All stories by Tony Frankel on BroadwayStars

Friday, February 9, 2024

Highly Recommended Off-Broadway: BECOMES A WOMAN (Streaming Free from Mint Theater Feb 19-March17, 2024) by Tony Frankel

Mint Theater Company will continue its hybrid programming of live performances along with the FREE on-demand streaming of acclaimed previous productions. Beginning Monday February 19, 2024 (…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:33AM[SHARE]

Dance-Theater Review: MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (North American Tour) by Tony Frankel

A SHOW THAT SENDS OUT AN S.O.S. Set to 28 songs of pop icon Sting, newly arranged and recorded with Beverley Knight and Lynval Golding (of The Specials), Sadler's Wells Associate Artist K…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Theater Opening: YBOR CITY (The Actors' Gang in Culver City) by Tony Frankel

THE ACTORS' GANG PRESENTS YBOR CITY, A HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL NEW PLAY Ybor City tells the story of overworked Cuban cigar factory immigrants in 1931, who find themselves inspired by the spiri…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:08PM[SHARE]

Highly Recommended Theater: LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD (Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago) by Tony Frankel

World premiere of Little Bear Ridge Road by Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Joe Mantello The Cast: Laurie Metcalf, Micah Stock, John Drea and Meighan Gerachis. June 13 " July 21, 2024 in…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:55AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 2, 2024

Theater Review: THE LION KING (National Tour) by Tony Frankel

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER IT'S THE KING OF MUSICALS OR NOT; IT'S THE KING OF EXPERIENCES Endearing heroes and villains. Shakespeare and ancient myth. Coherent storytelling. Anthropomorphic j…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:02PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Theater Review: POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE (Geffen) by Tony Frankel

A TOOTHLESS POTUS Seven women propping up one man at The White House " that's the premise behind Selena Fillinger's POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to K…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:18AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 27, 2024

Theater Review: CABARET (CVRep in Cathedral City) by Tony Frankel

Cabaret was and remains one of the boldest and most innovative experiments in the history of musical theater, a ravishing work that has neither lost its power nor its pertinence no matter…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 26, 2024

Album Review: HARMONY (Original Broadway Cast) by Tony Frankel

While I'm wrecked that Harmony is closing on Broadway February 5, 2024 after only 96 performances, the music, fortunately, still lives on with the Original Cast recording from Ghostlight Rec…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:47PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 25, 2024

Highly Recommended Broadway: CABARET AT THE KIT KAT KLUB (starring Eddie Redmayne at the August Wilson Theatre) by Tony Frankel

ADVANCE WARNING: THIS CABARET WILL BE THE HOTTEST TICKET ON BROADWAY I saw this production in London, so prepare yourself for the most emotionally raw production of Cabaret you will ever see…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 22, 2024

Recommended Event: HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY PROGRAM (Interviews with NYC Show Creators at NY Public Library for the Performing Arts) by Tony Frankel

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27 from 1:30 to 3:30, National Jewish Theater Foundation President Arnold Mittelman will interview creators of current NYC shows Harmon…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:45PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Highly Recommended Cabaret: CUPID'S EROS (Troubadour Theatre " aka "The Troubies" " at Getty Villa in Malibu) by Tony Frankel

A VALENTINE'S CABARET WITH MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES PERFORMING SONGS OF PASSION Join the Troubies, masters of musical mirth, for an hour-long, family-friendly, song-filled sojourn with classic…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:58PM[SHARE]

Highly Recommended Theater: THE NOSEBLEED (National Tour Jan 25 " Feb 8, 2024 at The Walker, REDCAT & The Wex) by Tony Frankel

The Nosebleed, the Obie Award-Winning Show from Playwright and Director Aya Ogawa now on national tour The Walker, Minneapolis (Jan. 25-27); REDCAT in L.A. (West Coast Premiere Feb. 1-3, …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:37PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Theater Announcement PARADE (North American Tour Launches January 2025) by Tony Frankel

Easily one of the best Broadway productions ever, the revival of Parade, winner of the 2023 Tony Award  for Best Revival of a Musical and Grammy Award nominee for Best Musical Theat…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:21AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 12, 2024

Theater Review: AVENUE Q (Revolution Stage Company in Palm Springs) by Tony Frankel

AVENUE Q GETS AN A+ Avenue Q, the delightful musical comedy which affectionately lampoons Sesame Street, opened last night to a packed house at Revolution Stage Company, and it's a non-st…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:31PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Off-Broadway, Broadway Openings: ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY (2024-2025 Season) by Tony Frankel

With The Refuge Plays, English, Covenant (one of my favorite plays from 2023) and more, Roundabout continues to prove itself as a template for creating the best theater in the country. Th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:34PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 5, 2024

Theater Review: MJ The Musical (First National Tour) by Tony Frankel

MJ WANTS TO BE STARTIN' SOMETHIN' " AND DOES MJ The Musical, now on its first national tour, raises the bar for the bio-musical. It far exceeds a mere revue of Michael Jackson's iconic music…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:11PM[SHARE]

Highly Recommended Off-Broadway: MAKE ME GORGEOUS! (Extension at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke's) by Tony Frankel

A GORGEOUS SHOW! An absolutely do-not-miss show at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke's, Make Me Gorgeous! is the reworking of several books by Kenneth aka Kate Marlowe, who has been described as one …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:17PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 4, 2024

Highly Recommended Theater: TINY LITTLE TOWN: A NEW MUSICAL (Theatre Movement Bazaar at Broadwater Theater) by Tony Frankel

In Tiny Little Town " a new Musical Comedy reimagining Ukrainian playwright Nikolai Gogol's 19th-century satire The Government Inspector, a small town in 1970s America is thrown into chaos w…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:27PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 1, 2024

Highly Recommended Theater: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (A Noise Within in Pasadena) by Tony Frankel

Diabolical comedy, stunning terror, razor-sharp wit and extraordinary, soaring music. A Noise Within presents Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the dark, brooding, …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:45PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 22, 2023

Highly Recommended Theater: DAVID DEAN BOTTRELL: THE DEATH OF ME YET (Rogue Machine at Matrix Theatre) by Tony Frankel

David Dean Bottrell returns to Rogue Machine on January 10, 2024 with his latest critically acclaimed, recently off-Broadway solo show, David Dean Bottrell: The Death of Me Yet. An uplifting…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:55PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 21, 2023

Highly Recommended Broadway: UNCLE VANYA (Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont) by Tony Frankel

Running invisible endurance feats, the characters of Anton Chekhov expose what Henry David Thoreau called "lives of quiet desperation." When the good doctor's creations, compassionately but …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:35AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Recommended Theater: CHILDREN OF EDEN IN CONCERT (Manhattan Concert Productions, David Geffen Hall) by Tony Frankel

For one night only on February 18, 2024, Manhattan Concert Productions (MCP) will present the next installment of its Broadway Series: The beloved musical Children of Eden. Broadway veterans…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:16PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 6, 2023

Theater Review: BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA (Odyssey Theatre Ensemble) by Tony Frankel

A FEATHER IN ARYE GROSS'S CAP Playwright Anna Ouyang Moench uses the setting of a wooded area " beautifully designed at Odyssey Theatre by Mark Guirguis " as the backdrop of this beaut…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:39PM[SHARE]

Theater Review: FOLLIES (Musical Theatre Guild) by Tony Frankel

A FULFILLING FOLLIES One night? I mean, ONE night? Then again, the reunion in Follies we witness takes place on one night as well. And for those at said reunion and those of us lucky enough …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:27PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Theater Review: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (Chance Theatre) by Tony Frankel

AN AMAZING INCIDENT Meet Christopher Francis Boone, a wannabe bloodhound who has significant social, behavioral and communication challenges; we assume the unnamed disorder is on the auti…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:56AM[SHARE]

Recommended Theater: NOLLYWOOD DREAMS (San Francisco Playhouse) by Tony Frankel

San Francisco Playhouse has begun its 2023-24 Season with the West Coast Premiere of the romantic comedy Nollywood Dreams, directed by Bay Area theatre veteran Margo Hall. Written by Ghan…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:50AM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 30, 2023

Theater Review: MEASURE STILL FOR MEASURE (Boston Court Pasadena) by Tony Frankel

#METOO FOR MEASURE I can't imagine the work that writer/director Jessica Kubzansky put into the world premiere of her immersive, hybrid-theater, play-within-a-play Measure STILL for Measure.…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:31PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 29, 2023

Recommended Theatre and Album: THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE: THE MUSICAL (Original London Cast Album from Sony Masterworks Broadway) by Tony Frankel

Sony Masterworks Broadway has released the Original Cast Recording to The Time Traveller's Wife: The Musical, available everywhere now. The musical is now in previews and opens on Novembe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:20PM[SHARE]
Monday, September 25, 2023

Highly Recommended Off-Broadway: FARÁNDULA (Jazz Vilá Comedy at Repertorio Español) by Tony Frankel

THE CUBAN THEATRICAL PHENOMENON OF THE LAST DECADE ARRIVES IN NYC One of my favorite places to see plays in NYC is also NYC's most prominent Latino theatre companies: Repertorio Español. …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:56AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Theater Review: WOLF PLAY (Shotgun Players) by Tony Frankel

LIBERTY FOR WOLVES IS DEATH TO THE LAMBS Gabby Momah makes a star turn as Ash, a conflicted non-binary adoptive parent and up-and-coming boxer in Hansol Jung's Wolf Play, a fascinating, thri…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:05PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Theater News: TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY NAMED ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FOR GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE by Tony Frankel

In 2010, I witnessed the work of playwright Terrell Alvin McCraney for the first time. I knew immediately that his would prove to be an important voice in the theater. Since that fateful day…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:29PM[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