All stories by Frank Rizzo on BroadwayStars

Monday, April 18, 2022

Review: Neil Simons' 'Lost in Yonkers' at Hartford Stage with Marsha Mason by Frank Rizzo

All photos are by T. Charles Erickson The show: “Lost in Yonkers” at Hartford Stage What makes it special?: Pulitzer Prize and …

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 12:40AM
Sunday, April 17, 2022

Review: 'Next To Normal' at Westport Country Playhouse by Frank Rizzo

Photos by Carol Rosegg The show: “Next to Normal” What is it?: A Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical. This is the sec…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 02:23PM

Dire Finances Also Reason For Long Wharf Theatre Exit by Frank Rizzo

Financial realities — not just artistic re-envisioning — triggered the Tony Award-winning Long Wharf Theatre’s announcement in March that it will leave the physical complex it has call…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 09:08AM
Thursday, April 14, 2022

Review: 'Choir Boy' at Yale Rep by Frank Rizzo

Photo by Joan Marcus The show: “Choir Boy” by Tarell Alvin McCraney What its it?: A drama with music that was a highlight of th…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 12:43AM
Monday, April 4, 2022

My Variety Review: Broadway's 'Take Me Out' With Jesse Williams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson by Frank Rizzo

Public and personal identities are constantly being examined, teased and tested in Richard Greenberg’s “Take Me Out,” his grand paean to baseball and ontological quandaries, which is …

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 10:29PM
Sunday, March 1, 2020

Acting dreams? Talk to Hartt’s Alan Rust by Frank Rizzo

Alan Rust has led the theater division at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford for more than 20 years.

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 06:00PM

So you think you know the royals? ‘The King’s Speech’ opens at Hartford Stage in March. Get ready for the show with our quiz about the royal fam by Frank Rizzo

To get in the mood for Hartford Stage’s upcoming production (March 19-April 19) of “The King’s Speech” — David Seidler’s play on which the 2010 film and his Oscar-winning screenp…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 06:00PM
Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Will a New Play Restart a Fire? by Frank Rizzo

Years after the Supreme Court ruled that New Haven unfairly treated white firefighters who were seeking promotion, “Good Faith” checks in on a wounded city.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM
Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Anika Noni Rose: From 'Fame' To Hall Of Fame by Frank Rizzo

Critics raved over Anika Noni Rose’s “lava-hot” performance this summer playing the title role in the off-Broadway musical revival of “Carmen Jones,” Oscar Hammerstein’s 1943 mus…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 07:00AM
Monday, August 20, 2018

A Charming, Comical Outdoor Production Of 'Love's Labour's Lost' by Frank Rizzo

The show: The Elm Shakespeare Company presents a free outdoor show of “Love's Labour’s Lost” — a rarely produced early Shakespeare play — through Sept. 2 in Edgerton Park. First im…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:50PM
Monday, August 13, 2018

Actor's Unexpected Departure Forces Goodspeed To End 'Cyrano' Early by Frank Rizzo

The unexpected exit of a lead actor in Goodspeed Musicals’ “Cyrano,” starring “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage has cause the production to cancel some performances and premat…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:50PM
Thursday, June 7, 2018

'Simpsons' Writer Mike Reiss Chronicles 'Greatest Job In The World' In New Book by Frank Rizzo

When Mike Reiss was a kid growing up in Bristol, he loved “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and dreamed of being one of the comedy writers as portrayed in the ‘60s TV series. “I wanted to be …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Friday, April 13, 2018

At First Performance of ‘My Fair Lady,’ the Drama Was Offstage by Frank Rizzo

It’s now a classic, with a splashy revival about to open on Broadway. But in 1956, a nervous leading man and technical troubles meant the show almost didn’t go on.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:11PM
Thursday, March 16, 2017

CT Author Justin Scott Collaborates With Clive Cussler On Isaac Bell Novels by Frank Rizzo

Several times a year a new Clive Cussler book is released, followed by a full-page ad in the New York Times and then a speedy trip to the top of the best-sellers list. The books, with their …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Monday, October 10, 2016

Yale Rep Celebrates Its 50th Amid Nostalgia (and a Few Worries) by Frank Rizzo

The company honored its milestone last weekend with visits from past figures who lauded its history while expressing concern for regional theater’s future.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:24PM
Monday, May 9, 2016

Charles Aznavour, With ‘My Paris,’ Tackles His first American Musical by Frank Rizzo

