All stories by Michael Riedel on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

It’s official: ‘Great Comet’ will close Sept. 3 by Michael Riedel

“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” the acclaimed Broadway musical engulfed in a racial firestorm, will close Sept. 3, The Post has learned. The cast and crew were told shortl…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:45PM

Broadway legend Barbara Cook dead at 89 by Michael Riedel

Barbara Cook, legendary star of the Broadway musicals “The Music Man,” “She Loves Me” and “Candide,” died this morning at 89. The cause was respiratory failure, her son Adam LeGr…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:05AM
Thursday, August 3, 2017

Without Groban and Patinkin, vultures are circling ‘Great Comet’ by Michael Riedel

“Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” is in danger of closing within weeks, felled by a social-media backlash that hit the show when it was announced that Mandy Patinkin wo…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:36PM
Tuesday, August 1, 2017

How Sam Shepard channeled his ‘surly’ childhood anger onto the stage by Michael Riedel

Broadway will dim its lights for Sam Shepard on Wednesday night, a gesture that, if he’s looking down on Times Square from that big ranch in the sky, should bring a wry smile to his weathe…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:19PM
Saturday, July 29, 2017

Don’t cheer Mandy Patinkin leaving ‘Great Comet’ just yet by Michael Riedel

The actors and activists appalled that Mandy Patinkin was going to replace a black actor in the Broadway musical “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” scored a victory on Frida…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:56PM
Thursday, July 27, 2017

David Mamet flips his lid about audience Q&As by Michael Riedel

David Mamet sparked a furor with his recent threat to slap a $25,000 fine on any theater that holds post-performance discussions of his plays. It sounds extreme, but if you’ve ever seen a …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:42PM

The spectacular rise and tragic fall of the real-life ‘Last Tycoon’ by Michael Riedel

In 1937, F. Scott Fitzgerald dragged himself back to a place he hated “like poison” — Hollywood. He’d tried his luck in sunny California twice before, earning fat paychecks but accom…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:24PM
Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Get ready for a new musical about Tom Jones — sort of by Michael Riedel

What’s new, pussycat? A new musical about Tom Jones called — whoa, whoa! — “What’s New Pussycat?” When I say Tom Jones, I don’t mean pop singer Tom Jones, but the fictional…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:29PM
Thursday, July 20, 2017

More details emerge about Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway debut by Michael Riedel

Bruce Springsteen fans eagerly await ticket information for his gig this fall at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre. I know, because not a day goes by when I don’t hear from them. Sources sa…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:31PM
Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Robin Hood and his Merry Men are galavanting toward Broadway by Michael Riedel

About a year ago, Douglas Carter Beane was enjoying a posh lunch with Andrew Lloyd Webber, who asked him what his next project was. Beane smiled and said, “A musical about Robin Hood!” L…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:53PM
Thursday, July 13, 2017

‘Passing Strange,’ the best musical to not win a Tony, is back by Michael Riedel

High on my list of the best musicals of the past 10 years is “Passing Strange,” by songwriters Stew and Heidi Rodewald. It opened on Broadway in 2008, won plenty of critics’ awards and…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:48PM
Tuesday, July 11, 2017

People will fight for tickets to these upcoming Broadway musicals by Michael Riedel

It’s only summer, but two Broadway-bound shows are already generating buzz. First, “The Band’s Visit,” a pocket-size musical that won a bunch of awards during last year’s sold-…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:02PM
Saturday, July 8, 2017

How a forgotten film star became a Broadway hit at 61 by Michael Riedel

Grandmother and retiree Ruby Keeler, 60, was living a quiet life in a small apartment in Southern California when, in 1970, she got an offer she never expected: a starring role in a Broadway…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:06PM
Thursday, June 29, 2017

Broadway still pleading for Colin Firth to star in ‘My Fair Lady’ by Michael Riedel

Since “My Fair Lady” is my favorite musical, I’m looking forward to Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of it next spring. But Lincoln Center and director Bartlett Sher are having some …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:12PM
Thursday, June 22, 2017

Ryan Murphy to reboot ‘Boys in the Band’ on Broadway by Michael Riedel

Ryan Murphy, one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, may make a run at Broadway. Murphy, the creator of “Glee” and “Feud,” has optioned “The Boys in the Band,” Mart Crow…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:51PM
Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Princess Di the musical is bound for Broadway by Michael Riedel

The wedding was a fairy tale. The marriage was a nightmare. The musical could be a smash. “Diana” is percolating this summer at New York Stage and Film at Vassar College. A reading the w…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:35PM
Friday, June 16, 2017

Bruce Springsteen heads to Broadway this fall by Michael Riedel

The Boss is Broadway bound. Bruce Springsteen will make his Broadway debut at the Walter Kerr Theatre for an eight-week run in the fall, The Post has learned exclusively.

