All stories by Gordon Cox on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Why Mary Rodgers Pushed to Make Her Memoir Meaner, Funnier and More Revealing About Her Life Among Broadway Greats by Gordon Cox

The composer (“Once Upon a Mattress”), young adult author (“Freaky Friday”) and philanthropist Mary Rodgers wanted to write a memoir that was candid, cutting, dishy and vanity-free �…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:08PM
Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Cornelius Smith Jr. on His Hopes to Bring ‘American Prophet’ to Broadway by Gordon Cox

The new musical “American Prophet” is now in the midst of its world premiere run at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Next stop: Broadway? Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcas…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:29PM
Monday, August 8, 2022

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Review: Broadway-Bound Musical Needs to Take a Cue From Miranda Priestly and Get Meaner by Gordon Cox

Taking an overly respectful and frankly miscalculated approach to its source materials — the 2003 roman à clef novel and the 2006 Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway-starring film — the new …

SOURCE: Variety at 04:24PM
Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Why Amir Arison Exited ‘The Blacklist’ and Fell in Love With Broadway’s ‘The Kite Runner’ by Gordon Cox

After nine seasons on the hit TV series “The Blacklist,” actor Amir Arison’s next step is starring on Broadway in “The Kite Runner.” Which is pretty surprising for a guy who’d de…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:31PM
Friday, July 22, 2022

‘The Kite Runner’ Review: An Uplifting Broadway Adaptation of the Bestselling Novel by Gordon Cox

Playwright Matthew Spangler’s adaptation of “The Kite Runner,” Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling 2005 novel about the friendship of two boys living parallel lives in Afghanistan, is a he…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:00AM
Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Why Bestselling Novelist Jodi Picoult Has Become a Prolific Musical Theater Creator by Gordon Cox

Most people know Jodi Picoult as the busy author of more than 25 bestselling books, including “My Sister’s Keeper,” “Small Great Things” and “The Pact.” But more recently, she�…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:01PM
Saturday, July 16, 2022

‘Black Panther’ General Danai Gurira on ‘Richard III,’ Toxic Masculinity and Surprise Guest Stars in Central Park by Gordon Cox

Before Danai Gurira returns this fall as the Wakandan general Okoye in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” she’s scheming and murdering her way onto the English throne in director Robert…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM
Friday, July 15, 2022

‘Jack Absolute Flies Again’ Review: A Knockout New Comedy by the Writer of ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ by Gordon Cox

No one saw it coming. Reworking Goldoni’s 18th-century comedy “A Servant of Two Masters” didn’t look like the recipe for a transatlantic comedy smash, but that was before Richard Bea…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:21PM
Friday, July 8, 2022

‘The Seagull’ Review: Emilia Clarke, Indira Varma Shine in a Production That Doesn’t Fly by Gordon Cox

The aesthetic is austere, the emotional range fiercely compressed and the intent is relentlessly pure, but that’s only to be expected in Samuel Beckett’s “The Seagull.” Wait, what? O…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:46AM
Wednesday, July 6, 2022

‘The Southbury Child’ Review: Well-Meaning Production Can’t Cover a Schematic Script by Gordon Cox

A place for everything and everything in its place. Although that maxim about neatness might apply to the intentions of the characters living in the English country vicarage in “The Southb…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:36PM
Tuesday, July 5, 2022

How Winning the Pulitzer Has Made James Ijames Bolder by Gordon Cox

The playwright James Ijames is no stranger to audacious choices. His adaptation of “Hamlet,” “Fat Ham,” sets the story at a backyard barbecue thrown by a Black family in the South �…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:48PM
Sunday, June 26, 2022

‘Mad House’ Review: David Harbour, Bill Pullman Make Theresa Rebeck’s Chaotic Melodrama Seem Better Than It Is by Gordon Cox

Jessica Lange was once asked if there couldn’t have been someone on the set of the painfully overwrought Southern gothic movie, Beth Henley’s “Crimes of the Heart,” who could have go…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:01PM
Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Why Tony-Winning Actor Joaquina Kalukango Has Started Telling Stories as a Writer, Too by Gordon Cox

Audiences already know Joaquina Kalukango as an actor onstage (“Slave Play”) and on screen (“One Night in Miami”) — and on the most recent Tony Awards telecast, when she capped off…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:17PM
Tuesday, June 14, 2022

‘Bruce’ Review: New Musical About the Making of ‘Jaws’ Is a Shaggy, Sometimes Soggy Saga by Gordon Cox

There’s nothing like mechanical malfunction to make you want to break into song. Though that may well be unique to “Bruce” — unless you can name another musical with a spectacularly …

SOURCE: Variety at 07:35PM
Monday, June 13, 2022

The Tony Awards Were So Good: 6 of the Most Memorable Moments from Broadway’s Biggest Night by Gordon Cox

Broadway celebrated its first full season after the COVID lockdown with the 75th annual Tony Awards, hosted by a newly minted Oscar winner and spotlighting stage work that included a media-d…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:55AM
Friday, June 10, 2022

From ‘A Strange Loop’ Sweep to an ‘MJ’ Upset: Who Will Win the 2022 Tony Awards? by Gordon Cox

The pool of people who vote for the Tony Awards is a small one — and this year, it’s probably even smaller. As Broadway gears up for its big night June 12, the industry’s annual progno…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM
Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Tony Awards: Breakout Debuts Seize the Nominations Spotlight by Gordon Cox

Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster, Phylicia Rashad, Mary-Louise Parker, LaChanze: All of these 2022 Tony Award nominees are Broadway regulars, and they’ve had plenty of experience with nominatio…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:30PM

Tony Bites: Landmark Nominations, Angela Lansbury’s Lifetime Honor by Gordon Cox

The Tony Awards Landmarks on This Year’s Nominations List In a Broadway season that was the first after the devastating 15-month shutdown caused by the pandemic, the Tony nominations list …

SOURCE: Variety at 03:00PM

For the Tony Awards, Ensembles Take the Spotlight by Gordon Cox

In a Broadway season filled with star turns and individual standouts, maybe the biggest breakout performance came from … ensemble casts. From the queens of “Six” to the Thoughts of “…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:00PM
Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Why Paula Vogel Thinks One Scene in ‘How I Learned to Drive’ Makes No Sense, and How David Morse Solved It by Gordon Cox

Playwright Paula Vogel won a Pulitzer Prize for her 25-year-old play “How I Learned to Drive,” which has been seen in productions around the world and is now on Broadway in a staging nom…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:41PM

‘Trading Places’ Review: Modern Touches Brighten Uneven Adaptation of Reagan-Era Movie Comedy by Gordon Cox

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: Variety at 08:00AM
Monday, June 6, 2022

‘1776’ Review: A Revolutionary Take On An Old Warhorse by Gordon Cox

When the Tony-winning musical “1776” debuted on Broadway in 1969, it celebrated America’s ideals on the eve of its Bicentennial. Half a century later, a radical makeover brings critiqu…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:00AM
Thursday, June 2, 2022

‘A Strange Loop’ Broadway Darling Michael R. Jackson Feels Pride — For Himself by Gordon Cox

It’s June 2022, and Michael R. Jackson has a lot to be proud of. His musical “A Strange Loop” leads the Broadway awards-season race with 11 Tony nominations and stands poised to net th…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:00PM
Wednesday, June 1, 2022

‘The Glass Menagerie’ Review: Underpowered Amy Adams Leads a Slow-Burn Rethink of Tennessee Williams’ Classic by Gordon Cox

With a cast headed by Amy Adams making her West End debut, you’d be forgiven for imagining the latest production of Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” might be everything…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:02PM
Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Why Jesse Williams Is a Theater Guy Now by Gordon Cox

Jesse Williams is coming to the end of his debut Broadway gig — but he’s already betting it’ll be the first of many stage engagements for him. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft”…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:08PM
Monday, May 23, 2022

‘The Father and the Assassin’ Review: A Star-Making Performance in a Dynamic Play About the Murder of Gandhi by Gordon Cox

“What are you staring at? Have you never seen a murderer up close before?” Ever since her startlingly assured 2007 debut “Free Outgoing,” shrewd playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar has …

SOURCE: Variety at 06:25PM
Tuesday, May 17, 2022

‘A Strange Loop’ Cast Members Hope Their Tony Nominations Will Make Space for Everyone by Gordon Cox

Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical “A Strange Loop” scored 11 Tony nominations last week — and the ensemble cast of “A Strange Loop” is inviting everyon…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:46PM
Monday, May 9, 2022

Tony Nominations 2022: The 7 Biggest Takeaways by Gordon Cox

On your mark, get set, go. The race for the Tony Awards has officially begun with the announcement of the 2022 nominations on Monday. In honoring and highlighting the work in a crowded, COVI…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:34AM
Friday, May 6, 2022

Tony Nominations 2022 Predictions: Here Are The Biggest Questions Facing Voters by Gordon Cox

Broadway just wrapped up its first season after the pandemic lockdown, and boy, was it a doozy: After all the delays, COVID surges and cast replacements, a whopping 35 new productions opened…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:43AM
Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Why Debra Messing Finds Her New Broadway Role ‘Far More Satisfying’ Than Grace by Gordon Cox

Debra Messing has only been in the Broadway play “Birthday Candles” since March, but in some ways, she feels more deeply connected to her character Ernestine than she felt to the leading…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:00PM
Friday, April 29, 2022

‘Macbeth’ Review: Daniel Craig, Ruth Negga Star in a Broadway Production That’s All Smoke by Gordon Cox

A bare set. Actors making stew on stage. An abundance of hand-held fog machines. Vague contemporary setting and costumes. A generally spooky atmosphere. Put all the ingredients together and …

SOURCE: Variety at 04:00PM

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