All stories by Tony Frankel on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 24, 2021

Los Angeles Theater: 54th SEASON AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE (Center Theatre Group) by Tony Frankel

CENTER THEATRE GROUP’S 54th SEASON AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE TO BEGIN NOVEMBER 30, 2021 Ahmanson Theatre Will Have Been Dark For 20 Months While it’s a shame that Diane Paulus’s new revi…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:59PM
Sunday, May 23, 2021

Theater: THE COMPLETE SONDHEIM @ 90 ROUNDTABLE (Porchlight Music Theatre) by Tony Frankel

CELEBRATING SONDHEIM While we were all prepared to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday in 2020, and all of his accomplishments up until then, along comes COVID, which not only shut …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:18PM

Broadway Podcast: WE GOT ANNIE: ANN REINKING (1949–2020) (The Fabulous Invalid) by Tony Frankel

Broadway’s podcast, The Fabulous Invalid, has released a fabulous episode, a thoroughly entertaining tribute celebrating Broadway and dance legend, Ann Reinking in We Got Annie: Ann Reink…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:36AM
Thursday, May 20, 2021

Virtual Theater Review: THE LAST MATCH (Writers Theatre) by Tony Frankel

SERVE. SET. MATCH. WINNER. Finally! A virtual theater production that actually feels like I’m in a theater. Not only that, but Writers’ production of Anna Ziegler’s The Last Match is i…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:04PM

Theater Review: GOODS (Artemisia Theatre in Chicago) by Tony Frankel

GOODS AND READY Family. Waste. Refugees. Class. Climate Change. All these and more fly off today’s headlines, but like a genie in a magic lamp, playwright Lauren Ferebee has fit them all �…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:53PM
Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Theater: SAN FRANCISCO’S CLUB FUGAZI RE-OPENS WITH THE 7 FINGERS (North Beach) by Tony Frankel

SAN FRANCISCO’S HISTORIC CLUB FUGAZI TO REOPEN FALL 2021 THE 7 FINGERS, THE WORLD-RENOWNED CIRCUS AND ARTS COLLECTIVE, TO CREATE AN ONLY-IN-SAN-FRANCISCO INTIMATE AND IMMERSIVE THEATRICAL …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:55PM

Virtual Theater: TITANIC (SCENES FROM THE BRITISH WRECK COMMISSIONER’S INQUIRY, 1912) (Court Theatre in Chicago) by Tony Frankel

Chicago’s amazing Court Theatre is presenting its next play digitally — the world can now see why this is such a remarkable company. Owen McCafferty’s Titanic (Scenes from the Britis…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:55PM

Virtual Theater: THE LAST FIVE YEARS 20TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION (Jason Robert Brown, Daisy Prince, Norbert Leo Butz, Lauren Kennedy and BJ Jones from No by Tony Frankel

A 20th Anniversary reunion event for Northlight Theatre’s world premiere of The Last Five Years — featuring performances and conversation with playwright Jason Robert Brown, direct…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:41AM
Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Broadway: LACKAWANNA BLUES, Off-Broadway: MORNING SUN (Manhattan Theatre Club) by Tony Frankel

TWO TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE FALL Performance dates have been announced for Manhattan Theatre Club‘s two previously announced productions that will reopen MTC’s Broadway and off-Broadway s…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:31AM

Virtual Theater: TINY HOUSE (Westport Country Playhouse) by Tony Frankel

IT’S A TINY WORLD, AFTER ALL How I love this company! But being an L.A.-based theater fan, it’s admittedly a tough drive. One of the very few bright sides to COVID is that great outfits …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:31AM
Monday, May 17, 2021

Virtual Theater Review: REYKJAVÍK (The Road Theatre Company) by Tony Frankel

WHAT THE HULDUFÓLK? Playwright Steve Yockey is at it again. His latest play contains the same ingredients as his previous ones: The supernatural; a mystical eerie hotel; shapeshifters; acto…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:35AM
Sunday, May 16, 2021

Theater Review: THE STORY OF MY LIFE (Chance Theater) by Tony Frankel

A STORY WELL TOLD BY CHANCE THEATER The Story of My Life is a warm, intimate and sweet two-character musical about Alvin Kelby and his childhood friend, Thomas Weaver. A flop in its New York…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:27AM
Saturday, May 15, 2021

NY Theater: SEVEN DEADLY SINS (Tectonic Theater Project & Madison Wells Live) by Tony Frankel

WELCOME ALL SINNERS! Following Miami New Drama’s acclaimed, sold-out run along Miami’s famed Lincoln Road, Seven Deadly Sins comes to New York City’s Meatpacking District for a stric…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:37PM
Friday, May 14, 2021

Theater Review: WAITING FOR GODOT (The New Group Off Stage) by Tony Frankel

ZOOM AND DOOM AND GLOOM IN A ROOM Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is not an easy play to write about, let alone produce, act, or even watch. It’s challenging, opaque, and ambiguous. …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:30PM
Thursday, May 13, 2021

Theater: TALK TO YOUR PEOPLE (Dan Hoyle, The Marsh) by Tony Frankel

TALK TO ME One of our greatest solo performers, Dan Hoyle returns to The Marsh for an intimate night of online theater, comedy, and community with an experimental workshop, Talk to Your Pe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:09AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Obit: ROBERT FLETCHER (Costume Designer) by Tony Frankel

FROM STAR TREK TO NUTCRACKER, ORSON WELLES TO NOËL COWARD, ROBERT FLETCHER LEFT HIS WHIMSICAL MARK Robert Fletcher, the prolific costume designer for both stage and screen, died peacefully …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:46PM
Sunday, April 4, 2021

Theater: DRAGÓN {THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON} (REDCAT) by Tony Frankel

On April 10 and 11, 2021, REDCAT, CalArts’ center for contemporary arts in downtown Los Angeles is presenting DRAGÓN (THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON), the newest work from internationally renow…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:18PM
Saturday, April 3, 2021

Theater Review: AMOUR (Art Lab and ShowTown Productions) by Tony Frankel

YOU’LL FALL IN LOVE WITH AMOUR “I wanted to write an opera-bouffe, an intimate evening with light, lyrical singing and delicate charm,” wrote composer Michel Legrand. “Marcel Aymé…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:31PM

Auction: STAGE AND SCREEN (Benefitting the Actors’ Fund) by Tony Frankel

The Actors Fund, Doyle Auctioneers  & Appraisers and Christine Baranski are teaming up on an auction event without precedent: “Stage & Screen.” Featuring a diverse array of me…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:47PM

Theater Review: FEEL THE SPIRIT (Shotgun Players in Berkeley) by Tony Frankel

THE SPIRIT OF THIS PIECE RESIDES IN PERFORMER VERO MAYNEZ What I left with from Feel the Spirit, which opened last night virtual-but-live from Shotgun Players, is the central performance of …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:22PM

Theater Obit: ARTHUR KOPIT (Playwright) by Tony Frankel

Arthur Kopit, the legendary dramatist, died yesterday morning at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Leslie Garis; his children Alex, Ben, Kat; his grandchildren Arthur, Beatrix, and…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:22PM
Friday, April 2, 2021

Theater Review: TRYING (North Coast Rep) by Tony Frankel

NORTH COAST REP SUCCEEDS, BUT THE PLAY IS STILL TRYING The eagerness of youth; the decay of old age; cynicism in a world of injustice; literature; mortality; idealism; FDR; and timeless quot…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:11PM

Dance: CHASING MAGIC (Ayodele Casel world premiere, streaming from The Joyce in NYC) by Tony Frankel

SHE’S TAPPING OUR TROUBLES AWAY Tap superstar Ayodele Casel returns to The Joyce in NYC for a world premiere digital engagement that explores the joys of everyday life and the art of tap d…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:11PM
Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Theater: JOHN CULLUM: AN ACCIDENTAL STAR (Vineyard Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Irish Rep) by Tony Frankel

HIS CAREER IS NO ACCIDENT John Cullum: An Accidental Star is an 80-minute intimate evening of stories and songs spanning Cullum’s illustrious career is told and sung by the 91-year-old tw…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:50PM
Monday, March 29, 2021

Theater Review: [HIEROGLYPH] (San Francisco Playhouse and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre) by Tony Frankel

AS WITH A HIEROGLYPH, THIS PLAY IS DIFFICULT TO READ Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s [hieroglyph], now streaming from San Francisco Playhouse and and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, belongs to a ge…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:15AM
Sunday, March 28, 2021

Theater/Film Review: COCK (Studio Theatre in D.C.) by Tony Frankel

I FOUND THE PERFECT COCK. NOW SEE IF YOU CAN TAKE IT. D.C.’s Studio Theatre production of Cock is a most successful outing in the world of pandemic theater — that which is filmed as a th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:02PM
Friday, March 26, 2021

Theater: AN ILIAD (Live from the New Vic in Santa Barbara, Ensemble Theatre Company) by Tony Frankel

A HOMER RUN The 90-minute one-act play An Iliad is a stunning marvel. This retelling of the famous epic The Iliad, attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer, is not a straight reading of T…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:18PM
Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Theater: MYTHS AND HYMNS (Adam Guettel’s Theatrical Song Cycle (MasterVoices) by Tony Frankel

DON’T MYTH THIS Myths and Hymns is a kaleidoscopic song cycle that explores the nature of faith and longing in a secular world. With it, MasterVoices is exploring the nature of choral pe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:17AM

Audio Theater Review: ROMEO Y JULIETA (The Public) by Tony Frankel

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER LANGUAGE… Since COVID-19’s halting live theater, there have been two different entertainments emerging. One is plays, concerts and music performed either through ZOOM…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:42AM
Monday, March 15, 2021

Opera / Film: RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE: THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA (Quantum Leap Productions) by Tony Frankel

A DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT THEATRE STARRING PETER COYOTE PREMIERES VIRTUALLY MARCH 25 – APRIL 11, 2021 Quantum Leap Productions will present Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Wester…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:21PM
Thursday, March 11, 2021

TV Review: AUDRA MCDONALD (Late Night with Seth Myers) by Tony Frankel

Hey, folks, last night on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Audra McDonald discussed a year without Broadway, raved about the star-studded cast of The Good Fight and shared her experience meeting…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:39PM

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
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime