All stories by Jennifer Schuessler on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

‘Gutenberg!’: A Guide to the Inventor Behind the Broadway Musical by Jennifer Schuessler

Jokes aside: Here’s what we really know about the 15th-century figure currently appearing (sort of) on Broadway in “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” starring Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:06PM
Wednesday, July 5, 2023

At 20, an Upstate Arts Haven Keeps Breaking New Ground by Jennifer Schuessler

The Fisher Center at Bard has become an incubator for commercially promising new work like Justin Peck’s “Illinois,” while holding tight to its experimental roots.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:43PM
Saturday, December 31, 2022

Machine Dazzle: How Many Ways Can You Say Fabulous? by Jennifer Schuessler

In his museum survey and performances, the costume designer (and Taylor Mac collaborator) is like Krazy Glue — bonding art, theater and drag.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:24PM
Wednesday, October 19, 2022

For Broadway’s 1776, featuring Seattle’s Sara Porkalob, the drama is offstage by Michael Paulson and Jennifer Schuessler

The current Broadway revival of “1776” was hoping to spark a conversation about power and representation. And it has, if not quite in the way it intended.

SOURCE: www.seattletimes.com at 12:13AM
Tuesday, October 18, 2022

For Broadway’s ‘1776’ Revival, the Drama Is Offstage by Michael Paulson and Jennifer Schuessler

A cast member criticized the consciously progressive revival for its handling of race in rehearsals, saying there had been “harm done.” She later apologized for her comments.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:25PM
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

 ’1776’ Musical Returns to Broadway With a Diverse Twist by Jennifer Schuessler

A revival of the classic musical offers a fresh twist on the founding for the post-“Hamilton” era.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:13PM
Monday, July 25, 2022

Goodman Theater Names Susan V. Booth as Artistic Director by Jennifer Schuessler

Booth, who currently leads the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, will succeed Robert Falls, who is retiring after 35 years leading the Chicago mainstay.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:33PM
Wednesday, June 15, 2022

In ‘Corsicana,’ Will Arbery Puts Art, Family and Down Syndrome Onstage by Jennifer Schuessler

Arbery, a Pulitzer finalist in 2020, is back with a play inspired by his relationship with his sister. But don’t call it an “issue” play.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24AM
Friday, May 27, 2022

Hitting the Right Notes When Setting History To Song by Jennifer Schuessler

“Hamilton”-mania opened a new chapter for stage musicals. But how have shows since balanced the complexities of the past and the politics of the present?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:33AM
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Antiquarian Book Fair: From Sondheim’s Letters to a Brontë Discovery by Jennifer Schuessler

Among the rarities on view at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair are also a 1555 treatise on tennis and Amy Winehouse’s personal library.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:06PM
Thursday, March 24, 2022

Shaina Taub’s ‘Suffs’ Tells the Suffragist Tale in Song by Jennifer Schuessler

Shaina Taub’s highly anticipated musical explores women’s crusade for the vote through a movement often divided along generational, class and racial lines.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AM
Thursday, January 20, 2022

Taylor Mac Explores the Philosophy of the Hang by Jennifer Schuessler

A new jazz opera reimagines Socrates’ final hours. Expect queer romps, ancient Greek in-jokes and plenty of tulle.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:42PM
Friday, October 22, 2021

Chad Kimball Sues ‘Come From Away’ Over His Termination by Jennifer Schuessler

The actor, who is Christian, said in an interview he was let go because of his religious beliefs. The show’s producers declined to comment.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36PM
Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Taylor Mac’s ‘Joy and Pandemic’ Is Postponed as Covid Cases Surge by Jennifer Schuessler

The play, which had been set to have its world premiere in September at the Magic Theater in San Francisco, takes place during the 1918 flu pandemic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:24PM
Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Harvey Fierstein Donates $2.5 Million for Public Library Theater Lab by Jennifer Schuessler

The gift from the writer and performer will help create an educational hub at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:36AM
Sunday, March 21, 2021

Next from Taylor Mac: A Post-Pandemic Pandemic Play — Set in 1918 by Jennifer Schuessler

“Joy and Pandemic” is slated to be performed this fall before an in-person audience at the Magic Theater in San Francisco.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:36PM
Tuesday, February 9, 2021

‘He Missed Nothing’: Nathan Lane, Chita Rivera and Others on Joe Allen by Laura Collins-Hughes and Jennifer Schuessler

The man was taciturn, but his Theater District restaurants were like Broadway clubhouses. Even the posters of flops were placed with affection.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:24PM
Sunday, January 10, 2021

Exhuming a Monster of a Flop by Jennifer Schuessler

Dissecting the failure of “Frankenstein,” which closed on Broadway on opening night 40 years ago, came with its own set of reporting challenges.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:06PM
Wednesday, December 30, 2020

A ‘Frankenstein’ That Never Lived by Jennifer Schuessler

On Jan. 4, 1981, the effects-heavy production opened and closed on the same night. Forty years later, the creators revisit a very expensive Broadway flop.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Friday, October 30, 2020

The Sound in Their Ears? Black Thinkers Sharing ‘Lessons in Survival’ by Jennifer Schuessler

A Vineyard Theater streaming project re-enacts verbatim interviews with James Baldwin, Toni Morrison and others to explore echoes between the past and the present.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PM
Friday, September 11, 2020

20 Theater Figures on How to ‘Revolutionize’ Their World by Jennifer Schuessler and Scott Heller

End unpaid internships. Set term limits for leaders. Get real about inclusion. Take performances to the streets. Say yes to joy, and no to couch plays.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Monday, July 6, 2020

‘Hamilton’ and the Historical Record: Frequently Asked Questions by Jennifer Schuessler

The Disney+ filmed version has fans wondering what’s accurate. Historians are fans, too, and they have answers, along with caveats.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:36PM
Monday, June 1, 2020

How ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Survived the Pandemic by Jennifer Schuessler and Su-Hyun Lee

The musical’s world tour, now in Seoul, weathered a cast outbreak to become perhaps the only major show running. Can theater learn from its example?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:18PM
Friday, March 27, 2020

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Gets New Director by Jennifer Schuessler

Jennifer Schantz, an executive at the New-York Historical Society, will lead the library, which is home to more than 8 million items relating to music, theater and dance.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:03PM
Monday, March 23, 2020

To Help Performers in Need, Funky Videos at Your Fingertips by Jennifer Schuessler

The performer Taylor Mac and the playwright Suzan-Lori Parks have signed on to a video-sharing subscription service to raise money for New York colleagues in crisis.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:54PM
Thursday, January 2, 2020

‘West Side Story’: How We Covered the Classic N.Y.C. Musical by Jennifer Schuessler

Since its 1957 premiere, The New York Times has tracked the musical’s evolution, covering its casting, its politics and its role in the Cold War along the way.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:33AM
Sunday, October 13, 2019

A Play ‘Meant to Trouble’ From a Writer Raised in Conservatism by Jennifer Schuessler

Will Arbery has brought the “secretive” world of Catholic intellectuals to the stage in “Heroes of the Fourth Turning.” He’s pleased to find that they appreciate being seen, not ju…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:33PM
Wednesday, September 25, 2019

MacArthur Foundation Announces 26 ‘Genius’ Grant Winners by Jennifer Schuessler

This year’s fellows include artists, writers, scientists, urban designers, community activists and others who have demonstrated “extraordinary originality.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:33AM
Thursday, September 19, 2019

Milton’s Shakespeare Was Just a Trans-Atlantic Tweet Away by Jon Hurdle and Jennifer Schuessler

A scholar in England suspected annotations in a First Folio at the Free Library of Philadelphia were John Milton’s, so he connected the dots with someone who had studied the work for a dec…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:12PM
Wednesday, April 3, 2019

A Shakespeare Festival Presents Modern Translations. Cue the Debate (Again). by Jennifer Schuessler

A series of readings at Classic Stage Company will present the fruits of a project that charged people with “translating” Shakespeare into accessible (and faithful) modern English.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:19PM
Wednesday, March 27, 2019

He Changed ‘Oklahoma!’ But ‘Oklahoma!’ Hasn’t Changed Him. by Jennifer Schuessler

Even his closest friends and colleagues marvel at how the director Daniel Fish has managed to stick to his vision — and even lighten up — while shepherding his dark take on the beloved m…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:00AM

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