1,428 stories by "Roger Friedman"
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The first single from Sting’s new album, “The Last Ship,” is released today officially on iTunes. “Practical Arrangement” has been on You Tube for about a week …
There’s no stopping Cicely Tyson. Winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in June does seem to have energized her even more than was–and that was something. Tyson has agreed to e…
From London: While Nikki Finke and Sharon Waxman battle it out in Hollywood Hedda vs. Louella style, the movie critics in London are divided over “World War Z.” The Daily Mail cr…
Is it curtains for “Spider Man” on Broadway? Not yet, but things are looking a little scary for Peter Parker and Mary Jane. For the last several weeks, the Broadway box office fo…
“Pippin,” just revived on Broadway after 40 years, and a smash hit, is going to the movies. Harvey Weinstein, unbeknownst to anyone, has owned the right for the last ten years. (…
I am happy to report that Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” has won Best Play from the New York Drama Critics Circle. They also chose “Matild…
The Tony Awards nominees have just been announced. Among the Hollywood stars who came to Broadway, Tom Hanks is the sole winner. He was nominated for Best Actor in a play for “Lucky Gu…
The Tony Awards committee has met. White smoke has come up out of their tower. And now we know a few things we didn’t before. Namely: the four young actresses who alternate as the main…
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Hollywood came east last night and mixed with Broadway"a not always easy alliance. But they did it for their late pal Sue Mengers, and star Bette Midler who uncannily channels Mengers in a 9…
How old is Cicely Tyson really? Her official age on the imdb.com and other sources puts her at 79. That would seem about right. An article from People magazine’s archives, published in…
There are a lot of good actors onstage at the Sondheim Theater in the revival of Horton Foote’s “Trip to Bountiful.” Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Condola …
The first important theater nominations are out, from the hard working Outer Critics Circle. They cover Broadway and off Broadway, so it’s pretty comprehensive. The OCC didn’t no…
Frankly Alec Baldwin knows he’s been upstaged in his Broadway return with Lyle Kessler’s “Orphans.” When I asked him at last night’s after party what he thought…
Playwright Richard Greenberg had an unenviable problem yesterday. Just as his excellent new play “The Assembled Parties” was about to debut, he had to change a bit of it because …
“Matilda” opens tonight on Broadway, adding itself to “Kinky Boots,” the soon to close “Hands on A Hardbody,” and “Cinderella” (a new old show…
The lawsuit between “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” creator Julie Taymor and the show’s producers has been settled. Here’s the release: New York, NY – Julie Tay…
Cyndi Lauper is the hardest working rock star I know. She started out when Madonna debuted. Everyone thought Cyndi would be the bigger star. She writes her own hits and is a serious composer…
A Broadway musical about Phil Spector? If I were Rachelle Spector, the 32 year old woman who married Phil Spector after he was arrested for murder" and before he received a 19 years to life …
The latest entry for Best Musical this season was last night’s “Hands on a Hard Body.” The late legendary director Robert Altman was planning to make a feature film of the …
I can't say Truman Capote is spinning in his grave exactly, but Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard surely are, and Tiffany's will be disappointed. Last night's premiere of "Breakfast at Tiffa…
You may recall my review of Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” from Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater. The play was hilarious and fun, t…
Broadway: yes, perennials “The Lion King,” “Book of Mormon,” and “Wicked” were the top three highest grossers last week on the Great White Way. But number…
Nora Ephron did a lot of things but she didn’t write plays. She did write, with her sister Delia, the omnibus “Love, Loss and What I Wore.” It was spoken, with scripts, by …
