All stories by Rodney Sexton on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 21, 2012

Evita by Rodney Sexton

There is a moment in Evita when, with a single note, you know something magical is about to happen. Unfortunately, it happens halfway through Act I. Even more unfortunate, the actress, playi…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:02PM
Friday, March 2, 2012

Once by Rodney Sexton

Even after a show runs for 2 months off-Broadway, you might expect it to take a little time to find its legs in the new space of a Broadway house. As of its third preview Once has found its …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:09AM
Saturday, February 18, 2012

Venue in Fur by Rodney Sexton

I missed the Nina Arianda train when she was in the off-Broadway production. I missed the Nina Arianda train when she was on Broadway production of Born Yesterday. I was a little annoyed by …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:58PM
Saturday, February 11, 2012

Merrily We Roll Along--Encores by Rodney Sexton

I saw the Lincoln Center reunion performance of Merrily We Roll Along in 2002. It was a joy to be in the room, to hear the score sung live. But the book and concept (going backward in time)…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:14AM
Friday, January 27, 2012

Wit by Rodney Sexton

Wit is a difficult play. The lead character isn’t particularly likeable on the page, but the audience can’t merely feel sorry for her. The metaphors and deconstructions of 17th Century p…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:48AM
Wednesday, January 25, 2012

3 Shows With a Black Thread by Rodney Sexton

I didn’t go looking for shows about people of color, didn’t have an agenda in grouping these three together. I simply happened to see them about the same time and, since all had been run…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:26PM
Monday, December 5, 2011

Once by Rodney Sexton

Once in a while, you get to have an experience in the theatre that is thoroughly satisfying. Every now and then, the experience is completely original. Occasionally, a movie is transplanted …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:59PM
Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Godspell by Rodney Sexton

Godspell contains one of my favorite scores. Growing up enamored as much by Amy Grant and Sandi Patty as Betty Buckley and Jennifer Holliday, Godspell was one of those college discoveries th…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:54PM
Monday, November 28, 2011

Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical by Rodney Sexton

No surprise to find a show in its third full production in fine form during a preview. Three out of four of the lead performances are spectacular. The featured actors, young and old, are str…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:43PM
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

An Evening With Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin by Rodney Sexton

Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin are deserved legends. Spending an evening with them singing two dozen or so songs, you know, during some incredibly magical moments, exactly why. When Ms. LuP…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:29AM
Saturday, November 19, 2011

Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays by Rodney Sexton

The power of this collection of same-sex marriage shorts isn't the words. You won't hear anything you haven't heard before if you've been listening to anyone with anything to say on the subj…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:56PM
Friday, November 11, 2011

Follies: Revisited by Rodney Sexton

I am not sure there is anything left to be said about Follies. I saw it early at the Kennedy Center and was more grateful for its existence than evincing its greatness. I was surprised it tr…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:09PM
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Burning by Rodney Sexton

I know that walking out on a show should probably disqualify me from reviewing it, so I will only comment on what I saw of Burning. To be completely transparent, I’ve walked out on a numbe…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:04PM
Friday, October 21, 2011

A French Kiss From Lee Lessack by Rodney Sexton

I discovered Lee Lessack at a performance in the late 90’s, upstairs at Eighty Eights, the best-of-its-generation New York piano bar that didn’t live to see the new millennium. I left en…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:44AM
Friday, October 14, 2011

Michael Holland's Putting a Spell on Broadway: An Interview by Rodney Sexton

Several years ago, a friend insisted I had to see Gashole. I actually misread his e-mail invitation as Gash Ole. Turns out, it was not a Mexican drag act. I was too sick to go to the theatre…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:04AM
Sunday, September 25, 2011

A Career in the Theatre: A Profile of Tom Dudzick by Rodney Sexton

Tom Dudzick may be the most successful playwright whose work you've never seen. His first play, Greetings, opened off-Broadway in 1994 during a blizzard. Even though Clive Barnes called the …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:29PM
Thursday, September 22, 2011

Traces versus Zarkana by Rodney Sexton

There’s something in the water in Montreal. They pump out body-defying acrobatics wrapped in tongue-in-cheek excess like a virus. Despite the shared core, two Canadian exports leaped into …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:55PM
Monday, August 22, 2011

Judy Gold takes Avenue Q to Jerusalem for a Holiday by Rodney Sexton

Okay, not really. Having been on a work-schedule imposed hiatus from the theatre, I managed to get to a few things in a cluster. The Judy Show: My Life as a Sitcom Judy Gold is a big old l…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:19PM
Friday, June 17, 2011

Company: The Movie by Rodney Sexton

When you have a chance to hear the New York Philharmonic play a Stephen Sondheim score, you just go. Whatever else happens, you will hear the songs differently, more fully, willingly drown a…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:04AM
Friday, June 10, 2011

War Horse by Rodney Sexton

Okay, I am late to the rodeo. Nevertheless. . .Imagine how much more brilliant Lion King could have been if Julie Taymor had spent even a fraction of her time during the development period f…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 03:13PM
Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Catch Me If You Can by Rodney Sexton

If you ever have to choose between catching an STD or Catch Me If You Can, you should know that in either case, you’re screwed—and in only one is there a chance of having a good time. An…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:52AM
Friday, May 27, 2011

Shakespeare's Slave by Rodney Sexton

If you are going to create a play about Shakespeare, it better be about the writing. The Resonance Ensemble’s production of Shakespeare’s Slave is all about the writing; and in this prod…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:29PM
Monday, May 23, 2011

Book of Mormon and Sister Act: A Second Glance by Rodney Sexton

With friends in town wanting to see the two best musicals of the season, I got a chance to revisit Book of Mormon and Sister Act. I also got a chance to see both from a different vantage poi…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:47PM
Monday, May 16, 2011

Lucky Guy by Rodney Sexton

Lucky Guy isn't everyone's cup of tea. As a matter of fact, only those with a real taste for tea will leave quenched. If the idea of an overgrown drag queen, a funny-looking little troll, an…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:40PM
Monday, May 9, 2011

Follies: Kennedy Center by Rodney Sexton

What haunts most about any production of Follies is not the chorus of ghosts that infiltrate the stage, the unfulfilled dreams or festered regrets infecting the wings, or even the bookends o…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:37PM
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sister Act by Rodney Sexton

How refreshing would it be to see a movie, a good movie at that, translated for the stage and not simply transferred to the stage? I might just drop to my knees and yell, "Whoopi!" Instead, …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:09PM
Thursday, April 21, 2011

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by Rodney Sexton

A Little Dessert in the DesertI love the movie, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The performances are nearly flawless, the costumes spectacularly original, and the script and direction fresh …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:20PM
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Anything Goes by Rodney Sexton

A Cole Day in Hell Photo Credit: Joan MarcusI work in the theater. No, I no longer perform; but I am an enthusiastic audience member who believes that once the curtain goes up, I have a…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:19PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards