All stories by Michael Riedel on BroadwayStars

Thursday, June 13, 2013

A scandal in song by Michael Riedel

While everybody with a dog in the fight on Broadway was at the Tony Awards on Sunday — the “Kinky Boots” team dancing and cheering, the “Matilda” team scowling and cursing — anot…

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Monday, June 10, 2013

Revenge at the Tonys! by Michael Riedel

Why ‘Matilda’ got the ‘Boots’

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Sunday, June 9, 2013

Send in the divas by Michael Riedel

It's time to overhaul the Tony Awards. Tonight’s telecast, to be broadcast on CBS at 8, will look like, well, last year’s telecast. And like the one the year before. Neil Patrick Harris,…

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Thursday, June 6, 2013

Tonys forecast by Michael Riedel

And the winner is . . . Those four words will set off butterflies in plenty of stomachs at the Tony Awards. A few key races have tightened up in the past week, so there should be a decent am…

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Hizzoner honored by Michael Riedel

I’m going to let you in on a Broadway secret. It’s supposed to be a surprise for Sunday’s telecast, so I’m asking you to keep it between ourselves. A special Tony honor will be pres…

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Friday, May 31, 2013

Tonys drama! by Michael Riedel

Who’s on first at the Tony Award telecast? Everybody! Details are starting to leak out about the show, which CBS will broadcast June 9 from Radio City Music Hall. The opening act is always…

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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The divine Miss Levi? by Michael Riedel

Hello, Bette! Although the Tony nominators gave her a poke in the eye, most of Broadway loves Bette Midler in “I’ll Eat You Last” and is delighted she’s back on the legitimate stage …

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Thursday, May 23, 2013

‘Chocolate’ needs more bite by Michael Riedel

Hold your breath. Make a wish. Now count to three. Come with me, and you’ll be at the first preview of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”! I have a spy who went under cover as an Oomp…

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Tony turmoil’s in overdrive by Michael Riedel

Tony madness continues to sweep through Shubert Alley. The races are tightening. The campaigns are in full swing. Rivals are quietly trying to do in one another. Everyone’s tense. Everyone…

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Friday, May 17, 2013

Why 'Virginia Woolf' is in Tonys trouble by Michael Riedel

Broadway is in the grip of Tony fever — which means everybody’s behaving as if they were in that great Alexander Payne movie “Election.” This year, the role of Tracy Flick is being p…

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sting’s ‘Ship’ is B’way bound by Michael Riedel

Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, have become fixtures on the Broadway red carpet, attending the openings of “Lucky Guy,” “Motown” and “I’ll Eat You Last.” What’s the old po…

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Thursday, May 9, 2013

Hit musical is not so far away by Michael Riedel

With the Tony nominations out, and the big winners predictable — “Matilda,” “Pippin,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” — Broadwa…

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Scott Rudin takes a poke at a Times writer through an ad by Michael Riedel

Jon Wilner, the former Broadway advertising executive, liked to say that you can slip anything into The New York Times — if you know how to massage the system. Producer Scott Rudin certain…

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All the ads that are fun to print by Michael Riedel

Producer Scott Rudin certainly “massaged the system” Saturday with an ad for “The Testament of Mary” that included a little poke at Times theater reporter Patrick Healy.

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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Not lost on Equity by Michael Riedel

What would the Tonys be without a little controversy — a little tempest in tap shoes? And I don’t mean the fact that the infantile “Bring It On” was nominated as Best Musical. No, th…

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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

A sure Bette? Not for Tony by Michael Riedel

Last week in this column, I wondered whether Bette Midler would win a Tony for her delicious comic turn as Hollywood superagent Sue Mengers. But as one of my readers — Chris Galka — thou…

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tony’s no laughing matter by Michael Riedel

Can the “Divine Miss M” win a “Divine Miss T?” That is, can Bette Midler win a Tony Award (which is named after Antoinette Perry)? Midler returns to Broadway tonight for the first ti…

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Dancing queen downsizes by Michael Riedel

‘mamma Mia!” is on the move. After 12 years and 5,000 performances, “Mamma Mia!” is decamping from the Winter Garden to the Broadhurst in the fall. The move is a tacit acknowledgment…

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

‘Matilda’ a gleeful, skipping waltz to Tony by Michael Riedel

‘A night off, a night off, my house seats for a night off!” is the refrain heard round Shubert Alley as openings come fast and furious before the Tony deadline. But just when you thought…

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

‘Motown’: Mo’ money by Michael Riedel

I’ve been a little sniff-sniffy about “Motown, the Musical,” which opens Sunday at the Lunt-Fontanne. Its script, by Motown mogul Berry Gordy (with an assist from Dick Scanlan), isn’…

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Iron Lady & the lively arts by Michael Riedel

Margaret Thatcher was, like her good friend Ronald Reagan, a politician with theatrical flair. She gave one of the best performances I’ve ever seen — in the House of Commons right before…

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Friday, April 5, 2013

Bond and his babe face adulterous ‘Betrayal’ by Michael Riedel

Bond is coming back to Broadway, this time with his better half. And I don’t mean Blofeld! Daniel Craig, the reigning 007, will star opposite his wife, Rachel Weisz, in a revival of Harol…

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Big actor, bigger heart by Michael Riedel

Richard Griffiths was an actor from the old school. And by that I mean he liked a little nip before going onstage. I met him a couple of times at Angus McIndoe’s, a bar across the street f…

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Hands off a ‘Hardbody’ by Michael Riedel

Broadway is about to be gripped by spring fever, with 15 openings scheduled between now and the cutoff date for Tony Award nominations at the end of April. Shia LaBeouf’s “Orphans” mel…

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

B'way's dahl-ing by Michael Riedel

Thirteen years after his death, Roald Dahl is enjoying a theatrical comeback. In London, the “Hairspray” team of MarcShaiman and Scott Wittman areworking on “Charlie and the Chocolate …

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Little orphan box office for ‘Annie’ by Michael Riedel

I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for “Annie.” It was my very first Broadway show, and I saw it from the last row of the balcony of the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon). And …

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Friday, March 15, 2013

They love ya, Harvey! by Michael Riedel

Christine Quinn may be the Democratic front-runner for mayor, but there’s one patch of New York where she’d face some formidable competition: Broadway, an area that would handily be won …

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

‘Motown’ needs mo’ second act by Michael Riedel

As loyal readers of this column know — hi, Mom! hi, Dad! — I’ve taken to dispensing advice about how to improve the new crop of Broadway shows. And the results, I must say, have been p…

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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Will Tony present a glass slipper? by Michael Riedel

We’re on the cusp of what’s shaping up to be a busy spring on Broadway — 19 productions are on the way — and producers are already playing the Tony sweepstakes. As they survey the co…

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Gloria-ous musical B’way-bound by Michael Riedel

* A few quick hits today: THE Nederlanders recently announced that they’ve teamed up with Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio, to bring the couple’s life story to Broadway. The Estef…

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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Feinstein may go Below for his new nightclub by Michael Riedel

Ever since Feinstein’s shut down at the Regency, Michael Feinstein has been on the hunt for a new place to tickle his ivories. I hear he may make a bid on 54 Below, that fine new cabaret a…

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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