All stories by Paul Wontorek on BroadwayStars

Monday, August 5, 2019

Uma Thurman on Her Summer Stage Adventure in Ghosts at Williamstown Theatre Festival by Paul Wontorek

Until recently, Uma Thurman had only flirted with the stage. As a teen, she headlined The Crucible at boarding school, which inspired a fruitful Hollywood career, but not one in the theat…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 02:24PM
Sunday, August 4, 2019

Hit the Town! 5 Must-Do Events for the Week of August 5 to 11 by Paul Wontorek

This week, you can see Broadway stars doing it all, all over town—sweating for the fans at Bryant Park, baring their abs at Joe’s Pub, inspiring minions at Green Room 42... All that and …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:06PM
Sunday, July 28, 2019

Get Out! 5 Must-Do Events for the Week of July 29 to August 4 by Paul Wontorek

This week, some stunning stars are speaking (and singing) out for the New York chapter of the ACLU, one of the most buzzed-about playwrights brings her latest to the boards, an epic back-to-…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:48PM
Monday, June 24, 2019

William F. Brown, Tony-Nominated Book Writer of The Wiz, Dies at 91 by Paul Wontorek

William F. Brown, the Tony-nominated American writer who is best known for his libretto to the long-running Broadway musical The Wiz, died on June 23 in Westport, CT, according to his longti…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:54PM
Thursday, June 6, 2019

Ryan Murphy Has Big Plans for Broadway: The Tony Nominee on Bringing The Boys in the Band, The Prom and More to the World by Paul Wontorek

Ryan Murphy has big plans for Broadway. Sure, the Hollywood hit-maker was long linked to the theater world. He directed the Emmy-winning HBO adaptation of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:03PM
Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Ready, Set, Tony! Get to Know the Fab Five Up for Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Award by Paul Wontorek

When the Tony Awards telecast begins on Sunday, June 9, 40 nervous and excited actors will take their seats at Radio City Music Hall, hoping to win Broadway’s biggest prize. Throughout the…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:06PM

Livin' It Up: Amber Gray Goes from 'Weak Link' of the School Play to Tony-Nominated Hadestown Standout by Paul Wontorek

As Persephone, the life of the underground party in Hadestown, Amber Gray is a dazzling highlight of the romantic hit musical, which has become the toast of Broadway and the recipient of a w…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:06PM
Sunday, June 2, 2019

Prom Builders: Saluting the Risk-Taking, Culture-Changing Producers of Broadway’s Super-Original Musical Comedy Hit by Paul Wontorek

Source material for Broadway musicals can come from almost anywhere. Of the 11 new musicals of the just-wrapped 2018-2019 season, four were adapted from Hollywood hits, two from the lives of…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:24PM

Linked by Larry: Lou Liberatore and Brandon Uranowitz Dig Deep on the Burn This Role That Turned Into a Ticket to the Tonys by Paul Wontorek

Burn This is the sexy story of the intense collision of two grieving lovers—a hot-headed beast of a man and a soulful, artistic woman. Or is it? Turns out the late Lanford Wilson’s popul…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:54PM
Thursday, May 30, 2019

Why the 2019 Tonys Will Be an Emotional Full-Circle Moment for Torch Song Producer Richie Jackson by Paul Wontorek

One fateful day in 1982, early in the original triumphant three-year run of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, Carol Jackson of Bellmore, Long Island came into the city to catch a perf…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:33PM
Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Fan-Picked 2019 Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Nominations Announced; Be More Chill Leads With 12 by Paul Wontorek

Be More Chill led the list of nominees for the 2019 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, the only major theater prize chosen by Broadway fans. The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Joe …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:48PM
Friday, April 26, 2019

John Lithgow on Exposing Vulnerability, Sadness and His Legs in Hillary and Clinton by Paul Wontorek

Two-time Tony Award winner John Lithgow may not really look like the 42nd President of the United States, but both accomplished men have one thing in commen: they know about popular. That co…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 02:00PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Jeff Daniels on Becoming Atticus Finch, the Iconic Hero Without a Cape by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Gideon Glick on Unlocking the 'Ebullient Joy' in Dill by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, April 20, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: LaTanya Richardson Jackson on Revealing the Heart and Purpose of Calpurnia by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Friday, April 19, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Will Pullen on Playing the 'Last Bit of Sunlight of Boyhood' as Jem Finch by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, April 18, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Dakin Matthews on the Good Old Boy Who Rules Over the Courtroom with Wisdom and Wit by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Gbenga Akinnagbe on Finding the Light in Playing Tom Robinson by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Celia Keenan-Bolger on the Magic and Morality of Playing Scout Finch by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:28PM
Friday, April 5, 2019

Corbin Bleu and Stephanie Styles on Tapping, Flirting and Falling in Love in Kiss Me, Kate by Paul Wontorek

With its brassy songs, high-energy hoofing, outrageous plot and unabashed love of all things show, no classic musical screams “Broadway musical comedy” like Kiss Me, Kate. A fun tonic f…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:23PM
Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Hamilton’s Carvens Lissaint Takes Aim with His New Book of Poetry and Shares His Story of Rising Up by Paul Wontorek

"Young, scrappy and hungry" are the adjectives Lin-Manuel Miranda memorably uses to describe Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton, but he could have just as well been talking about the teenage yea…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:12AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Prom’s Wayne ‘Juice’ Mackins on the Origin of His Nickname and the Best Part of His Day by Paul Wontorek

Wayne "Juice" MackinsWayne “Juice” Mackins burst onto the Broadway scene last fall as part of the spirited ensemble of the musical comedy The Prom. He plays a high schooler onstage and i…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:41PM
Sunday, March 17, 2019

Spring Preview: Finding the Power in the Pioneer Women of Oklahoma! by Paul Wontorek

Oklahoma! is back, 76 years after its Broadway premiere, in a bold new staging by director Daniel Fish that is ready to make audiences hear its songs—and the stories of its iconic characte…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:00PM
Saturday, March 9, 2019

Spring Preview: No Hate in Kiss Me, Kate for Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase by Paul Wontorek

Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and her Tony-nominated friend and co-star Will Chase have been testing out their chemistry for a big Broadway musical like Kiss Me, Kate! for a dozen years now. Fi…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:00PM
Monday, March 4, 2019

Anastasia Vet Lyrica Woodruff on Her Journey from Bunhead to Broadway Breakout by Paul Wontorek

Lyrica WoodruffLyrica Woodruff likes to joke that she was born at the ballet, as her mother took her directly from the hospital to pick up her sister from class days after birth. On the newe…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:08AM
Saturday, February 16, 2019

Gotta Dance: Get to Know Head-Turning My Fair Lady Standout Steven Trumon Gray by Paul Wontorek

Steven Trumon Gray We’ve rebooted our popular series Gotta Dance, turning a well-deserved spotlight on the best and brightest dancers on the Broadway stage. This time out, meet Steve…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:48PM

Darren Criss Marries Longtime Girlfriend Mia Swier in New Orleans by Paul Wontorek

Darren Criss is married! The Broadway and TV favorite said “I do” to longtime girlfriend Mia Swier at a New Orleans ceremony on February 16, according to People. After finding s…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:48PM
Thursday, February 14, 2019

Happy Valentine's Day from the Stars of Pretty Woman! See Their Hot Tips, Celeb Crushes, Pickup Lines & More by Paul Wontorek

Witches and wizards may reign supreme, but proof that Broadway is still for lovers can be found every night at the Nederlander Theatre, where Pretty Woman has become a favorite for audiences…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:36AM
Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Gypsy Movie Back in Motion, with Mrs. Maisel Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino In Talks to Direct by Paul Wontorek

Could everything be coming up roses again for a new big-screen adaptation of Gypsy? According to Deadline, TV queen Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is in…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:18PM
Friday, February 1, 2019

25 Years of Firsts with Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, the Songwriters Behind The Prom by Paul Wontorek

Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar (Photo by Caitlin McNaney) “I think we’ve fought maybe twice,” librettist/lyricist Chad Beguelin says, looking at his writing partner of 2…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:42PM
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Here, Queer and Singing Out on Broadway: Tarell Alvin McCraney and Jeremy Pope Talk Choir Boy by Paul Wontorek

With rousing gospel songs and a talented cast of newcomers, the acclaimed new play Choir Boy tells of the students in a prep school struggling with the institution’s deep roots in trad…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:18PM

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
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre