All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

The Least Problematic Woman in the World Review by Jonathan Mandell

Dylan Mulvaney has chosen an obviously ironic title for her extravagantly staged solo show about her viral life story as a targeted trans social media celebrity. But she also exudes an innat…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:05PM
Monday, October 6, 2025

Broadway: New Spring Shows! New Discounts! Strike? Fringed NYC. Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

Last week, four new Broadway shows announced their dates and venues for Spring 2026: Dog Day Afternoon, opening March 30. Fallen Angels, April 19. Schmigadoon, April 20. The Rocky Horror Sh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:12AM
Sunday, October 5, 2025

The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows Review. Painful Loss Fringed in Comedy by Jonathan Mandell

In her hour-long solo show, Abby Wambaugh both spoofs and nails a wide variety of comedy styles, from standup to slapstick to Moth-style storytelling to musical comedy. At various times, she…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:26PM
Saturday, October 4, 2025

Mexodus Review. A Riff on Freedom, Then and Now by Jonathan Mandell

In its thrilling opening rap, “Mexodus” gives an overview of the little-known history of Mexico as a refuge for thousands of escaping American slaves before the Civil War. Rhythmic, unco…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:30PM
Thursday, October 2, 2025

And Then We Were No More Review by Jonathan Mandell

Elizabeth Marvel has been summoned to an ominous-looking room by a uniformed official; she doesn’t know why,  and the chatty official keeps her (and us) in suspense. She is the lawyer wh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:29PM
Wednesday, October 1, 2025

October 2025 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of New York theater opening* in October, including three opening on Broadway. “Ragtime” originated at the Encores concert series, “Liberation” had a brief run Of…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:58PM
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Schmigadoon on Broadway. Keanu Reeves and John Leguizamo try something new. Stageworthy News of the Week. by Jonathan Mandell

The first month of the Fall theater season is coming to an end with disparate worries – that “the Broadway musical is in trouble” and that there’s a “fascist takeover of the Americ…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:25AM
Monday, September 29, 2025

Punch Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

In one of the most moving scenes that I’ve ever witnessed in a theater,  Jacob finally meets the parents of the young man whom he killed. Making an extraordinary Broadway debut, Will Har…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:32PM
Sunday, September 28, 2025

Waiting for Godot Review. Keanu Reeves Broadway Debut. by Jonathan Mandell

“Back to back like in the good old days,” Keanu Reeves as Estragon says to Alex Winter as Vladimir; then they shout something together that makes the audience explode in cheers and laugh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:40PM

Weer at Cherry Lane Theater Review by Jonathan Mandell

In the first play officially opened to the public at the Cherry Lane under the ownership of movie studio A24, Natalie Palamides portrays a man and a woman simultaneously,  an exercise in g…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:21PM
Saturday, September 27, 2025

Theater Quiz for September 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to the theater in September? Answer these ten questions, plus a bonus question, to find out. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:22AM
Friday, September 26, 2025

Sixties Surreal at the Whitney by Jonathan Mandell

“Sixties Surreal,” a just-opened exhibition at the Whitney Museum, offers some 150 works (paintings, sculptures, photographs, illustrations, films, collages, assemblages, an album cover,…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:30PM
Thursday, September 25, 2025

The Other Americans Review. John Leguizamo writes a tragedy. by Jonathan Mandell

John Leguizamo’s new play is a sober family drama inspired by some of the same people and places from Leguizamo’s past that powered “Freak” and the five other solo stage comedies he …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:40PM
Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Watch Jimmy Kimmel’s full monologue, plus Robert De Niro as FCC Commissioner by Jonathan Mandell

“This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Jimmy Kimmel said in his opening monologue below, when his la…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:33AM
Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Xhloe and Natasha on the Fringe by Jonathan Mandell

By Jonathan Mandell. Xhloe and Natasha made Edinburgh Festival Fringe history with three consecutive award-winning shows, but even the most successful Fringe acts struggle to break even.

