tuesday, April 19, 2016

A Cher musical could land on Broadway soon by Michael Riedel

This is one Broadway show that’s bound to have a very large costume budget: “Cher: The Musical.” The pop icon tweeted a few years ago that she wanted to do a show about her life. She m…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:00PM
Thursday, April 14, 2016

Nicole Kidman will return to Broadway this fall by Michael Riedel

The last time Nicole Kidman appeared on Broadway — in David Hare ’s “The Blue Room” — she took off her clothes for, oh, about eight seconds and set box-office records at the Cort T…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:22PM
Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Could ‘SpongeBob’ be the next great Broadway musical? by Michael Riedel

Let’s make a list of the best American musical comedies. “Guys and Dolls.” “Kiss Me, Kate.” “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” “The Producers.” “The Book…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:12PM
Thursday, April 7, 2016

‘Spider-Man’s Julie Taymor is plotting a big Broadway comeback by Michael Riedel

I ran into Julie Taymor at a Lincoln Center library benefit a few months ago, and she looked relaxed and happy. “You look terrific,” I said. “That’s because I don’t have any more s…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:50PM
Tuesday, April 5, 2016

This Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is finally getting some love by Michael Riedel

“I’m reading my five-star reviews!” lyricist Don Black said Tuesday when I congratulated him on the triumphant opening of “Sunset Boulevard” at London’s English National Opera. T…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:39PM
Thursday, March 31, 2016

He was the genius behind Broadway’s least likely hit by Michael Riedel

Everyone’s raving about the Encores! production of “1776,” at City Center through Sunday. It’s one of my favorite musicals, with its catchy score by Sherman Edwards and its brilliant…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:54PM
Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Inside the collapse of Barbara Cook’s show by Michael Riedel

I’m a huge Barbara Cook fan, so I was sad to learn this week that the off-Broadway show she was working on with James Lapine and Tommy Tune had been scrapped. “Barbara Cook: Then and Now…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:39PM
Friday, March 25, 2016

Money scandal roils Broadway’s cancelled ‘Nerds’ by Michael Riedel

The abrupt cancellation on March 8 of the Broadway musical “Nerds” — about the rivalry between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates — shocked the cast and crew. They were rehearsing the show th…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:47AM
Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Edward Albee finally gets on the wall at Sardi’s by Michael Riedel

A few months ago while lunching at Sardi’s, Broadway press agent Sam Rudy looked around at the caricatures of theater people lining the walls and wondered if there was one of his longtime …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:18PM
Monday, March 14, 2016

Danielle Brooks is the hardest-working woman in showbiz by Michael Riedel

When Danielle Brooks learned she’d been offered the role of Sofia in the Broadway revival of “The Color Purple,” she burst into tears. This was the show, after all, that made her want …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:15AM
Thursday, March 10, 2016

Spring on Broadway will be a bloodbath for new musicals by Michael Riedel

If the fall was the season of “Hamilton,” the spring will be the season of blood. And I don’t mean the blood that will be spilled at the Gerald Schoenfeld, when “American Psycho” b…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:24PM
Thursday, March 3, 2016

Forest Whitaker’s Broadway embarrassment ‘Hughie’ is closing early by Michael Riedel

Goodbye, “Hughie”! The revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Hughie,” starring Forest Whitaker, will close March 27, The Post has learned exclusively. This dreary drama about a small-time…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:35PM
Thursday, February 25, 2016

What really goes on behind the scenes on Oscar night by Michael Riedel

Bruce Vilanch, one of the funniest writers in Oscar history, has no doubt Chris Rock will go for the, um, white elephant in the living room Sunday night. “There’s no way he can ignore it…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:16PM
Thursday, February 18, 2016

Broadway star Forest Whitaker is taking his lines from a water cooler by Michael Riedel

Forest Whitaker’s co-star for the first week of previews of “Hughie” on Broadway was . . . a water cooler. During those rocky early performances, Whitaker didn’t stray too far fr…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:47PM
Thursday, February 11, 2016

Joel Grey and Bob Fosse were at each other’s throats during ‘Cabaret’ by Michael Riedel

Joel Grey won an Oscar for his performance as the creepy Emcee in the 1972 movie version of “Cabaret.” But he did so in spite of — not because of — director Bob Fosse. In fact, as Gr…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:24PM
Friday, February 5, 2016

This 87-year-old cabaret star has mob connections by Michael Riedel

Johnny Carson’s favorite singer was Marilyn Maye. The Kansas City mob loved her, too. Now 87, Maye is one of the last of the club singers who crisscrossed the country in the ’50s and ’…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:15AM
Thursday, February 4, 2016

A feminist war is being waged at Broadway’s ‘Waitress’ by Michael Riedel

There’s been a little distaff dust-up at “Waitress,” the new musical slated to open on Broadway in the spring. The show’s been touting its all-female creative team as a selling p…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:45PM
Monday, February 1, 2016

Meet the sleeze bag agent who inspired the new Coen Bros movie by Michael Riedel

“Hail, Caesar!” — Joel and Ethan Coen’s screwball comedy about the movie business, opening Friday — revolves around a deadly serious man. His name is Eddie Mannix, and his job is t…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:15AM
Saturday, January 30, 2016

Anna Wintour’s a fan of this pub grub — and you should be too by Michael Riedel

Winter’s arrived with a vengeance, which means it’s time for comfort food. And is there any dish more comforting than a piping hot chicken potpie? Pierce that golden crust with your …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:15AM
Thursday, January 28, 2016

In the final days of Pacino’s Broadway play, audiences are hate-watching it by Michael Riedel

Al Pacino wraps up his run in David Mamet’s “China Doll” on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on my favorite show of the Broadway season. It was, to put it mildly, a rocky run, but I c…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:34PM
Thursday, January 21, 2016

Bette Midler is the best woman to revive ‘Hello, Dolly!’ by Michael Riedel

A quick story from Carol Channing’s farewell tour of “Hello, Dolly!” in the 1990s: As the company bus rolled into a city on the tour, cast members looked out the window and saw GOD SAV…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:08PM
Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Bette Midler returning to Broadway to star in ‘Hello, Dolly!’ by Michael Riedel

Bette Midler will return to Broadway in the fall as the title character in the celebrated musical, “Hello, Dolly!” Midler will play Dolly Levi, the matchmaker from Yonkers, who f…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:46AM
Sunday, January 17, 2016

Where Jimmy Fallon keeps his Jagermeister — and other tasty restaurant secrets by Michael Riedel

Just before Christmas, Page Six reported that Bill and Hillary Clinton were at ‘21’ toasting the news of daughter Chelsea’s pregnancy, when Bubba asked the staff to dig up something he…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:00AM
Thursday, January 14, 2016

Is the David Bowie musical ‘Lazarus’ headed to Broadway? by Michael Riedel

“Lazarus” was already sold out at the New York Theatre Workshop before the news of creator David Bowie’s death this week. But now it’s giving “Hamilton” a run for its sky…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:56PM
Sunday, January 10, 2016

Broadway’s Palace Theatre is getting a crazy makeover by Michael Riedel

For years, Broadway theater owners have been selling air rights above their rather squat, landmarked stages to developers. Developers use those air rights to add extra floors to skyscrapers.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:00AM
Thursday, January 7, 2016

Remembering Robert Stigwood and his disco inferno by Michael Riedel

Robert Stigwood, who died this week at 81, was the forgotten impresario. Like Howard Hughes, he blazed through the entertainment world and then . . . vanished. Old friends whose careers …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:38PM
Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The legends Broadway lost in 2015 by Michael Riedel

A science-fiction icon, a wisecracking comic legend, an eccentric restaurateur, an avenger . . . and an actor who held the stage for eight hours in a Dickens of a play. Here are a few no…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:23PM
Sunday, December 27, 2015

Cynthia Erivo shines in ‘The Color Purple’ by Michael Riedel

Jennifer Hudson’s the draw at “The Color Purple” box office — but her co-star, Cynthia Erivo, is Broadway’s latest overnight sensation. The British actress is winning raves for her…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:35PM
Thursday, December 17, 2015

Biting, brittle, bitchy: New bio reveals the magic of Maggie Smith by Michael Riedel

If you’ve been knocking around the theater world as long as I have, you’re bound to come across a Maggie Smith story. Here’s my favorite: During the 1990 run of “Lettice and Lovage�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:15PM

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
TBA: Titanic