All stories by Tony Frankel on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

New York Theater Casting Notice: TREVOR, A NEW MUSICAL (National Virtual Casting Call for 12 to 16-year-olds of all ethnicities) by Tony Frankel

National Virtual Casting Call Announced For TREVOR, A NEW MUSICAL Submit Your Audition by July 26! Teenagers, here’s a great opportunity to be in a musical in New York! Trevor: The Musical…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:22PM
Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Broadway & Regional Theater: HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD (Lyric Theatre in New York; Curran in San Francisco; Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto) by Tony Frankel

IT’S SAFE TO SAY THERE’S MAGIC IN STORE You know, I was never bored watching the epic two-part Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; it truly was a magical experience, and the production te…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:29AM
Saturday, June 19, 2021

Theater Review: THE OCTOROON (The Fountain Theater in L.A.) by Tony Frankel

THE PLAY’S THE THING It’s no wonder that Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ brilliant adaption of Dion Boucicault’s 1895 suspenseful melodrama The Octoroon is eight times better and more exciti…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:07PM

Virtual Theater Review: BECOMING DR. RUTH (starring Tovah Feldshuh from North Coast Rep in San Diego) by Tony Frankel

TO TELL THE RUTH Talk about becoming a hit. Playwright Mark St. Germain (Camping with Henry and Tom, Freud’s Last Session) has done it again. He loves to take us into the lives of renowned…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:35PM
Friday, June 18, 2021

Broadway Reopening: DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA (September 17 at the St. James Theatre) by Tony Frankel

RETURNING TO UTOPIA Talking Heads superstar David Byrne has acquired a home for his acclaimed rock spectacle American Utopia — Broadway’s St. James Theatre, beginning Friday, September 1…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:54AM

Virtual Theater: Cris Franco’s 57 CHEVY (San Diego REP) by Tony Frankel

HOW BROWN WAS MY VALLEY? Following the successful streamed productions of A Weekend with Pablo Picasso and JQA, San Diego REP is offering a filmed version of Cris Franco’s play 57 Chevy, d…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:54AM
Wednesday, June 16, 2021

NYC Cabaret: PANGEA SUPPER CLUB RE-OPENS (East Village) by Tony Frankel

The beloved East Village supper club Pangea, which came perilously close to closing during COVID, is announcing a mixture of ticketed and no-cover entertainment during the summer. The announ…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:29PM
Sunday, June 13, 2021

Dance: THE PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY (The Music Center in L.A | Abraham’s “Only the Lonely” & Taylor’s”Promethean Fire”) by Tony Frankel

THE MUSIC CENTER WELCOMES BACK PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY Los Angeles’s Music Center has a hit on its hands with its DANCE AT DUSK outdoor performance series. First, we had amazing tap dan…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:06AM
Saturday, June 12, 2021

Opera Review: DON PROCOPIO (Pacific Opera Project in L.A.) by Tony Frankel

SILLY PROCOPIO LEFT ME IN OSTRITCHES Well, last Sunday night, courtesy of Pacific Opera Project’s presentation of Don Procopio, I had my first foray to a live production since the pandemic…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:33PM
Friday, June 11, 2021

Album Review: GET YOURSELF SOME HAPPY! (Lillias White) by Tony Frankel

Awesome Broadway fave Lillias White releases her first Solo Studio Album: Get Yourself Some Happy! Here she is, boys! The great Lillias White is releasing her first solo studio album, Get Yo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:26PM
Thursday, June 10, 2021

Audio Theater: THE MURDER ON THE LINKS (L.A. Theatre Works; starring Alfred Molina and Simon Helberg) by Tony Frankel

L.A. Theatre Works has commissioned a new audio theater adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie “whodunit” The Murder on the Links. The all-star cast includes Alfred Molina (as Ch…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:09AM

Music | Dance | Theater: CAL PERFORMANCES (2021-22 Season) by Tony Frankel

SUPERCALILINEUP Talk about coming back with a bang! Berkeley’s Cal Performances has announced its 2021–22 season, and the Bay Area is getting the best line-up I have seen since well befo…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:08AM
Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Theater: CAL PERFORMANCES (2021-22 Season) by Tony Frankel

Talk about coming back with a bang! Berkeley’s Cal Performances has announced its 2021–22 season, and the Bay Area is getting the best line-up I have seen since well before the pandemic …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:51PM
Sunday, June 6, 2021

Off-Broadway: STOMP (Re-opening on July 20 at the Orpheum) by Tony Frankel

REIGNITING THE RHYTHM STOMP, which I originally saw at New York’s 299-seat Orpheum Theatre in 1994, has performers using their bodies and both industrial and household objects as percussiv…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:42AM
Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Virtual Theater: TALES OF THE CITY, THE MUSICAL (American Conservatory Theater, Broadway On Demand) by Tony Frankel

A.C.T. OFFERS ONLINE SCREENING OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN’S TALES OF THE CITY, THE MUSICAL Filmed during its original 2011 run, this 10th Anniversary event will stream during San Francisco Pri…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:53PM

Virtual Theater Review: THE NICETIES (Manhattan Theatre Club in association with The Huntington) by Tony Frankel