SOURCE: HowlRound at 12:38PM

Watch Broadway: A Jewish Journey (Happy New Year!) by Jonathan Mandell

“You’ll Be Back” from “Hamilton” with Yiddish lyrics!? That’s one of the songs in the 90-minute concert below sung by four cantors and nine Broadway veterans, including Julie Ben…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:54AM
Monday, September 22, 2025

Kimmel, Kirk and Queer Theater. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

No, theatergoers do not have the Constitutional right to shout “Fire” in a crowded theater. But theater artists can still present queer characters on stage without losing their governmen…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:14AM
Sunday, September 21, 2025

Weather Girl Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Weather Girl,” a solo play about the California climate apocalypse, was a hit at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe that Netflix is said to be developing into a series. “Fleabag…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:39PM
Saturday, September 20, 2025

Saturday Church Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Saturday Church,” an amped-up Off-Broadway musical adaptation of a 2017 indie movie of the same name, screams Broadway-level ambition; the screaming is sometimes literal.  The movie w…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:18AM
Friday, September 19, 2025

10 Most Produced Theater in the US 2025-2026 by Jonathan Mandell

“Come from Away” is the most-produced work of theater in the United States this season, according to American Theatre Magazine — the first time the magazine’s annual list has include…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:32AM
Thursday, September 18, 2025

This Is Not a Drill Review. 38 minutes that changed their lives. by Jonathan Mandell

Holly Doubet was vacationing in Hawaii in 2018 at a time of tensions between the US and North Korea when an emergency alert warned everybody in the state of an incoming missile attack. “Se…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:00PM
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Galas Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Galas,” a play with music that tells the story of soprano Maria Callas, is surprisingly straightforward if not entirely straight.  The current revival is a fun and affordable night ou…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:08PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Art Broadway Reviews by Jonathan Mandell

The verdict on the Broadway revival of “Art” starring Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannvale and James Corden as three friends who argue about art ranges from “clever and engaging” to �…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:37PM
Monday, September 15, 2025

A week of Julio and Henrik, Eisa and Elphaba #Stageworthy by Jonathan Mandell

“And I am telling you I’m not going…” That’s the best-known lyric from “Dreamgirls,” which will return to Broadway in the fall of 2026, but it’s being sung right now Off-Broa…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:08PM
Sunday, September 14, 2025

The Wild Duck Review by Jonathan Mandell

Sometimes it’s better to live with lies; the truth can be too destructive. That’s the message I came away with from “The Wild Duck,” which makes it hard for me to understand how the …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:59PM
Saturday, September 13, 2025

The Essentialisn’t Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Can you be Black and not perform?” Eisa Davis asks, then sings “No,” while playing her keyboard. This is the central question, but not the only answer, in “The Essentialisn’t.�…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:33PM
Friday, September 12, 2025

Wicked Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Wicked” endures on stage. I saw it on Broadway this week, and I enjoyed it anew .Yes, it is now inescapably viewed through the lens of the 2024 movie version. But a movie has always hov…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:48PM
Thursday, September 11, 2025

Color Theories Review. Julio Torres on Stage by Jonathan Mandell

 “Color Theories” is funny and weird and sometimes confusing. It reminded me at various times of Pee Wee Herman (childlike tone, cartoonish set, puppetry), George Carlin (observational …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:00AM
Wednesday, September 10, 2025

The Brothers Size Review by Jonathan Mandell

In the two decades since Tarell Alvin McCraney was heralded as a promising new voice for his breakout play “The Brothers Size,” which was first produced in 2007 when he was still a stude…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:00PM
Tuesday, September 9, 2025

House of McQueen Review by Jonathan Mandell

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen seems readymade for a theatrical portrait, and “House of McQueen” is pieced together with bespoke extravagance. It is housed in a new Off-Broadway thea…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:45PM
Monday, September 8, 2025

The Cast’s The Thing. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

In my Broadway Poll about the Fall show theatergoers are most looking forward to, I added a second question: What’s the biggest reason for your choice? Forty percent answered: “The cast…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:24AM

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