All stories by Tulis McCall on BroadwayStars

Monday, April 22, 2024

Suffs by Tulis McCall

First of all the term is "Suffragist" not "Suffragette".  A Suffragist is a person who demands suffrage (the right to vote) for everyone.  Suffragette is a derogatory term created to turn …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 04:48PM
Sunday, April 21, 2024

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club by Tulis McCall

It is Bebe Neuwirth who delivers the nut of the story at the eleventh hour. Everything else leading up to this moment is spectacle.  A  beautifully executed spectacle.  A puff pastry tha…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 09:45PM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Sally & Tom by Tulis McCall

Parks does not permit us to go gently into that good night.  She will not leave us sitting comfortably in our own upstanding ignorance.  Like Jefferson she stands at the "intersection of t…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 09:45PM
Monday, April 15, 2024

Scarlett Dreams by Tulis McCall

By Stanford Friedman The ancient myth of Pandora’s box explains how all things evil came into the world when a lid was opened out of curiosity. S. Asher Gelman offers a futuristic twist on…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 10:15PM
Friday, April 12, 2024

Marilyn Maye Birthday Celebration @54 Below by Tulis McCall

Having seen Marilyn Maye many, many times for over a decade I know in advance there will be at least one point where she will leave me face down sobbing in my soup (should there be any aroun…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:57PM
Monday, April 1, 2024

STALKER by Tulis McCall

This duo is the perfect combination of charm and danger. More than once they scrambled my brain and handed it back to me with a side of fries.

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 08:15PM

Grief Hotel by Tulis McCall

There is a pattern that pops up from time in all of our lives.  An event or a thing or a person is pronounced "swell".  Occasionally we concur with the pronouncement, and occasionally we d…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 04:25PM
Friday, March 22, 2024

The Notebook by Tulis McCall

I'm not that big a love fan myself.  Onstage it can be clunky.  Passion can be badly choreographed or altogether unbelievable.  It can be too loud or too long or too sophomoric.  It can …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:52PM

Leslie Uggams at 54 Below by Tulis McCall

Uggams was a gift when she started out.  That she remains an iconic performer says something about not only her talent, but her determination and drive.  This is a woman who is not interes…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 02:36PM
Monday, March 18, 2024

Enemy Of The People by Tulis McCall

There are a few staging surprises that work very well indeed.  We are not merely observers.  We are witnesses. This is "Right vs Might" and it is not news.  The only hopeful note is Stock…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 10:15PM

Doubt – A Parable by Tulis McCall

John Patrick Shanley wasn't kidding when he titled this play "Doubt A Parable"  There is more theorizing and speculation thrown around here than a person can grab in one go-round.  As the …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:42PM
Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Effect by Tulis McCall

The Effect has given us a huge gymnasium into which we are invited to play, engage, risk, contemplate, judge, experiment, and be our wild selves.  All from the comfort of our seats.  This …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 06:40PM
Sunday, March 10, 2024

Dead Outlaw by Tulis McCall

"Dead Outlaw", now at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre is a deceptive cuss of a show. What appears as a simple tale of varmints, thieves and outlaws is anything but.

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 08:15PM
Thursday, February 29, 2024

Jelly’s Last Jam by Tulis McCall

I don't know what you have planned for this weekend, but if you have not seen this gorgeous Encores! production of "Jelly's Last Jam" at City Center - I suggest you rethink whatever you have…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 05:29PM
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

The Ally by Tulis McCall

 The story takes place in September and early October of 2023 on an unidentified college campus.  "Early October" being the operative phrase here, because it takes place before October 7. …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 10:30PM
Monday, February 26, 2024

Seven Year Disappear by Tulis McCall

Miriam (Cynthia Nixon) and her son Naphtali (Taylor Trensch) have what could be referred to as a strained relationship.  Strained to the point of busting wide open except for the fact that …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 07:45PM
Friday, February 23, 2024

The Connector by Tulis McCall

"The Connector" now at MCC Theatre is an innocuous bit of fluff that has great ambitions and little structure.  What it does have is a spectacular cast who tell this tale with as much gusto…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:31PM
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

I Love You So Much I Could Die by Tulis McCall

Ms. Pirnot sings 4 or 5 songs, each amplified differently, almost as if they were daring us to doubt our attention to this detail. In between, the stories are told by the text-to-speech gizm…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 02:56PM
Thursday, February 8, 2024

Russian Troll Farm by Tulis McCall

Gancher's writing is mesmerizing and brave.  This is gorgeous ensemble, directed with skill and grace.  The result? A production that says, " Put on your Big Person Pants and get over here…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 09:15PM
Friday, February 2, 2024

BROADWAY’S HELL’S KITCHEN ESTABLISHES COMPREHENSIVE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM by Tulis McCall

a comprehensive Fellowship Program, dedicated to building and strengthening the Broadway employment pipeline by engaging and employing individuals from historically overlooked communities to…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:12PM
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

The Animal Kingdom by Tulis McCall

The brilliance of this piece starts with Ruby Thomas's writing.  She approaches this family much like a zoologist might approach a small rare creature, with a soft glove on one hand and a p…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 04:56PM

Chita Rivera – A Tribute by Tulis McCall

From a review of Chita Rivera's Café Carlyle show 2017. "Chita Rivera doesn’t just take the stage at Café Carlyle.  She hoists it over her shoulder and walks off with it.  Rivera is a…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 01:29PM
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

There’s Still A Little Starch Left – an Overdue Review by Tulis McCall

Somewhere in the flotsam and jetsam of the holiday I forgot to pay special tribute to Lynn Henderson who performed "There's A Little Starch Left" - her new one woman show - in December at Do…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:56PM

Once Upon A Mattress at Encores! by Tulis McCall

Once Upon A Mattress at Encores is a ton and a half of pure joy.  And Sutton Foster is at the center of it, using her crystal voice. lungs of iron, comedic timing.  Foster is a combination…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 02:28PM
Friday, January 26, 2024

Women on Fire: Fair is Foul by Tulis McCall

There are secrets being spilled here.  These are the stories women tell each other in private.  In this production Chris Henry and Lorna Ventura  have pulled the women and every one of th…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:53PM
Sunday, January 21, 2024

Aristocrats at Irish Repertory Theatre by Tulis McCall

This might sound fussy but watching a play that should give us the musicality of Brian Friel's work, but does not, because the Irish accents are either missing altogether or fleeting at best…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 09:30PM
Monday, January 15, 2024

The Sweet Spot by Tulis McCall

As it is, the story ends much as it began, two old lovers nattering at one another.  Not much to see there.

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 05:10PM
Friday, December 29, 2023

Marilyn Maye at Birdland by Tulis McCall

Marilyn Maye at Birdland -- Maye is a happy woman.  Genuinely down to the bottom of those cute shoes she is happy.  This is not Pollyanna happy.  This is "I have a right to be happy and I…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:05PM
Friday, December 22, 2023

Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Show by Tulis McCall

You could do worse than take a trip with this observant guide. ... We are, like the dogs we own, here to love and serve.  And that is about all the guarantee Bloom can offer.  Not a bad wa…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 02:08PM
Friday, December 15, 2023

The Life & Times of Michael K at St. Ann’s Warehouse by Tulis McCall

Let me tell you something about puppetry - it is magic.  It is a magic that is often superior to acting because a puppeteer embues an object with life.  So it is life times two.  No fooli…

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 03:47PM

Buena Vista Social Club by Tulis McCall

Buena Vista Social Club, now playing at the Atlantic Theater Company to riotous approval by every audience, is a bout as uplifting a show as you can get. Only one problem - the producers …

SOURCE: thefrontrowcenter.com at 02:52PM

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