All stories by David Sheward on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Broadway’s Post-Quarantine Season by David Sheward

With COVID infections dropping and vaccinations reaching higher levels, the New York theater is poised to reopen after a year and a half of lockdown. Both Governor Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio h…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 09:53AM
Saturday, April 17, 2021

John Cullum: An Accidental Star by David Sheward

Still spry and charismatic at 91, John Cullum offers an enchanting and charming solo turn  in John Cullum: An Accidental Star, a 80-minute career retrospective with songs. This virtual caba…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 03:19PM
Thursday, April 15, 2021

Blindness: The First Post-COVID Off-Broadway Show by David Sheward

If a live event has no live actors, stage, sets or costumes, is it really theater? That’s the conundrum posed by Blindness, the unique gathering at the Daryl Roth Theater and the first ind…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 12:03AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Voyeur: Street Theater in the Time of COVID by David Sheward

COVID vaccinations are ramping up and restrictions are beginning to loosen, but variant strains threaten another pandemic surge. Thus the reopening of Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters is s…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 11:07PM
Saturday, February 6, 2021

Historic Meetings: One Night in Miami, Little Wars, Falling Stars by David Sheward

When I was a kid back in the 1970s, PBS used to run a series called Meeting of the Minds. Created, written and hosted by the comedian-writer Steve Allen, the show brought famous figures from…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 06:12PM
Saturday, January 9, 2021

Ma Rainey Sings the Blues with Passion and Rage by David Sheward

In the 20th century, the number of African-American playwrights who have had financially successful, non-musical productions on Broadway can be counted on the fingers of one hand—Lorraine …

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 01:57PM
Monday, December 21, 2020

Netflix’s The Prom and Streaming Holiday Musicals by David Sheward

With Broadway shut down at least until June of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, one must rely on streaming services and the occasional broadcast network special for a musical theater fi…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 05:59PM
Saturday, October 17, 2020

Give Me Your Hand Combines Art, Theater and Poetry by David Sheward

The Broadway League recently announced that the hiatus for all of its member theaters has been extended until June of 2021. That means at least seven more months of no live performances on N…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 11:40PM
Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Final Apple Zoom Play Incidental Moments Celebrates Small Joys by David Sheward

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently predicted we may not be able to sit safely in theaters until the end of 2021. If that is the case, we’ll have to make due with the new hybrid form of theater, th…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 06:58PM
Thursday, August 13, 2020

Virtual Cabaret: Love, Noel by David Sheward

The intimate environs of cabaret will probably be the last aspect of the entertainment industry to return to normal in this COVID world. Patrons squeezed shoulder to shoulder at tiny tables,…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 06:40PM
Thursday, July 23, 2020

Seeking Connection in The Weir by David Sheward

Five lonely people swap ghost stories in a secluded Irish country pub in Connor McPherson’s touching play The Weir. This woes of this disheartened quintet are strikingly relevant for the C…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 09:12PM
Wednesday, July 15, 2020

The Line Jabs Like a Needle of Truth by David Sheward

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the closures of theaters and reinforced the feeling of being in suspended animation. With no live dramatic reaction to this national crisis which has brought…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 04:49PM
Monday, July 6, 2020

New Apples and Les Blancs by David Sheward

As the hiatus from live theater continues with no respite in sight until at least 2021, we draw what sustenance we can from Zoom plays, archival broadcasts, benefit readings, and Hamilton on…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 08:45PM
Wednesday, June 10, 2020

The David Desk Awards plus Thoughts on B’way’s Future by David Sheward

Normally this would have been one of the best weeks of the year for theater lovers. The Tony Awards for Broadway’s best would have presented on Sunday June 7. But because of the COVID-19 p…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 11:21PM
Monday, May 25, 2020

Streaming Streetcar and Mad Forest by David Sheward

There is one upside to all the theaters being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through streaming, YouTube, Zoom and other digital platforms, we get a chance to catch up with intriguing p…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 01:43AM
Friday, May 15, 2020

