All stories by Joel Benjamin on BroadwayStars

Thursday, February 13, 2025

B*tchcraft by Joel Benjamin

Bitch turns herself inside out in ways sometimes difficult to bear, particularly with her frank, anatomical language, but she communicates her joy and anguish so honestly and unflinchingly t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:15AM
Saturday, February 8, 2025

Urinetown (NY City Center Encores!) by Joel Benjamin

“What an awful name for a musical,” spouts Little Sally (a brilliantly talented Pearl Scarlett Gold) as one of the narrators of the New York City Center Encores’ witty production of th…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:30PM
Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Malpaso Dance Company: Winter 2025 Season by Joel Benjamin

This may not have been a typical program for the Malpaso Dance Company, but the troupe seems to lean towards the darker parts of life.  As moving as each of the works are, they all painted …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:07PM
Sunday, January 19, 2025

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence: A Dance Company – 2025 Winter Season by Joel Benjamin

The best constructed work was the finale, “Grace” (1999), in which Brown created a Goddess figure come down from Heaven “to spread grace among humans.”  In addition to a score by Du…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:23PM
Sunday, January 12, 2025

Ragamala Dance Company: “Children of Dharma” by Joel Benjamin

The troupe, led by a mother and two daughters—Aparna Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy (mother) and Ashwini Ramaswamy—presented “Children of Dharma,” based on elements of the famous Hindu e…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:15PM
Monday, December 23, 2024

Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library by Joel Benjamin

Jenny Lyn Bader’s "Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library" has moved from a successful run at the 59E59 Theater to the intimate WP Theater on the Upper West Side. This is fortunate …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:12PM
Thursday, December 19, 2024

The Hard Nut by Joel Benjamin

The main difference is the delightfully over-the-top, campy production that takes the audience into the fertile mind of Mark Morris and his artistic colleagues. The mostly black and white sc…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:40PM
Sunday, December 15, 2024

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Winter 2024 Season by Joel Benjamin

The second premiere was a battle of the sexes duet, “Me, Myself and You,” choreographed by Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish to a Duke Ellington song, “In a Sentimental Mood” sung lustrously b…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:17PM
Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Death Becomes Her by Joel Benjamin

“Glitter and Be Gay” is not just a Leonard Bernstein aria from Candide, but the perfect description of the campily funny new musical "Death Becomes Her" which just hit the Lunt-Fontanne …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:24AM
Monday, November 18, 2024

Oud Player on the Tel by Joel Benjamin

Can the tale of two families living in Palestine just before the partition that created the State of Israel shine a light on the current status of affairs? Playwright Tom Block’s "Oud Play…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:47PM
Saturday, November 9, 2024

Ragtime by Joel Benjamin

"Ragtime," thought of as an unwieldy musical with too many characters and too many themes, hit Broadway in 1998.  Based on the 1975 E.L. Doctorow novel of the same name, the many storylines…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:47PM
Thursday, November 7, 2024

Sunset Blvd. by Joel Benjamin

Now, director Jamie Lloyd has taken the clunky—but entertaining—Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Sunset Blvd." (1993) and stripped it of all realistic scenery—and a few songs—hoping to g…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:14PM
Friday, October 25, 2024

The Christine Jorgensen Show by Joel Benjamin

Donald Steven Olson’s "The Christine Jorgensen Show," a two-hander, focuses on the creation of her nightclub act.  Jorgensen (portrayed by Jesse James Keitel known for "Younger," "Queer a…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:39PM
Monday, October 21, 2024

Yellow Face by Joel Benjamin

Clearly, Hwang’s playwright-within-the-play has been on a colorful journey, full of characters that amuse, anger and move him.  Hwang’s genius here is his ability to spin his real life …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:38AM
Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Distant Thunder by Joel Benjamin

We’ve come a long way from "Annie Get Your Gun" to the new musical "Distant Thunder" produced by Amas Musical Theatre at the A.R.T./New York Theatres.  The Irvin Berlin song “I’m an I…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:20PM
Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Ballet X: Fall: 2024 Season by Joel Benjamin

The final work of the evening was Takehiro Ueyama’s “Heroes,” dedicated to the brave, hard-working citizens of Japan who helped pull themselves out of the devastation of World War Two.…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:21PM
Friday, September 27, 2024

The Goldberg-Variations by Joel Benjamin

"The Goldberg-Variations" by George Tabori (written in 1991, now having its belated new York premiere) is a confused and confusing conflation of Bible stories and backstage bickering amongst…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:16PM
Saturday, September 21, 2024

London City Ballet: Fall 2024 Season by Joel Benjamin

“Larina Waltz,” choreographed by Ashley Page to the lilting melodies of Tchaikovsky, opened the program.  It was a dynamic expression of the classical ballet bona fides of this youthful…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:44PM
Monday, August 12, 2024

Airport and the Strange Package by Joel Benjamin

"Airport and the Strange Package" effectively combines good old-fashioned paranoia with witty references to Kafka’s literary classic. King and his collaborators have fashioned a frighteni…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:58PM
Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Pilobolus: Summer 2024 Season by Joel Benjamin

"Memory" brought back “Untitled,” a masterpiece from 1978.  This work had everything that made Pilobolus the world class dance troupe it became. Choreographed by Pilobolus founders Robb…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:42PM
Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Ain’t Done Bad by Joel Benjamin

Jakob Karr conceived, choreographed and directed his full-length dance/drama, "Ain’t Done Bad" currently heating up the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center just wes…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:12PM
Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Introdans: Energy (triple bill) by Joel Benjamin

The Netherlands-based dance troupe Introdans (Roel Voorinthoff, artistic director) exploded onto The Joyce Theater stage in an aptly titled program, "Energy," making a very welcome return to…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:25PM

Titanic by Joel Benjamin

The tapestry Stone weaves with his multitude of characters—too many to mention here—is always fascinating in its subtle details.  Each person stands on his or her own helped by superb p…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:42PM
Friday, June 7, 2024

Party Clown of the Rich and Famous & The Hungry Mind Buffet by Joel Benjamin

There’s so much fascinating material in "Party Clown of the Rich and Famous" and its companion compendium of four short works, "The Hungry Mind Buffet" that it pains me that the works aren…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:07PM
Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Christopher Caswell: Listen to My Heart by Joel Benjamin

Christopher Caswell: "Listen to My Heart" took the audience into his confidence as he opened up about his personal life: friends, loves, children and, of course, show business.  His show ha…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:13AM
Monday, May 20, 2024

Chris Caswell: Listen to My Heart by Joel Benjamin

Christopher Caswell: Listen to My Heart took the audience into his confidence as he opened up about his personal life: friends, loves, children and, of course, show business.  His show had …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:49PM
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Bettye and the Jockettes Spinning Records at the Holiday Inn by Joel Benjamin

Christie Perfetti Williams’ genial new play "Bettye and the Jockettes Spinning Records at the Holiday Inn" transports the audience back to the moment Elvis Presley became an international …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:26AM
Monday, May 13, 2024

The Heart of Rock and Roll by Joel Benjamin

"The Heart of Rock and Roll" at the James Earl Jones Theatre is one of the more pleasant entries in the jukebox musical derby.  Using the musical catalog of Huey Lewis and the News, Tyler M…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:44PM
Thursday, May 9, 2024

Mother Play, A Play in Five Evictions by Joel Benjamin

"Mother Play," though based on Vogel’s own life, is her most schematic, more an outline barely fleshed out with lots of details rather than the intense emotional revelations of her earlier…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:49PM
Sunday, May 5, 2024

Mary Jane by Joel Benjamin

The play is an expression of the quiet whirlwind within Mary Jane’s soul, exquisitely expressed by the warm McAdams, surrounded by the boundless support of the others. Director Anne Kauffm…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:34PM
Friday, May 3, 2024

Suffs by Joel Benjamin

The transfer to Broadway has brilliantly expanded the show.  The new production designed by Riccardo Hernández (scenery), Paul Tazewell (costumes), Lap Chi Chu (lighting) and Charles G. La…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:27PM

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
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
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime