All stories by Joel Benjamin on BroadwayStars

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain by Joel Benjamin

Likability is in short supply nowadays and the three playwright/performers who created this comedy, based on an actual pamphlet handed to Americans during World War II, have spun the dry, in…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:50PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

17 Border Crossings by Joel Benjamin

"17 Border Crossings" is one of the most technically adroit Off-Broadway shows to be seen thanks to the split second cooperation between Phillips’ spare scenery design, David Todaro’s br…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:22PM
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Martin Vidnovic: Broadway & Beyond by Joel Benjamin

With the medley of “My Romance” and “My Funny Valentine,” he warmed up and came to a gentle boil with the two songs from "Baby": “At Night She Comes Home to Me” and “With You,�…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:25PM
Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Twelfth Night (Duende Productions) by Joel Benjamin

By stripping down the show and performing it in a white box theater space with minimal scenery and costumes, the eight actors, doubling up on parts, have fun interpreting Shakespeare’s lus…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:00PM
Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Charlie’s Waiting by Joel Benjamin

Ludovica Villar-Hauser, the play’s keen eyed and eared director (and artistic director of Parity Productions the company responsible for this presentation), paces the fine actors for the u…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:37PM
Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Lori Belilove and The Isadora Duncan Dance Company: “March Madness” by Joel Benjamin

Belilove, who has taught Sara Mearns of the New York City Ballet to perform some of these works, divided the concert into dances to Schubert, Chopin, Brahms and Scriabin, all original Duncan…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:58PM

Tilt by Joel Benjamin

The Experimental Theater Space at the Abrons, a not particularly large black box, was turned into a complex construction site by the "Tilt" creative staff, a truly unique interactive set. …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:42PM
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Smart Blonde by Joel Benjamin

Using the premise of a 1964 recording session that stimulates her many memories, good and bad, the play serves as a moving tribute to Holliday even though it doesn’t shy away from the dark…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:15PM
Thursday, March 28, 2019

I Married an Angel by Joel Benjamin

A lot has been made of the parallels between the original 1938 production of "I Married an Angel" for which George Balanchine choreographed the dances for his soon-to-be wife, the glamorous …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:38PM
Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Princess Zhaojun by Joel Benjamin

Produced in New York City by the China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd., "Princess Zhaojun" was performed by the members of the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater.  It was dire…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:43AM
Friday, March 22, 2019

Vilna by Joel Benjamin

"Vilna," written by Ira Fuchs, is one of the more successful stage dramas to deal with the Holocaust, a notoriously difficult subject to portray on stage.  That this play succeeds as well a…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:47AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Ballet Contemporáneo de Camagűey by Joel Benjamin

The Camagűey troupe danced Ruiz’s work as if born to his vigorously eclectic style.  His choreography is an amalgam of ballet, modern dance, break-dancing, folk dancing and Latin ballroo…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:34PM
Thursday, March 14, 2019

A Jewish Joke by Joel Benjamin

"A Jewish Joke" brings immediacy to not only the personal and professional effects of the Hollywood blacklist, but to the current onslaught of internet finger-pointing and fear-mongering tha…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:08PM
Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Boesman and Lena by Joel Benjamin

The production of "Boesman and Lena" at The Pershing Square Signature Center directed with attention to every detail by Yaël Farber is stark and unforgiving in a way that would have been sh…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:40PM
Thursday, March 7, 2019

Rameau, Maître à Danser (Les Arts Florissants) by Joel Benjamin

Unlike the company’s 2016 luxuriously staged "Les Fêtes Vénitiennes," also at the Gilman, "Rameau" was purposely staged by Sophie Daneman as if in a village square, simply but effectivel…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:14PM
Thursday, February 28, 2019

Complexions Contemporary Ballet: Program A by Joel Benjamin

In “Star Dust,” a 2016 ballet tribute to David Bowie, Rhoden displayed his mordantly campy side in a series of scenes, each devoted to a famous Bowie number, beginning with Brandon Gray …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:33AM
Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Rocha Dance Theater: “Half-Heard” by Joel Benjamin

