All stories by Tony Frankel on BroadwayStars

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Theater Feature: AHMED BEST ANNOUNCED AS ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR (Echo Theater Company in Los Angeles) by Tony Frankel

BEST LEADS THE BEST Los Angeles-based Echo Theater Company, dedicated to creating new work for the theater, has named Ahmed Best (best known as Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars The Phantom Mena…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:08AM
Thursday, September 17, 2020

Theater Preview: IRISH REP ONLINE (Fall Season 2020) by Tony Frankel

IRISH REP ANNOUNCES NEW FALL SEASON When it comes to online theater, which basically began with the COVID-19 shutdown, no other company in the States has offered more compelling evidence for…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:03AM
Saturday, September 12, 2020

Theater Review: A WEEKEND WITH PABLO PICASSO (feature-length film adaptation at San Diego Rep) by Tony Frankel

When I first saw Herbert Siguenza’s solo show A Weekend with Pablo Picasso, I knew this tour-de-force triumph would live among the greatest one-person shows I could ever see, including Ja…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:16PM
Thursday, September 10, 2020

Theater Preview: ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS (UK’s Bristol Old Vic, streamed for The Wallis in Beverly Hills) by Tony Frankel

ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS MAKES U.S. DIGITAL PREMIERE LIVE One of the saddest cancellations due to COVID-19 was The Wallis Annenberg Center’s U.S. premiere of writer/director Emma Rice’s produ…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:34PM
Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Music/Theater Preview: KRITZERLAND’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW (Kritzerland — @ Home Again) by Tony Frankel

PETULA CLARK, PAMELA MYERS, BETH MALONE AND MORE SING THEIR HEARTS OUT AT KRITZERLAND’S TENTH ANNIVERSARY SHOW Petula Clark. For the 109th Kritzerland show, roll out the ribbons and toss t…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:14AM
Saturday, September 5, 2020

New York Theater Preview: NICK CORDERO MEMORIAL TRIBUTE (Broadway on Demand) by Tony Frankel

NICK CORDERO MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO STREAM ON BROADWAY ON DEMAND One of the last performances I saw before the COVID-19 shutdown was Rock of Ages here in Los Angeles. I had always had issues wi…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58PM
Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Theater Preview: THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TILL (Online Reading by Fountain Theatre’s Original Cast) by Tony Frankel

ORIGINAL CAST OF THE BALLAD OF EMMETT TILL REUNITES FOR ONLINE READING ON 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF TILL’S MURDER  The original director and cast of the Fountain Theatre’s 2010 brilliant, mov…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:19PM
Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Theater Preview: LOVE, NOËL: THE SONGS AND LETTERS OF NOËL COWARD (Irish Rep, filmed at The Players) by Tony Frankel

LOVE, NOËL: THE SONGS AND LETTERS OF NOËL COWARD A PERFORMANCE ON SCREEN Written and Devised by Barry Day Directed by Charlotte Moore Filmed at The Players Starring Steve Ross and KT…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:18PM
Friday, August 7, 2020

Theater Preview: EASTLAND: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL (Lookingglass Theatre Virtual Watch Party on August 20) by Tony Frankel

LITTLE-KNOWN CHICAGO DISASTER BECOMES TOWERING MUSICAL; THE BRILLIANT LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE PRODUCTION STREAMS ONE NIGHT ONLY FOR FREE In 2012, Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company presen…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:08PM
Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Theater Preview: L.A. LAW REUNION (Stars in the House) by Tony Frankel

LAWFUL ENTRY Tonight, the cast of LA Law will join hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley on Stars in the House LIVE at 8pm ET on the Stars in the House YouTube channel. Former staffers of …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:03PM

Theater Preview: THE VIRAL MONOLOGUES (The 24 Hour Plays) by Tony Frankel

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES Tonight through August 8, the extraordinary 2020 company members of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals will begin their weeklong intensive with their very own editio…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:47PM
Friday, July 31, 2020

Theater Feature: MARSHSTREAM INTERNATIONAL SOLO FEST (The Marsh online) by Tony Frankel

MARSH’S ONLINE SOLO FEST LOOKS FOR PERFORMERS From Ann Randolph’s Loveland in 2010 to Dan Hoyle’s Border People last year, The Marsh has presented some of the greatest solo shows I hav…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:17PM
Thursday, July 30, 2020

Theater Review: THEATER IN QUARANTINE (The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy and more) by Tony Frankel

VOYAGE IN A CLOSET Whereas many theater companies are becoming experimenters with video during the COVID-19 shutdown, Theater in Quarantine has been actually transforming theater into a smal…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:30PM
Sunday, July 26, 2020

Virtual Theater Review: IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES — A ZOOM PLAY (Source Material) by Tony Frankel

A CERTAIN UNCERTAIN I found myself alternately laughing, weeping, and being in the doldrums watching this new interdisciplinary work from the company Source Material. Founding Artistic Direc…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:35PM
Monday, July 20, 2020

Theater Preview: MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN (L.A. Theatre Works, starring Stacy Keach) by Tony Frankel

A FRESH FRANKENSTEIN STARRING STACY KEACH L.A. Theatre Works, the world’s leading producer of audio theater, has announced the release of its state-of-the-art audio recording of Mary Sh…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:16PM
Thursday, July 16, 2020

Theater Review: BETTE DAVIS AINT FOR SISSIES (live streaming) by Tony Frankel

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS “Stardust” was the name for what made Bette Davis shine. With playwright Jessica Sherr’s solo recreation of more than big eyes and flouncing cigarettes, the magic…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:34AM
Monday, July 13, 2020

