All stories by Naveen Kumar on BroadwayStars

Thursday, June 13, 2024

‘How Long Blues’ Review: Twyla Tharp in Overdrive at Little Island by Naveen Kumar

Her frenetic new dance-theater work, which opens a new festival at the new park on the Hudson, includes references to Camus and music by T Bone Burnett.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:02PM
Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Review: For ‘Molly Sweeney,’ Not Seeing Was Never the Obstacle by Naveen Kumar

The Irish Rep ends its season-long Brian Friel survey with the story of a blind woman who undergoes an operation to try to restore her sight.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:54PM
Thursday, May 23, 2024

When scenic designers transform entire theaters by Naveen Kumar

Tony Award nominees David Korins and Tom Scutt delve into their processes of designing and remodeling Broadway houses to tell the stories of musicals “Here Lies Love” and “Cabaret,” …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:19AM
Friday, May 17, 2024

What it means for dots to be a design collective working on Broadway by Naveen Kumar

Tony Award-nominated dots reveals their process and how working as a team resulted in the designs for “Appropriate” and “An Enemy of the People.”

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:22AM
Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Review: A Text-to-Speech Meet-Cute in ‘All of Me’ by Naveen Kumar

Laura Winters’s romantic comedy pays careful attention to the dynamics of living with disabilities.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:36PM
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Abe Koogler’s Ominous ‘Staff Meal’ Has Something for Everyone. by Naveen Kumar

Restaurant patrons and staff members are oblivious to the impending apocalypse in Abe Koogler’s new show at Playwrights Horizons.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:42PM
Saturday, April 20, 2024

‘Stereophonic’ Review: Hitmakers Rendered in Sublime Detail by Naveen Kumar

In David Adjmi’s new play, with songs by Will Butler, a ’70s band’s success breeds tension, and punches up the volume on Broadway.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:24AM
Thursday, April 18, 2024

‘Gun & Powder’ Review: Twin Vigilantes Stake Claim to the American West by Naveen Kumar

The musical traces the story of Black twin sisters who pass as white, and exact their own form of justice for the crime of slavery, in the 19th-century Texas.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:54PM
Thursday, April 4, 2024

‘Travels’ Review: A Sonic Flight From Heartbreak by Naveen Kumar

In his new show, James Harrison Monaco blends storytelling and electronic beats in service of curiosity and escape.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:42PM
Thursday, March 21, 2024

‘Like They Do in the Movies’ Review: Laurence Fishburne Widens His Lens by Naveen Kumar

In his solo show, the screen and stage star shines a light into his formative dark corners and on the people who made an impression.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:18PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2024

‘The Effect’ Review: Dissecting the Science of Desire by Naveen Kumar

In Jamie Lloyd’s revival of Lucy Prebble’s play, Paapa Essiedu and Taylor Russell are a couple who fall in love during a pharmaceutical trial.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Thursday, February 29, 2024

How compelling Broadway b-roll gets made by Naveen Kumar

The co-founders of HMS Media explains the process behind capturing footage for Broadway shows.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:45AM
Monday, February 26, 2024

Review: Cynthia Nixon Is Nowhere and Everywhere in ‘Seven Year Disappear’ by Naveen Kumar

A sleekly designed production, starring Cynthia Nixon and Taylor Trensch, aims to skewer the art world but falls flat.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:06PM
Saturday, February 24, 2024

Reviving ‘The Wiz’ Through ‘the Blackest of Black Lenses’ by Naveen Kumar

The beloved 1975 musical returns to Broadway this spring, with nods to Black culture like second-line parades and Underground Railroad quilts.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24AM
Sunday, February 18, 2024

A new musical shows how hard it is to make alcoholism interesting onstage by Naveen Kumar

Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James star in Broadway’s “Days of Wine and Roses,” Adam Guettel’s musical based on the 1962 movie.

SOURCE: Washington Post at 06:54PM
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

‘Between Two Knees’ Review: A Virtuosic Romp Through a Century of Terrors by Naveen Kumar

Two deadly standoffs at Wounded Knee are the bookends for a show that manages to narrate a violent history with moments of light and humor.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06PM
Monday, February 12, 2024

Review: In ‘Self Portraits (Deluxe),’ a Provocateur Instigates Reflection by Naveen Kumar

Through self-examinations and social recriminations, Phillip Howze’s new show explores the injustices facing Black men.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06PM
Thursday, February 8, 2024

The 1/52 Project is working to diversify the pipeline of professional designers by Naveen Kumar

Founded by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, the project links established designers with aspiring ones through grants and mentorship.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00AM
Friday, January 12, 2024

Three Festival Shows Explore Toxic Society by Laura Collins-Hughes, Naveen Kumar and Juan A. Ramírez

“Queens of Sheba” and “Volcano” at Under the Radar, and “Bacon,” at International Fringe Encore Series, expound on identity, captivity and violence.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:12PM
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Is a January slump inevitable or surmountable? by Naveen Kumar

Charlotte St. Martin, TodayTix’s Tracy Geltman and more discuss why the start of a new year is historically tough for Broadway, what to expect for January 2024 and how shows can weather th…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:05AM
Monday, December 11, 2023

Review: In ‘Translations,’ What’s Lost When Language Is Looted by Naveen Kumar

An exquisite revival of Brian Friel’s 1980 play at the Irish Repertory Theater is the first of three there by the Irish author.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:24PM
Wednesday, December 6, 2023

‘Manahatta’ Review: Tracing the Blood-Soaked Roots of American Capitalism by Naveen Kumar

Straddling the 17th and early 21st centuries, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s play at the Public Theater examines the exploitation of the Lenape by Dutch settlers.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:02PM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

‘Life & Times of Michael K’ Review: An Arduous Trek That’s a Marvel to Watch by Naveen Kumar

This captivating adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s novel, a collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, follows a man and his ailing mother during a civil war in South Africa.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36PM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

What a new class of artistic directors could mean for Broadway and beyond by Naveen Kumar

Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage and Lincoln Center Theater will experience significant leadership changes by 2025.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:00AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Full Exposure? Four Solo Shows Ponder the Art of True Nature. by Naveen Kumar

Lameece Issaq’s “A Good Day to Me Not to You” strives for intimacy, but that is not necessarily the aim of works by Alexandra Tatarsky, Milo Cramer and Ikechukwu Ufomadu.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:24PM
Tuesday, November 7, 2023

‘Snatch Adams’ Review: Gross-Out Humor for Not-So-Easily-Shocked Liberals by Naveen Kumar

Becca Blackwell and Amanda Duarte’s amorphous variety show aims to be a queer spectacle but is mostly improv strung together with non sequiturs.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:24PM
Wednesday, November 1, 2023

‘Poor Yella Rednecks’ Review: A Writer’s Origin Story Remixes Conventions by Naveen Kumar

Qui Nguyen’s crowd-tickling comedy about a Vietnamese family in Arkansas mixes hip-hop and martial arts with soapy twists and turns.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:36PM
Tuesday, October 31, 2023

‘Artificial Flavors’ Review: Blame ChatGPT for This Musical by Naveen Kumar

Each performance culminates in a production, composed on the spot, with misguided help from artificial intelligence.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:37PM
Monday, October 23, 2023

Why Broadway curtain times are changing by Naveen Kumar

More productions are shaking up their schedules in response to shifting audience habits.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 07:00AM
Wednesday, October 11, 2023

‘The Refuge Plays’ Review: A Surreal Family Saga on the Homestead by Naveen Kumar

A family in exile contends with its future, and its ghosts, in Nathan Alan Davis’s new Off Broadway play starring Nicole Ari Parker.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:33PM
Tuesday, October 10, 2023

The Broadway Review: A revival that makes sense and sizzle out of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ by Naveen Kumar

The first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s notorious bomb explodes with heart and sophistication. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 07:12PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime