All stories by Roger Friedman on BroadwayStars

Monday, March 27, 2023

Broadway: Revived “Sweeney Todd” Scores a Triumph with Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, “Stranger Things” Star Gaten Matarazzo, and 43 Piece Or by Roger Friedman

Josh Groban, you know, has always wanted to be a rock star. With his gorgeous deep baritone, he’s released several hit albums

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:06AM
Friday, March 24, 2023

Broadway: Andrew Lloyd Webber Faces Rare Financial and Criticial Bomb as “Bad Cinderella” Musical Decimated by Roger Friedman

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has had hit after hit with “Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats,” “Evita,” and other musicals that have been

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:12PM
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Aaron Sorkin Tells NY Times He Had a Stroke, Paper Strangely Omits His Perilous History with Drug Addiction by Roger Friedman

I like Aaron Sorkin very much and admire his plays and movies. But still, today he tells the New York Times he

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 03:22PM

Watch President Joe Biden Give National Medal of Arts to Gladys Knight, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Tan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, More by Roger Friedman

Twenty three deserving Americans received Presidential Medals of Honor yesterday from Joe Biden. A lot of press was given to Bruce Springsteen,

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:39AM

Broadway Cult TV Show “Smash” Coming to Broadway in 2024 Directed by Susan Stroman by Roger Friedman

So you know “Smash” was a TV series about a Broadway show that finally opened on fictional Broadway after many soap opera

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:29AM
Thursday, March 16, 2023

Sad Obit: The Friars Club is Padlocked Shut, Closed After Years of Mismanagement and Malfeasance Comes End of Era by Roger Friedman

The Friars Club is closed. It’s padlocked shut with a gate blocking the entrance. In truth, the Friars Club has been gone

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:53PM

Broadway: No Room for “Room” As Adrienne Warren-Led Musical Version of Oscar Film Pulled for Lack of Dough by Roger Friedman

It’s not easy to put on a Broadway show, especially when it’s a new play with tricky marketing. And so “Room,” the

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:31PM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

Broadway: “Funny Girl” Revival with Lea Michele Will Close in September After 18 Roller Coaster Months by Roger Friedman

“Funny Girl” has had a funny time on Broadway. But now, it’s planning a farewell. The first revival ever of the famed

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:47AM
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Netflix Maximizes Brand with “Stranger Things” Live Stage Play Prequel Story Coming to London’s West End by Roger Friedman

I was watching the great film, “The Reader,” the other night and wondering what its director, Stephen Daldry, was up to. Now

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:25AM
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Broadway Theater Merger We Told You About 2 Weeks Ago Happens: Jujamcyn and Ambassador Marry by Roger Friedman

I told you on January 31st that Jujamcyn Theaters would merge with Britain’s Ambassador Theater Group. And it has happened this morning.

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 10:40AM
Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Broadway: Rumored Big Change in Theater Ownership Today as Curtain May Come Down on Jujamcyn After Many Standing Ovations by Roger Friedman

Five famous Broadway houses may be changing ownership today. The rumor on the Rialto, as the late Earl Wilson would say, is

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 09:28AM
Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Madonna Movie Cancelled at Universal Pictures Says Report, But We Kinda Knew, That Didn’t We? by Roger Friedman

The Madonna movie ain’t happening. Variety says Universal has cancelled the project, which was announced two years ago. The reason given is

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:22PM
Sunday, January 8, 2023

Review: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Brooks Turn in a Resounding Version of “The Piano Lesson” by Roger Friedman

I’m sorry it took so long for me to get to LaTanya Richardson Jackson‘s “The Piano Lesson.” Now that I’ve seen her

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 11:42PM
Friday, December 30, 2022

Broadway Had a Bad Xmas Week Despite Huge Times Square Crowds, “Some Like it Not” But Not Enough by Roger Friedman

Times Square is overflowing with people. And Elmo’s. The grotesque pedestrian mall has brought looky-loo’s from all over, but they’re not going

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:12PM
Thursday, December 29, 2022

Exclusive: Jennifer Hudson Surprises Common, Cast Backstage at Broadway Hit “Riverside and Crazy” by Roger Friedman

The audience at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater turned out en masse for actor/rapper Common making his debut in the hit, Between Riverside

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:42PM
Saturday, December 24, 2022

Broadway: Tony Winner “Strange Loop” and “1776” Revival Cancel Shows for Illness, Other Shows Use Standbys by Roger Friedman

It’s 2:28pm. A half hour ago, two Broadway shows didn’t start their matinees. According to Twitter account BroadwayCovers, both “A Strange Loop”

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:54PM
Friday, December 23, 2022

Review: Wendell Pierce’s Willy Loman Reinvents Greatest American Drama, “Death of a Salesman” by Roger Friedman

Almost four years ago I ran into the great actor Wendell Pierce sitting in the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel in

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:32PM
Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Broadway: Good News, Bad News as “Funny Girl” Breaks Record, Two Shows to Close by Roger Friedman

Broadway is surviving the kinda recession, pandemic, and bad weather with good news, bad news. “Funny Girl” has gone from a disaster

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 01:36PM
Friday, December 16, 2022

Broadway: Sondheim’s “Merrily” Will Roll Along Next Fall, Skipping 2023 Tony Awards by Roger Friedman

There will not be a Sondheim vs. Sondheim cage match at the 2023 Tony Awards, after all. Stephen Sondheim’s “Merry We’ll Roll

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:48PM
Thursday, December 15, 2022

Fake New Sondheim Show for Broadway with Bernadette Peters, Nathan Lane Announced on Twitter by Hoaxer by Roger Friedman

Earlier today, the Broadway crowd got very excited for a few precious minutes. On Twitter came the news that an unproduced show

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:32PM
Monday, December 12, 2022

Broadway Review: Everyone’s Favorite Movie “Some Like It Hot” Finally Becomes a Terrific Musical by Roger Friedman

The Shubert Theater was ringing with ovations and applause Sunday night. That’s because everyone’s favorite comedy, Billy Wilder’s 1959 hit, “Some Like

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:06AM
Friday, December 9, 2022

Broadway: Audra McDonald Goes for Her 7th Tony Award in “Ohio State Murders” Drama, A List Crowd Cheers Opening Night by Roger Friedman

You know that Audra McDonald has six Tony Awards, she’s only 52 so more are coming. And tonight, the 7th was lined

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:54AM
Thursday, December 8, 2022

Broadway: Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” Extends Run Through July and Probably Tony Awards Win by Roger Friedman

Oh come on, you knew “Leopoldstadt” wasn’t going anywhere. The sensationally moving and profound Tom Stoppard play has just been extended through

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 02:48PM
Monday, December 5, 2022

Broadway: Neil Diamond Juke Box Musical “A Beautiful Noise” is a Big, Incoherent Mess by Roger Friedman

I am sad to report that there is very little salvageable in the new musical that opened last night about singer songwriter

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:24AM
Sunday, December 4, 2022

Broadway Exclusive: David Byrne’s Amazing “Here Lies Love” Finally Coming this Spring, Should Win the Tony Award Hands Down by Roger Friedman

I told you all about David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s “Here Lies Love” back in 2014. It was a sensation at

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:03AM
Thursday, December 1, 2022

Broadway Bewildered: “Great Gatsby” Musical Coming from Failed “Paradise Square” Team by Roger Friedman

How badly can this group maim “The Great Gatsby”? Weren’t two movies enough? And yet, here comes a “Gatsby” musical from the

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 12:12PM
Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Broadway: “Phantom” Extends Run: Now Like Electronics Stores That Say They’re Going Out of Business by Roger Friedman

“Phantom of the Opera” will not go away. As soon as the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical announced that it was closing in

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:32PM
Monday, November 28, 2022

Broadway: Mariah Carey Likes It Hot, “Fiddler” a Gem in Yiddish is Back and Better Than Ever, Have Gumbo Downtown with The White Blacks by Roger Friedman

Theater news: MARIAH CAREY has added her name to the new musical version of “Some Like it Hot” as a producer. This

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 05:06PM
Sunday, November 27, 2022

Watch Wild Ovation for Nicole Kidman When She Donates $100K to Broadway AIDS Charity Last Night at Hugh Jackman’s “Music Man” by Roger Friedman

You’ve got to watch this video. Last night at “The Music Man” Nicole Kidman donated $100,000 to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:42PM

Legendary Borscht Belt Comic Freddie Roman, 85, Dies, The Last of a Great Generation of Jewish Humor by Roger Friedman

Alan King, Don Rickles, Jackie Mason, Shecky Greene. They were among the legendary giants of Borscht belt Jewish humor. What was the

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 04:32AM
Saturday, November 19, 2022

Review: Motown Songwriting Legend Valerie Simpson’s Triumphant Night in “Under Broadway” Show Sells Out Sony Hall by Roger Friedman

The biggest problem I could see last night with Valerie Simpson’s insanely jubilant show at Sony Hall was that every song sounds

SOURCE: ShowBiz 411 at 07:42PM

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