5,853 stories by "Jonathan Mandell"
Their mother is dying, which is the only reason why Arnold (Brian J. Smith) has " reluctantly " picked up the phone to answer a call by his half-brother Jerry (Paul Starks.) It's been many y…
How DO Jake and Alice live? The answer is: lyrically. That, anyway, is how playwright Len Jenkin presents their lives in three extended scenes in his awkwardly titled play " as spikey adoles…
"Anywhere" is an hour-long puppet piece that features a marionette who is made of ice, slowly melts, then turns to mist, and finally disappears completely. It mystified me. There are several…
Peter Garside calls himself a demagogue, freely admits he's in politics to make money, and says "the public likes to be fooled."Â Â It's a corrupt attitude that, despite his good looks a…
 The producers of "All in: Comedy about Love," one of the three shows that ended their Broadway runs last weekend, have announced "All Out: Comedy About Life" for next season (venue and c…
Donald Trump took over as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts " which he told reporters he had never visited " on the birthday last week of Abraham Lincoln, who wa…
When Jeffrey Seller was 18 years old and frustrated at his new job as the drama director at a summer camp for kids, somebody handed him a copy of Moss Hart's 1959 memoir "Act One," touting i…
Nightly on Broadway nowadays, one title character professes her love to the other title character: "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I…
Idina Menzel returns to Broadway as Jesse, a New York gallery owner who, out of grief for the death of her son, leaves her wife and her life, drives cross country, and winds up spending seve…
We already know that "Wicked" would make a good Broadway musical because it IS one. But what about the other nine movies nominated this year for the Best Picture Oscar? Which would make the …
The average Broadway theatergoer is a 42-year-old white woman from out of town whose family income exceeds $275,000. That's one way to summarize The Demographics of the Broadway Audience …
My favorite celebrity commercial during the 2025 Super Bowl weren't selling a product, but promoting an ideal. The others were hawking liquor and condiments.
When Denzel Washington starts performing as Othello later this month on Broadway, he'll be following by exactly two centuries the debut portrayal of "the Moor of Venice" by Ira Aldridge, …
Samantha Sehter is the brains " or the nose? " behind "Scents of the Stage," a brand new company that makes candles that smell like specific Broadway shows " or more precisely, create a scen…
They meet for drinks after an absence of thirty years, still loving one another, and still sharing a secret.  "Still," starring Melissa Gilbert (from Little House on the Prairie) and M…
 In "Mrs. Loman," a misfire of a play that attempts a sequel to Arthur Miller's "Death of A Salesman,"  Willy Loman's widow Linda experiences a somewhat anachronistic awakening, wh…
Tickets are on sale for Off-Broadway Week, where you can buy two tickets for the price of one for 29 Off-Broadway productions (18 of them newly offered), for performances from February 17 th…
In "The Antiquities," playwright Jordan Harrison offers a dozen stories about the downside of technology through the ages, each from a distinctive year, from 1816 to 2240. If the play can fe…
"Yes, the darkness is loud, but the light is brighter y'all," Brandon Victor Dixon shouted while accepting the Grammy for Best Musical Theater album for "Hells Kitchen," That's somewhat of a…
Hells Kitchen has won the 2025 best musical theater album at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, beating out five other nominees, all current or recent Broadway shows (the third consecutive year …
The 68th annual Obie Awards, honoring achievement Off and Off Off Broadway, were announced tonight. Below is the complete list, which includes Lifetime achievement awards for Charles Busch, …
Below is a calendar of selected theater opening* in February, including a single Broadway show, "Redwood," starring Idina Menzel, and plenty of star power Off Broadway: Rainn Wilson, Jordan …
"Wicked" and "Hamilton" are back in the news, as is a certain former reality show host; some once little-known stage actors are now….nominees; and there was plenty new and strange on stage…
Sadie is an actress who so hates motherhood that she put together a one-woman show about how her daughter ruined her life; it is one of the reasons her daughter Jude feels Sadie ruined hers.…
Some theater bloggers are responding bluntly to the alarming political moment. Don Shewey lists sources of news that haven't been corrupted by billionaire owners, George Hunka poste…
