All stories by Peter Marks on BroadwayStars

Thursday, November 3, 2022

The new musical ‘Almost Famous’ is not even almost great by Peter Marks

The delightful 2000 rock film comes to Broadway with disappointing results.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:54PM
Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Ralph Fiennes, Samuel L. Jackson electrify the drama on N.Y. stages by Peter Marks

"Straight Line Crazy" and "The Piano Lesson" are among the hot properties on Broadway and off this fall.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:54PM
Wednesday, October 26, 2022

With midterms looming, an interactive show urges us to hear one another by Peter Marks

Created at NYU, “Whatever You Are, Be a Good One” goes live nationally to encourage us to listen, and learn.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:03PM
Friday, October 21, 2022

As America votes, abortion rights take center stage at a D.C. theater by Peter Marks

“My Body No Choice” offers eight monologues about body autonomy, commissioned by Arena Stage

SOURCE: Washington Post at 02:55PM

Branson is the entertainment hub of the Ozarks. This critic had a blast. by Peter Marks

Branson is the entertainment hub of the Ozarks, and business is booming. The Washington Post's theater critic visited its biggest shows.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:07AM
Thursday, October 20, 2022

Broadway’s ‘Topdog/Underdog’ pits two fine actors in blistering battle by Peter Marks

The play, which won a Pulitzer Prize, gets the searingly funny production that it deserves.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:33PM
Friday, October 14, 2022

On D.C. stages, illuminating Emmett Till and Leonardo da Vinci to mixed effect by Peter Marks

Plays detailing Till’s death, Leonardo’s genius and the intricacies of faith-based conservatism are on the fall docket in the nation’s capital.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:03PM
Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Angela Lansbury’s success was no mystery: She owned every stage by Peter Marks

Among other achievements, the actress, who died Tuesday at 96, inhabited some of most sensational roles in musical theater history — and did it unforgettably.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:25PM
Monday, October 10, 2022

Bet on this ‘Guys and Dolls,’ ladies and gents. It’s aces. by Peter Marks

Watch the spectacular revival of this musical at the Kennedy Center.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:03PM
Sunday, October 9, 2022

A volcanic new ‘Death of a Salesman’ erupts on Broadway by Peter Marks

Wendell Pierce and Sharon D Clarke lead the cast of the latest version of Arthur Miller's masterwork to hit Broadway.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:33PM
Thursday, October 6, 2022

‘1776’ is back on Broadway with vivacity and a revolutionary cast by Peter Marks

The two directors have filled this 1969 musical with transgender and nonbinary actors.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:03PM
Sunday, October 2, 2022

Tom Stoppard’s ‘Leopoldstadt’ on Broadway is simply devastating by Peter Marks

A review of Tom Stoppard's sprawling play about Vienna Jews in the 20th century.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 11:03PM
Thursday, September 29, 2022

Tom Stoppard at 85: ‘Without the writing, life isn’t purposeful’ by Peter Marks

The playwright’s sprawling “Leopoldstadt” on Broadway, which heartachingly explores his Jewish roots, may not be his last work.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:55AM
Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Lea Michele is just the gleeful diva this ‘Funny Girl’ needed by Peter Marks

Lea Michele is captivatingly center stage in the revival of the 1964 musical at the August Wilson Theatre.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:25PM
Thursday, September 22, 2022

‘Death of a Salesman’ gets first Black Linda Loman, and she’s a dynamo by Peter Marks

The British actress Sharon D Clarke, a Tony nominee last season for “Caroline, or Change,” is opposite Wendell Pierce as Willy in Arthur Miller’s classic drama.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:33AM
Thursday, September 8, 2022

This fall, theaters whet our appetites with an impressive buffet by Peter Marks

New Stoppard, old Loesser, stories from the political right and left, and Shakespeare with new looks stock the stage.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:05AM

How one D.C. theater is advocating for abortion rights by Peter Marks

“My Body No Choice” — eight monologues by female playwrights — starts at Arena Stage next month as the midterm elections approach.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:05AM
Thursday, August 25, 2022

‘Color Purple’ is lifted by powerful voices at Signature Theatre by Peter Marks

The Virginia company revives the popular musical, based on Alice Walker’s novel and a 1985 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 03:18PM

‘Into the Woods’ has a magical cow. Meet the man who mooves her. by Peter Marks

Kennedy Kanagawa is the puppeteer behind Milky White, the bovine star of the hit Broadway revival.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:24AM
Friday, August 19, 2022

Arts workers are increasingly stepping onto the political stage by Peter Marks

Members of the creative sector are building coalitions, raising money and even running for office to press for their causes.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:12AM
Monday, August 15, 2022

I’d go anywhere right now to see a Sondheim musical by Peter Marks

Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires stages “A Little Night Music,” with Emily Skinner in one of the great roles of the Sondheim canon.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:37PM
Monday, August 8, 2022

New musical version of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ trips on the runway by Peter Marks

A Chicago tryout for the stage adaptation, featuring songs by Elton John, needs decidedly more zhoozh.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 05:03PM
Friday, August 5, 2022

How photos of Nazis partying at Auschwitz gave rise to a new play by Peter Marks

“Here There Are Blueberries," at California’s La Jolla Playhouse, is based on photos submitted to an archivist at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:24AM
Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Kennedy Center ups the Broadway ante with starry ‘Guys and Dolls’ by Peter Marks

Jessie Mueller, James Monroe Iglehart, Phillipa Soo and Steven Pasquale will feature in the return of a celebrated concert series.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 01:33PM

In beguiling ‘American Prophet,’ Frederick Douglass lets freedom sing by Peter Marks

The world-premiere musical at Arena Stage turns the famous abolitionist’s words into moving hymns and anthems.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 10:12AM
Friday, July 29, 2022

Now hear this: How ‘Into the Woods’ makes the noise so joyful by Peter Marks

The hit revival, starring Sara Bareilles, Gavin Creel, Phillipa Soo, Joshua Henry and Patina Miller, applies clarion sound to Sondheim’s score.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:18AM
Saturday, July 23, 2022

Thanks to a new musical, Frederick Douglass dances into pop culture by Peter Marks

The premiere of “American Prophet” at Arena Stage seeks to show the human side of a revered figure from American history.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 08:03AM
Friday, July 22, 2022

This is some slim stuff for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to be made on by Peter Marks

The latest return to Shakespeare by the Folger Theatre is more muddle than magic.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:48PM

The curtain’s up on a Broadway hotel where the set designer’s the star by Peter Marks

A new Broadway-themed hotel in Manhattan, the Civilian, immerses its guests in theater sets, art, photos, costumes and props.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:42AM
Friday, July 15, 2022

New plays about race and climate change bloom in West Virginia’s wilds by Peter Marks

The Contemporary American Theater Festival in West Virginia is back on this summer, with a marathon of original works.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 07:18AM
Sunday, July 10, 2022

With a perfect cast, Broadway has an ‘Into the Woods’ for the ages by Peter Marks

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s urbane musical twist on fairy-tale endings gets a priceless Broadway revival.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 09:37PM

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