All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Theater Opening This Week Jan 19-22: Joe Iconis, Michael Sheen,  Branden Jacobs-Jenkins by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the listings of theater to see January 19 to 22, which includes a sneak peek at a new musical by Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), two plays by Brian Friel thousands of miles apart, a be…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:01PM

Inauguration Entertainment Schedule. Theater Under Biden Harris: Promises, Pleas and Possibilities. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lady Gaga, Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen and Christopher Jackson will be among the performers providing entertainment before and after the noon-time 59th Presidential Inau…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:05AM
Monday, January 18, 2021

Watch We The People, The Biden Harris Inauguration Concert by Jonathan Mandell

Barbra Streisand, Will.i.am, Cher, Carole King, James Taylor, and Fall Out Boy are among the performers in this hour-long concert streamed Sunday to celebrate Joe Biden’s forthcoming inaug…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:36AM
Sunday, January 17, 2021

Happy 90th Birthday James Earl Jones: May The Force Be With You by Jonathan Mandell

James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi on January 17, 1931….90 years ago today. He is a 20-time Broadway veteran (most recently in “The Gin Game” in 2015) three-time Tony …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:14AM
Saturday, January 16, 2021

Theater Streaming on Martin Luther King Jr Weekend by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the listings of theater to see this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, January 16-18, 2021,  including several new works about African-Americans in addition to the annual rousing MLK…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:27AM
Friday, January 15, 2021

Adrienne Kennedy festival: He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box, Ohio State Murders, Sleep Deprivation Chamber, Etta and Ella by Jonathan Mandell

“Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side,” a world premiere play about the deadly rivalry of two sisters, written by the 89-year-old playwright Adrienne Kennedy, begins the same way as the …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:47PM
Thursday, January 14, 2021

Turning the Page: Lincoln Center Theater Artists Read Their Own Poetry and Prose by Jonathan Mandell

These six theater artists read from the following non-theater writing tonight, part of the new Lincoln Center Theater Spotlight series.: Playwright David Adjmi’s delightful new book Lot Si…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:26PM
Wednesday, January 13, 2021

My famous inoculated mother by Jonathan Mandell

“Muriel Mandell, 99, leaves a New York State COVID-19 vaccination site at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center after receiving her first dose, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in New York. New Y…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:28PM
Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Gov Cuomo announces New York Arts Revival program: Pop-up concerts, grants, site tests by Jonathan Mandell

“We must bring culture and the arts back to life,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in the State of the State address this afternoon in announcing a “New York Arts Revival” initiative that…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:58PM

In the Shubert Archive: Mae West, David Bowie and Gaby Deslys’ dainty feet by Jonathan Mandell

Photos of Josephine Baker in 1936, Carmen Miranda in 1941,  and a bevy of beauties portraying dabs of paint arranged around a huge painter’s palette in 1924;  a costume design for CATS i…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:21AM
Monday, January 11, 2021

Theater Openings This Week: 1st Irish festival. Renee Fleming Week at the Met by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the listings this week of the 13th annual Origin 1st Irish Theater Festival, and an original play for Red Hook on the first  African-American theater company in NYC; a reunion rea…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:49PM

“Political Theater” and the Insurrection. Theater and Survival. January Festivals. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Words matter. Trump’s words clearly incited the storming of the Capitol last week, which reportedly may result in his second impeachment this week. (Some of the hate spouted by the insurre…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:57AM
Sunday, January 10, 2021

Exponential Festival 2021 reviews: Virtual Queerality. A Blueish Fever Dream. ¿comfortidades’ 錢意識? by Jonathan Mandell

Be open-minded, be open-minded: That was my mantra while watching the “split bill” of three experimental videos from this year’s Exponential theater festival. Also: Don’t use dismiss…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:06PM

Theater and Democracy, born together, both now under attack. by Jonathan Mandell

Theater and democracy were born in the same place at the same time – in Athens 2,500 years ago — and that is no coincidence: One led to the other. The creation of theater festivals in th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:19AM
Saturday, January 9, 2021

Times³ (Times x Times x Times) Review: A Sonic Tour of Times Square from Prototype Festival by Jonathan Mandell

This sonic tour of Times Square begins with what sounds like a wave of sonic booms – the clacking machinery of an ancient factory maybe, or an old diesel locomotive…until you realize: Oh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:39PM
Friday, January 8, 2021

Under the Radar 2021 reviews: Capsule, Espiritu, Incoming by Jonathan Mandell

Isolation, dread, disconnection and video: That’s what the first night of the Public Theater’s 17th annual Under the Radar festival offers – and that (surely not coincidentally) is wha…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:17PM
Thursday, January 7, 2021

Michelle Obama on the insurrection: Now is a time for true patriotism by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the statement today that the former First Lady Michelle Obama posted on Twitter after yesterday’s mob takeover of the U.S.Capitol. “I hurt for our country. And I wish I had all …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:38PM
Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Scenes of Sedition: Pro-Trump Mob Storms The Capitol by Jonathan Mandell

“This is not dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.” — Pres…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:34PM

Senator-Elect Raphael Warnock Victory Speech Video and Transcript: Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning by Jonathan Mandell

“In this moment in American history, Washington has a choice to make, we all have a choice to make….Will we seek to destroy one another as enemies or heed the call towards the common goo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:27AM
Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Saving New York Theater: A Political Status Report by Jonathan Mandell

What are the New York City, state and federal governments doing to address the challenges facing theaters in the city? I contacted Guy Yedwab, president of the League of Independent Theater,…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:12AM
Monday, January 4, 2021

Theater Openings This Week: Under the Radar, David Bowie’s Musical by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a selection of theater openings this week, the beginning of a month that is usually jam packed with theater festivals. Two of them are active this time around, both pared down,  bo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:39PM

Ratatouille Racks Up $1 Million for Actors Fund. What’s Next? 2021 At Last! #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Ratatouille the Tick Tock Musical (my review) has raised more than a million dollars in ticket sales for The Actors Fund, the enthusiasm of the audience seeming to match that of its creators…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:48AM
Sunday, January 3, 2021

Theater Blog Roundup: 2020 in Hindsight by Jonathan Mandell

Stars in the House, Sondheim and his 90th birthday concert, Be An #ArtsHero (photo by Howard Sherman), nude body painting in Times Square (ditto), the chance to reinvent the American theater…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:07AM
Saturday, January 2, 2021

Review: Ratatouille The Tik Tok Musical. Many cooks for this flavorful Broadway broth. by Jonathan Mandell

From the first song (“Anyone Can Cook”) to the final line of dialogue (Anton Ego the critic: “I didn’t like this musical…I loved it”), “Ratatouille” traces the journey not ju…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:14AM
Friday, January 1, 2021

Watch All By Myself: Irving Berlin’s Anthem for 1921 and 2021 by Jonathan Mandell

Irving Berlin wrote “All By Myself” in 1921, for “The Music Box Revue” in his then brand new Broadway theater, popularized in the decades to come by Al and Bing and Ethel and Ella. A…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:50PM

Watch New Year’s Eve 2021: The Times Square Ball Drop, Concert For Peace, Natalie Douglas by Jonathan Mandell

Miss New Year’s Eve 2021? Watch it below  — the festivities at Times Square, the annual Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the annual Natalie Douglas New Year’…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:41AM
Thursday, December 31, 2020

Ring IN The Old: Broadway Veterans age 89-106 by Jonathan Mandell

At a time when matters of mortality are taking center stage, let’s ring in the new (and hopefully far better) year by saluting  Broadway veterans who are aged 89 to 106, many of them stil…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:57PM

Watch 20 Stunning Broadway Music Videos from 2020 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are ten stunning music videos put together by Broadway stars, often for a political cause,  some just for kicks (literally.) Then below those:  ten of the most popular videos I poste…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:28AM
Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Memorable New York stage moments I covered for DC Theatre Scene by Jonathan Mandell

Were there magical moments on New York stages in 2020? The question is debatable – just like the definition of “theater” is being debated – since nobody has been performing on any ac…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:32AM

Year-End Theater Quiz: A Look Back at 2020 by Jonathan Mandell

How much do you remember of this unprecedented year in theater?  (How much would anybody want to remember of 2020?) Answer these 20 questions to find out. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:58AM
Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Theater Books of 2020 To Read in 2021 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a list of theater books to read in 2021, most of which were published in 2020.‡ Click on the titles to find more information and to purchase these books, grouped under five categ…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:10AM

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