Drama's not all the rage by Frank Scheck

You'll never hear "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" the same way again after seeing "Born Bad." The traditional gospel hymn takes on ominous overtones in this frustratingly abstract drama abo…

The real con man stands & applauds by Barbara Hoffman

You'd think at this point, Frank Abagnale Jr. would tire of seeing his life flash before his eyes. But no: One Leonardo DiCaprio film and a Broadway musical later, the Liberace of fraud f…

Clumsy 'Catch' fumbles by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It reunites most of the creative team from "Hairspray," boasts energetic '60s music and a fantastic performance by Norbert Leo Butz. It even has leggy chorus girls in small skirts and big ha…

Talkin' Broadway Review: Catch Me If You Can by Matthew Murray

Sixties camp may have soared in the 2002 Broadway musical Hairspray, but that�s not why it ran over six years.

Review: Catch Me If You Can by Jesse North

Theater Review: Catch It If You Can -- Vulture by Scott Brown

Can we believe a word that comes out of this show’s mouth, spoken or sung? What’s this show trying to take us for? More to the point: do we want to be taken?

A Broadway Costume Drama in the Making

Ann Hould-Ward designed 117 costumes for the Broadway production of "The People in the Picture," the materials for which were imported from around the world. Here's a look at how far they tr…

Opera for the Under-10 Set

By definition, the under-10 set in Manhattan is pretty darn cute. Bring that under-10 set to the opera at Lincoln Center, and what you get is a perfect overload of adorable.

Catch Me If You Can

Legit Reviews: Impressive star performances from Norbert Leo Butz and Aaron Tveit, a lively production, the best sounding new music currently on Broadway.

‘Catch Me if You Can’ at Neil Simon Theater - Review - NYTimes.com by Ben Brantley

“Catch Me if You Can,” the new Broadway musical by much of the team behind “Hairspray,” is full of elaborate deceptions and corkscrew twists, but not many surprises.

Broadway Review Roundup: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN - Updating Live!

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN opened on Broadway Sunday, April 10, 2011 at the Neil Simon Theatre. This new musical, created by a team of Tony winners, features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Ma…

Theater Review | 'Catch Me if You Can' : Scamming as Fast as He Can by Ben Brantley

“Catch Me if You Can,” the new Broadway musical by much of the team behind “Hairspray,” is full of elaborate deceptions and corkscrew twists, but not many surprises.

Review: Boom Town by Iris Wiener

This Western-inspired circus at The New Victory is the perfect show for kids.

Review: Catch Me If You Can by David Finkle

This new Broadway musical about a young con man being pursued by an FBI agent is only intermittently involving.

Review: Urge for Going by Andy Propst

Mona Mansour's play about a Lebanese girl coming of age will touch audience's hearts and minds.

I'm On @#$% Broadway by Boris Kachka

Three playwrights discuss their profanity-filled debuts.

'Catch Me' fumbles at Neil Simon Theatre by Linda Winer

News that the guys from "Hairspray" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" were making a musical based on the movie "Catch Me If You Can" raised a couple of intriguing -- also daunting -- questions. …

Urge for Going

Legit Reviews: The plot of "Urge for Going" is typical of the gotta-get-out-of-here play: A brainy girl, eager to leave home and make her mark on the world, is simultaneously encouraged and …

Catch Me If You Can by Mondschein

"Catch Me If You Can" at the Neil Simon Theatre, March 21, 2011 Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman have mined Hollywood to create another excellent stage musical adaptation from the …

Broadway: Catch it, if you can

Broadway's winning new Catch Me if You Can gives you lots of reasons to love the musical, fashioned from Stephen Spielberg's 2002 film. The most delicious moments, for me, come when Catch Me…

Thurs, Apr 14 @ 5.00 P.M: FREUD'S LAST SESSION Book Launch Party (Free) at The Drama Book Shop by Drama Book Shop

Join playwright Mark St. Germain for a wine and cheese party in celebration of the publication of FREUD'S LAST SESSION. Freud's Last Session by Mark St. Germain Paper. $8.95Please v…

Catch Me If You Can: Theater Review by David Rooney

David Rooney The musical adaptation of Steven Spielberg's hit film stars Aaron Tveit as Frank Abagnale Jr., the real-life con man originally played by Leonardo Dicaprio.read more

'Catch Me If You Can' is all deflated charm by Joe Dziemianowicz

It's true that inside every chunky person is a slim one trying to bust out. Same goes for "Catch Me If You Can," a new Broadway musical that is tasty but buried under empty calories.

Catch Me If You Can Review by Jonathan Mandell

The con man sums up his story shortly after “Catch Me If You Can” begins: “I flew over five million miles as a Pan Am pilot, practiced medicine at a top Atlanta hospital, and worked as…

Raising the Spirit of Opera

Composer Stephen Schwartz has made a career of penning great Broadway musicals. How much will that experience help him with his first opera, an adaptation of "Séance on a Wet Afternoon"?

'Catch Me If You Can' on Broadway: Adaptation could've stuck more closely to the script by Chris Jones

THEATER REVIEW: 'Catch Me If You Can'; Plays on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd St., New York. Tickets: 877-250-2929, or catchmethemusical.com. NEW YORK -- The key to turning…

Did Catch Me If You Can Capture the Hearts of Our Word of Mouth Reviewers? by Broadway.com Staff

Broadway has a soft spot for con artists, from The Music Man and Guys and Dolls to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Now there’s a charming new crook on the Great White Way, Frank Abagnale Jr. …

‘Catch Me If You Can’

Photos of the new Broadway musical.

Report: Michael Shannon cast as villain in next 'Superman' movie by Chris Jones

According to a report in the Hollywood Reporter, Michael Shannon, the longtime Chicago actor and A Red Orchid ensemble member, has been cast as the villain in the upcoming "Superman" movie. …

'Anything Goes' should sizzle with Tony Awards

The second rialto revival of "Anything Goes" received rapturous reviews. Leading this remounting of the 1934 Cole Porter tuner is 2002 Tony champ Sutton Foster ("Thoroughly Mo…

A Raisin in the Sun

Legit Reviews: The strengths of "A Raisin in the Sun" come through clearly in Ebony Rep's production at the Nate Holden.

STAGE TUBE: First Look at Radcliffe in 'The Woman in Black'

The trailer has been released for Daniel Radcliffe's upcoming film, The Woman in Black, based on Susan Hill's novel of the same name. The Woman in Black film adaptation was overseen by Jane …

STAGE TUBE: Helen Mirren As Julie Andrews on SNL

On April 8, Helen Mirren hosted Saturday Night Live, and in one skit, The Best of Both Worlds with Hugh Jackman where she played Julie Andrews. The clip also featured Andy Samberg as Hugh Ja…

Kneel Before Zod: Michael Shannon to Play 'Superman' Villain by Dave Itzkoff

Mr. Shannon, who is known for the unearthly menace he brings to his characters on television's "Boardwalk Empire" and off Broadway's "Mistakes Were Made," will play an evil tyrant from Super…

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying by Adaumbelle

  Daniel Radcliffe, Photo by Ari MintzLast week I attended "How To Succeed Without Really Trying," directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford and starring Daniel Radcliffe, John Larroque…

Theater Review | 'We’re Gonna Die': Amid Catchy Choruses, Personal Tales of Life’s Brutal Verities by Charles Isherwood

“We’re Gonna Die” is a bizarre combination of pop concert and autobiographical lament for the human condition, written and performed by Young Jean Lee.

PHOTO CALL: Star-Studded NY Philharmonic Company, with Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, on Closing Night by Irina Khodorkovsky

The New York Philharmonic presented the final performance of a starry concert production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company — boasting Emmy winner Neil Patrick Harris a…

London Road: Murder, they sang by Maddy Costa

In 2006, Steven Wright killed five women in Ipswich. How did such a tragic event inspire a piece of musical theatre?During the winter of 2006, Alecky Blythe was in a brothel in Bournemouth, …

Sleep No More by Theasy.com

McKittrick Hotel, Punchdrunk, Off Broadway By Terra Vetter BOTTOM LINE: Unlike any theatrical experience you've ever had. Part themepark, part Shakespeare, Sleep No More is completely…

Review: Precious Little Talent by Jake Orr

What is being billed as Ella Hickson’s new play; Precious Little Talent, is in fact a reworking of the play written and performed two years prior to its current London debut at the Tra…

PHOTO CALL: Christie Brinkley Joins Broadway's Chicago by Irina Khodorkovsky

Supermodel Christie Brinkley made her Broadway debut April 8 as merry murderess Roxie Hart in the long-running revival of Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre.

CHART TOPPERS: Most-Read Playbill.com Stories, Week of March 27-April 2 by Mgioia

Here are the most-read Playbill.com stories for the week of March 27-April 2, 2011, from information compiled by Playbill.com. Is Kristin Chenoweth Headed Back to Broadway? Broadway Rush, Lo…

An Extraordinary Moment by Corrinne Curtis

Lights fade. A moment’s pause. The performers take a bow to a wealth of applause before leaving the stage. After perhaps a few moments the audience begins to shuffle about, collecting bags…

Photo Coverage: NY Philharmonic's Star-Filled COMPANY On Stage at Avery Fisher Music Hall by Walter McBride

The New York Philharmonic is presenting Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Company, with an all-star cast led by Neil Patrick Harris Robert. BroadwayWorld.com's Walter McBride was there to ca…

Charles Busch and Julie Halston by Adaumbelle

1. How did you and Julie first come to work together? Charles: How do we tell this story without going into Julie: bits. Charles: We've been putting together a two-person show for years…

Dance Review: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

The next Ailey era is at hand, and it looks bright, as "Revelations" and "Anointed" take to the stage.The next Ailey era is at hand, and it looks bright, as "Revelations" and "Anointed" take…

PHOTO CALL: Curtains, With Robert Newman, Kim Zimmer and Ed Dixon, at Paper Mill by Krissie Fullerton

Robert Newman, Kim Zimmer, Ed Dixon and David Elder star in Paper Mill Playhouse's production of Curtains. The show is directed by Mark S. Hoebee with choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter.

Short-a-Day: David Foster Wallace's "Church Not Made with Hands" by Aaron Riccio

Originally published in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Personal enjoyment rating (out of 100): 0.First, an epigrammatic quote from A. O. Scott's New York Review of Books article on the o…

White Noise at Royal George Theatre: Too much noise, not enough truth in Whoopi Goldberg-produced musical by Chris Jones

THEATER REVIEW: White Noise «« Through June 5 at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 H. Halsted St.; running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes; tickets: $54.50 to $74.50 at 312-988-9000 or www.whitenois…

James Brown and Al Pacino, Salsa Added

John Leguizamo draws from the dances of decades (and from a movie star or two) for his kinetic movement in his Broadway show “Ghetto Klown.”

Theatre Bows To Pressure And Cancels Performances By Convicted Murderer

"The Montreal theatre company where he was to perform in 2012 announced Friday that Mr. Cantat, who was paroled in 2007 after serving four years for the fatal beating of his girlfriend in 20…

Photo Coverage: Christie Brinkley Greets Fans After Broadway Debut by Walter McBride

Christie Brinkley, one of the world's most successful supermodels, made her highly anticipated Broadway stage debut as merry murderess Roxie Hart in the Tony Award-winning hit musical CHICAG…

STAGE TUBE: Helen Mirren Hosts Saturday Night Live - 'Nothing Like a Dame' and More...

On Saturday, April 8 Helen Mirren hosted Saturday Night Love. Her opening monologue turned into a parody to SOUTH PACIFIC's There is Nothing Like a Dame.

School founded by Blue Man Group gets new stage by Karen Matthews

NEW YORK (AP) -- In the 20 years since they became a performance art sensation, the Blue Man Group has taken its men with blue heads on the road to stages in New York, Las Vegas and Euro…

Photo Coverage: THE MIDTOWN MEN Play Queens by Linda Lenzi

After a successful 2010 tour of nearly 50 cities across the US and Canada, THE MIDTOWN MEN brought their highly anticipated concert act to New York City with a performance and fan reception …

Tom Stoppard's TimesTalk to Air This Weekend on CUNY-TV

ARCADIA playwright Tom Stoppard's TimesTalk will air throughout the weekend on CUNY-TV Time Warner Cable Channel 75. The discussion, moderated by the New York Times' Pat Healy, will air toda…

Famed Tenor Delivers High Cs—and Baby by Verena Dobnik

Tenor Juan Diego Florez has really delivered: a host of high Cs to a worldwide audience of millions—and minutes earlier, his own baby boy in New York City.

Topol, Harelik, Wilcox Complete Cast for THE NORMAL HEART on Broadway

Producer Daryl Roth announced today that casting has been completed for the premiere presentation of Larry Kramer's ground-breaking play, The Normal Heart, on Broadway. Mark Harelik Mrs. War…

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN Opens Tonight

The Broadway production of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN will officially open tonight, April 10.

Broadway Review: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN by Tim

Fine Production Foiled by PAL JOEY problem…. April 11, 2011 Although Pal Joey is expertly done, can you draw sweet water from a foul well?….Brooks Atkinson (1940) Expert direction?�…

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Allegro - A Staged Reading by Ccaggiano

Each semester for the past two school years, I've used the students in my musical-theater history class as academic guinea pigs, as it were, and put on a staged reading of a historically imp…

Youtube Weekend Faves: Today and "Glee" Tour Promo. (I Wanna Go)

Every weekend I'm going to post some of the youtube clips that I come across that I especially love -- those that give me goosebumps, touch my heart or make me laugh. Here's a promo clip o…

Feature: First Hand Rose by Brian Scott Lipton

Rose Hemingway discusses her Broadway debut in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

High’s Kathleen Turner Chats on "Good Morning America" (Video) by Mgioia

Stage and screen star Kathleen Turner visited ABC’s “Good Morning America” to talk about her new Broadway play High, which is set to officially open on April 19 at the Boo…

Youtube Weekend Faves: "Tomorrow" and Andrea McArdle, as a Child Performer

Every weekend I'm going to post some of the youtube clips that I come across that I especially love -- those that give me goosebumps, touch my heart or make me laugh. Here's a clip of Andr…

BWW's On This Day - April 10, 2011

Here are the Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End shows which opened on April 10 along with all of the upcoming show openings, closings and special events

Diary of a Chorus Girl - I'm A Dancer by DanceOn

DIARY OF A CHORUS GIRL is an original webseries that follows the making of Broadway's CATCH ME IF YOU CAN through the eyes of Alex Ellis, a cast member making her Broadway debut!

NY Review: 'Catch Me If You Can' by Erik Haagensen

Finding no compelling reason for its characters to sing, this synthetic musical adaptation of Steven Spielberg's 2002 film ranks as the Broadway season's biggest disappointment to date.

The Bad Seed by Marc Miller

Maxwell Anderson's classic look at evil veiled by innocence needs better production values and a more calculating murderess, but it's an enjoyable old-fashioned well-made play.

Urge for Going by David Sheward

Mona Mansour's moving play, centered on a family of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, has a familiar theme and a few structural flaws but displays plenty of promise.

The Un-Marrying Project by Karl Levett

Larry Kunofsky's well-intentioned but unwieldy new play, lacking the fast-moving, satirical style it's premise needs, will hardly do much for the cause of gay marriage.

Transport Group Extends HELLO AGAIN Closes April 10

Transport Group TG, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and 2007 and 2010 OBIE Awards, has announced that its acclaimed production of Hello Again, words and music by Michael John L…

Geri Jewell by Adaumbelle

Best known as "Cousin Geri" from "The Facts of Life," I had the distinct pleasure and honor to personally sit down with the one and only Geri Jewell! Warm, personable, and extremely funny, G…

NSDF’11: And so it begins… by Lee Anderson

And…we’re of! After a five hour journey from London’s sunny suburbs and accross the concrete sprawl of the M4, we’ve arrived in bright and beautiful Scarborough for …

'A Thousand Times More Fair: What Shakespeare’s Plays Teach Us About Justice': A book review by Star-Ledger Entertainment Desk

A Thousand Times More Fair: What Shakespeare’s Plays Teach Us About Justice Kenji Yoshino Ecco Press, 320 pp., $26.99 Reviewed by Benjamin Ivry Kenji Yoshino teaches constitutional law at …

THEATER: The Tremendous Tremendous by Aaron Riccio

Coming toward the end of the Great Depression, the 1939 World's Fair was designed to be a tremendous exhibition, one that would celebrate and unite the many different peoples of the world. T…

A Sex Strike in New Jersey by Jincy Willett

This novel’s women swear off sex after a school decides to stage Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata.”

Patriarchy Gets Funky by Naomi Klein by Julian

Patriarchy Gets Funky by Naomi Klein. This excerpt makes a useful contribution to the issue of marketing and identity, that also applies to the world of theatre-making. Written in 2001, some…

Theater Review: BURN THIS by Lanford Wilson (L.A. – Downtown) by Harvey Perr

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO LANFORD WILSON? The beautifully detailed lower Manhattan loft that Ralph Funicello has created – complete with fire escape and skylight, unfinished walls daubed w…

Theater Review: THE ESCORT by Jane Anderson (L.A. – Westwood) by Harvey Perr

WHERE’S A TOUGH-MINDED AND PROLETARIAN WHORE WHEN YOU NEED ONE? The most interesting thing about Jane Anderson’s The Escort is the revelation that a Cadillac call girl takes on the attit…

Theater Review | New Jersey: A Pregnant Surrogate, and a Split Decision by Michael Sommers

In “How to Pray,” staged by the Centenary Stage Company, Faith, a surrogate for her brother and his wife, is left wondering what to do after the couple breaks up.

Theater Review: THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN by Martin McDonagh (L.A. – Culver City) by Harvey Perr

DRUID’S EVER STURDY CRIPPLE Since I think that the Druid and Atlantic Theater Company production of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan, under the sublime direction of Garry H…

Andrea McArdle Still Feisty After All These Years

From 'Annie' At Goodspeed And Broadway To 'Urinetown' At UConnIt''s been a while since Andrea McArdle has performed in a book musical in Connecticut.

Actors talk about rhythm of 'God of Carnage'

Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden reunite at the Ahmanson.Reporting from New York —

Barak Marshall's 'accidental' leap into the spotlight

This son of an Israeli dance star was going to do anything but. That all changed when an aunt died. His grief was transformed into his first choreographed work. Now, he brings his troupe to …

My reading... by Kristen Palmer

7pm Monday.April 18, 2011.Julia Miles Theatre424 W. 55th StreetN.Y.C.You are invited to attend a reading of:THE HEART IN YOUR CHESTa dystopian romanceWritten byKristen PalmerDirected byJulie…

SATURDAY SPECIAL: A Salute To Sidney Lumet

Today we lost one of the greats the gentle giant of directors, Sidney Lumet. What a resume Just to pick seven of perhaps the best known of the bunch, the bunch in question being over 100 tit…

Ballet serving up a full plate of Balanchine works

Hot off a run of lighthearted, whimsical Gershwin and Springsteen offerings last month, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will return to the classics with "George Balanchine: Celebrating a Legend" t…

Donor brings live music to PBT

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's 2011-12 season opener "Peter Pan" will get an extra dash of pixie magic now that it will be danced to live music. The orchestra, led by music director and princip…

Opera or Musical Theater? Panel, With John Kander, Adam Guettel, Stephen Schwartz, Presented April 10 by Adam Hetrick

Tony Award-winning composers John Kander and Adam Guettel and Academy Award winner Stephen Schwartz take part in a panel discussion entitled Opera or Musical Theater? April 10 at the Gershwi…

Wheels Up: Catch Me If You Can, Starring Aaron Tveit and Norbert Leo Butz, Opens On Broadway by Adam Hetrick

Aaron Tveit is a young con man with the golden touch who sets out to charm Broadway audiences in Catch Me If You Can, the new musical by Hairspray songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman …

Mona Mansour's Urge for Going Opens Off-Broadway April 10 by Adam Hetrick

A young woman longs for life outside a Lebanese refugee camp in the Public LAB world premiere of Mona Mansour's Urge for Going, which officially opens April 10 after previews that began …

THE BOOK SHELF: Judi Dench's "And Furthermore," Tips From an "Enraged Accompanist," a Guide to Off-Broadway Musicals by Steven Suskin

We page through Judi Dench's book of memoirs; three books celebrating the Tennessee Williams Centennial; Andrew Gerle's "Enraged Accompanist's Guide to the Perfect Audition&…

Telly Leung, Anika Larsen, Joshua Henry Go Unplugged in April 10 Miami Benefit by Andrew Gans

The Scottsboro Boys' Joshua Henry, an alumnus of The University of Miami, returns there April 10 for an evening of theatre songs and backstage stories at 8 PM in Gusman Hall.

Geisha Gig, Benefit for Japan with Sierra Boggess, Lauren Kennedy, Ann Harada, Offered April 10 by Andrew Gans

The Geisha Gig, an evening to benefit the recent devastation in Japan, will be presented April 10 at 8 PM at The Laurie Beechman Theater.

Today In Theatre History: APRIL 10 by David Gewirtzman and Robet Viagas, Ernio Hernandez and Anne Bradley

1868 Birthday of master actor George Arliss, who starred in a series of historical vehicles, including Hamilton and Disraeli.