All stories by John Semley on BroadwayStars

01020304050607080910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 202620252024202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000

OLDER >>

Friday, December 29, 2017

An improv skeptic’s serious misgivings on truth in comedy by John Semley

The rise of improv comedy means the joke is most certainly on us all

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 02:30PM

Friday, January 27, 2017

How ventriloquist Jeff Dunham wedged himself into mainstream culture by John Semley

The arena-selling American ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has crafted a profitable shtick making slighty edgy, off-colour jokes – with puppets

SOURCE: The Globe and Mail at 03:23PM

OLDER >>

Recommended  |  viewed  |  Tags

Carey Purcell: Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney Can’t Resist a Doomed Love Story

Logan Culwell-Block: The Tony Awards Are Back at Radio City Music Hall in 2026

Brent Lang: Tony Awards Winners 2025 (Updating Live)

Andrew Gans: Performances Tony Awards 2025: Watch the Broadway Numbers Here

Rachel Sherman: Tony Award Winners 2025: Updating List

Eugene Sun: Bring a Towel: Jonathan Groff’s Getting You Wet Again

Michael Schulman: Patti LuPone Is Done with Broadway—and Almost Everything Else

Margaret Hall: Video: Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda's Ham4Ham With Floyd Collins, Death Becomes Her, Dead Outlaw, More

Meg Masseron: SpotCo Founder Drew Hodges Returns to Agency as Executive Creative Consultant

Meg Masseron: Disney Launches Online Program to Expand Musical Theatre Access in Schools Across U.S.

Chris Wiegand: Oh what a circus! The Greatest Showman hits the stage as a high-flying, hammer-juggling, banger-filled spectacular

Sophia Rubino: Cats: The Jellicle Ball Opens on Broadway with Star-Studded Red Carpet

Meg Masseron: Reviews: What Do the Critics Think of Broadway's Death of a Salesman Starring Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and Christopher Abbott?

Diep Tran: Adrien Brody's Grandfather Once Got Fired From a Broadway Musical. Now Brody's Making His Broadway Debut

Mark Fisher: Kiss of the Spider Woman review – Hollywood high kicks into a slick musical revival

BroadwayWorld: Review Roundup: DEATH OF A SALESMAN Starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf

Sophia Rubino: Tony Awards Administration Committee Determines Eligibility for Giant, Every Brilliant Thing & Dog Day Afternoon

BroadwayWorld: Review Roundup: CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL Opens On Broadway

BroadwayWorld: Photos: Inside Opening Night of 1776 at Paper Mill Playhouse

Suzanna Bowling: Joel Gray at 94: The Master of Reinvention Still Holds the Stage

Show: Company (3)

Show: John Proctor Is the Villain (2)

Show: Becky Shaw (2)

Show: Death of a Salesman (2)

Show: Titanic (2)

Show: Titanique (2)

Show: Art (2)

Show: Chaplin (1)

Show: The Audience (1)

Show: Back to the Future (1)

Show: Wanted (1)

Show: Choir Boy (1)

Show: Suffs (1)

Show: Sylvia (1)

Show: Cats (1)

Show: Ann (1)

AUTHORS  |  SITES  

• Adam Feldman
• Adam Hetrick
• Adam Szymkowicz
• Alan Henry
• Alexis Soloski
• Andrew Gans
• Barbara Hoffman
• Ben Brantley
• Beth Stevens
• Bob Cashill
• Brian Scott Lipton
• Caitlin Huston
• Cara Joy David
• Carey Purcell
• Caryn Robbins
• Chad Jones
• Charles Isherwood
• Charles McNulty
• Chris Jones
• Corine Cohen
• Dan Rubins
• Darryl Reilly
• David Cote
• David Dow Bentley III
• David Finkle
• David Gewirtzman
• David Lefkowitz
• David Roberts
• David Rooney
• Deirdre Donovan
• Diep Tran
• Dmitry Zvonkov
• Elisabeth Vincentelli
• Ellis Nassour
• Elysa Gardner
• Elyse Sommer
• Frank Rich
• Frank Rizzo
• Gordon Cox
• Henrik Eger
• Jacob Horn
• James Marino
• Jan Simpson
• Jason Zinoman
• Jeff Lunden
• Jeremy Gerard
• Jesse Oxfeld
• JN Benjamin
• Joe Dziemianowicz
• John Simon
• Jonathan Mandell
• Jordan G. Teicher
• Joseph Cervelli
• Joseph Marzullo
• Josh Ferri
• Justin Chang
• Kathryn Osenlund
• Kathy Henderson
• Ken Davenport
• Ken Levine
• Kenneth Jones
• Laura Axelrod
• Lauren Class Schneider
• Lawrence Bommer
• Lee Seymour
• Leonard Jacobs
• Linda Holt
• Linda Winer
• Lindsay Barenz
• Lisa Kennedy
• Lizzie Loveridge
• Logan Culwell-Block
• Louisa Brady
• Marc Hershberg
• Marcus Crowder
• Margaret Hall
• Mark A. Robinson
• Mark Kennedy
• Mark Robinson
• Mark Shenton
• Mark Swed
• Matt Wolf
• Matthew Blank
• Matthew Murray
• Matthew Wexler
• Melissa Rose Bernardo
• Mia Bonadonna
• Michael Billington
• Michael Dale
• Michael Gioia
• Michael Paulson
• Michael Portantiere
• Michael Riedel
• Michael Roberts
• Michael Sommers
• Milo Shapiro
• Nathan Skethway
• Nicole Rosky
• Nicole Serratore
• Olivia Clement
• Oscar E. Moore
• Pat Cerasaro
• Patrick Healy
• Patrick Hinds
• Paul Wontorek
• Paulanne Simmons
• Penny Landau
• Peter Filichia
• Peter Marks
• Philip Boroff
• Raven Snook
• Richard Ouzounian
• Richard Sasanow
• Richard Seff
• Rob Lester
• Rob Weinert-Kendt
• Robbie Rozelle
• Robert Cashill
• Robert Diamond
• Robert Johnson
• Robert Kahn
• Robert Simonson
• Robert Viagas
• Robin Pogrebin
• Roger Armbrust
• Roger Friedman
• Ron Fassler
• Ronni Reich
• Ruthie Fierberg
• Ryan McPhee
• Sam Thielman
• Samantha Nelson
• Scott Feinberg
• Scott Walters
• Scotty Zacher
• Simon Saltzman
• Steven Suskin
• Susan Davidson
• Susan Grace
• Suzy Evans
• Ted Shen
• Terry Teachout
• Tom Chaits
• Tom Mizer
• Tony Frankel
• Victor Gluck
• Vinnie Costa
• Walter McBride

• American Theatre
• Arts Sarasota
• ArtsJournal
• Associated Press
• Backstage
• Broad Street Review
• Broadway Adjacent
• Broadway Journal
• Broadway News
• Broadway.com
• BroadwayAudience.com
• BroadwayBlack
• BroadwayBox
• BroadwayRadio
• BroadwayShowBiz
• BroadwayWorld
• Chad Jones' Theater Dogs
• Chicago Sun-Times
• Chicago Tribune
• Cititour.com
• Clyde Fitch Report
• CurtainUp
• DC Metro Theater Arts
• DC Theatre Scene
• Deadline
• Denver Post
• Did They Like It
• Entertainment Weekly
• Forbes
• Forward
• Gold Derby
• Grace Notes
• Hartford Courant
• HowlRound
• Huffington Post
• itsdlevy
• Kritzerland
• London Theatre Direct
• Los Angeles Times
• Masterworks Broadway
• Maxamoo
• Mildly Bitter's Musings
• Music Theatre International
• National Public Radio
• New York Daily News
• New York Magazine
• New York Stage Review
• New York Theater
• Newsday
• NewYork.com
• NiteLifeExchange
• NJ.com
• NorthJersey.com
• Phindie
• Playbill
• Popdose
• Reuters
• San Francisco Chronicle
• ShowBiz 411
• ShowTickets.com
• Slant Magazine
• Stage and Cinema
• Talk Entertainment
• TalkinBroadway
• Tams-Witmark
• TDF
• The Front Row Center
• The Guardian
• The Hollywood Reporter
• The Interval
• The New York Observer
• The New York Post
• The New York Times
• The New Yorker
• The Sacramento Bee
• The Seattle Times
• The Stage
• The Theatre Times
• The Wall Street Journal
• Theater Pizzazz
• theaterlife
• TheaterMania
• TheaterScene.net
• Theatre Reviews Limited
• Theatre.com
• Theatrely
• TheatreNerds
• Time Out
• Tony Awards
• Toronto Star
• TotalTheater
• Variety
• Washington Post
• WNYC
• YouTube

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE

All the Drama: “Seascape”, 1975 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Special Episode: Lauren Molina on Asolo Rep’s actor-musician ‘Fiddler’

Review Recap: ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’; Grosses Report

Review Recap: ‘Becky Shaw’ original Broadway production

Last Week on Broadway: Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Special Episode: McCracken and Leary on the science and catharsis in ‘Heartbreak Hotel’

Special Episode: Jen Schriever on lighting the supernatural world of ‘The Lost Boys’

This Week on Broadway for April 5, 2026: Dog Day Afternoon

Class Notes: Matt Manuel in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”

Class Notes: Rachel Chavkin, Director of My Joy is Heavy

MORE...

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON

Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54

Aug 14, 2025: Mamma Mia - Winter Garden Theatre

Aug 18, 2025: Jeff Ross: Take A Banana For The Ride - Nederlander Theatre

Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre

Sep 28, 2025: Waiting For Godot - Hudson Theatre

Sep 29, 2025: Punch - Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre

Oct 16, 2025: Ragtime - Vivian Beaumont Theater

Oct 28, 2025: Liberation - James Earl Jones Theatre

Oct 30, 2025: Little Bear Ridge Road - Booth Theatre

Nov 09, 2025: The Queen of Versailles - St. James Theatre

Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54

Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre

Nov 20, 2025: Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) - Longacre Theatre

Dec 08, 2025: Marjorie Prime - Hayes Theater

Jan 08, 2026: Bug - Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Mar 12, 2026: Every Brilliant Thing - Hudson Theatre

Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre

Mar 30, 2026: Dog Day Afternoon - August Wilson Theatre

Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater

Apr 07, 2026: Cats: The Jellicle Ball - Broadhurst Theatre

Apr 09, 2026: Death of a Salesman - Winter Garden Theatre

Apr 12, 2026: Titanique - St. James Theatre

Apr 15, 2026: The Fear of 13 - James Earl Jones Theatre

Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre

Apr 19, 2026: Fallen Angels - Todd Haimes Theatre

Apr 20, 2026: Schmigadoon! - Nederlander Theatre

Apr 21, 2026: The Balusters - Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Apr 22, 2026: Beaches A New Musical - Majestic Theatre

Apr 23, 2026: The Rocky Horror Show - Studio 54

Apr 25, 2026: Joe Turner's Come and Gone - Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Apr 26, 2026: The Lost Boys - Palace Theatre

Apr 26, 2026: 2025-2026 Tony Awards Eligibility Cut-Off

Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off

Apr 29, 2026: Drama Desk Nominations

May 05, 2026: 2025-2026 Tony Awards Nominations Announced

May 17, 2026: The 70th Drama Desk Awards - The Town Hall

Jun 02, 2026: The Theatre World Awards

Jun 07, 2026: 79th Annual Tony Awards - Radio City Music Hall

Aladdin

& Juliet

Becky Shaw

The Book of Mormon

Buena Vista Social Club

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Chess

Chicago

Death Becomes Her

Death of a Salesman

Dog Day Afternoon

Every Brilliant Thing

The Fear of 13

Giant

The Great Gatsby

Hadestown

Hamilton

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Just in Time

The Lion King

Maybe Happy Ending

MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Operation Mincemeat

The Outsiders

Proof

Ragtime

Schmigadoon!

Six

Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Titanique

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Wicked

Aladdin

& Juliet

Becky Shaw

The Book of Mormon

Buena Vista Social Club

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Chess

Chicago

Death Becomes Her

What's Playing On Broadway