23 stories from artsamerica.org
As of this writing, cast albums of most of the recently ended season’s new musicals, revivals, and “revisals” have been or are very soon to be released. So, for the benefit…
The cast of OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES (Photo: Joan Marcus)The great thing about a show like Old Jews Telling Jokes is that the title tells you pretty much exactly what you’re getting. No …
Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Broderick in NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (Photo: Joan Marcus)
In my last ArtsAmerica blog entry, I wrote about what I consider to be an unfortunate omission from…
John Lithgow in THE COLUMNIST
One of the most inexplicable and unfortunate omissions from this year’s Tony Award nominations is David Auburn’s The Columnist, which definitely des…
Nicole Ari Parker and Blair Underwood
It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised, as I was by the very fine production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire that recently ope…
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
When they are well done, so called “prequels” can serve as highly entertaining and intriguing adjuncts to beloved classics. Though prequels are far more…
Anita Gillette and Tom Bloom in THE BIG MEAL (Photo: Joan Marcus)
For reasons too obvious to list here and now, the most thoroughly satisfying new American plays — those that feature s…
Tracie Bennett in END OF THE RAINBOW
With so many Broadway shows opening this spring (as happens every year), it can be very difficult to budget one’s money and time in deciding what t…
Paul Nolan in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
People have all sorts of opinions as to what defines an opera as compared to a musical. I think one important difference is that, in opera, the music mak…
Bill Coyne and Jody Cook in L'IL ABNER (Photo: Michael Portantiere)
Based on the Al Capp comic strip of the same title, and featuring a terrific score by Gene de Paul and Johnny Mercer, …
As if theater-loving residents of N.Y.C. don't have enough shows on and off Broadway to keep them entertained, there's a theater in nearby Millburn, New Jersey that has been a popular audien…
Musical theater guys have sometimes been heard to complain that their female counterparts get the best parts and the best songs in shows such as Mame, Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girl, and Wicked. …
Elizabeth Reaser and Norbert Leo Butz in HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE
Like any other award, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama is not always a 100 percent accurate indicator of superior quality or the &…
Each season, there’s a stampede of Broadway openings in the months prior to the Tony Awards. With so many shows arriving at once, journalists and theatergoers pretty much tend to f…
One of the greatest articles I ever read in Playbill was “Hitpicking,” by Barry Tarshis, which was published in the fall of 1970.
1) Is there at least one major film or TV star i…
Tom Wopat (Photo: Michael Portantiere)
If you’re disappointed in the most recent crop of new Broadway musicals — and who isn’t? — you might want to consider time trav…
Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis star in PORGY AND BESS (Photo: Michael J. Lutch)
Traditionally, January is a slow month for theater in New York (and elsewhere) in terms of ticket sales and ope…
John Walton West, Christina Bianco, and Christine Pedi in NEWSICAL
Back in the day, there were lots of revues that used current events and politics as fodder for sharp, witty humor. Now, suc…
Hugh Jackman (Photo by Michael Portantiere)
The stars are shining. Although the recent crop of New York theater openings has proved to be pretty lackluster overall, especially in terms o…
Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan (Photo: Craig Schwartz)
‘Tis the season, folks! If you’re in the market for holiday entertainment options other than such world-famous mainstays as the R…
Here's my own personal list of 10 theatrical things to be thankful for at this festive time of the year:
GODSPELL on Broadway
Here’s my own personal list of 10 theatrical things to be thankful for at this festive time of the year:
1. Nina Arianda: How often does anyone or anything truly l…
Harry Connick, Jr. (Photo: Palma Kolansky)
There aren’t many “matinee idols” left in the theater, so it’s quite a happy coincidence that two of the few performers who…
