All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Broadway Fall 2012 Preview by Jonathan Mandell

You can look at the Broadway 2012-2013 season in terms of the movie stars that will be on the stage: Al Pacino and Katie Holmes and Debra Winger — or how about Paul Rudd, Michael Shann…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:46AM
Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Harrison, TX Review: Playwright Horton Foote’s Return by Jonathan Mandell

Those of us smitten two years ago by “The Orphan’s Home Cycle,” the Signature Theater Company’s epic production of nine of Horton Foote’s plays taking place in a small Texas town h…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:22PM
Saturday, August 11, 2012

Are Political Sex Scandals Funny? Tail!Spin! Fringe Review by Jonathan Mandell

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner may wish to reconsider his reported plans to stage a political comeback, thanks to “Tail!Spin!” which eviscerates him and three other politicians at the…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 04:21PM

NY Review: 'Night of the Auk' by Jonathan Mandell

Fringe show "Night of the Auk" is a campy revival of Arch Obler's 1956 drama about mankind's first trip to the moon, originally directed by Sidney Lumet.

SOURCE: Backstage at 04:27AM
Thursday, August 9, 2012

Into The Woods Review: Sondheim At Home In Central Park by Jonathan Mandell

“Shakespeare and Sondheim in the Park,” it says on the new logo used in posters and programs and t-shirts for the Delacorte Theater’s 50th season, and it is a slogan one can happily em…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:55PM
Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Bullet for Adolf Review: Woody Harrelson, Playwright and Friend by Jonathan Mandell

The story behind “Bullet for Adolf,” an aimless comedy co-written and directed by Woody Harrelson that has now opened at New World Stages, surely helps explain why the actor decided in h…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:49PM

Stamina and Stardom: Newsies Dancers Work as One to Seize the Day by Jonathan Mandell

How some fancy footwork (and many stairs) made stars of the Newsies newsboys, including Ryan Steele and Ephraim Sykes

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Bring It On Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

“FDR was a cheerleader….Madonna was a cheerleader…Michael Jordan,” sing the cast of “Bring It On,” a musical based on a movie about two competing high school cheerleading squads,…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:01PM
Tuesday, July 31, 2012

NY Review: 'Tin Bucket Drum' by Jonathan Mandell

"Tin Bucket Drum," the Imbewu Trust's South African fable of a girl born with rhythm who challenges a police state, is told lyrically by Mpume Mthombeni.

SOURCE: Backstage at 01:20AM
Monday, July 23, 2012

Dogfight Review: Deliberately Cruel, Sweetly Nostalgic by Jonathan Mandell

“He was young, abstract, and therefore cruel,” Dostoevsky writes of a character in Crime and Punishment. “Some things are not forgivable: Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable,” Blanc…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:32PM
Monday, July 16, 2012

NY Review: 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' by Jonathan Mandell

The Drilling Company's crowd-pleasing production of Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is played as a gentrification battle on the Lower East Side.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:48AM
Saturday, July 14, 2012

NY Review: 'Probation' by Jonathan Mandell

In playwright-director Yoshvani Medina's "Probation," at Repertorio Español, first-rate acting rescues a half-baked plot about Cuban immigration to America.

SOURCE: Backstage at 04:43AM
Thursday, July 12, 2012

NY Review: 'Rio' by Jonathan Mandell

"Rio," at NYMF, a tuneful musical with a propulsive beat that sets the story of "Oliver Twist" in the slums of Brazil, is undermined by errant stagecraft.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:02AM
Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Stellaaaaa! Streetcar's Daphne Rubin-Vega Relishes Wounded and Resilient Characters by Jonathan Mandell

Daphne Rubin-Vega made an iconic Broadway debut in Rent. She's back in another famous role in the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire — and there are more classic characters on her…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, June 24, 2012

NY Review: 'Motel Cherry' by Jonathan Mandell

Peggy Stafford's "Motel Cherry," from Clubbed Thumb and New Georges and part of Summerworks 2012, mixes "Grand Hotel" with halfhearted fairy tales.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:30AM
Thursday, June 21, 2012

As You Like It: Shakespeare, Steve Martin, 50 Years at the Delacorte by Jonathan Mandell

The Central Park production of “As You Like It,” starring the luminous cross-dressing Lily Rabe, astonishing double dukes Andre Braugher, outrageous jester Oliver Platt, is not t…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:27PM

Harvey Review: Jim Parsons vs. Jimmy Stewart by Jonathan Mandell

What many theatergoers know and don’t love about “Harvey” is that this comedy about a 6’3 1/2” invisible rabbit won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945, beating out Tennessee Will…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 02:52PM
Tuesday, June 19, 2012

NY Review: 'This Is Fiction' by Jonathan Mandell

Megan Hart's first full-length play about a writer's first novel is too sketchy, and isn't saved by strong performances from Richard Masur and Michelle David.

SOURCE: Backstage at 03:15AM
Monday, June 18, 2012

Uncle Vanya Review: An Intimate Chekhov at Soho Rep by Jonathan Mandell

When Annie Baker, playwright of the exquisite “Circle Mirror Transformation” and her frequent collaborator, super-star director Sam Gold (“Seminar,” “Look Back …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 12:37PM
Monday, June 11, 2012

NY Review: 'Luther' by Jonathan Mandell

Ethan Lipton's enigmatic send-up of urban life, "Luther," in Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks festival, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, needs more decisiveness.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:30AM
Friday, June 8, 2012

2012 Tony Award Winners by Jonathan Mandell

Winners of the 66th annual Tony Awards for the best of Broadway will be announced on Sunday night, June 10th. Winners will have asterisks in the list of nominees below. The links are to my r…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 04:59PM
Sunday, June 3, 2012

2012 Drama Desk Awards: Once, Tribes, Follies, Audra McDonald, etc by Jonathan Mandell

Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway competed in the 57th annual Drama Desk Awards. The winners are in boldface with an asterisk. OUTSTANDING PLAY David Henry Hwang, Chinglish Dan LeFranc…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:38PM
Saturday, June 2, 2012

NY Review: 'When Clowns Play Hamlet' by Jonathan Mandell

This La MaMa revival of H.M. Koutoukas' odd tale of three clowns menaced by a panther-baboon is surreal and often soporific yet redeemed by its language.

SOURCE: Backstage at 02:38AM
Tuesday, May 29, 2012

NY Review: 'TAKARAZUKA!!!' by Jonathan Mandell

Wonderful performances enhance this eerie stew of a story cooked up around fascinating real-life Japanese theater and school of male impersonators Takarazuka.

SOURCE: Backstage at 02:37AM
Sunday, May 27, 2012

NY Review: 'Playing with Fire' by Jonathan Mandell

This minor August Strindberg comedy about a love triangle is adapted for an all-black cast and set on Martha's Vineyard in the 1920s.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:41AM
Saturday, May 26, 2012

Contradictions and Cold War: John Lithgow Plays the Complex Columnist by Jonathan Mandell

Political columnist Joseph Alsop, a New Deal liberal and a Cold War hawk, is embodied by Tony Award winner John Lithgow in a new Broadway play.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Saturday, May 12, 2012

Hollywood Movie to Broadway Musical: Past, Present and Future by Jonathan Mandell

Would the movie Forrest Gump make a great musical, or must this never happen? How good a Broadway musical could be made from the movies Mean Girls or Moulin Rouge? Clue or Clueless? Those ar…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:26AM
Tuesday, May 8, 2012

2012 Theatre World Awards for Debuts by Jonathan Mandell

The 2012 Theatre World Awards for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway debut performances during the 2011-2012 theatrical season are: Tracie Bennett (End of the Rainbow) Phillip Boykin (The …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:07PM
Sunday, May 6, 2012

2012 Lucille Lortel Awards for Off-Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

The Lucille Lortel Awards represent the best on Off-Broadway, chosen from 91 eligible shows (50 new plays, 17 musicals, 24 revivals).Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2012 Luc…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:42PM
Friday, May 4, 2012

Snubbed By The Tonys, And By Life by Jonathan Mandell

In a word cloud for articles about the Tony Award nominations, which were announced on Tuesday, the word “snub” would be just about as big as “Broadway” or “Hugh Jackman.” Annual…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 02:56AM
Tuesday, May 1, 2012

2012 Tony Awards Nominations by Jonathan Mandell

The nominees for the 66th Annual Tony Awards have been selected in the 22 competitive categories. There are also four special Tony categories. The 2012 nominees are: Best Play Clybourne Park…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:42AM

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