All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

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

NY Review: 'Up to You' by Jonathan Mandell

A large cast of kids gives impressive performances in “Up to You,” a musical from Tada! Youth Theater that insufficiently dramatizes its theme of bullying.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:23AM
Monday, April 30, 2012

NY Review: 'Obama in Naples' by Jonathan Mandell

The people of Italy see America's 44th president as their potential savior in Claudio Angelini's incoherent and unfunny would-be satire "Obama in Naples."

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:27AM
Saturday, April 28, 2012

2012 Tony Award Nominations Wish List by Jonathan Mandell

Below is what I would want to see nominated for Tony Awards in a few of the 26 categories. This is not my prediction of what the Tony nominating committee will actually announce Tuesday morn…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:11PM
Friday, April 27, 2012

2012 Drama Desk Award Nominations by Jonathan Mandell

Here are the nominations for the 2012 Drama Desk Awards: OUTSTANDING PLAY David Henry Hwang, Chinglish Dan LeFranc, The Big Meal Members of the Plastic Theatre, Unnatural Acts Itamar Moses, …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 10:05AM
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Don’t Dress for Dinner Review by Jonathan Mandell

Timing is everything in farce, but it isn’t the fault of the people behind “Don’t Dress For Dinner,” that it has the bad timing to be arriving at the very end of the Broadway season …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:38PM

Leap of Faith Review: Unbelievable on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

“Leap of the Faith” is the latest of three Broadway musicals with Alan Menken’s songs; one of five shows featuring religion; one of seven that were originally movies, and one of countl…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:10PM
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Columnist Review: Joe Alsop, Journalism’s Original Dinosaur by Jonathan Mandell

He was one of the nation’s most influential newspaper columnists for decades, a cousin of Eleanor Roosevelt, close friends with President Kennedy and even closer with Jackie. But Joseph Al…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:41PM

2012 Off Broadway Alliance Award Nominations by Jonathan Mandell

Nominees in six categories have been announced for the 2nd Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards. The Off Broadway Alliance is an organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general mana…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:51AM
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Nice Work If You Can Get It Review: Gershwin Good, Broderick Bad by Jonathan Mandell

Given the talent assembled to fashion a new musical out of 21 of George and Ira Gershwin’s durably tuneful and witty songs, it should come as no surprise how entertaining “Nice Work If Y…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:41PM

2011-2012 Drama League Awards Nominations by Jonathan Mandell

The Drama League Awards bills itself as the oldest theatrical honors in America. They are also widely viewed as the least significant — chosen by audience members who have paid to beco…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:37AM
Monday, April 23, 2012

Ghost The Musical Review by Jonathan Mandell

Ghost grossed half a billion dollars and won an Academy Award for Whoopi Goldberg and for its screenplay, so perhaps it was inevitable the 1990 film would eventually be made into a musical. …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:30PM

The Lyons Review: Linda Lavin, Broader on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

Linda Lavin, twice divorced, thrice-married, five times Tony-nominated (one of which she won), nine years as the star of the sitcom Alice, is at age 74 performing her 16th role on Broadway i…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 07:30PM

Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations 2011-12 by Jonathan Mandell

The Outer Critics Circle announced the first of this year’s New York theater award nominations. The winners will be announced May 24th at Sardi’s. OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAY T…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 12:04PM
Sunday, April 22, 2012

A Streetcar Named Desire Review: On Broadway With A Black Blanche, Blair Underwood by Jonathan Mandell

Tennessee William long wanted to see “A Streetcar Named Desire” cast with African-American actors, according to the director who now has brought a multi-racial production to Broadway:

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:30PM
Thursday, April 19, 2012

Clybourne Park Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

The most breathtaking of the ironies connected to “Clybourne Park” is not one playwright Bruce Norris presents in the comedy itself, which is a clever update of “A Raisin in the Sun…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:33PM
Wednesday, April 18, 2012

One Man, Two Guvnors Reviewn by Jonathan Mandell

“One Man, Two Guvnors” asks us some tough questions: Is it funny to see an old waiter repeatedly knocked down a flight of stairs? A fat man eat an envelope? A member of the audience humi…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:34PM
Monday, April 16, 2012

What’s on Broadway 2012 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the shows currently on Broadway or about to open. To see a schedule of the new Spring shows and read reviews of those that have opened, see Broadway’s April Avalanche. ANYTHI…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 02:05PM
Sunday, April 15, 2012

Peter and the Starcatcher Review: Better on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

The story of “Peter and the Starcatcher” is improbable enough – a sprawling adventure involving orphans and pirates, mermaids and deadly mollusks that has landed on Broadway with inven…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:27PM
Friday, April 13, 2012

Evita Review: Ricky Martin as Broadway Weatherman by Jonathan Mandell

Six decades after her death, three decades after her canonization on Broadway, Evita is back, as immense as a Cathedral, as intimidating as a fascist rally. A sing-through opera as popular a…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 05:31PM
Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Magic/Bird Review: Basketball Without The Basketball by Jonathan Mandell

The most powerful moment for me in “Magic/Bird,” a play about the rivalry and then friendship between basketball stars Magic Earvin Johnson and Larry Bird, occurs after Johnson announces…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:45PM
Monday, April 9, 2012

Broadway’s April Avalanche: 14 Play and Musical Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Which Broadway show are you must looking forward to? Take the poll So many plays and musicals are opening from now through April 26th that it is hard to keep up. Here are my reviews of what …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:30PM
Thursday, April 5, 2012

End of the Rainbow Review: Judy Garland’s Last Days by Jonathan Mandell

It is not until the very end of “End of the Rainbow,” after Judy Garland’s pianist tells us how she died from an overdose, that we feel free to be entertained: Tracie Bennett comes bac…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:29AM
Monday, April 2, 2012

A LETTER FROM LOUISVILLE: An Overview of The Humana Festival of New American Plays, Where Voices Bloom Every Spring by Jonathan Mandell

A report about the new works by Greg Kotis, Lisa Kron, Courtney Baron, Lucas Hnath and more, echoing from the 2012 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

SOURCE: Playbill at 06:18PM
Sunday, April 1, 2012

Gore Vidal’s The Best Man Review: 2012 Campaign…in 1960 by Jonathan Mandell

With its talk of sex in the White House and God on the campaign stump, “The Best Man,” which debuted in 1960, long has seemed prophetic. But the references to the 2012 campaign are downr…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:30PM
Thursday, March 29, 2012

Newsies Review: How The Other Half Dances by Jonathan Mandell

Wider than the gap between the one percent and the 99 percent, or between labor and management, is the one between those who grew up adoring the film “Newsies” and those who found it unw…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:35PM

Jesus Christ Superstar Review: Bright Lights and Hotpants by Jonathan Mandell

When “Jesus Christ Superstar” opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theater in 1971, the concept album had already sold two and a half million copies. So, while protesters pic…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 01:31AM
Sunday, March 25, 2012

NY Review: 'Urban Odyssey' by Jonathan Mandell

Using striking puppetry, dance, video, and Elizabeth Swados' lovely score, Federico Restrepo and his Loco7 troupe present the American immigrant experience.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:44AM
Thursday, March 22, 2012

Mad Men vs. Salesman: Death of A Salesman Review by Jonathan Mandell

Willy Loman is something no American wants to be – average. It is something his wife recognizes about him: “A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man,” Linda tells their two …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 09:39AM
Sunday, March 18, 2012

“Once” Review: Falling Slowly on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

They meet on a Dublin street, he a street musician about to abandon his guitar, she a Czech pianist without a piano. In “Once” the Broadway musical, as in “Once” the small hit film, …

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 08:42PM
Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Agony and The Ecstasy of Mike Daisey’s Deceit: Theater vs. Journalism? by Jonathan Mandell

“The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” Mike Daisey’s well-reviewed monologue currently at the Public Theater, is the subject of an expose in This American Life, the radio program t…

SOURCE: The Faster Times at 11:02AM

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