5,839 stories by "JONATHAN MANDELL"
"This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward." " President-Elec…
"In this moment in American history, Washington has a choice to make, we all have a choice to make….Will we seek to destroy one another as enemies or heed the call towards the common good,…
What are the New York City, state and federal governments doing to address the challenges facing theaters in the city? I contacted Guy Yedwab, president of the League of Independent Theater,…
Below is a selection of theater openings this week, the beginning of a month that is usually jam packed with theater festivals. Two of them are active this time around, both pared down, Â …
Ratatouille the Tick Tock Musical (my review) has raised more than a million dollars in ticket sales for The Actors Fund, the enthusiasm of the audience seeming to match that of its creators…
Stars in the House, Sondheim and his 90th birthday concert, Be An #ArtsHero (photo by Howard Sherman), nude body painting in Times Square (ditto), the chance to reinvent the American theater…
From the first song ("Anyone Can Cook") to the final line of dialogue (Anton Ego the critic: "I didn't like this musical…I loved it"), "Ratatouille" traces the journey not just of Remy,Â�…
Irving Berlin wrote "All By Myself" in 1921, for "The Music Box Revue" in his then brand new Broadway theater, popularized in the decades to come by Al and Bing and Ethel and Ella. A hundred…
Miss New Year's Eve 2021? Watch it below  " the festivities at Times Square, the annual Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the annual Natalie Douglas New Year's Ev…
At a time when matters of mortality are taking center stage, let's ring in the new (and hopefully far better) year by saluting  Broadway veterans who are aged 89 to 106, many of them stil…
Below are ten stunning music videos put together by Broadway stars, often for a political cause, Â some just for kicks (literally.) Then below those: Â ten of the most popular videos I p…
Were there magical moments on New York stages in 2020? The question is debatable " just like the definition of "theater" is being debated " since nobody has been performing on any actual sta…
How much do you remember of this unprecedented year in theater? Â (How much would anybody want to remember of 2020?) Answer these 20 questions to find out. Loading…
Below is a list of theater books to read in 2021, most of which were published in 2020.‡ Click on the titles to find more information and to purchase these books, grouped under five…
The year that's ending was one of shock and sorrow, but more uplifting to think of it as a year full of Sondheim " starting from the  New York Philharmonic's  "Celebrating Sondheim" co…
Below are some of the most popular posts and the best reads in 2020, starting with 11 interviews with theater makers and news makers about the theater-related issues and events in this most …
This is my annual New Year's Eve last-minute guide to events that are still available on New Year's Eve 2021 (when 2020 turns into 2021) in New York City. Times Square. theater. concerts. di…
Below are some of the people from the theater community who died in 2020, listed alphabetically. Click on any photograph to read the caption. Also: In Memoriam to New York City's frontline h…
The artist who calls himself Mur has written a musical about trees. On the surface, artist and subject differ greatly. Trees can live for thousands of years; a spruce in Sweden is said to be…
Yes, there was good theater this year, enough to fill the Top 10 lists below. Â "Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration" Â followed by "Russian Troll Farm," "The Line…
"Being Alive"and "Losing My Mind" " are there any better Sondheim songs to sing at the close of a year full of loss, unrequited yearning and obsession? That they are sung by performers who h…
"Being Alive"and "Losing My Mind" " are there any better Sondheim to sing at the close of a year full of loss, unrequited yearning and obsession? That they are sung by performers who have mo…
Congressional leaders announced an agreement on a nearly $900 billion stimulus package on Sunday that includes some $15 billion for theaters and other cultural venues in the Save Our Stag…
On January 1, 2020, I explored seven possible major theater trends  of the new decade, asking: What will the future of theater turn out to be? The future arrived abruptly without warning …
My ten favorite individual New York stage performances from 2020 are listed alphabetically, with explanations for my choices largely excerpted from my reviews. I say "New York stage performa…
