5,801 stories by "Jonathan Mandell"
Below are the five best reads posted in 2018: an essay about actors’ bodies; a contemplation of what life would be like without theater; a profile of an engineer who fixes theater to m…
Below is a list of theater books to read in 2019, most of which were  published in 2018. Click on the titles to find more information and to purchase these books, grouped under four categ…
Yes, 2018 in theater was the Year of Leonard Bernstein (centennial celebrations and new movies underway) and of Andrew Lloyd Webber (who got his EGOT, published his memoir, Unmasked, and got…
Below are some of the people from the theater community who died in 2018.
My annual New Year’s Eve last-minute guide to events that are still available to do on New Year's Eve 2019 (when 2018 turns into 2019) in New York City New Year’s Eve in New Y…
This is the last Christmas Eve New Yorkers will be spending with Christmas Eve, the character originated by Ann Harada in Avenue Q, because, after 15 years, Avenue Q will close in April. All…
It seems apt that the Up Close Festival at the New Ohio Theater is likely the last work of theater I will see in 2018, because it reminded me what there is to love about theater, and how I c…
My ten favorite individual human performances in New York stage shows that opened in 2018 are listed alphabetically, with explanations for my choices largely excerpted from my reviews, but l…
Below is a guide for theatergoing during Christmas Week. Not every show worth seeing during the holidays is a “holiday show,” nor are they all “family friendly.” (See…
It’s a thrill that Annette Bening, Paul Dano, Adam Driver, Santino Fontana, Ethan Hawke, Glenda Jackson, John Lithgow, Laurie Metcalfe and Kelli O’Hara are among the celebrated p…
Lin-Manuel Miranda co-stars as Jack the Lamplighter in "Mary Poppins Returns," which has opened in movie theaters nationwide today. This is Miranda’s first co-starring role in a major …
"Fabulation, or The Re-education of Undine," Lynn Nottage's play about a fashionable public relations executive's Job-like descent into poverty and ascent into moral clarity, is the first in…
Check out Holiday Gifts for Theater Lovers 2018 Also, deals from Amazon, Audible and TodayTix From Amazon Last Minute Deals Check out everything from bedding to books to quirky t-shirts for …
Galt MacDermot, who died Monday a day before his 90th birthday, is best known as the composer of the musical Hair, which helped define a generation, and changed the sound of Broadway, where …
With two weeks left in 2018, it’s a time for assessments of the year in New York theater, for better and for worse. Top Ten Lists of Top 10 New York Theater 2018 "The Ferryman" …
"Springsteen on Broadway" begins with The Boss explaining what it takes to play before "80,000 screaming rock n roll fans," but the two-hour show is mostly a lesson in intimacy. This was tru…
“The Ferryman” was the most popular play or musical among critics whose top 10 lists for 2018 are featured below, followed by “Angels in America” and “Harry Pot…
Choose your favorite 2018 Broadway cast recording from among the 15 in the list, ordered alphabetically. Note: A couple of the albums won’t be officially released until January,…
In Erin Mallon's sweet, modest play, an unlikely rooftop friendship develops between a 75-year-old man and a nine-year-old girl. Richard Masur is terrific (as always) in portraying Bernard, …
Welcome to my seventh annual Worst Broadway Show poll. Pick the show you thought was the worst to open on Broadway in 2018. I chose these ten nominees; this is my Bottom 10 list this year (a…
"Nassim," a play by Iranian playwright and performer Nassim Soleimanpour, is deliberately disorienting, both for the audience, who's told virtually nothing about the show beforehand, and for…
Get free tickets to live theater, and other live events " dance, comedy, opera " through Goldstar's 24-hour Comp Train promotion — today and tomorrow, December 12th and December 13. Yo…
What did movie reviewers think of Lin-Manuel Miranda in "Mary Poppins Returns?" Below are relevant excerpts, in order more or less from most to least positive, and links to the full reviews.…
At the very end of their Christmas show, running through December 30th at the Imperial Theater on Broadway, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken together sing the 19th century Christmas carol "O Ho…
Nominees for the Grammy for best musical theater album of the year: The Band’s Visit (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel My Fair Lady (…