All stories by James Wilson on BroadwayStars

Sunday, October 14, 2018

ANNA CHRISTIE - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

When silent film star Greta Garbo transitioned to talking movies with her performance of Anna Christie in Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize winning-play of the same name, the marketing campaig…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 04:11PM
Monday, September 10, 2018

THE DRAGON GRISWYND - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

It can't be easy being the last remaining dragon on earth, a planet which humans do not even inhabit anymore.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:09PM
Wednesday, August 8, 2018

BELOVED - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Time is of the essence in Beloved, Lisa Lengseth's one-person show currently playing at the Lion Theatre in Theatre Row.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 08:06PM
Thursday, August 2, 2018

MIKE BIRBIGLIA: THE NEW ONE - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

The central image of Mike Birbiglia's dazzling new solo show, aptly and simply named The New One, is a couch.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:19PM
Friday, July 13, 2018

Review: John Wulp's "Saintliness of Margery Kemp" @ The Duke A modern 13th century real-life woman leaves her husband to become a Saint! by James Wilson

Austin Pendelton draws fine comic performances from his cast of nine with ANDRUS NICHOLS in the title role; her indomitable spirt balancing a perfect mix of kookiness and pathos as "Margery."

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 11:05AM
Thursday, July 12, 2018

THE SAINTLINESS OF MARGERY KEMPE - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Morality and domesticity are so fourteenth century. . . .

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:46PM
Tuesday, May 1, 2018

MARX IN SOHO - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Karl Marx is in the house, and he has some things he needs to get off his chest.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:51PM
Friday, April 27, 2018

THE SHAKESPEARE CONSPIRACY - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Quick: Who wrote, "By the pricking of my thumbs,/ Something wicked this way comes"?

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:18PM
Saturday, April 14, 2018

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

According to a program note, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was inspired to write his first play, Happy Birthday, Wanda June, after leading a reading group on The Odyssey.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:03PM
Monday, March 26, 2018

A WALK IN THE WOODS - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

The experience of watching A Walk in the Woods, Lee Blessing's 1988 play in its current revival by the Barrow Group, is both simultaneously comforting and disconcerting.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:03PM
Sunday, March 25, 2018

BABETTE'S FEAST - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Babette's Feast, currently playing at the Theatre at St. Clement's, demonstrates the power of art, grace, and selfless generosity to unite a community riven by petty differences, personal sl…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 06:29PM
Monday, March 12, 2018

DOGS OF RWANDA - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

At the beginning of Sean Christopher Lewis's harrowing solo play Dogs of Rwanda, now playing at Urban Stages, David (Dan Hodge) describes a particular custom in Rwanda: Individuals guilty of…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:42PM
Tuesday, March 6, 2018

A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Harvey Milk often began his political speeches with the declaration, "My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you."

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:05PM
Saturday, February 17, 2018

BRILLIANT TRACES - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Throughout the 1980s there was a slew of plays that can be best described as unlovable-losers dramas. . . .

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:36PM
Monday, January 22, 2018

THE THING WITH FEATHERS - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

As social commentary and cultural exposé, The Thing with Feathers, Scott Organ's play receiving its world premiere by the Barrow Group, is timely and important.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:12PM
Monday, January 8, 2018

MANKIND - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Robert O'Hara's Mankind, now playing at Playwrights Horizons, begins with a bang.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:14PM
Sunday, November 26, 2017

INDIANS - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows were huge circus-like extravaganzas and ostentatious spectacles of American exceptionalism.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:37AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

MUSWELL HILL - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Even before the first guest has arrived and the monkfish stew is ready to be served, the audience watching Muswell Hill, Torbin Betts's 2012 British play receiving its New York premiere, can…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:55PM
Wednesday, November 8, 2017

OFFICE HOUR - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Opening just days after the mass shooting in a church near San Antonio, Texas, Julia Cho's Office Hour couldn't be more timely.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:18PM
Thursday, October 19, 2017

LONELY PLANET - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

In an uneasy world and during anxious times, maps offer a sense of orderliness and manageability.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:26PM
Friday, September 15, 2017

THE CLIMBERS - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

History has not been kind to American playwright Clyde Fitch.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:20PM
Monday, August 7, 2017

JERRY'S GIRLS - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Now that Dolly is back where she belongs, on Broadway and assayed by Bette Midler, it seems fitting to honor Jerry Herman, the composer and lyricist responsible for the show's enduring appea…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 06:38PM
Thursday, July 6, 2017

THE ENCHANTMENT - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

As an overlooked piece of theatre history, Victoria Benedictsson's semi-autobiographical The Enchantment, currently receiving its US premiere in a production by Ducdame Ensemble, is a fascin…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 06:40PM
Thursday, June 22, 2017

THE TRAVELING LADY - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Clara Breedlove's backyard, the setting of Horton Foote's The Traveling Lady, which is currently playing at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village, seems to be the perfect place to sit…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:25PM

BASTARD JONES - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

There have been several attempts at creating musical adaptations of Henry Fielding's The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, the scandalous British novel first published in 1749, and the basi…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 10:23PM
Friday, June 16, 2017

ATTACK OF THE ELVIS IMPERSONATORS - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

Just a few years ago, Broadway audiences witnessed a swarm of Elvis impersonators jumping out of a plane in Honeymoon in Vegas, the Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Bergman musical based on Ber…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:20AM
Tuesday, June 13, 2017

NOWHERE MAN - Talkin' Broadway's Review by James Wilson

At the height of Beatlemania in the 1960s there was a persistent—and as Mark Twain would say, greatly exaggerated—report of the death of Paul McCartney.

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 07:18PM
Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Mismanagement & The Peking Opera: Part 1 by James Wilson

In part 1 of this 2 part piece, James voices concern for the mismanagement that seems to constantly surround him.

SOURCE: Clyde Fitch Report at 03:50PM

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