Music Preview: MUSICAL THEATER DECADES – THE 1960’s (Tenor Brian Cheney & Pianist Cathy Venable on Stageit) by Tony Frankel

CELEBRATE ’60’S MUSICALS WITH BRIAN CHENEY The 1960’s may have been one of the most turbulent decades in history, but it also gave a boost to the arts in their many forms. Music and th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:38PM
Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Theater Preview: CHICAGO’S RAVEN THEATRE (Season 2021) by Tony Frankel

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS CHICAGO’S RAVEN THEATRE REVAMP ITS 2020-21 SEASON This fall’s planned revival of Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s drama Inherit the Wind directed by�…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:49PM
Sunday, June 28, 2020

Theater Preview: CRAPSHOOT! OR WHY AL VOTED FOR TRUMP: A LOVE STORY (opening Reykjavik’s International Fringe Festival) by Tony Frankel

CRAPSHOOT! Or Why Al Voted for Trump: a love story will open the Reykjavik International Fringe Festival The Reykjavík Fringe Festival 2020 (RVK) is a festival unlike any other. While most …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:00PM

Theater Preview: SAFE-DISTANCE DRIVE-IN CONCERT SERIES, RUBICON GOES RETRO (Rubicon Theatre at Ventura Fairgrounds) by Tony Frankel

RUBICON GOES RETRO! Safe-Distance Drive-In Series Kicks Off Drive-In Hits The first event of Rubicon Goes Retro, the company’s Safe-Distance Drive-In Theatre Concert Series is here! The sw…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:00PM
Friday, June 26, 2020

Theater Review: BLEEDING LOVE (Musical Podcast) by Tony Frankel

BLOODY GOOD! You know, Stage and Cinema has received hundreds of podcasts and other streaming paraphernalia since April when COVID-19 shut the arts down, but most are technically awkward, st…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:43PM
Thursday, June 25, 2020

Theater Preview: THE MAGIC PARLOUR AT HOME (New Virtual Show by Chicago’s Dennis Watkins) by Tony Frankel and Lawrence Bommer

JUST AS MAGICAL REMOTELY Is stuff magical only because it can’t be explained? Perhaps it’s more than just the absence of logic, probability, or reason. There’s a presence too: Magic ev…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:46PM
Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Theater Preview: EAST SIDE STORIES: INSIDE EDITION (Metropolitan Playhouse in New York) by Tony Frankel

ALL NEW PLAYS CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND LORE OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE Obie Award winner Metropolitan Playhouse will present free “screened” readings of four new one-act plays inspired by li…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:38PM
Saturday, June 20, 2020

Theater Preview: DEAR ONE: LOVE & LONGING IN MID-CENTURY QUEER AMERICA (ONE Archives Foundation) by Tony Frankel

ONE TO CATCH Between 1953 and 1965, ONE Magazine, the first openly gay & lesbian periodical in the United States, received thousands of letters monthly from its readers. a great many of …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:20PM
Friday, June 19, 2020

Theater Preview: FREE STREAMS OF SIX PLAYS BY BLACK WRITERS (Los Angeles Theatre Works) by Tony Frankel

FREE STREAMS OF SIX PLAYS BY BLACK WRITERS L.A. Theatre Works, the world’s leading producer of audio theater, has chosen six titles by Black playwrights from its extensive collection of …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:21PM
Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Theater Feature: MERCURY THEATER CHICAGO TO CLOSE PERMANENTLY by Tony Frankel

A SAD DAY FOR THEATER Executive Director, L. Walter Stearns and partner Business Manager Eugene Dizon announced today the permanent closure of Mercury Theater Chicago after ten years and 25 …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:30PM
Saturday, June 6, 2020

Theater Preview: STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S “FINISHING THE HAT” (Poetry in America Live) by Tony Frankel

HOW YOU GET TO FINISH THE HAT This has been a milestone year for America: but aside from an epidemic and protests — and all that is entailed therein — we have Stephen Sondheim’s 90th b…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:00PM
Thursday, June 4, 2020

Theater Preview: THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY (Streaming at 92Y) by Tony Frankel

ABSOLUTELY BRIGHT INDEED Available now at 92Y, here’s is a can’t-miss piece of pride — and handily one of the best solo shows I’ve seen in years: The Absolute Brightness of Leonard P…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:36PM
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Theater Extra: SEASONS OF LOVE (San Diego Musical Theatre) by Tony Frankel

REASONS FOR LOVE Covering the arts nationwide means that Stage and Cinema has received hundreds and hundreds of virtual entertainments, from classical and jazz to theater and art, all with b…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 04:34PM
Saturday, May 16, 2020

Virtual Theater: TEENAGE DICK (Theater Wit in Chicago; Third Extension) by Tony Frankel

DICK EXTENDS Chicago’s Theater Wit announced a third and final extension today of Teenage Dick, its long-running critically acclaimed virtual production of Mike Lew’s devastatingly funny…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 04:04PM
Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Exhibit Review: SOCIALLY DISTANT THEATER: THE SOLO SHOW AS SEEN BY HIRSCHFELD (The Al Hirschfeld Foundation) by Tony Frankel

HAND SOLO How many of us theater addicts have gone to a solo show only to find some woman squealing about her private parts (or man for that matter), and you think “Never Again.” Then yo…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 10:04PM

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