A Not So Brisk-and-Bright Allegro by Steven Suskin

Why can't they just do Broadway musicals the way the authors wrote them in the first place? is a not infrequent cry along the Rialto. If a show was a hit, if a show is a classic, why do mode…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:29pm on November 19, 2014☆⚑

Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway by Steven Suskin

To tell you the plot of this mysterious ghost play -- anything more than that Man brings Woman to the cabin and they eat two bites of trout -- or to even discuss the dramatis personae, is to…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:46pm on November 16, 2014☆⚑

ON THE RECORD: Inspiration from Mary Testa, Hits from Scott Alan and "Carols for a Cure" by Steven Suskin

This week's column discusses studio recordings from Broadway's Mary Testa and Michael Starobin, an anthology from songwriter Scott Alan and this year's edition of "Carols fo…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on November 16, 2014☆⚑

"That's Entertainment!" Star-Studded The Band Wagon Brings "Sweet Music" to City Center by Steven Suskin

The Band Wagon, featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Osnes, opened at City Center. Playbill.com was there.

SOURCE: Playbill at 1:00pm on November 11, 2014☆⚑

A Radiant Saturday Night and a Ghostly Chamber Musical by Steven Suskin

This is the master's earliest professionally-produced musical; that is, it is his earliest musical to receive a professional production, albeit 40-odd years later.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 9:02pm on November 10, 2014☆⚑

THE DVD SHELF: Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Mel Brooks and More on "The Merv Griffin Show" by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at the long-running talk-show "The Merv Griffin Show," which was based in the heart of the theatre district throughout its formative years.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on November 9, 2014☆⚑

Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis and Lauren Worsham Bring Glorious Show Boat to Lincoln Center by Steven Suskin

Show Boat — in a grand semi-staged version featuring a large cast and an even larger orchestra — is back in town at Avery Fisher Hall.

SOURCE: Playbill at 3:30pm on November 6, 2014☆⚑

From Broadway Swing to Movie Star: Jeremy Jordan Breaks Character at 54 Below by Steven Suskin

Tony nominee and "Smash" star Jeremy Jordan brings his solo show "Breaking Character" to 54 Below.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00pm on October 30, 2014☆⚑

Suzan-Lori Parks Returns From the Wars Triumphant by Steven Suskin

There is enough in the characters and the dialogue -- even in the costumes, with some actors drifting on wearing basketball sneakers -- to tell us that Father Comes Home is a play of ideas a…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:09pm on October 28, 2014☆⚑

THE BOOK SHELF: Exploring Tennessee Williams' Demons and a Brief Work on Bernstein by Steven Suskin

This month's column discusses John Lahr's new, comprehensive biography "Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh" and Allen Shawn's "Leonard Bernstein: An A…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on October 26, 2014☆⚑

In Search of The Fortress of Solitude by Steven Suskin

There is an interesting and potentially important musical contained within The Fortress of Solitude, the new piece from Michael Friedman, Itamar Moses and Daniel Aukin at the Public.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:36pm on October 22, 2014☆⚑

THE DVD SHELF: "The Normal Heart" Finally Comes to the Screen, Revisiting the "Wonder Years" and Som by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at the Emmy Award-winning HBO version of Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart;" the first-ever complete release of the well-remembered s…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on October 19, 2014☆⚑

Once More, Back On The Town by Steven Suskin

Playgoers who haven't walked away from a Broadway musical beaming since before they can remember should head over to Times Square for On The Town, the 1944 musical which introduced Leonard B…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 8:05pm on October 16, 2014☆⚑

Big: The Musical, Reduced by Steven Suskin

This Big, alas, seems just as unengaging as the Broadway version; given the lack of orchestral accompaniment, it is even less entertaining.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 12:03pm on October 13, 2014☆⚑

ON THE RECORD: The Long-Lost, Troubled Musical Roberta Finally on Disc by Steven Suskin

This week's column discusses the first complete recording of Jerome Kern's 1933 "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" musical, Roberta.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:09am on October 12, 2014☆⚑

The Nathan Lane Show by Steven Suskin

You will not likely find anything funnier onstage, just now, than Nathan Lane in the opening scene of Terrence McNally's It's Only a Play. Lane, as a humble off-Broadway actor turned top-tie…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:12pm on October 9, 2014☆⚑

Stage Alchemy, Brilliant as Stars by Steven Suskin

Alex Sharp in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Photo: Joan Marcus There are plays that entertain,...

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:43pm on October 5, 2014☆⚑

ON THE RECORD: Intriguing New Tamar of the River and Surprises in an Unheard-Of West Side Story by Steven Suskin

This week's column discusses Marisa Michelson's Tamar of the River, along with a notable newly-discovered full recording of West Side Story.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on October 5, 2014☆⚑

Stoppard in India by Steven Suskin

Mid-period Stoppard -- that is, the work of the acclaimed Czech-born British playwright in his fifties and early sixties -- brought forth a remarkable series of intricate, thought-provoking-…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 9:53pm on September 30, 2014☆⚑

THE BOOK SHELF: Stanley Green's "Broadway Musicals" and Scripts of Provocative, Award-Winning Plays by Steven Suskin

This month's column discusses the new, Eighth Edition of Stanley Green's "Broadway Musicals Show by Show;" Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Flick and&nb…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on September 21, 2014☆⚑

Return of Gurney's Love Letters by Steven Suskin

This playgoer's memory of A. R. Gurney's Love Letters -- the 1988 two-character play consisting of letters between an upper crust boy-turned-man and girl-turned-woman, performed without memo…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 9:08pm on September 18, 2014☆⚑

THE DVD SHELF: Zero Mostel Shows Off "A Funny Thing" and the Razzle Dazzle of Fosse's "All That Jazz by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at Zero Mostel in Richard Lester's motion picture version of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum;" the classy film adaptation of Terre…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on September 14, 2014☆⚑

Rude Laughfest at Playwrights Horizons by Steven Suskin

Robert O'Hara's Bootycandy is rude, raucous, vulgar and gloriously funny. It's a happy sign when established not-for-profits like Playwrights Horizons can offer such outspoken fare as mainst…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:29pm on September 10, 2014☆⚑

Christine Ebersole Gets Personal About Family and Politics in at 54 Below in Big Noise from Winnetka by Steven Suskin

Two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole, who has starred on Broadway in 42nd Street and Grey Gardens, opened her new solo show at 54 Below Sept. 8. Playbill.com was there.

SOURCE: Playbill at 1:00pm on September 9, 2014☆⚑

ON THE RECORD: Audra's History-Making Lady Day, Rodgers' Rarely-Seen Androcles and Songs by Kern by Steven Suskin

In this week's column, we listen to Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, the 1967 Richard Rodgers television musical Androcles and the Lion and an album of forgotte…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00am on September 7, 2014☆⚑