This French singer-songwriter and actor wrote the score for this show, which opens this week in New Haven and features a crew of major Broadway names.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:14PM
Sunday, February 28, 2016

What's It Like to Stage-Manage the Most Mishap-Prone Show on Broadway? by Frank Rizzo

We sit backstage at a performance of Noises Off to find out.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, February 24, 2016

A Night With Janis Joplin Is Resurrected by Frank Rizzo

The show that was cut short on Broadway and never made its Off-Broadway transfer, goes on tour.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Secret to (Romantic) Success: 6 Lessons In Love and Life From Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal by Frank Rizzo

What does it take to make love work? The famous Hollywood duo that tugged at heartstrings decades ago reunites onstage in Love Letters to tell a different love story.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, November 29, 2015

Frank Rizzo Takes A Bow From 'Behind The Curtain' - Hartford Courant by Frank Rizzo

It's been a hell of a theatrical run. After nearly 34 years, I am bringing the curtain down on my role as full-time theater writer for The Hartford Courant to pursue other cool projects.

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 01:40PM
Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Goodspeed Musicals Executive Wants A Future With Tourism, Jaw-Dropping Productions by Frank Rizzo

Gone is the barber chair from the executive office at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, a seat of power, prestige and playfulness that became synonymous with the theater's longtime l…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, November 12, 2015

Shakespeare's 'Measure For Measure' At Long Wharf by Frank Rizzo

Fiasco Theatre is a feisty young theater company that has enchanted critics and audiences with a series of shows off-Broadway. Its acclaimed production of Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure,…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Thursday, November 5, 2015

Stephanie Zimbalist Brings Her Classical Chops To 'Living On Love' by Frank Rizzo

Stephanie Zimbalist is no demanding diva for the Seven Angels Theatre production of "Living on Love" in Waterbury. At least off-stage, the star of the '80s hit TV series "Remington Steele" �…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Sunday, November 1, 2015

Connecticut Theater Review: Kevin Bacon in 'Rear Window' by Frank Rizzo

Though the name on the marquee of the sold-out run of this world premiere at Connecticut's Hartford Stage is Kevin Bacon, the real stars of "Rear Window" are the windows -- not to mention th…

SOURCE: Philly.com at 09:34PM
Thursday, October 29, 2015

Hartt Takes On Dickens In Epic 'Nicholas Nickleby' by Frank Rizzo

"It's like putting on 'King Lear,' 'Othello' and 'Macbeth' in one evening," says Alan Rust, director of the theater division at the University of Hartford's Hartt School and one of three dir…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM

@ShowRiz's Checklist: 'Refuse The Hours,' 'Smudge,' 'Kafka Project' by Frank Rizzo

South African artist William Kentridge collaborated with a composer, a choreographer, a video designer and a physicist. The result? "Refuse the Hours," a multimedia chamber opera that is par…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:00AM
Tuesday, October 27, 2015

'Rear Window' Ticket Seekers May Score On Mondays by Frank Rizzo

So you think there's no way to get tickets for the sold-out run of the world premiere of "Rear Window" at Hartford Stage starring Kevin Bacon? Think again. Every Monday the theater will dete…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 12:37PM
Friday, October 23, 2015

Steve Martin Returning To Long Wharf With New Play 'Meteor Shower' by Frank Rizzo

Steve Martin will be back at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre, this time with a world premiere play, described as "an off-beat and absurdist look at the comic anxiety lurking just beneath the …

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 10:03AM

'Rear Window' Star Kevin Bacon Peers Into His 40-Year Career by Frank Rizzo

All eyes are usually on Kevin Bacon. "The second I step out of my house, it happens," says the prolific actor at the offices of Hartford Stage, where he is rehearsing for his starring role i…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 06:00AM
Thursday, October 15, 2015

'A Wonderful Life'? Yes, But A Goodspeed Gig Also Means The Rural Life by Frank Rizzo

Actors who arrive at the Goodspeed Opera House are often overwhelmed by the beauty of the rural surroundings as they cross the swing bridge to East Haddam and see the glistening white theate…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 04:41PM
Monday, October 12, 2015

'Menopause The Musical' At The Bushnell; 'Hamlet' Live From London On CT Screens by Frank Rizzo

"Menopause the Musical," the little show that proves there's life and laughs amid big changes, is coming back to The Bushnell's Belding Theater on Friday, Oct.16, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 1…

SOURCE: Hartford Courant at 02:23PM

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