All stories by Jeff Lunden on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Actor Topol, who appeared in 'Fiddler on the Roof' hundreds of times, has died by Jeff Lunden

Topol — the actor who went by a single name and who appeared on stage as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof hundreds of times — has died.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 04:53PM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

A long-forgotten play by a storied New York novelist proves timely in its world premiere - Gothamist by Jeff Lunden

The central character of “Becomes a Woman,” a play that just opened at Mint Theater Company in Manhattan, is named Francie Nolan – the same name as the protagonist of “A Tree Grows i…

SOURCE: gothamist.com at 05:08PM
Saturday, February 11, 2023

A rarely-revived Lorraine Hansberry play is here — and it's messy but powerful by Jeff Lunden

Hansberry is best known for A Raisin in the Sun — but as she lay dying, she wrote this play about the haplessness of white liberals. Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan star.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 04:16PM
Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Encore: Look out, Nets rivals! Octogenarian Mr. Whammy is coming for you by Jeff Lunden

For every sports team, there are fans and there are super fans. For the Brooklyn Nets, that's 86-year-old Mr. Whammy — who tries to hex the opposing basketball team into missing their foul…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 06:14PM
Saturday, January 21, 2023

Look out, Nets rivals! Octogenarian Mr. Whammy is coming for you by Jeff Lunden

Super fan Bruce Reznick, 86, has been a fixture at Nets games since before the team moved to Brooklyn.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 05:01AM
Sunday, January 8, 2023

Who says opera needs a grand stage? This festival is all about intimate productions by Jeff Lunden

The PROTOTYPE festival, now in its 10th year, presents new operas and music-theater works in smaller settings. "We were trying to create a black box opera movement," says co-founder Beth Mor…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 05:00AM
Monday, January 2, 2023

Here are nine NYC shows we can't wait to see this spring by Jeff Lunden

You never know what'll hit or miss — but you can look at who wrote the script and score, and who's directing and starring. Here's what Jeff Lunden is keeping his eye on, both on and off-Br…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 07:01AM
Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Three superstar divas power opera 'The Hours' - coming to movie theaters everywhere. by Jeff Lunden

Kelli O'Hara, Renée Fleming, and Joyce DiDonato star in a new opera based on Michael Cunningham's book.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 05:18PM
Friday, December 2, 2022

Encore: At The Museum of Broadway, people learn what it takes to make a show by Jeff Lunden

The Museum of Broadway in New York has lots of history and is also an interactive attraction where you can step inside a set or learn what it takes to make a show.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 10:06PM
Saturday, November 26, 2022

The Museum of Broadway reveals the show behind the show by Jeff Lunden

A new museum celebrating the history of Broadway is now in New York's theater district.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 01:42PM
Monday, November 21, 2022

Korean pop star Luna comes to Broadway in 'KPOP' by Jeff Lunden

The South Korean cultural phenomenon is now a new musical, starring actual K-pop idols.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 05:36AM
Sunday, November 20, 2022

K-Pop gets the Broadway treatment in a new musical about the industry by Jeff Lunden

A new Broadway musical follows how global K-Pop superstars put everything on the line when one singer tries to dismantle one of the largest record labels in the industry.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 11:18AM
Saturday, October 15, 2022

In the Broadway musical '1776,' the revolution is in the casting by Jeff Lunden

This production uses a cast of multi-racial actors who are female, nonbinary and trans — people who weren't even considered in the Declaration of Independence.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:07AM
Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Robert Kalfin, director and producer of innovative theater, dies at 89 by Jeff Lunden

Kalfin co-founded the Chelsea Theater Center, which was known for provocative off-Broadway shows.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 07:55PM

Angela Lansbury, a beloved star of the screen and stage, has died at 96 by Jeff Lunden

Lansbury's acting career extended over an extraordinary seven decades. She says she knew early on that she'd never be "groomed to be a glamorous movie star" and thus sought out nontraditiona…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 07:55PM
Friday, October 7, 2022

Stripped to the bones: Why a new NYC concert hall sounds so much better by Jeff Lunden

The new David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center, home of the New York Philharmonic, opens this week. And while the outside is the same, everything inside has changed.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 06:13AM
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charles Fuller dies at 83 by Jeff Lunden

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charles Fuller died on Monday in Toronto. He was 83. Fuller was best known for A Soldier's Play – which was turned into an Oscar nominated film, A Soldie…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 05:37PM
Monday, October 3, 2022

Tom Stoppard brings his Jewish identity to the stage – decades after he learned of it by Jeff Lunden

All four of the playwright's grandparents died in the Holocaust, but Stoppard only learned he was Jewish in middle age. Now, at 85, he engages with his family history in the play Leopoldstad…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 04:49PM
Saturday, October 1, 2022

New Broadway play 'Leopoldstadt' looks at a large Jewish family in Vienna over a half century by Jeff Lunden

Tom Stoppard's new play, "Leopoldstadt," grew from a midlife realization concerning how many of his relatives died in the Holocaust.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 10:03AM
Thursday, September 29, 2022

Where are the Black musicians in the country's largest orchestras? by Jeff Lunden

In 2014, a study found that only 1.4% of orchestra musicians were Black. In 2022, it's hard to know if that number is better or worse.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:25AM
Wednesday, September 14, 2022

The Broadway community is celebrating another year of pandemic survival by Jeff Lunden

It's been a year since Broadway started back up again - and there've been a lot of ups and downs. COVID still had the power to shut down shows, but performers and audiences persisted.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:43AM
Thursday, August 11, 2022

Published 8 years after her death, Mary Rodgers' memoir is a true tell-all book by Jeff Lunden

Rodgers, the daughter of theatrical legend Richard Rogers, was a songwriter, children's book author and philanthropist. Her memoir, Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers, is …

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:07PM
Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Encore: 'Into the Woods' returns to Broadway by Jeff Lunden

The concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods moves to Broadway, with Sara Bareilles, Brian D'Arcy James and others.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:33PM
Friday, July 22, 2022

'Into the Woods' returns to Broadway by Jeff Lunden

A concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods stars Sara Bareilles, Brian d'Arcy James, Joshua Henry and others.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 07:33AM
Wednesday, July 20, 2022

'The Kite Runner' brings life in Afghanistan to Broadway by Jeff Lunden

The play is based on Khaled Hosseini's 2003 best-selling novel, set in Afghanistan and among Afghan migrants in the United States.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 06:54PM
Sunday, July 10, 2022

The villainous King Richard III will be played by a woman in Shakespeare in the Park by Jeff Lunden

Casting a female actor in the lead role of "Richard III" is just one twist New York's Shakespeare in the Park has given the classic this summer.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:18AM

Why it matters that Danai Gurira is taking on Richard III by Jeff Lunden

Guirira said it was interesting to explore "toxic masculinity" as a perpetrator instead of an object - and that the role brought up a lot of questions.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 09:18AM
Monday, June 13, 2022

Broadway's highest honors were handed out at Radio City Music Hall by Jeff Lunden

Sunday's 75th annual Tony Awards celebrated Broadway's first full season since the pandemic shutdown. A theme of the night was deep gratitude for the uncelebrated people who keep the shows r…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 11:24PM
Sunday, June 12, 2022

These essential workers aren't eligible to win Tonys but deserve the spotlight by Jeff Lunden

Music directors aren't eligible for awards at tonight's Tonys. We hear from three from Tony-nominated shows, talking about their craft and the challenges of conducting eight performances a w…

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 12:24PM
Friday, May 13, 2022

Iranian-American playwright is set on breaking expectations by Jeff Lunden

Sanaz Toossi is having a moment – her first production ever, English, just won a Lucille Lortel award for outstanding new off-Broadway play, and Wish You Were Here opened last week.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 05:33PM
Monday, May 9, 2022

'A Strange Loop' garners 11 Tony nominations, including Best Musical by Jeff Lunden

These nominations are for Broadway's first season after the 2020 COVID shutdown.

SOURCE: National Public Radio at 10:12PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic