All stories by Alex Needham on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

‘I was born with death as my sidekick’: the ‘zombie’ with cystic fibrosis who turns pain into art by Alex Needham

At 35, Martin O’Brien has already outlived his life expectancy. And in performances in which he attaches pegs to his testicles or smears himself with mucus, he brutally confronts his morta…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:37PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

‘There will be sex!’ Inside A Strange Loop – the queer, Black Broadway megasmash now hitting Britain by Alex Needham

The Pulitzer prize-winning musical shows the world what it’s like ‘to travel in a fat, Black queer body’. Writer Michael R Jackson, a former Lion King usher who based it on his life, r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:49AM
Saturday, March 11, 2023

‘Torture porn or serious literature?’: the love-hate phenomenon of cult novel A Little Life by Alex Needham

One million copies sold, sobbing superfans on TikTok and a new stage adaptation starring James Norton – yet Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 book continues to divides readers On the cover of the …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:00AM
Friday, November 18, 2022

‘It’s undoubtedly going to have a big impact’: inside three Arts Council funding cases by Mabel Banfield-Nwachi, Caroline Butterwick and Alex Needham

In our final set of case studies exploring the impact of Arts Council England’s new funding round, we speak to Ballet Black, Disability Arts Online and Camden Art Centre Thrilled, relieved…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Claes Bang: ‘I did two whole plays entirely naked. I thought I’d done enough’ by Alex Needham

From spanking to swordfighting, why does the Dane have to keep stripping off? As he appears alongside Christopher Walken in Outlaws, the actor talks about dodgy directors, the joy of physica…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:03AM
Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Sexual Consent Santa is coming to town! Taylor Mac’s drag queen Christmas by Alex Needham

With a Virgin Mary strip show, lessons in how to sit on Santa’s lap and a carol about drugs, this festive extravaganza is about as alternative as Christmas can get. Is Britain ready for th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AM
Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Vault festival 2020: all of the latest reviews by Chris Wiegand and Alex Needham

Keep track of the shows at the sprawling arts extravaganza beneath Waterloo Station in London. This page will be updated throughout the festival Until 1 FebruarySimon David’s autobiographi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Tuesday, November 19, 2019

No Bra: 'In Britain, I was seen as page-three humour' by Alex Needham

Susanne Oberbeck sings sexually charged songs in a German accent while standing topless and sporting a moustache – and at last she’s found an audience that understands her In 2003, Susan…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:03PM
Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Sequins, sporrans, lechery and lap-dancing: why The Lady Boys of Bangkok rule the fringe by Alex Needham

Shunned by hipsters, adored by local Scots, they’re the fringe’s biggest show. How did this retro cocktail of cheesy euphoria become such a phenomenon? Friday night in Edinburgh and a tr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:42AM
Monday, August 12, 2019

Edinburgh festival 2019: the shows we recommend by Brian Logan, Alex Needham, Catherine Love, Michael Billington, Chris Wiegand, Mark Fisher, Anna Winter and Kate Wyver

Plan your schedule with our roundup of top shows, ordered by start time. This page will be updated daily throughout the festival BoutSummerhall, 10.20am, until 25 AugustAn exploration of bro…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM
Friday, August 24, 2018

The Half: revealing the horrible truth about being a woman in comedy by Alex Needham

A show about entertainment industry sexism and the dynamics of double acts is making Edinburgh audiences laugh and sob. Its writer and stars tell allFor many, this year’s Edinburgh fringe …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AM
Thursday, September 28, 2017

Punchdrunk's luxury rebrand is the theatrical version of gentrification by Alex Needham

The immersive theatre company’s new show Kabeiroi has just 864 tickets (for £110 a pair) and is closed to critics, while its corporate gigs are on the rise. Have the showstoppers sold out…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:06AM
Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Taylor Mac on queering history: 'Someone like me doesn't normally get to represent America' by Alex Needham

Set to headline Melbourne festival, the performer’s epic 24-hour show presents an alternative history that celebrates the outsidersYou know you’re witnessing something special when it’…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:12PM
Saturday, August 5, 2017

Bigfoot and me: Roddy Bottum on his avant garde monster opera by Alex Needham

He was one of the first openly gay men in metal. Now, after losing everything in a house fire, Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum is bankrolling an opera featuring crystal-meth arias and intersp…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24AM
Sunday, July 30, 2017

Royal Ballet 'shocked' by Sergei Polunin resignation by Alex Needham

Twitter feed of Royal's youngest ever principal, who was compared to Nureyev and Baryshnikov, had suggested dissatisfactionWhen Sergei Polunin, 21, walked out of rehearsals with the Royal Ba…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:04AM
Sunday, March 12, 2017

Stephen Fry's Twelfth Night: this all-male affair is no one-man show by Alex Needham

In my humble, non-reviewer opinion, no single actor dominates this radical yet perfectly balanced production at the GlobeThanks to the World Shakespeare festival, one of the Cultural Olympia…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06AM
Monday, October 10, 2016

Taylor Mac review – 24-hour-long pop show is everything by Alex Needham

Lasting an entire day and night with no breaks, Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music contains multitudes, a ‘radical faery realness ritual’ which reimagines an America creat…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:34AM
Monday, June 13, 2016

Best quotes from the Tony awards 2016: 'If I didn't deserve it, this would be embarrassing' by Alex Needham

From Sheldon Harnick accepting his lifetime achievement award to James Corden’s dad’s advice to his son, here are the best lines from this year’s Tonys“Think of tonight as the Oscars…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:46AM

Tony awards 2016: Hamilton sweeps the board, winning 11 Tonys by Alex Needham

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical dominates the Broadway ceremony, while attendees pay tribute to those murdered in Orlando shootingHaving won the Pulitzer prize and a Grammy award,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:07AM
Sunday, June 12, 2016

Spring Awakening on Broadway: deaf viewers give their verdict by Kayla Epstein and Alex Needham

Deaf West’s innovative new version of the controversial musical is performed by a cast including many deaf actors using ASL – but does it work for deaf people?It’s one of the most buzz…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:08PM

Tony Awards: Hamilton looks to make history on Broadway's big night - live! by Alex Needham and Jana Kasperkevic In New York

The 70th annual Tony awards begins at 8pm ET live from the Beacon Theater in New York City. This year’s show will be dedicated to the victims of Orlando shooting 12.35am BST Need a quick …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:50PM
Sunday, March 6, 2016

Dustin Hoffman: ‘I was an outsider. I came to New York and I was cleaning toilets’ by Alex Needham

Even after The Graduate made him a superstar, he always saw himself as a ‘funny looking semitic guy’ on the fringes of fame. Five decades on he talks about racism and the movies, how Too…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AM
Sunday, January 31, 2016

Grease: Live – watch it with us - live! by Alex Needham and Brian Moylan

We’ve got chills, and they’re multiplyin’ ... probably because the TV musical Grease: Live is on and we’re live-blogging it. Please join us on the couch for some hand-jiving, bomber …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:55PM
Thursday, October 29, 2015

Spring Awakening on Broadway: deaf viewers give their verdict by Kayla Epstein and Alex Needham

Deaf West’s innovative new version of the controversial musical is performed by a cast including many deaf actors using ASL – but does it work for deaf people?It’s one of the most buzz…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:59PM
Friday, July 3, 2015

Little Shop of Horrors review - Jake Gyllenhaal blossoms in plant musical by Alex Needham

New York City CenterThe 1982 musical about a man-eating plant rides again in an uproarious concert performance – and to the audience, Gyllenhaal isn’t even the biggest star onstagePart o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:04PM
Thursday, July 2, 2015

Our complete Fourth of July cultural guide by Alex Needham and Lanre Bakare In New York

From TV-loving agoraphobes to those looking for brazen shirtless male strippers, this holiday weekend offers plenty for the culturally curious to exploreYoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960–1971…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:34PM
Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Ryan McNamara – ME3M 4 Miami Art Basel review: the web made dance by Alex Needham

Miami Grand TheatreThis award-winning work attempted to convey the experience of the internet through performance artHow to make a ballet out of the web: with pop, spandex and wheelchairs Co…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:52AM
Thursday, November 27, 2014

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade - as it happened by Alex Needham and Lanre Bakare In New York

Join us as we watch the inflatable-heavy procession through New York, which this year threatens to be disrupted by Ferguson protestorsThe Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade: in pictures Continue r…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:01PM
Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Emma Stone in Cabaret review: a fragile Sally Bowles by Alex Needham

Studio 54, New YorkWhile occasionally tentative, in her Broadway debut Stone delivers where it counts in a classic production of the Weimar-era musical Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:52AM
Friday, August 22, 2014

Rob Hayes, the man behind the play with the most shocking title in Edinburgh by Alex Needham

Writing a monologue about bestiality is certainly arresting, but does it deliver more than shock value? Yes, says playwright Rob Hayes its the closest thing to a love story hell ever write …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:50AM
Thursday, August 21, 2014

Blockbusters on the fringe: the shows riffing on pop cultural giants by Alex Needham

If you want to see Breaking Bad, Star Wars, Fawlty Towers, Doctor Who and Downton Abbey at Edinburgh you can, thanks to condensed parodies. Are they satisfying to perform and do the perform…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AM

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