Friday, April 26, 2024

‘Illinoise’ Review: A Thrilling, Genre-Defying Broadway Musical Brings the Sufjan Stevens Album to Lyrical Life by Gordon Cox

Sufjan Stevens’s indie folk concept album “Illinois” (2005) is whimsical, earnest, and sorrowful; it weaves together events and figures from Illinois history (including UFO sightings, …

SOURCE: Variety at 02:16PM

Life Is a ‘Cabaret’: Bebe Neuwirth’s Latest Role Is a High-Stakes Broadway Homecoming by Gordon Cox

Bebe Neuwirth calls herself a “theater rat.” So it’s natural she’d be sitting in an old-school New York diner on Eighth Avenue, on the edge of the Broadway district, right around the…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:00AM
Thursday, April 25, 2024

‘The Great Gatsby’ Review: Broadway Musical Has Glamour but Little Grit by Gordon Cox

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby,” which captured the roaring twenties with shocking clarity, is a staple of high school curricula and has been immortalized in two fa…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM

‘Mother Play’ Review: Jessica Lange Is an Unhinged Delight in Dysfunctional Family Drama on Broadway by Aramide Tinubu

There is no handbook on motherhood, but most people try their best when it comes to childrearing. Today, amid increasingly accessible resources and freedoms that weren’t afforded in the p…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:30PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2024

‘Uncle Vanya’ Review: Steve Carell Fits Seamlessly Into a Stellar Ensemble in a Gorgeous Broadway Revival by Gordon Cox

Director Lila Neugebauer sets Lincoln Center Theater’s starry, breathtaking new Broadway production of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” in current-day America rather than Russia around …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00PM

Cole Escola’s Play ‘Oh, Mary!’ to Open on Broadway After Sold-Out Off Broadway Run by Rebecca Rubin

Mary Todd Lincoln had grand ambitions of being a cabaret star, at least according to playwright Cole Escola. Now, the former first lady is getting her due on the grandest stage of all. “Oh…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00AM
Tuesday, April 23, 2024

‘Mary Jane’ Review: Rachel McAdams Makes a Solid Broadway Debut Depicting the Sacrifice of Motherhood by Aramide Tinubu

Parenting inspires varying schools of thought. While some relish the tasks of caretaking, others speak candidly about the hardships of child-rearing, sharing the true realities of motherhood…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00PM
Monday, April 22, 2024

‘The Heart of Rock And Roll’ Review: Huey Lewis and the News Jukebox Musical is Easy to Like, Harder to Love by Gordon Cox

When a character in the new musical “The Heart of Rock and Roll” tries to convince his ex to leave her job at a factory that makes shipping materials, he is stunned: “Oh, my god. It’…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM

‘Patriots’ Review: Peter Morgan’s Disappointing Power Play About Putin’s Rise in Post-Soviet Russia is a ‘Nyet’ by Gordon Cox

In Peter Morgan’s tantalizing but disappointing new play “Patriots,” Boris Berezovsky is presented as a larger-than-life oligarch in a post-Soviet Russia who transforms Vladimir Putin …

SOURCE: Variety at 08:14PM
Sunday, April 21, 2024

‘Cabaret’ Review: Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin Lead High-Style Revival That Cuts to the Bone by Gordon Cox

When Eddie Redmayne’s slithering Emcee assures the audience at “Cabaret” that “here, life is beautiful,” he’s telling a half-truth. The August Wilson Theater, done up like the Ki…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM
Saturday, April 20, 2024

‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Review: Alicia Keys Musical Brings a Vibrant Depiction of Teen Girlhood to Broadway by Gordon Cox

“Hell’s Kitchen” opened on Broadway on April 20, 2024. The following is Aramide Tinubu’s review of the show’s Off Broadway premiere published on Nov. 19, 2023. The credits and copy…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00PM
Friday, April 19, 2024

‘Stereophonic’ Review: Behind the Music, There’s Theatrical Solid Gold in This New Broadway Play by Gordon Cox

There’s a moment in David Adjmi’s play “Stereophonic” when a discordant, mid-’70s band-on-the rise hears one of its songs played back to them in the recording studio for the first …

SOURCE: Variety at 11:59PM
Thursday, April 18, 2024

‘Suffs’ Review: Broadway Musical About Women’s Fight for the Vote Gets Thrilling and Entertaining Musicalization by Gordon Cox

A musical that captures the sweep of history in all its complexities without sacrifice of character or credibility is no easy feat.   But “Suffs,” which tells the story of the final pus…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM

How Broadway’s ‘Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club’ Pulls Off Its Audacious, Sensual 75-Minute Prologue by Brent Lang

“No extraneous commotion,” Jordan Fein, the associate director of “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” beseeches the small army of construction crew members who are drilling, hammering and…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:20PM

Why ‘The Wiz’ Is Returning to Broadway Without Toto by Lexi Carson

“The Wiz” celebrated its return to Broadway on Wednesday night, but where was Toto? One of the most notable changes in the new revival, a re-imagining of “The Wizard of Oz” with a Bl…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:49PM

Crafting ‘Stereophonic’: How ‘Terrifying’ Rehearsals, Creative Clashes and a Soundproof Studio Led to Broadway’s Buzziest Show by Ethan Shanfeld

A little over 10 years ago, David Adjmi was on an airplane, listening to Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” and picturing Robert Plant recording the vocals. “It’s communi…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:11PM
Wednesday, April 17, 2024

‘The Wiz’ Review: In a New Broadway Revival, Dorothy and Friends Get Lost in a Hypercolor Whirligig by Gordon Cox

A flight of imagination born of the trippy 1970s, “The Wiz” can shoulder a lot of interpretation. Sidney Lumet’s shadowy film, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, sets the Black s…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM

Maya Boyd Taking Over ‘& Juliet’ Title Role on Broadway — Just as Soon as She Graduates College (EXCLUSIVE) by Brent Lang

Maya Boyd will take over the title role in Broadway’s “& Juliet.” She joins the cast directly from the company of “Merrily We Roll Along,” where she made her Broadway debut ea…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00AM

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Broadway Musical in the Works From Director Jon M. Chu by Rebecca Rubin

Break out the dumpling wrappers and mahjong sets because “Crazy Rich Asians” is coming to Broadway. The beloved romantic comedy is being developed as a Broadway musical by director Jon M…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00AM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Why Grant Gustin Loves the Scary Parts of Starring in a Broadway Musical by Gordon Cox

Grant Gustin, the former CW superhero now making his Broadway debut in the musical “Water for Elephants,” has been headlining his current, critically praised stage gig since it began pre…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:14PM

Rachel Zegler, Kit Connor to Make Broadway Debuts in ‘Romeo+Juliet’ With Music by Jack Antonoff by Rebecca Rubin

“West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler and “Heartstopper” breakout Kit Connor will make their Broadway debuts in “Romeo+ Juliet,” a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:59AM
Monday, April 15, 2024

‘Lion King’ Live-to-Film Hollywood Bowl Concert to Feature Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Eichner and More (EXCLUSIVE) by Chris Willman

The 30th anniversary of the original animated film version of “The Lion King” will be celebrated at the Hollywood Bowl next month with a live-to-film concert/screening that will include …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:29AM
Sunday, April 14, 2024

‘Lempicka’ Review: Broadway Musical Leaves a Visionary Artist Out of Focus by Gordon Cox

To the list of larger-than-life, survivalist women in musical theater, add Tamara de Lempicka — but with an asterisk. The name of the Polish-born portraitist who died in 1980 might not be …

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM
Friday, April 12, 2024

‘Player Kings’ Review: Ian McKellen and Toheeb Jimoh Give Star Turns in a Chilly New Take on Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’ by Gordon Cox

According to theater lore, it was Elizabeth I who demanded Shakespeare write another play about Falstaff, which, allegedly, is why he wrote “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” The Queen might …

SOURCE: Variety at 01:21PM
Thursday, April 11, 2024

‘The Outsiders’ Review: Broadway Musical Packs Heart and Soul but Little Punch by Gordon Cox

Tough guys with a soft side have long held a firm grip on the American imagination. S.E. Hinton’s novel “The Outsiders,” about a cadre of down-and-out boys, has been read by millions o…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Zhang Yimou Sets Theater Residency in Macau, Plans ‘MGM 2049’ Stage Spectacular by Patrick Frater

Leading Chinese film director Zhang Yimou has been announced as chief director of “MGM 2049,” pitched as “an unprecedented residency show” in Macau. Zhang, who is known for films inc…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:33AM
Thursday, April 4, 2024

Maia Novi’s ‘Invasive Species’ Announces Off-Broadway Run (EXCLUSIVE) by Brent Lang

Maia Novi’s “Invasive Species” has announced an Off-Broadway limited engagement at The Vineyard’s Dimson Theater. The production will reunite the cast and creative team from the dark…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:07AM
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ Review: Patricia Clarkson Illuminates an Uneven West End Production by Gordon Cox

No one, wisely, has turned “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night” into an opera — not least because, arguably, Eugene O’Neill’s most famous play already is one. It features extended s…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:53PM

Christopher Durang, Writer of ‘Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You,’ Dies at 75 by Brent Lang

Christopher Durang, a Tony Award-winning playwright who specialized in a particular form of brainy and absurdist comedy, has died. He was 75. The cause was complications from a form of demen…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:22AM
Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Bernadette Peters Recalls the Moment She Fell in Love With Stephen Sondheim’s Work: ‘He’s Our Shakespeare’ by Gordon Cox

The Tony-winning Broadway icon Bernadette Peters has long been considered one of the foremost performers of composer Stephen Sondheim’s work. But as Peters revealed in the latest episode o…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:22PM
Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Tommy’ Review: Broadway Musical Revival is Strictly for the Boomers by Gordon Cox

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those that love bone-shaking, ear-splitting spectacles, like fireworks and arena-sized heavy metal concerts, and those who want nothing more than…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards