All stories by Ashley Van Buren on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

“On the Verge” of a Wild Design by Ashley Van Buren

Two designers create dozens of locations for Broadway’s “Women on the Verge…”As a designer, how do you adapt a Spanish-language movie into a Broadway musical, especia…

SOURCE: TDF at 05:58PM

Joe Iconis and the Christmas Miracle by Ashley Van Buren

How a massive team creates the composer’s raucous holiday showSince it was written in just three weeks and had only two weeks of rehearsal with a cast of around 30 people, you could ar…

SOURCE: TDF at 05:58PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Interview: Crowdfunding Elaine Stritch by Ashley Van Buren

Chiemi Karasawa first encountered Elaine Stritch [editorial note: if you are not familiar with Elaine Stritch, please hit pause on reading this article and watch this, this, and this] when s…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 02:24PM
Friday, March 1, 2013

Interview: Marni Nixon Reminds Us Why She's Awesome by Ashley Van Buren

Not everyone can get to The New York Philharmonic's concert staging of Carousel. PBS will be broadcasting the performance into living rooms around the country later this year, but we thought…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 07:32PM
Monday, February 11, 2013

Interview: Diane Paulus Expands the Boundaries of Theater at the A.R.T. by Ashley Van Buren

Having a conversation with Diane Paulus is a lot like watching one of her shows: a wholly immersive experience filled with side stories populated by acrobats, hippies, Shakespearean characte…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 03:18PM
Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Interview: The Jammer's Christopher Jackson: Skating Off-Broadway by Night, Winning Emmys by Day by Ashley Van Buren

Before we even get to Christopher Jackson's night job, co-starring as Charlie Heartbreak in the Atlantic Theater Company 's The Jammer, we needed to get a handle on his multiple jobs By day,…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 03:43PM
Monday, February 4, 2013

Special Report: What's in Their Queue? Playwrights from The Netflix Plays Stream the Works of Henry James and "Badass Michael Shannon" by Ashley Van Buren

What drives your movie selections? Do you go for "Critically-acclaimed Violent Suspenseful Movies?" Or are you more of a "Dysfunctional Family Drama" type? Whatever your preference, the play…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 07:08PM
Friday, January 25, 2013

Special Report: Two Playwrights From The Netflix Plays Queue Up Nora Ephron and Rasputin by Ashley Van Buren

What drives your movie selections? Do you go for "Critically-acclaimed Violent Suspenseful Movies"? Or are you more of a "Dysfunctional Family Drama" type? Whatever your preference, the play…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 07:42PM
Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Special Report: From Porn Documentaries to What Lies Beneath: A Look Inside the Queues of The Netflix Plays by Ashley Van Buren

What inspires your movie selections? Do you go for ‘Critically-acclaimed Violent Suspenseful Movies'? Or are you more of a 'Dysfunctional Family Drama' type? Whatever your preference, the …

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 07:45PM
Saturday, December 29, 2012

Special Report: Top 12 News Stories of 2012 by Ashley Van Buren

Open letters, Glee drama, "bros"—the most notable thing about the most notable stories on TheaterMania in 2012 is that they're more about the theater community than Broadway "stars." It's …

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 08:00AM
Monday, December 17, 2012

Interview: Meet Kurt Deutsch, the Man Behind the Cast Recordings of Book of Mormon, by Ashley Van Buren

Kurt Deutsch is not a left-brain, right-brain kind of guy. Instead, both sides of his brain operate simultaneously, with creative thoughts substantiated by business ones and vice versa. As t…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 07:00PM
Monday, December 10, 2012

Interview: Julia Murney Talks Falling, Spice Channel Voiceovers, and Pancakes by Ashley Van Buren

When Julia Murney takes the stage in Falling at the Minetta Lane Theatre, her face isn't Elphaba green, she's not wearing John Lennon's famous New York City t-shirt, nor is she raising the r…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 05:13PM
Thursday, November 29, 2012

Special Report: Hard Rock: The Skivvies Strip Down the Covers and the Clothes by Ashley Van Buren

Lauren Molina and Nick Cearley know how to get Broadway naked.Billed at the musical duo The Skivvies, Molina (the cello-playing Johanna in Sweeney Todd) and Cearley (a r

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 01:10PM
Monday, November 26, 2012

Theater News: How Rodents and Cross-dressing Inspired Dame Julie Andrews' Mousical by Ashley Van Buren

Oscar winner Dame Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music) has gone from taming unruly children to directing tap dancing mice in The Great American Mousical at Goodspeed-at-Chester/T…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 03:46PM
Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Video Flash: The Best Parts of Smash's Season Two Promo by Ashley Van Buren

Yahoo released a sneak peek at the second season of Smash. We reviewed it for the best parts:Stolen songs, Bombshell on Broadway, J-Hud as Veronica Moore (more or less playing herself); Jere…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 02:17PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Special Report: Artists Converge on La MaMa for Soulographie: Our Genocide by Ashley Van Buren

Seventeen works, eighty actors, and sixteen directors, all tackling a single subject—genocide—in just one week of performances at La MaMa. Soulographie: Our Genocides is a convergence of…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 06:52PM
Friday, November 9, 2012

Special Report: Election 2012: The Musical Dream Candidates Brian Stokes "Stobama" Mitchell and Marc "Dopple-Romney" Kudisch React by Ashley Van Buren

In the end, it wasn't even close.TheaterMania's (imaginary) Election 2012: The Musical incumbent presidential candidate, Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (aka "Stobama"), beat Tony no…

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 04:22PM
Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Theater News: Broadway Stars Storm Social Media in Support of Hurricane Relief by Ashley Van Buren

From Twitter to Facebook and even Instagram, the Broadway community is finding creative ways to engage their fans in supporting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts with calls to action including …

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 02:54PM
Friday, October 19, 2012

We Know Richard Nixon, But Do We Understand Him? by Ashley Van Buren

“Checkers” sheds light on the president’s dark history Many Americans have strong opinions about Richard Nixon, and playwright Douglas McGrath (pictured above) is no except…

SOURCE: TDF at 11:19AM
Friday, May 13, 2011

Turning 20 With “The Tempest” by Ashley Van Buren

Target Margin Theater Celebrates Its Second Decade To close out their 20th anniversary season, Target Margin Theater has gone back to its Shakespearean roots. The company’s new product…

SOURCE: TDF at 11:58AM
Friday, December 10, 2010

Joe Iconis and the Christmas Miracle by Ashley Van Buren

How a massive team creates the composer’s raucous holiday show Since it was written in just three weeks and had only two weeks of rehearsal with a cast of around 30 people, you could a…

SOURCE: TDF at 12:08PM
Friday, November 12, 2010

“On the Verge” of a Wild Design by Ashley Van Buren

Two designers create dozens of locations for Broadway’s “Women on the Verge…” As a designer, how do you adapt a Spanish-language movie into a Broadway musical, especially…

SOURCE: TDF at 12:11PM

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