All stories by Roger Friedman on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Watch 18 A List Actors " Including John Lithgow, Annette Bening, Kevin Kline" Perform "The Investigation" Taken from the Mueller Report by Roger Friedman

I attended this extraordinary performance last night at the magnificent Riverside Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Annette Bening is the host.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:18AM[SHARE]

Broadway Summer Turns Nasty as "The Cher Show," "King Kong," "The Prom" Join Several Other Big Ticket Shows Unable to Make It by Roger Friedman

Summer can be cruel on Broadway " especially if there are no Tony Awards in mid June for shows that are suffering

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:18AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" is Finally Being Added to Broadway Musical of Same Name, on Its 55th Anniversary by Roger Friedman

First of all, it's hard to believe "Pretty Woman" is still playing on Broadway. It got no Tony nods at all. Nothing.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:54PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Tony Awards Go to "Hadestown," "The Ferryman," But Without Stars, Ratings Crash by Roger Friedman

Sunday night's Tony Awards crashed in the ratings. This should not have come as a surprise to anyone. Going in we knew

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:03PM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 2, 2019

Broadway: Chita Rivera Awards: If You're a "Fosse/Verdon" Fan, You Shoulda Been There as Dance Wins Went to "Hadestown," "Cher Show," a by Roger Friedman

For as long as I've known her, Patty Watt, daughter of late great theater critic Douglas Watt, has been honoring Broadway performers.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:54AM[SHARE]
Saturday, June 1, 2019

Broadway: Glenda Jackson in "King Lear" Will Close Day of Tony Awards, More 2019 Box Office Disappointments Sure to Follow by Roger Friedman

Producer Scott Rudin gambled a lot on Glenda Jackson playing "King Lear" on Broadway. He lost. The production has announced its final

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:36AM[SHARE]
Friday, May 31, 2019

Broadway: Michael Shannon, Audra McDonald Sizzle in "Frankie and Johnny" But Here's Why It Wasn't in Tony Awards Season by Roger Friedman

The good news is that Michael Shannon and Audra McDonald sizzle in "Frankie and Johnny," Terrence McNally's classic two hander about a

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 06:18AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 7, 2019

UPDATE Once Powerhouse "Book of Mormon" Has Third Bad Week in a Row as Broadway Box Office Continues Slump by Roger Friedman

UPDATE I told you last week that the once powerful "Book of Mormon" had gone on discount at ticket brokers, and there

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:18PM[SHARE]
Saturday, May 4, 2019

Broadway Shocker: Eight Year Old Musical "Book of Mormon" in Trouble After Heyday Passes, Goes on Discount for First Time by Roger Friedman

Eight years ago, you couldn't get a ticket to "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway. The show was sold out when it

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 08:12PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 2, 2019

2019 Tony Nominations: Snubs for "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Network," "Hillary and Clinton," Glenda Jackson, King Lear by Roger Friedman

The Tony Awards didn't buy what producer Scott Rudin was selling this year. They snubbed his big budget productions of "To Kill

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:42AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 26, 2019

"Beetlejuice" Debuts on Broadway, and Movie's Co-Writer Reveals Why There Will Never be a Film Sequel by Roger Friedman

"Beetlejuice" debuted on Broadway last night, and it was just as good if not better than when I saw it a month

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:06PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

"Tootsie" Comes to Broadway and Brings the A List Including Carol Burnett, Debra Messing, Kristen Chenoweth, Harvey Fierstein, Clive Davis and Mor by Roger Friedman

"Tootsie" has arrived on Broadway to great reviews and lots of laughs in the airport terminal like Marriott Marquis Theater last night.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:22AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Broadway Triumph: Annette Bening, Tracey Letts, Benjamin Walker On Fire in Sensational New Production of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" by Roger Friedman

What a relief to see a real play. Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" is back, directed with new insights by Jack O'Brien,

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:07AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 22, 2019

It's Good to Be King! Mel Brooks is Coming to Broadway for Two Nights in June, And I'm Kvelling by Roger Friedman

Mel Brooks is coming to Broadway. Two nights" June 17th and 18th at the Lunt Fontanne Theater. Mel is 92 years young.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:11PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 21, 2019

Nathan Lane, Other Actors Tortured in Simply Awful, Torturous "Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus" by Roger Friedman

I don't blame Nathan Lane. He's a comic giant, along with Kristine Nielsen and Julie White. They are the best actors Broadway

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:04PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

New York Theater: Annette Bening Isn't Only Member of Her Family on Stage This Spring As Son Stephen Ira Makes Debut Downtown by Roger Friedman

Everyone's very excited about Annette Bening on Broadway this spring in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons." She opens next Monday. The should-have-an

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:59PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 13, 2019

Broadway: If Laurie Metcalf Doesn't Win Another Tony Award This Season She's Already Signed Up to Try Again Next Spring with "Virginia Woolf" by Roger Friedman

Last year, Laurie Metcalf won her second Tony Award in a row for "Three Tall Women." OK, it was for a supporting

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:25PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 12, 2019

Musical Revivals: Joel Grey's Yiddish "Fiddler" Should Be on Broadway, Stripped Down "Oklahoma" Should Not by Roger Friedman

If I could reverse things, Joel Grey's Yiddish "Fiddler on the Roof," off Broadway at Theater 42 next to Playwrights Horizons, would

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:31PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 4, 2019

Broadway: Can Glenda Jackson Repeat as Best Actress in a Play for "King Lear"? Donald Sutherland Came to See Her Last Night by Roger Friedman

On the night before Glenda Jackson opened in "King Lear" on Broadway, no less an eminence than Donald Sutherland came to see

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:39AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 29, 2019

Tony Awards Race Tightens Up as Musical "Beetlejuice" Plays First Crazy Good Preview, Sells Out the Winter Garden by Roger Friedman

The Tony Awards race is upon us. On Thursday night we got to see a major contender for Best Musical as "Beetlejuice,"

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:04AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 25, 2019

Broadway Blockbuster Coming in 18 Months as Tony Winner Sutton Foster Tapped to Star with Hugh Jackman in "The Music Man" Revival by Roger Friedman

Doesn't September 2020 seem a long time from now? By then, we'll have a presidential race. But that's another story. To alleviate

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:07AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 22, 2019

Review: Temptations Musical "Ain't Too Proud" Sizzles with Infectious Motown Hits Even if the Facts are Sometimes "Alternative" by Roger Friedman

I told you about the Broadway show "Ain't Too Proud" a month ago after its first performance. The story of the Motown

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:31AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Sting Wraps a Seven Week Sold Out Run of "The Last Ship" in Toronto This Week, A Gorgeous Labor of Love by Roger Friedman

I got a chance to see Sting on Tuesday night in Toronto, where he's wrapping up a sold out 7 week run

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:27PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Elton John Collaborating with New Lyricist Shaina Taub on "Devil Wears Prada" Musical for Broadway by Roger Friedman

Sir Elton John rarely writes with lyricists other than Bernie Taupin. The exceptions have been Broadway musicals like "Aida" and "The Lion

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:56PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Broadway: Better News is That Hugh Jackman's Preparing a Revival of "The Music Man" (See Video), There's Trouble in River City by Roger Friedman

We communicate by Twitter. Hugh Jackman has just Tweeted a picture of Harold Hill's suitcase. Who is Harold Hill? Why he's the

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:25PM[SHARE]

Broadway Braces for a New Musical Mixing Trite Britney Spears Hits with Betty Friedan's Landmark "The Feminine Mystique" by Roger Friedman

It's Mercury in retrograde, right? On the same day that Felicity Huffman was arrested" ah-rested"something else equally unthinkable has happened. The songs

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:53PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 4, 2019

Broadway: Christie Brinkley Coming Back to "Chicago," Andrea Martin Drops Out of Nathan Lane Comedy After Breaking Ribs by Roger Friedman

Broadway is buzzing with news this day… CHRISTIE BRINKLEY is coming back to "Chicago" from April 18th to May 12th. She's warming

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:33PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 3, 2019

Oscar Winner Faye Dunaway Finally Aiming for Broadway with Boston Production of One-Woman Katharine Hepburn Play by Roger Friedman

Faye Dunaway has tried to return to Broadway ever since her last stint in 1982. She tried and tried to mount a

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 08:34PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 1, 2019

Motown's The Temptations "Ain't Too Proud" To Begin Broadway Run with Rosie O'Donnell, Other Pals by Roger Friedman

There was a line from the Imperial Theater last night straight down to the corner of 8th Avenue. The people were ticket

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:47AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 14, 2019

Michael Jackson Broadway Musical Postponed From This Fall to Summer 2020 to Avoid Association with Documentary by Roger Friedman

The Michael Jackson Broadway musical “Don’t Stop til You Get Enough” has been postponed from its Fall 2019 opening to Summer 2020. Categories: Featured Theater(Read more…

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:42PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 4, 2019

Day O! The Life of Harry Belafonte Is Coming to Broadway, Role of a Lifetime for Whoever Gets to Play Him by Roger Friedman

Day O! The life of the legendary Harry Belafonte is coming to Broadway. Ken Davenport, who produced “Once on this Island” and Categories: Featured Music Theater(Read more...)

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:24PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off