This wasn’t just a political statement about gender stereotypes, but a sensitive work of art that made its points through fine choreography, costuming, lighting (smartly designed by Jennif…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:15PM
Monday, February 11, 2019

Betty and The Belrays by Joel Benjamin

The creator of "Betty & The Belrays," now at the Theater for the New City, pretty much dares you to compare his well-meaning, but cartoony, new musical to Hairspray, a comparison in whi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:37PM
Thursday, February 7, 2019

Balletboyz: “Young Men” by Joel Benjamin

The two directors/founders of BalletBoyz, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, directed and photographed the film which also included Pérez’s choreography.  Although the movie certainly ill…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:42PM
Monday, February 4, 2019

Anne of Green Gables: Part I by Joel Benjamin

Directed with touching simplicity by Henry and choreographed with a lyrical flow by Lorna Ventura, this Anne tells the well-known story utilizing a combination of voiceover readings, project…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:06PM
Saturday, February 2, 2019

Gatz by Joel Benjamin

Director John Collins made the more than seven hour running time a breeze with his attention to detail, moving his cast of office workers/Gatsby characters with such naturalness that, as eac…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:11AM
Friday, February 1, 2019

92Y’s Lyrics & Lyricists Series: “We’ll Have Manhattan: Rodgers & Hart in New York” by Joel Benjamin

"We’ll Have Manhattan: Rodgers & Hart in New York," created and narrated by the soon-to-become Broadway’s Tootsie (in the new Broadway musical), Santino Fontana found most of its em…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:28PM
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

L-E-V:  Love Chapter II by Joel Benjamin

Casual strolling was suddenly punctuated by dancers bumping and grinding at each other, these full-bodied movements resonating in slightly different ways in each dancer, sometimes leading to…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:21PM
Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Between the Threads by Joel Benjamin

Conceived and directed by Coral Cohen, along with musician/composer Zoë Aqua and the cast, Threads illuminates the experiences of a large swath of the Jewish population, beginning with a wa…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:36PM
Monday, January 21, 2019

Nederlands Dans Theater 2 by Joel Benjamin

All four works—particularly the first three—had a certain offhanded similarity, a lack of formal movement ideas and construction, but all four choreographers are clearly students of the …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:31PM
Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Aileen Passloff, Stepping Forward: One Foot (in front of the other) by Joel Benjamin

Of Passloff’s eight works, the newest, “Frolic,” (2018) to music by Erik Satlie (“Trois morceau en la forme de poire”) came closest in spirit to her classical ballet origins, utili…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:44PM
Thursday, January 10, 2019

Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia 2019 by Joel Benjamin

The four choreographers whose three works were represented at the Japan Society’s Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia flung themselves headlong into the modern world of dance wi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:34PM
Monday, January 7, 2019

Waiting for Godot (New Yiddish Rep) by Joel Benjamin

Translator Shane Baker has found excellent Yiddish equivalents for Beckett’s language.  He understands that Yiddish is a minor key tongue full of sadness, quicksilver tone changes, perfec…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:35AM
Monday, December 31, 2018

The Chase Brock Experience: The Girl with the Alkaline Eyes by Joel Benjamin

Brock’s work once prized effect over substance, but years of choreographing situation and character-based musicals ("Be More Chill," "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark") have sharpened his arti…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:01PM
Friday, December 28, 2018

ZviDance: Bear’s Ears & Detour by Joel Benjamin

A five-day journey to Bear’s Ears National Monument in Utah in the company of other dancers, choreographers and Native Americans turned Gotheiner’s mind to more serious pursuits resultin…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:04PM
Saturday, December 22, 2018

Nut/Cracked by Joel Benjamin

The troupe attracted a wide-ranging audience to The Sam space at The Flea, even a few youngsters there to see their first live dance performance, and, with the exception of one section, “T…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:46AM

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