All stories by Joel Benjamin on BroadwayStars

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
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The Baby Monitor by Joel Benjamin

That it involves the relatively new phenomenon of gay parenthood gives it an added impact.  That it is written with a thorough understanding of the complexities of gay parenthood vs. conser…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:46PM
Monday, December 17, 2018

The Cher Show by Joel Benjamin

Elice is no stranger to biographical musicals.  His "Jersey Boys" is still running off-Broadway.  Here he was inspired to divide the eponymous character into three personalities:  the Sta…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:18AM
Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Shadows: A Dance Musical by Joel Benjamin

The flier for "Shadows," subtitled "A Dance Musical," calls it “a Gothic ghost love story,” adding, “It’s Twyla Tharp meets Stephen King.”  If only. "Shadows," written by Randall …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:03PM
Monday, December 3, 2018

Twyla Tharp: Minamalism and Me by Joel Benjamin

Her quietly wry, gently self-deprecating autobiographical lecture demonstration, “Minimalism and Me,” was the first half of a program devoted to her early works. These works more often t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:59PM
Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Life x 3 by Joel Benjamin

"Life X 3" was first seen in 2003 at the Circle in the Square.  This revival is tauter and funnier.  Perhaps this smaller venue refracts the play in a different way, but these four actors …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:00PM
Friday, November 23, 2018

Tom Pain (based on nothing) by Joel Benjamin

Hall is not helped by an over-zealous production that, for some reason, turns the Signature’s Irene Diamond Stage into a construction site, complete with drop cloths, ceiling netting and l…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:39PM
Thursday, November 22, 2018

The New York Pops – Song and Dance:  The Best of Broadway by Joel Benjamin

The New York Theatre Ballet performed the lovely, all-female, “Come to Me, Bend to Me” from that musical, a sweet look at pre-wedding preparations in the ancient village of Brigadoon.  …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:48PM
Tuesday, November 20, 2018

King Kong by Joel Benjamin

Designed by Johnny Tilders, the puppet Kong is phenomenal, a 20-foot tall, 2,000 pound marionette operated by the ten-person King’s Company, members of the cast assigned to operating the a…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:34PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The Little Prince by Joel Benjamin

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s wondrous fairytale, "The Little Prince" ("Le petit prince"), has been filmed as a musical, a cartoon, and a musical cartoon and even occasionally staged live, b…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:53PM
Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Lured by Joel Benjamin

Frank J. Avella’s "Lured" at the Theater for the New City practices a bit of theatrical legerdemain.  Ostensibly about the perils of being gay in today’s Russia, Avella takes an unexpe…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:29PM
Monday, November 12, 2018

The Tenant by Joel Benjamin

Whiteside isn’t exactly misused, but rather underused and under coached.  No one should have laughed when he began his transformation into his female alterego.  Whiteside, used to the br…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:11PM
Monday, November 5, 2018

Prinze: The One-Man Show by Joel Benjamin

Sonera opens the show with Prinze doing one of his sets at the Improv Club in New York City, 1976, beginning with one of his famous lines, “Looking good!” and continuing with his sardoni…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:28PM
Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The Ferryman by Joel Benjamin

Imported from London, with a number of the original cast members, "The Ferryman" takes place in rural County Armagh, in Northern Ireland in 1981, during a rise of violence of the IRA, right …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:57PM
Monday, October 29, 2018

Love, Linda by Joel Benjamin

Elegantly inhabiting the small Triad stage, Holland’s Linda is clearly a class act, with a smooth, rich, dark voice.  Hearing her tale of their days in the twenties cruising the high poin…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:40PM
Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Song of the Mermaid by Joel Benjamin

The K-Arts Dance Company from Korea presented two performances of "Song of the Mermaid," an entertaining full-length ballet choreographed by its artistic director, Sunhee Kim.  Song of the …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:10PM
Monday, October 15, 2018

Salome by Joel Benjamin

This M-34 production, under Rutherford’s direction, doesn’t rise to stratospheric heights.  Quite the opposite:  Rutherford’s direction and writing turns Salome into a fascinating do…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:23PM
Wednesday, October 10, 2018

The Evolution of Mann by Joel Benjamin

Henry’s roommate and confidante, Gwen (a solid, appealing Leslie Hiatt) has her own heartache to deal with:  Her wife, Diana, has left her, accusing Gwen of infidelity.  Gwen and Henry s…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:00AM
Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Experimenting with Katz by Joel Benjamin

Gill expertly writes each character as three dimensional, giving each complex backgrounds, making it clear that each benefits from knowing the others.  A mundane Scrabble game is as reveali…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:01PM
Saturday, September 29, 2018

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: Analogy Trilogy by Joel Benjamin

Jones has become known for applying his wide-ranging choreography and sharp mind to storylines that take on chunks of history—including some shockingly modern history.  He displays his sh…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:55PM
Friday, September 21, 2018

Hurricane Party by Joel Benjamin

The intellectual level of "Hurricane"’s characters may not be as high as George, Martha, Nick and Honey’s.  Nevertheless they reveal their inner psychological turmoil, secret fears, sec…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:49PM
Monday, September 17, 2018

James & Jamesy in the Dark by Joel Benjamin

"James & Jamesy in the Dark" is apparently the product of a long trial and error rehearsal process according to the aforementioned program notes.  The self-involving process, unfortuna…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:08PM
Sunday, September 16, 2018

Me the People: Fire and Fury Edition by Joel Benjamin

You’d need a ten ton truck to haul away all the slings and arrows slung and shot at Donald Trump in "Me the People: Fire & Fury Edition," the red-hot political revue currently on stag…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:20PM
Tuesday, September 11, 2018

beep boop by Joel Benjamin

"beep boop," Richard Saudek’s hour-long sad-sack romp through modern man’s constant love/hate bout with technology, is at HERE, the avant-garde arts center in SoHo. Its deft combination …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:49AM
Saturday, September 8, 2018

The Gospel at Colonus by Joel Benjamin

The complexities of this Greek tragedy are shoe-horned into a Gospel service with songs ranging from the thoughtful (“The Invocation”) to the formal (“Creon Comes to Colonus”) to the…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:50PM
Friday, August 17, 2018

The Sarasota Ballet: Summer 2018 by Joel Benjamin

The Sarasota Ballet, under the direction of Iain Webb, a former leading dancer with the Royal Ballet, has, to the benefit of the dance world, been collecting works by the British master chor…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:55PM
Tuesday, August 7, 2018

This Ain’t No Disco by Joel Benjamin

"This Ain’t No Disco" is a compressed, zany look at the years in the 1970s that Studio 54 ruled the social whirl of New York City, complete with debauchery, drugs, loud music, semi-nudity …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:41PM
Monday, August 6, 2018

MOMIX: 2018 Season by Joel Benjamin

It’s easy to see why MOMIX is one of the most popular dance troupes in the world.  Beauty, strength, ingenuity combine in often ingenious choreography.  A generous program of short works…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:41PM
Thursday, August 2, 2018

My Life on a Diet by Joel Benjamin

Hence:  "My Life on a Diet," a comically rich stroll through her career in TV, theater and film.  Written by Taylor and her late husband, Joseph Bologna and originally directed by Bologna,…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:28AM
Monday, July 30, 2018

Tevye Served Raw by Joel Benjamin

Three actors—Yelena Shmulenson, Allen Lewis Rickman (Velvel in the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man”) and Shane Baker (“the best-loved Episcopalian on the Yiddish stage today”)—ma…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:58AM
Saturday, July 28, 2018

Fiddler on the Roof (The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene) by Joel Benjamin

Steven Skybell’s Tevye warms up from a salt-of-the-earth, everyday philosopher to the much put-upon tragic existential hero upon whom God—to whom he speaks frequently—has heaped much t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:55PM

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