Wednesday, May 11, 2016

'Shuffle Along,' an Unusual Revival Finds Its Way Back to Broadway by Wqxr

One of the most interesting musicals to appear on Broadway this season brings a new look to an almost century-old story. Ninety-five years ago, Shuffle Along was an unprecedented sight on …

SOURCE: WQXR at 01:35PM
Wednesday, May 4, 2016

'Hamilton' Receives Record 16 Tony Nominations by Wqxr

The 2016 Tony nominees were announced on Tuesday, and Charles Isherwood, theater critic of The New York Times, joins WQXR morning host, Jeff Spurgeon, to gab about the big news. Most notab…

SOURCE: WQXR at 05:40AM
Wednesday, April 27, 2016

'Waitress' Serves Up a New Recipe for Movie-to-Musical Adaptations by Jeff Spurgeon

Broadway is home to another a new musical based on a movie. Waitress springs from the 2007 film of the same name and tells the story of a small-town girl, who dreams of an escape from her …

SOURCE: WQXR at 04:00AM
Wednesday, April 20, 2016

In 'Mary Page Marlowe' a Role so Big It Requires 6 Actresses by Jeff Spurgeon

Tracy Letts, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (August: Osage County) and Tony Award-winning actor (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf), has a new play running at his home company, Chicago…

SOURCE: WQXR at 01:48AM
Wednesday, April 13, 2016

'Exit Strategy': The Final Days of a Failing School by Jeff Spurgeon

Set at an urban public school on the brink of closure for the usual reasons — poor test scores and low graduation rates — playwright Ike Holter's Exit Strategy is an indictment of the …

SOURCE: WQXR at 05:04AM
Wednesday, April 6, 2016

3 Kings, 4 Plays, 12 hours, a Shakespeare Cycle at BAM by Wqxr

This spring, England’s Royal Shakespeare Company has taken up residence at the Harvey Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It's presenting four of Shakespeare’s plays — Richard …

SOURCE: WQXR at 02:38AM
Wednesday, March 30, 2016

'Bright Star' by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell Shines on Broadway by Jeff Spurgeon

With a book by comedian/actor/author Steve Martin, lyrics by singer/songwriter Edie Brickell and a bluegrass-inflected score by both, Bright Star comes to Broadway music with its creator…

SOURCE: WQXR at 04:57AM
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

'Dry Powder': a Comedy to Ignite Economic Debate by Wqxr

Dry Powder, a new play that just debuted at The Public Theater, is bringing the same discussions about the world of finance to the stage as the film The Big Short brought to the movies. T…

SOURCE: WQXR at 01:55AM
Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick Bring 'Disaster!' to Broadway by Jeff Spurgeon

With its suggestive exclamation point, the title of the new Broadway musical Disaster! hints at the campy, over-the-top qualities it brings to the Nederlander Theatre. Set on a cruise …

SOURCE: WQXR at 05:44AM
Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Danai Gurira Delivers On and Off Broadway by Wqxr

Zimbabwean-American playwright Dania Gurira is having a moment. Her play Eclipsed has just transferred to Broadway in a production starting Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o at the Golden Theatre…

SOURCE: WQXR at 08:14PM
Tuesday, February 16, 2016

'Smart People' Presents Thesis on Race at Second Stage Theatre by Wqxr

As the Obama era is about to begin, four brilliant, accomplished people — Harvard types, all of them — consider racism in America in “Smart People” by playwright Lydia R. Diamond. …

SOURCE: WQXR at 01:56PM
Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Len Cariou Mixes Showstoppers with Shakespeare by Wqxr

Actor Len Cariou has enjoyed a long and distinguished career. Among his many appearances, he created the role Sweeney Todd in the eponymous Stephen Sondheim musical. Perhaps less well-know…

SOURCE: WQXR at 09:47PM
Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Linda Lavin Stars in 'Our Mother's Brief Affair' by Wqxr

While on the latest of her many supposed deathbeds, a "tart-tongued" mother, played by Tony-winner Linda Lavin, reveals to her children the details of a tryst from decades past that may res…

SOURCE: WQXR at 05:21PM
Tuesday, January 26, 2016

An Unusal Birthday Party for Thomas Merton by Wqxr

To mark last year's centennial of the birth of the writer and theologian Thomas Merton, the Actors Theater of Louisville has produced a play about him called "The Glory of the World." Mert…

SOURCE: WQXR at 07:03PM
Tuesday, January 19, 2016

'Noises Off' Is Back On Broadway With Starry, Funny Cast by Wqxr

Michael Frayn's frantic 1982 sex farce-within-a-farce "Noises Off" returns to Broadway for a third run this season under the auspices of the Roundabout Theatre Company. This time around the…

SOURCE: WQXR at 07:36PM
Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Red Bull Theater Brings Jacobean Drama to Off-Broadway by Wqxr

Jacobean era dramas are rarely seen on major New York stages, but the enterprising Red Bull Theater company, under the artistic directorship of Jesse Berger, has made a specialty of them. It…

SOURCE: WQXR at 07:30PM
Tuesday, January 5, 2016

'Fiddler on the Roof' Back on Broadway by Wqxr

The beloved 1964 musical "Fiddler on the Roof," with its book by Joseph Stein and score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, is back on Broadway this season. Based on writer Sholem Aleichem's…

SOURCE: WQXR at 08:26PM
Monday, December 21, 2015

A New 'View From the Bridge' on Broadway by Wqxr

Arthur Miller’s "A View from the Bridge" hasn’t exactly been a stranger to Broadway. It has already been revived three times, most recently in 2010 in a production starring Liev Schrei…

SOURCE: WQXR at 02:41PM
Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Shakespeare Takes a Jolly Romp Through 1960s London by Wqxr

The new musical "These Paper Bullets!" at the Atlantic Theater Company bills itself as a "modish ripoff" of Shakespeare’s comedy "Much Ado About Nothing." The new adaptation is by Rolin J…

SOURCE: WQXR at 09:02PM
Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The Rock and Roll Return of Andrew Lloyd Webber by Wqxr

One of the world’s most successful musicians returns to his musical roots in his latest Broadway show. Andrew Lloyd Webber, best-known for "Phantom of the Opera," "Evita" and other shows …

SOURCE: WQXR at 06:12PM
Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Taylor Mac's Bold Comedy 'Hir' Brings Many Issues To Broadway by Wqxr

A downtown theater playwright, a sensational Broadway actress and a most unusual family are all part of the show called "Hir" (pronounced "here"). Playwright Taylor Mac is probably best know…

SOURCE: WQXR at 06:28PM
Tuesday, November 24, 2015

George Takai Takes to Broadway in 'Allegiance' by Wqxr

Actor George Takai is best known as Sulu from "Star Trek," as well as for his LGBT activism and funny posts on Facebook. He and Lea Salonga, the original Kim in “Miss Saigon,” are the …

SOURCE: WQXR at 06:38PM
Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Rhythm Is Gonna Get You To Broadway by Wqxr

A Broadway season just wouldn’t be complete without a jukebox musical it sometimes seems. This year’s model comes courtesy of the 1980s pop star Gloria Estefan. “On Your Feet!” chart…

SOURCE: WQXR at 08:38PM
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

A.R. Gurney's 'Sylvia' Comes to Broadway by Wqxr

In his 1995 play “Sylvia,” A.R. Gurney threw a couple of curve balls at the theme of a man dealing with a mid-life crisis. Instead of the man threatening his marriage by falling in love …

SOURCE: WQXR at 03:07PM
Tuesday, November 3, 2015

'Dames at Sea' Sails On To Broadway by Wqxr

A show most famous for putting Bernadette Peters in the spotlight is getting a bigger spotlight of its own. The musical "Dames at Sea" started in a tiny café Off-Off-Broadway in 1966 and he…

SOURCE: WQXR at 05:42PM
Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hardships and Humanity at the Holidays by Wqxr

The holiday season is approaching ... or looming, you might say, depending on how you feel about holidays and family get-togethers. A middle-class family Thanksgiving in lower Manhattan is …

SOURCE: WQXR at 03:01PM
Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Ugly Lies the Bone by Wqxr

A new play on a tough topic is part of this season’s Underground season at Roundabout Theatre Company. The play is “Ugly Lies the Bone,” written by Lindsey Ferrentino. The topic is the…

SOURCE: WQXR at 09:08PM
Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Returning the 'Razzle Dazzle' to Broadway by Wqxr

Razzle Dazzle is the jazzy title of a new book about the history of Broadway by Michael Riedel, the New York Post theater columnist and co-host of the show "Theater Talk." The book, which wa…

SOURCE: WQXR at 11:40PM
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

'Spring Awakening' Returns to Broadway With Deaf and Hearing Cast by Wqxr

The Tony-winning musical "Spring Awakening" has returned to Broadway. Although the original production of the musical by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik closed only in 2009, and thus might see…

SOURCE: WQXR at 02:39PM
Monday, September 21, 2015

Keeping Faith in America by Wqxr

Playwrights Horizons kicks off its fall season with "The Christians," a play by Lucas Hnath about a schism in an evangelical church. In the production, directed by Les Waters, Andrew Garman …

SOURCE: WQXR at 03:09PM
Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Funny Off Broadway Show Shakes Off the Summer by Wqxr

The new Off Broadway show "The Legend of Georgia McBride" by Matthew Lopez is a comedy about a young Elvis impersonator named Casey who’s barely making a living performing in a Florida Pa…

SOURCE: WQXR at 06:55PM

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