All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Theater Camp: 10 moments that will have theater kids nodding in recognition by Jonathan Mandell

In “Theater Camp,” Ben Platt and Mary Gordon as camp counselors Amos and Rebecca-Diane confront a 12-year-old camper who’s just delivered an intense emotional performance during a rehe…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:05PM
Saturday, July 1, 2023

July 2023 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a selection of New York theater opening* in July, presented in a day-by-day calendar, including two Broadway shows,  David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s “Here Lies Love” arguably…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:58PM
Thursday, June 29, 2023

Theater Quiz for June 2023: Post-Tony Edition by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to theater news this past month? Answer these ten questions to find out. Plus: An impossibly challenging bonus question. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:39PM
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park Review by Jonathan Mandell

It’s evident as soon as John Douglas Thompson opens his mouth as King Claudius that director Kenny Leon’s production of “Hamlet,” running for free at the Delacorte Theater in Centra…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:24PM

Watch George Salazar Sing from New Joe Iconis Musical by Jonathan Mandell

George Salazar, who sang the show-stopper “Michael in the Bathroom” in “Be More Chill” on Broadway, was one of more than two dozen performers to join the Tony-nominated composer of �…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:20AM
Tuesday, June 27, 2023

New Theater Books for Summer Reading by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a manageable list of theater books — recently published or soon to be– that look to be good summer reads. These are mostly memoirs and biographies of fascinating playwrights and…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:30AM
Monday, June 26, 2023

Just for Us Review. Using Jewish humor with Antisemites by Jonathan Mandell

When I first saw Yeshiva-educated stand-up comic Alex Edelman’s solo show about his attendance at a meeting of white supremacist antisemites, it didn’t occur to me to compare him to Dani…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:12PM

Broadway Summer Surge. Mormon’s Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad Reunite. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Three Broadway plays are closing next Sunday, July 2: Fat HamPrima FacieThe Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window  – and four more Broadway shows are closing during the summer: Life of Pi an…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:43AM
Saturday, June 24, 2023

Happy Pride: LGBTQ characters in 8 current Broadway shows by Jonathan Mandell

Below is an alphabetical listing of the 8 Broadway plays or musicals currently running (two of them only until next week!) that feature LGBTQ+ characters — some centrally, some peripherall…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:09AM
Friday, June 23, 2023

Sheldon Harnick (April 30, 1924 – June 23, 2023) by Jonathan Mandell

Sheldon Harnick, who died this morning at the age of 99, was a lyricist best-known for “Fiddler on the Roof,” but it was just one of the musicals he wrote with Jerry Bock. In the first v…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:53PM
Thursday, June 22, 2023

Once Upon a One More Time Review. A Britney Spears musical without Britney Spears by Jonathan Mandell

One more time indeed!  Like “& Juliet,” this jukebox musical features songs made popular by Britney Spears; like “Bad Cinderella,”  its central character is a rebellious vers…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:54PM
Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Broadway in Bryant Park in July: Back to the Future, Disney, Wicked… by Jonathan Mandell

Broadway in Bryant Park, the free weekly lunchtime concerts performed by the casts from current Broadway shows, has announced its schedule for Thursdays in July. Below the schedule are vide…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:12PM
Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Eisenhower Review. John Rubinstein as Affable Ike by Jonathan Mandell

John Rubinstein, a Tony-winning theater veteran who made his Broadway debut 51 years ago originating the role of Pippin, a cheerful curly-haired young prince looking forward to a life of adv…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:57PM

Mike Daisey on how theater fails America still. New Season Announcements. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Fifteen years after Mike Daisey created a show called “How Theater Failed America” he provides a blunt update in the essay below: Nothing has changed and, after COVID, former theatergoer…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:28AM
Monday, June 19, 2023

Watch Juneteenth on Broadway: Celebration and Contemplation by Jonathan Mandell

“Raisin in the Sun” was the first play that Kenny Leon directed on Broadway and it offered plenty of parallels with his own childhood in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was met with ho…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:15PM
Sunday, June 18, 2023

Fathers on Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

There have been no shortage of fathers on Broadway.  “Life with Father,” Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s adaptation of the stories by Clarence Day Jr., which ran from 1939 to 194…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:51AM
Saturday, June 17, 2023

The Doctor Review: Antisemitism, Abortion, but mostly Identity Politics by Jonathan Mandell

The dramatic incident that propels “The Doctor” is clear: A Jewish physician refuses to allow a Catholic priest to administer last rites to a 14-year-old girl who is dying from sepsis af…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:31PM
Friday, June 16, 2023

Watch The World Celebrate Bloomsday 2023 by Jonathan Mandell

Watch the short video below of the world celebrating Bloomsday once again today, June 16th — the (very long) day in 1904 that James Joyce’s novel Ulysses chronicles in the life of the …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:59PM
Thursday, June 15, 2023

Days of Wine and Roses Review. Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James as alcoholics by Jonathan Mandell

The breathtaking performances by Brian d’Arcy James and Kelli O’Hara in “The Days of Wine and Roses” are enough justification for this stage adaptation of the sad, dark story about a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:37AM
Wednesday, June 14, 2023

World Trade Center’s PAC NYC Announces Inaugural Season by Jonathan Mandell

More than two decades in the making, PAC NYC, the performing arts center at the World Trade Center site, which will have an official ribbon-cutting September 13, today announced its inaugura…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:59PM
Tuesday, June 13, 2023

The 11 Tony winners of 2023 you can still see — 4 of them, be quick! by Jonathan Mandell

You saw the musical numbers on the Tonys Sunday and thought: That looks great, maybe I should get a ticket. But what of the straight plays that (as usual) didn’t get showcased? That’s wh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:23PM
Monday, June 12, 2023

The Tonys and Trauma. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

The 76th annual Tony Awards, which crowned Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt as best play and Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori as best musical (complete list of winner…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:02PM

Watch the Tony Award 2023 musical numbers by Jonathan Mandell

Below are videos of the thirteen musical numbers presented at the 76th annual Tony Awards Opening number Best musical: Kimberly Akimbo Best musical revival Parade Best musical nominees &…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:17AM
Sunday, June 11, 2023

2023 Tony Award winners by Jonathan Mandell

The 76th annual Tony Award winners (with a check mark ✔️): (Here’s a guide to the full 2022-2023 Broadway season, including those not nominated)(Here is the list of the nominees I (and…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:39PM

Tony Night Cheat Sheet: How to Watch the 2023 Tony Awards, and Why by Jonathan Mandell

How to watchThe 76th annual Tony Awards will be presented tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET, live in person at the United Palace in Washington Heights, and simultaneously broadcast and/or…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:30PM
Saturday, June 10, 2023

Watch Jodie Comer, Jessica Chastain and the Mandy Patinkin Show at the 2023 Drama Desk Awards by Jonathan Mandell

“You’re all very in touch with your emotions here,” the very British Jonathan Sayer said wryly after listening to some of the acceptance speeches at the 67th annual Drama Desk Awards a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:37AM
Friday, June 9, 2023

2023 Tony Awards: Who SHOULD Win, and Why by Jonathan Mandell

Below are my preferences – not predictions – for the 2023 Tony Awards, in keeping with a tradition I’ve been maintaining for more than a decade. I am a critic, not a seer or a bookie. …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:15AM
Thursday, June 8, 2023

Brian Stokes Mitchell to Theatre World Award: Make them hear you! by Jonathan Mandell

“We are not professional liars; we are professional pretenders,” Brian Stokes Mitchell  began what was supposed to be  an acceptance speech for his John Willis Award for Lifetime Ach…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:26PM
Wednesday, June 7, 2023

The Shylock and the Shakespeareans Review by Jonathan Mandell

Is “The Merchant of Venice” antisemitic? Was Shakespeare?  “The Shylock and the Shakespeareans,” playwright and director Edward Einhorn’s retelling of the Bard’s long-controver…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:34PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Wet Brain Review. A family dysfunctional, and also extraterrestrial? by Jonathan Mandell

Joe’s three messed-up adult children long have known Joe to be an alcoholic, an addict and a horrid father. But they didn’t realize he was an alien from Outer Space. They learn this – …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:52PM
Monday, June 5, 2023

The Comeuppance Review: Death at a high school reunion by Jonathan Mandell

“The Comeuppance” both begins and ends with Death.  Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ dark, smart play features Death as a character, hanging out with five former classmates during the night o…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:55PM

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