All stories by Joel Benjamin on BroadwayStars

Friday, November 17, 2023

Harmony by Joel Benjamin

The musical "Harmony," the lovechild of pop music greats Barry Manilow (music) and Bruce Sussman (lyrics and book), has opened at a time when anti-Semitism has peaked once again and lessons …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:08PM
Thursday, November 2, 2023

Boris Charmatz: Somnole by Joel Benjamin

Far less mystical that he would have us believe, "Somnole" nevertheless is Charmatz’s honest exploration of his stated theme, although self-indulgence reared its ugly head too often.  The…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:41PM
Tuesday, October 31, 2023

King of the Jews by Joel Benjamin

How does a Holocaust-themed play land with such emotional impact as Leslie Epstein’s "King of the Jews" at the HERE Theatre?  Based on his novel of the same name, "King of the Jews" is a …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:01PM
Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Room with a View by Joel Benjamin

The dancers performed their dystopian tasks with great dedication and the occasional display of actual technique.  They were all good-looking and clearly into what they believed was an icon…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:44PM
Tuesday, October 24, 2023

HopeBoykinDance: States of Hope by Joel Benjamin

The spine of the work wasn’t the choreography or dancing, but the lines spoken by the dancers as they walked about the stage; however, since the lighting by Crawford was shadowy and the da…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:03PM
Sunday, October 22, 2023

Scrambled Eggs by Joel Benjamin

Sometimes good intentions do not have the best results—at least in theater. Such is the case with "Scrambled Eggs" at the Gene Frankel Theatre.  Presented to bring immediacy to the issue …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:35PM
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Melissa Etheridge: My Window by Joel Benjamin

Melissa Etheridge is a bona-fide superstar.  So, why is this artist, used to appearing in huge venues, “slumming” in a Broadway theater with a capacity of less than 800? Let’s not loo…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:30AM
Saturday, October 14, 2023

The Great Divide by Joel Benjamin

Does it matter how autobiographical Amy Crossman’s "The Great Divide" at the HERE Arts Center is?  A production of the Boomerang Theatre Company, "Divide" is Crossman’s one-person play …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:40PM
Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Fall for Dance 2023: Program 5 by Joel Benjamin

The immediate impression of "Gira" was of the semi-circle of lights designed by Gabriel Pederneiras and Paulo Pederneiras (the Grupo Corpo artistic director) and their somber illumination of…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:40AM
Friday, October 6, 2023

Fall for Dance: Program 3 by Joel Benjamin

The Houston Ballet, Julie Kent and Stanton Welch, directors, opened the program with Welch’s genteel "Clear" to music by J.S. Bach.  Originally staged on American Ballet Theatre, the Hous…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:24PM
Monday, October 2, 2023

Fall for Dance Festival 2023: Program 1 by Joel Benjamin

Ballet BC, the Canadian-based modern ballet company, began the program with 'The Statement," Crystal Pite’s witty take on a boardroom meeting, a corporate boardroom meeting full of intrigu…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:13PM
Thursday, September 28, 2023

Bettinger’s Luggage by Joel Benjamin

An alternate title for Albert M. Tapper’s Clifford Odets-esque "Bettinger’s Luggage" might be "The Flood." In Tapper’s period piece, a flood destroyed the eponymous shop, an event arou…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:38AM
Saturday, September 23, 2023

Zoetrope by Joel Benjamin

Clearly, "Zoetrope" often becomes difficult to follow for non-Spanish speakers.  The dearth of realistic sets makes knowing which location is which confusing, despite the occasional descrip…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:26PM
Monday, September 18, 2023

Tripping on Life by Joel Benjamin

Shaye tells of a pot and drug-addicted couple who are totally disgusting parents to a two year old.  That’s just not acceptable even though it is told as a funny hippy-dippy anecdote. Eve…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:51PM
Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Anne Being Frank by Joel Benjamin

Elisha has written a refreshing new take on Anne Frank’s life.  Called "Anne Being Frank" (a title that should, perhaps, be reconsidered), the one-person, multi-character show posits a su…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:35PM
Friday, September 8, 2023

Relapse: A New Musical by Joel Benjamin

In "Relapse" ’s most original conceit, a quartet called The Intrusive (Vinny Celerio, Audree Hedequist, Nicole Lamb and Zummy Mohammed) becomes a Greek Chorus, insinuating themselves into …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:17PM
Monday, September 4, 2023

2023 Fini Dance Festival and Italian International Dance Awards by Joel Benjamin

Antonio Fini in Ted Shawn’s “The Cosmic Dance of Siva,” performed as part of 2023 Fini Dance Festival at the Ailey Citicorp Theater (Photo credit: Wendy Wild) Joel Benjamin, Critic The…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:27PM
Wednesday, August 23, 2023

A Séance with Mom by Joel Benjamin

Redman’s "A Séance with Mom" at the Chain Studio Theatre veers dizzyingly from one character to another, characters that include middle-aged Nadine who searches for her Mom; her mom, Guss…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:36PM
Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Here Lies Love by Joel Benjamin

"Here Lies Love" unreels like an MTV music video with the emotional content lost in the technique.  The real issue of this musical is that it’s impossible to feel anything for the lead ch…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:57PM
Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre: One Dance by Joel Benjamin

Korean Arts Week celebrated the theatrical and fine arts of South Korea, a culture under-represented in New York City compared to, say, those of Japan, China and India. At the David H. Koch …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:08AM
Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Ballet Hispánico: Buscando a Juan by Joel Benjamin

There is an elegiac formality to Buscando.  However, other than Juan de Pareja’s name in the title there is little in the choreography that evokes either period or personality.  The chor…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:33PM
Sunday, July 16, 2023

Chanteuse by Joel Benjamin

The Nazis persecuted not only Jews, political opponents and its own, but also homosexuals.  Jews were forced to wear the infamous yellow stars; gays, the pink triangle. Alan Palmer, in his …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:51PM
Thursday, July 6, 2023

Good Vibrations: A Punk Rock Musical by Joel Benjamin

Terri Hooley (a game, genial Glen Wallace) is both the main character and the narrator of "Good Vibrations: A Punk Rock Musical" at the sparkling Irish Arts Center.  How he morphed from Ter…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:58PM
Thursday, June 29, 2023

Rock & Roll Man by Joel Benjamin

"Rock & Roll Man," the new jukebox/biographical musical at the New World Stages has a great deal going for it. The story of legendary Rock & Roll impresario Alan Freed is told in a s…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:26PM
Friday, June 23, 2023

The Light in the Piazza by Joel Benjamin

New York City Center Encores!’s new production of the musical, directed by Chay Yew, stars another Tony Award winner, the sensational Ruthie Ann Miles, as the determined Margaret Johnson w…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:48PM
Monday, June 19, 2023

Wake Up by Joel Benjamin

Spencer Aste in a scene from his one-man show “Wake Up” at the Axis Theatre (Photo credit: Regina Betancourt) Joel Benjamin, Critic Is Spencer Aste a hardworking actor who sold and used…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:42PM
Sunday, June 11, 2023

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Spring 2023 Season by Joel Benjamin

"Dancing Spirit" was a gentle ballet choreographed by Ronald K. Brown to a suite of music by Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis, Radiohead and War. First one dancer, then two and then the entir…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:52PM
Thursday, June 8, 2023

Ballet Hispánico: Spring 2023 Season by Joel Benjamin

The major work of the evening was “Sor Juana,” choreographed by Michelle Manzanales (“in collaboration with the Company”) and performed to a selection of period music including a com…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:18PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Grey House by Joel Benjamin

Eerie and irritating in equal measure, Levi Holloway’s "Grey House" at the Lyceum Theatre dredges up the classic plot device of many horror films:  strangers stumbling into a den of oddba…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:58AM
Thursday, May 25, 2023

Primary Trust by Joel Benjamin

Eboni Booth’s "Primary Trust" at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Laura Pels Theatre is a genial, gentle tale of a genial, gentle young man and his difficulty negotiating the speed bumps…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:49PM
Sunday, May 21, 2023

Misconceptions by Joel Benjamin

Abortion, pro or con?  The Blessed Unrest theater company has taken on this thorny issue. Steven Wangh’s "Misconceptions"—an ironically perfect title—unfolds in the form of a series o…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:19PM

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