In-Zoom and a Pair of Macbeths by David Sheward

“We’re heads now. We talk in windows,” cries one of two nameless characters in Bill Irwin’s touching, ten-minute play In-Zoom, presented by the Old Globe Theater of San Diego. The cr…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 08:54PM
Friday, May 1, 2020

Theater in the Time of COVID: The Apples and Sondheim’s 90th by David Sheward

With Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional stages closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, theater artists have adapted to the new normal rather than waiting in limbo for a return to their trad…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 01:31PM
Wednesday, April 22, 2020

B’way in Limbo Until 2021?? by David Sheward

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and its effect on the theater world will be felt for months and possibly years. Though parts of the country have begun making moves to “reopen” the…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 07:29PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Stage and Stream: Theater Goes Online by David Sheward

Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced stages in New York City and around the world to close until further notice and much of the world remains in lockdown, many theater companies are off…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 07:38PM
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Broadway Dark Until June 7 Due to COVID-19 by David Sheward

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the New York theater world as well as all aspects of American and world society. All 41 Broadway theaters are officially closed until June 7. On Mar…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 04:02PM
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

72 Miles Chronicles the Cruelty of Immigration Laws by David Sheward

Note: This production’s run ended abruptly on March 12 due to Broadway and Off-Broadway’s theaters closing because of the coronavirus crisis. Roundabout Theater Company has announced the…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 07:55PM
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Fractured Narratives: Suicide, Cambodian Rock Band, Molly Brown by David Sheward

Fractured narratives are featured in two recent Off-Broadway offerings depicting how families of severe trauma victims cope—or don’t—with their personal tragedies. Three generations of…

SOURCE: www.culturalweekly.com at 12:54PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Tony Awards 2016: Outer Critics Circle nominations offer mixed preview by David Sheward

While the Outer Critics Circle can be a precursor for the upcoming Tonys, this year there are significant differences between the two on the musical side. “Hamilton,” the overwhelming…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:31AM
Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Tony Awards predictions: ‘Hamilton’ and Lin-Manuel Miranda will sweep by David Sheward

“Hamilton” is the biggest thing to hit Broadway in decades and will dominate the upcoming Tony Awards. During its Off-Broadway incarnation last season at the Public Theater, Lin-Manuel M…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 07:29PM
Monday, May 25, 2015

23 Feet in 12 Minutes by David Sheward

You may think you've already heard everything there is to know about Hurricane Katrina. But 23 Feet in 12 Minutes, written by Mari Brown and performed by Deanna Pacelli, transforms a five-ye…

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Standing Up: Bathroom Talk & Other Stuff We Learn from Dad by David Sheward

Playwright-performer Tracey Conyer Lee skillfully ricochets from standup comedy to kitchen-sink drama in this solo show.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

An Error of the Moon by David Sheward

Historical drama becomes lurid soap opera in Luigi Creatore's "speculation" on the brothers Booth.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

NY Review: "It Must Be Him" by David Sheward

Clichés and stale jokes pervade this sitcom of a play from Emmy-winning TV veteran Kenny Solms. Peter Scolari, Alice Playten, and Bob Ari valiantly attempt to add dimension to their…

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

NY Review: 'Michael Feinstein & Barbara Cook: Cheek to Cheek' by David Sheward

The veteran singer-pianist and the Broadway legend team up for a terrific evening of Great American Songbook standards delivered with unexpected twists and consummate skill.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

NY Review: 'underneathmybed' by David Sheward

Reality and fantasy are seamlessly blended in this fascinatingly bizarre new play about an Argentinean family haunted by the horrors of a military dictatorship.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

NY Review: 'Bottom of the World' by David Sheward

Two realities clash in Lucy Thurber's uneven comedy-drama about a young woman in mourning for her sister and the "fictional" world of the late sibling's last novel.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

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