All stories by Frank Rizzo on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Broadway's 'Into The Woods' Revival: My Best Time In The Theatre In Ages by Frank Rizzo

All photos by Matt Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. The show: “Into the Woods” at the St. James Theatre in NYC. What …

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 07:20PM
Wednesday, July 6, 2022

'Kiss My Aztec!' at Hartford Stage: Great Fun, Music and Performances. by Frank Rizzo

Review of John Leguizamo's musical "Kiss My Aztec!" It's been presented at Berkeley Rep and La Jolla and this is 3rd perch with hopes to go to NYC. next. The Hartford Courant didnt care for…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 08:46AM
Tuesday, July 5, 2022

New Riverfront Park Eyes Performance Space After TheaterWorks Show by Frank Rizzo

\What to do with the 60 acres of open waterfront space on the Hartford-Windsor border that Riverfront Recapture acquired last year? The private, nonprofit organization is planning a riverwal…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 07:08PM
Tuesday, June 28, 2022

MTC's 'Falsettoland,' TheaterWorks Hartford's "Walden' Top Ct Critics Honors by Frank Rizzo

Susan Haefner receiving her honor for “Tenderly.” All photos by Mara Lavitt NEW HAVEN — The U.S. premiere of “Walden” at…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 11:35AM
Wednesday, June 22, 2022

'Hair''s James Rado, 90 by Frank Rizzo

Sad news about the death of James Rado, co-creator of “Hair.” I interviewed the 90-year-old Rado for a story for Encore Monthly magazine last fall. Joan Marcus took this terrific portrai…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 01:34PM
Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Eric Marcus Digs Deep For LGBTQ History for 'Making Gay History' Podcast by Frank Rizzo

In 1988, Eric Marcus was working as an associate producer at CBS when he left his position to embark on an oral history project that would change his life—and affect the lives of so many o…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 01:55PM

Confessions of a Legendary Drag Queen by Frank Rizzo

I never thought I’d do drag for a living,” says the six-foot-two muscleman wearing a Meat Rack cap, industrial strength necklace, a black tank-top and an anchor tattoo on his bulging bic…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 01:45PM

My Variety Review: New Musical 'Trading Places' in Atlanta by Frank Rizzo

After the Great Recession of ’08 — not to mention anxiety about the current economy — will a Reagan-era comedy about insider trading and the glory of greed get the same laughs? Can it …

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 08:27AM
Friday, May 27, 2022

My Review: "Queen" at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven by Frank Rizzo

All photos by Jeremy Daniel The show: “Queen” by Madhuri Shekar at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. What makes it special?: It�…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 11:32AM
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Ct Critics Free Awards Show June 27 at Long Wharf Theatre by Frank Rizzo

Michael Yeargan receiving a CCC Award from 2019’s ceremony, Photo by Mara Lavett, After a three-year hiatus, the Connecticut Cr…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 03:47PM

My Review: 'Cabaret' at Goodspeed by Frank Rizzo

The show: The musical “Cabaret” at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam. What makes it special?: It’s rare that Goodspeed presents something so seeming sexy and edgy (but really, it’…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 03:09PM

My Review: "Zoe's Perfect Wedding" at TheaterWorks Hartford by Frank Rizzo

All Photos by Mike Marques. HUNTER RYAN HERDLICKA, BLAIR LEWIN and DANIEL JOSÉ MOLINA The show: “Zoey’s Perfect Wedding” at …

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 02:36PM
Monday, May 23, 2022

Broadway Bound? Some Quick Takes, Part 2 by Frank Rizzo

Now where were we? Ah, yes, sharing some pithy thoughts on shows that have opened this season for those Connecticut folks who want to take in a Broadway show after a long period of being wit…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 01:41PM
Sunday, May 22, 2022

Broadway Bound? Part 1 With a Return Visit To Company by Frank Rizzo

Ah, May. Blossoms may be blooming around Connecticut but that’s nothing like the shows that are bursting forth in New York City and that are now vying for Tony Awards and other end-of-sea…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 09:24PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

My Variety Review: Billy Crystal's "Mr. Saturday Night" on Broadway by Frank Rizzo

Sometimes being nice has its rewards. Take Buddy Young Jr., the bitter, self-centered, self-destructive comedian from the 1992 flop film “Mr. Saturday Night,” which Billy Crystal starred…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 10:56PM
Monday, April 25, 2022

My Variety Review: 'Funny Girl' Returns To Broadway by Frank Rizzo

“You ever feel like there’s someone watching from the shadows?” asks Beanie Feldstein’s Fanny Brice, as haunting apparitions from the Ziegfeld star’s past waft in and out in a kin…

SOURCE: ShowRiz at 07:34AM
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

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