I just watched Manhattan Theatre Club‘s special new adaptation of The Niceties updated for the virtual stage by playwright Eleanor Burgess. In The Niceties an ambitious young Black co…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:53PM
Friday, May 28, 2021

Virtual Theater Review: 2.5 MINUTE RIDE (Studio Theatre, D.C.) by Tony Frankel

KRON-OLOGY Who knew a trip to Auschwitz could be so much fun? Almost as fun as taking a roller coaster ride at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. These two locations have been tet…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:49AM
Thursday, May 27, 2021

Virtual Theater Review: chekhovOS /an experimental game/ (Arlekin Players Theatre) by Tony Frankel

THE ILLUSION OF AGENCY Beamed to us from the Chekhov Operating System (chekhovOS), a virtual panoply that contains the great Russian playwright’s works and forlorn characters — who spout…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:34PM
Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Virtual Theater Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS (ICT, Long Beach) by Tony Frankel

HIGH FIVE Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years is contextually brilliant: it is a two-character musical that starts at the end of a five year relationship for the woman, but at the be…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:41PM

Virtual Theater Review: SOMEONE ELSE’S HOUSE (Geffen) by Tony Frankel

I WANT TO SEE MORE DEAD PEOPLE Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? Jared Mezzocchi (Russian Troll Farm, my favorite theater stream of the COVID era) brings an Amityville Horror-esque, tr…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:41PM

Virtual Opera: CIRCUS DAYS AND NIGHTS (World Premiere by Philip Glass, David Henry Hwang & Tilde Björfors; Streaming LIVE) by Tony Frankel

COME JOIN THE CIRCUS AS A METAPHOR FOR LIFE It’s here! The world premiere of a new opera by Philip Glass which will take place on Malmö Opera‘s main stage with live music to a live audi…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:41PM

Virtual Theater Review: THIS AMERICAN WIFE (FourthWall Theatrical, in association with Fake Friends and Jeremy O. Harris) by Tony Frankel

AS AMERICAN AS LEMON CHICKEN PIE Girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl! Wazzup? So, listen, I saw the craziest thing the other night. No, not THAT thing. That’s old news. No, it’s this kinda performance ar…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:48AM

Theater Podcast: MAGELLANICA (Audio Drama by E.M. Lewis from Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR) by Tony Frankel

Streaming for free through June 30, 2021, is Artists Repertory Theatre’s five-part, four-hour audio drama Magellanica on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Sticher, and where you find podcasts.  Mag…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:48AM
Monday, May 24, 2021

Virtual Theater: NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN (The Marsh) by Tony Frankel

I’ve known about Brian Copland’s work for years, but didn’t get a chance to see the Bay Area performer until the virtual presentation of his solo show The Jewelry Box, easily one of th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:59PM

Los Angeles Theater: 54th SEASON AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE (Center Theatre Group) by Tony Frankel

CENTER THEATRE GROUP’S 54th SEASON AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE TO BEGIN NOVEMBER 30, 2021 Ahmanson Theatre Will Have Been Dark For 20 Months While it’s a shame that Diane Paulus’s new revi…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:59PM
Sunday, May 23, 2021

Theater: THE COMPLETE SONDHEIM @ 90 ROUNDTABLE (Porchlight Music Theatre) by Tony Frankel

CELEBRATING SONDHEIM While we were all prepared to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday in 2020, and all of his accomplishments up until then, along comes COVID, which not only shut …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:18PM

Broadway Podcast: WE GOT ANNIE: ANN REINKING (1949–2020) (The Fabulous Invalid) by Tony Frankel

Broadway’s podcast, The Fabulous Invalid, has released a fabulous episode, a thoroughly entertaining tribute celebrating Broadway and dance legend, Ann Reinking in We Got Annie: Ann Reink…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:36AM
Thursday, May 20, 2021

Virtual Theater Review: THE LAST MATCH (Writers Theatre) by Tony Frankel

SERVE. SET. MATCH. WINNER. Finally! A virtual theater production that actually feels like I’m in a theater. Not only that, but Writers’ production of Anna Ziegler’s The Last Match is i…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:04PM

Theater Review: GOODS (Artemisia Theatre in Chicago) by Tony Frankel

GOODS AND READY Family. Waste. Refugees. Class. Climate Change. All these and more fly off today’s headlines, but like a genie in a magic lamp, playwright Lauren Ferebee has fit them all �…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:53PM
Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Theater: SAN FRANCISCO’S CLUB FUGAZI RE-OPENS WITH THE 7 FINGERS (North Beach) by Tony Frankel

SAN FRANCISCO’S HISTORIC CLUB FUGAZI TO REOPEN FALL 2021 THE 7 FINGERS, THE WORLD-RENOWNED CIRCUS AND ARTS COLLECTIVE, TO CREATE AN ONLY-IN-SAN-FRANCISCO INTIMATE AND IMMERSIVE THEATRICAL …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:55PM

Virtual Theater: TITANIC (SCENES FROM THE BRITISH WRECK COMMISSIONER’S INQUIRY, 1912) (Court Theatre in Chicago) by Tony Frankel

Chicago’s amazing Court Theatre is presenting its next play digitally — the world can now see why this is such a remarkable company. Owen McCafferty’s Titanic (Scenes from the Britis…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:55PM

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