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:15PM
Thursday, June 15, 2017

Steve Martin wants Amy Schumer for new B’way show by Michael Riedel

Amy Schumer is in negotiations to make her Broadway debut in Steve Martin’s new play “Meteor Shower,” theater sources tell The Post. Her co-star is likely to be the lovely Laura Benant…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:18PM
Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Broadway’s first Tony victims get the ax by Michael Riedel

The fallout from Sunday’s Tony Awards was swift and brutal. Two shows that went home empty-handed, “Sweat” and “Six Degrees of Separation,” posted closing notices on Tuesday. Criti…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:00PM
Monday, June 12, 2017

The Tony Awards’ biggest winners and losers by Michael Riedel

“Dear Evan Hansen,” an original American musical about a troubled teen caught up in a web of lies on social media, swept the Tonys Sunday night, winning six awards, including Best Musica…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:45AM
Saturday, June 10, 2017

The Post predicts this year’s Tony Awards winners by Michael Riedel

Predicting tonight’s Tony Awards is a fool’s errand, but I’m a fool, so here it goes: Best Musical The race is between “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Come From Away.” Both have champi…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:46PM
Thursday, June 8, 2017

Could a new Temptations musical help us forget ‘Motown’? by Michael Riedel

Let’s take a break from the Tonys — my predictions will be in Sunday’s Post, if you can stand the wait — and see what else is happening around Broadway these days. The astonishin…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:41PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Inside the desperate, last-minute race for Tony wins by Michael Riedel

I went out on a limb last year and predicted a big night for “Hamilton” at the Tony Awards — and did pretty well in the office pool. This year some of the races are so close that, afte…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:59PM
Thursday, June 1, 2017

Hugh Jackman in a mad search for next Broadway hit by Michael Riedel

Hugh Jackman is on the hunt for a new Broadway show — and it’s not going to be a musical comedy romp like “The Boy from Oz.” Sources say Jackman, one of Hollywood and Broadway’s to…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:04PM
Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Why this year’s Tony Awards may be ‘a little muted’ by Michael Riedel

As the Tony Award telecast starts to come together, there’s concern that the June 11 show might be, as one Broadway insider puts it, “a little muted.” CBS, which broadcasts the Tonys, …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:20PM
Friday, May 26, 2017

Is ‘Groundhog Day’ musical in trouble? by Michael Riedel

Jujamcyn Theaters is in talks to bring the London National Theatre’s revival of “Angels in America,” starring Nathan Lane , to New York next season, sources say. But what theater will …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:12AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2017

‘Tootsie’ musical is coming to Broadway by Michael Riedel

After years of delays, lawsuits and changes to the creative team, “Tootsie” is back on its high heels. Producers Scott Sanders and Carol Fineman, whose revival of “The Color Purple” …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:08PM

Roger Moore was an underrated treasure by Michael Riedel

A lot of hardcore James Bond fans turned up their noses at Roger Moore. He’s no Sean Connery, they’d say, calling him a lightweight 007 whose big talent was looking dapper in a blue blaz…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:35PM
Thursday, May 18, 2017

Two-time Oscar winner heads to Broadway by Michael Riedel

Glenda Jackson, the celebrated British actress and politician, will return to Broadway next season in Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” The 81-year-old — a two-time Oscar winner (�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:01PM
Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Theater producers are wooing out-of-town Tony voters with sweets by Michael Riedel

The Kings of the Road have arrived in New York, and Broadway is welcoming them to town as if they were a bunch of Dolly Levis returning to the Harmonia Gardens in Act 2 of “Hello, Dolly!�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:15PM
Thursday, May 11, 2017

Spacey doesn’t mind being ‘25th person asked’ to host Tonys by Michael Riedel

Kevin Spacey, a tennis fanatic, rarely misses the US Open if he can help it. But last fall, as he watched Phil Collins perform at the opening ceremonies at Arthur Ashe Stadium, he had a thou…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:07PM

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
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic