All stories by John Harding on BroadwayStars

Monday, February 24, 2020

Caught between worlds in ‘Kill Move Paradise’ by John Harding

Don’t let those off-putting promos for Kill Move Paradise at Rep Stage Co. stop you from turning out for its solid regional premiere at Howard Community College. This 2016 piece of theater…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:41PM
Thursday, January 23, 2020

Getting a hometown kick out of ‘Kinky Boots’ by John Harding

Sizzle sells, or as Kinky Boots proved on Broadway in 2013, “The Sex Is In the Heel.”   Why was the musical named Kinky Boots? Maybe Fetish Footwear didn’t have quite the same kick. �…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:00AM
Wednesday, December 18, 2019

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ hits the road to 50 by John Harding

Jesus wears his hair in a man-bun and Mary Magdalene appears a bit like a millennial caught outside her “safe space”—but there’s still plenty of power and glory on display in the new…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:23PM
Friday, November 15, 2019

‘Aladdin’ lights up the skies over Baltimore by John Harding

On stage, Aladdin starts out as the perfect musical for nine-year-olds. But by the time its two swooning lovers have hopped aboard a flying carpet for a trip to the moon, all moms and dads i…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:26PM
Sunday, November 3, 2019

‘E2’ – Whipping up a royal froth of glitz and tragedy at Rep Stage by John Harding

At Rep Stage in Howard County, Bob Bartlett’s new play E2 certainly proves it can make a head-turning entrance. This bold and sensuous take on the oft-told tale of King Edward II unfolds a…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:07PM
Saturday, October 12, 2019

‘Phantom of the Opera’ still thrills at the Hippodrome by John Harding

Baltimore’s fussy old Hippodrome Theatre is the ideal setting for any show dealing with fin de siècle madmen acting out obsessive love fantasies. So consider it a reward to have a thrilli…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:20PM
Friday, September 27, 2019

Review: ‘The Bodyguard’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

Suspense-thrillers used to make up a sizable portion of every dinner theater menu, but the days of Death Trap and Agatha Christie yarns have given way to a nearly non-stop diet of musical en…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:05PM
Thursday, June 27, 2019

Review: ‘Hamilton’ at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

The notion that “history has its eyes on you” animates and obsesses the title character in Hamilton. A similar shadow of destiny heralded the Maryland debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s uns…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:23PM
Saturday, May 4, 2019

Review: ‘The 39 Steps’ at Rep Stage Co. by John Harding

For Rep Stage Co.’s The 39 Steps, disaster is never more than one step away. With only four actors re-enacting an entire vintage spy movie right before our eyes and assuming some 140 diffe…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:59PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Review: ‘Come From Away’ at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

Ideally, Come From Away should be seen in the round, with the audience gathered so close by that it can share the claustrophobia, fear and love of all those grounded passengers. It’s a pit…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:24AM
Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Review: ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

Tucked inside the new live musical retelling of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Toby’s Dinner Theatre is an altogether wonderful concert staging that should not be missed. T…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 12:48PM
Thursday, April 4, 2019

Review: ‘The Book of Mormon’ at the Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

Ticket holders for The Book of Mormon national tour had better be prepared to exercise a muscle that doesn’t get much of a workout these days — the one that controls the “personally of…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:33AM
Saturday, March 2, 2019

Review: ‘Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992’ at Rep Stage by John Harding

Thanks to some first-rate shape-shifting at Rep Stage, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is almost as much a work of animation as it is a documentary. Oh, and let’s not forget magic act. Daniell…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:46PM
Saturday, February 2, 2019

Review: ‘Gypsy’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

We can hold our breath but we’re never likely to get another musical as perfect as Gypsy. Sixty Broadway seasons ago it caught the unique charms and pathology of show business in a magic b…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:45PM
Thursday, January 24, 2019

‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

With a winning young actor in the lead role, any ticket to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is good as gold. Eleven-year-old Rueby Wood made the perfect Charlie Bucket the night we attended…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:23AM
Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Review: ‘Anastasia’ at The Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

There’s nothing wrong with Anastasia: The New Broadway Musical that a little modern relevance wouldn’t cure. It certainly looks sensational inside the grand proscenium framing of Baltimo…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:11PM
Friday, November 30, 2018

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

The Little Mermaid is bringing big waves of happy little faces to Toby’s Dinner Theatre. Whether they come adorned in magical gowns with sparkling tiaras or sneakers that light up with…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:03PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Review: ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at The Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

The spirits of displacement and change hang heavily over Fiddler on the Roof these days. What keeps it all from becoming, well, dispiriting is the heartfelt humanity evident in every timeles…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:20PM
Sunday, November 4, 2018

Review: ‘Things That Are Round’ at Rep Stage by John Harding

The mental province that stretches from magical thinking to ordinary self-delusion is given a new survey in Callie Kimball’s Things That Are Round, now having its world premiere via the Eq…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 11:54AM
Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Review: ‘Les Misérables’ at the Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

The Hippodrome Theatre has bookended its 2018 season with a pair of heavy-lifting musicals about democracy and revolution. For openers, it has that 30th-anniversary touring production of Les…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 07:10PM
Sunday, July 8, 2018

Review: ‘Mamma Mia!’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

Just months after finishing its final pro tour, Mamma Mia! has hit us closer to home at Toby’s Dinner Theatre. In the hands of Director-Choreographer Mark Minnick, the pro caliber of this …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:53PM
Thursday, June 7, 2018

Review: ‘On Your Feet!’ at the Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

Politics may have played a key role in driving the future Gloria Estefan from her home in Cuba and positioning her for eventual world acclaim in Miami. But politics hardly merit an “air gu…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:19PM
Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Review: ‘An American in Paris’ at the Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

Think of the latest “new” Gershwin touring show up at the Hippodrome Theatre — An American in Paris — as a G.I. “jukebox musical” with legs. About a hundred of them, it seems. An…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:26PM
Sunday, April 29, 2018

Review: ‘True West’ by Rep Stage by John Harding

America lost its most distinctive theater voice of the 1980s with the passing of Sam Shepard. But that voice still resonates through works like True West, getting a welcome return by Rep Sta…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 02:43PM
Saturday, April 14, 2018

Review: ‘Motown the Musical’ at the Hippodrome Theatre by John Harding

The fun of seeing Motown the Musical starts a few hours before leaving for the theater. Just the promise of that glorious oldies playlist is like inner ear foreplay. There isn’t much that …

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 03:22PM
Sunday, March 25, 2018

Review: ‘Newsies’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

There’s nothing fake about the news out of Toby’s Dinner Theatre. Its homegrown production of Newsies gathers such a concentration of explosive male talent under one roof that Columbia m…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:35AM
Saturday, February 10, 2018

Review: ‘All She Must Possess’ at Rep Stage (Women’s Voices Theater Festival) by John Harding

An evening of wordplay on the meanings and messages of Modern art awaits audiences at All She Must Possess. This is another worthy world premiere from the venturesome Rep Stage Company at Ho…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 09:03PM
Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Review: ‘Waitress’ at the Hippodrome by John Harding

You will want to leave a more-than-generous tip for the national tour of Waitress, especially if you appreciate top-notch service. It is currently bringing all the spicy baked sweetness of t…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 06:16PM
Friday, January 26, 2018

Review: ‘Young Frankenstein’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

It did not turn out well for Dr. Frankenstein or his monster, but receiving an abnormal brain was a blessing for Mel Brooks. After eight decades in show business, he is still using that gift…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 04:52PM
Sunday, December 10, 2017

Review: ‘Madagascar—A Musical Adventure’ at Red Branch Theatre Company by John Harding

Chalk up one more cartoon feature making a dash for freedom under the footlights. Madagascar—A Musical Adventure is now filling the intimate Red Branch Theatre with a veritable Noah’s Ar…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 10:19PM
Thursday, November 30, 2017

Review: ‘Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre by John Harding

It doesn’t exactly live up to its billing as a miracle, but Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical at Toby’s Dinner Theatre has its heart in the right place. It is a lovely way to gather th…

SOURCE: DC Metro Theater Arts at 01:33PM

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