All stories by Jan Simpson on BroadwayStars

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Stagecraft: Donja R. Love, author of “Fireflies” by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: Donja R. Love…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM
Saturday, October 20, 2018

Turning on The Fall Ghost Light by Jan Simpson

It happens almost every fall and this year, it’s even more intense than usual. There are so many shows opening that seeing them on top of making plans to celebrate the birthdays of my niec…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:18AM
Saturday, October 13, 2018

Why "On Beckett" is the Best Show in Town by Jan Simpson

Bill Irwin is a genius. And it’s not just me saying that. The folks at the MacArthur Foundation made that official 34 years ago when they gave him one of their famous five-year fellowships…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:33AM
Saturday, October 6, 2018

"What the Constitution Means to Me" Stands Up for Democracy, But Stumbles as Theater by Jan Simpson

They say that timing is everything. And the timing could hardly be better for Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, which opened at New York Theatre Workshop last weekend, jus…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:12AM
Saturday, September 29, 2018

"Scraps" And "The Revolving Cycles Truly And Steadily Roll’d" Offer Proof That Plays About Assaults On Black Lives Matter by Jan Simpson

Ever since Aeschylus wrote the first Greek tragedies back in the fifth century B.C., playwrights have been creating works that wrestle with the pressing issues of their time. One of the most…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:54AM

Stagecraft: Sharr White, “The True” by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: Sharr White T…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM
Saturday, September 22, 2018

An "Uncle Vanya" That's Truly Stuck in a Rut by Jan Simpson

Just like the rest of us, theater makers can fall into ruts and end up doing the same thing over and over. That's what happened to John Doyle who repeated his conceit of having actors play t…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:18AM
Saturday, September 15, 2018

"Heartbreak House" is Totally Welcoming by Jan Simpson

It may be a sacrilege to say this but I've never been a fan of the plays of George Bernard Shaw. I appreciate Shaw's place in the theatrical pantheon and his role as a pioneering progressive…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:42AM

Stagecraft: Simon Reade, “Private Peaceful” by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: Simon Reade P…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:55AM
Saturday, September 8, 2018

My Usual Idiosyncratic Fall Theater Preview by Jan Simpson

Drawing up a list of the fall shows I most want to see is my way of making myself feel better that summer (my favorite season) is ending. It's something I've done for even longer than I've b…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 07:54AM
Saturday, September 1, 2018

A Labor Day Salute to Theatrical Unions by Jan Simpson

Maybe it's because I'm getting older but time seems to be passing more quickly than ever and the entire summer just flew by. One minute, I was watching my DVD version of 1776, which I try to…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:42AM
Saturday, August 25, 2018

Gettin' the Band Back Together Falls Apart by Jan Simpson

Because I’ve always believed there should be shows on Broadway that cater to all kinds of tastes, it’s not easy for me to say this but the new musical Gettin' the Band Back Together does…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:48AM

Stagecraft: James Magruder, “Head Over Heels” by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: James Magruder…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:55AM
Saturday, August 18, 2018

The Yiddish "Fiddler on the Roof" Soars by Jan Simpson

So many people were raving about the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's production of Fiddler on the Roof that I felt I had to see it. At the same time, I feared it wouldn't live up to al…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:06AM
Saturday, August 11, 2018

Today's Ghost Light is a Birthday Candle by Jan Simpson

There's no post today because I'm taking time off to celebrate my birthday this weekend. The celebrations include a repeat visit to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with my theatergoin…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 08:24AM
Saturday, August 4, 2018

"This Ain't No Disco" Ain't Much Fun by Jan Simpson

Maybe there were too many top chefs in the room when they were cooking up This Ain't No Disco, the rock musical that recently opened at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater. Ca…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:06AM
Saturday, July 28, 2018

True Compassion for "Straight White Men" by Jan Simpson

What a difference a director can make. The first time I saw the dark comedy Straight White Men, it was directed by its playwright Young Jean Lee for a 2014 workshop production at the Public …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:12AM
Saturday, July 21, 2018

What's Missing in the Theater District? by Jan Simpson

It's summer vacation time and tourists, who account for over 60 percent of Broadway's ticket buyers, have been streaming into the city, eager to see shows ranging from tried-and-true war hor…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:32AM
Saturday, July 14, 2018

"Cyprus Avenue" is a Dead-End Street by Jan Simpson

Edward Bond's drama Saved shocked London audiences in 1965 with its depiction of a group of disaffected young people stoning a baby to death. That harrowing scene set the bar for genera…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:04AM
Saturday, July 7, 2018

"Skintight" is Just Barely Skin Deep by Jan Simpson

"I really identified with El," I overhead a seventysomething-year-old man telling his similarly-aged wife as we all walked out of Skintight, the new comedy by Joshua Harmon about older men w…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:04AM
Saturday, June 30, 2018

Summer Reading for Theater Lovers 2018 by Jan Simpson

Memorial Day came and went a month ago. The Summer Solstice breezed in last week. The Fourth of July is just a few days away. And temperatures here in New York are heading into the high 90s.…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:06AM
Saturday, June 9, 2018

Guest Blogger: My Buddy Bill Recalls His Days as One of "The Boys in the Band" and Assesses The Play's Starry Broadway Revival by Jan Simpson

A note from Jan: Two people can see the same show and walk away with different feelings about it. My theatergoing buddy Bill and I just saw the new production of The Boys in the Band that ma…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:36AM

Stagecraft: Dominique Morisseau, “Paradise Blue” at Signature Theatre by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: Dominique Mori…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:55AM
Saturday, June 2, 2018

Mixed Blessings in "Our Lady of 121st Street" by Jan Simpson

Although separated by five centuries and different codes of acceptable onstage profanity, the playwrights William Shakespeare and Stephen Adly Guirgis have a lot in common. Wait; hear me out…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:42AM

Stagecraft: Anthony Giardina, “Dan Cody’s Yacht” at Manhattan Theatre Club by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: Anthony Giardi…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:55AM
Saturday, May 26, 2018

Taking Time Out, Sort Of... by Jan Simpson

No show reviews this week.  And no real good excuse for not doing one, except that the weather is suddenly beautiful and I feel like kicking back and taking it easy. But I haven't been …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 03:06PM

Stagecraft: Clare Barron, “Dance Nation” at Playwrights Horizons by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Guest: Clare Barron C…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:55AM
Saturday, May 19, 2018

The Unabashed Confessions of a "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" Fangirl by Jan Simpson

My name is Jan and I'm a Harry Potter fangirl. Seriously. I mean I pre-ordered the published script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Amazon, downloaded the Kindle vers…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:54AM
Saturday, May 12, 2018

"A Brief History of Women" and "Summer and Smoke" May Be Minor Pieces by Master Writers But They're Still Worth Seeing by Jan Simpson

We theater junkies can be a demanding lot. And sometimes we let our pursuit of the excellent get in the way of our enjoying the very good. At least that's how I've been feeling about two sho…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 09:42AM
Sunday, May 6, 2018

An Ironic Intermission by Jan Simpson

The irony is that I've been seeing so many shows lately that I've fallen behind on just about everything else and so find that I don't have the time to tell you about them. I'm hoping to cli…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:42AM
Saturday, April 28, 2018

...And We're Off Into Awards Season 2018 by Jan Simpson

Let the games begin.  The spring theater season officially closed Thursday night with the opening of The Iceman Cometh, which means the Tony nominators will be toting up their scorecard…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:06AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre