All stories by Paul Wontorek on BroadwayStars

Friday, April 25, 2025

Best of the Week: Real Women Goes Big on Broadway, Hugh Jackman Goes Small Downtown and Wonderful Town Reboots by Paul Wontorek

Drama in the classroom, harmonies in the city and a brand-new musical about women, family, and finding your voice. This week, Hugh Jackman and Ella Beatty heat up the Minetta Lane, Real Wom…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:06PM
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Broadway’s New Pirate Queen: Jinkx Monsoon on Belonging, Becoming and Being Ruth by Paul Wontorek

Jinkx Monsoon has never been one to do things the traditional way. But in Pirates!, the Roundabout Theatre Company’s joyously irreverent, jazz-infused adaptation of The Pirates of Penzance…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:54AM
Monday, April 21, 2025

Mischief, Music and Buena Vista: Natalie Venetia Belcon’s Big Broadway Moment by Paul Wontorek

Natalie Venetia Belcon always felt most comfortable on stage. Or at sea. “On stage and in the middle of the ocean with all those weird creatures—that’s where I feel most at home,” sh…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:18PM
Friday, April 18, 2025

Best of the Week: Joey Fatone Returns, Pirates! Opens and a New Wicked Prequel by Paul Wontorek

From pop princes to Pirate Kings to pre-Wicked witches, this week’s lineup covers a lot of territory. Joey Fatone is back in & Juliet, Pirates! opens with flair and brass, and Elph…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:36PM
Monday, April 14, 2025

The Broadway.com Intern Glow-Up: Jenny Anderson’s Photo Book Captures a Theater Life by Paul Wontorek

Photographer Jenny Anderson is a well-respected part of the Broadway community—a colleague I trust and admire when I see her at industry parties, opening nights or holding down a prime spo…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:36AM
Friday, April 11, 2025

Best of the Week: John Proctor's Buzzy Opening, Jordan Fisher in Moulin Rouge! and Ashley Graham’s Broadway Bow by Paul Wontorek

A buzzy new play takes on The Crucible in a Georgia classroom, Jordan Fisher turns up the heat in Paris, and Ashley Graham steps into the Broadway spotlight for the very first time. From bre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 02:06PM
Thursday, April 10, 2025

Sunset Boulevard Standout David Thaxton Cares for Norma Desmond Onstage. At Home, It’s Dinosaur Duty by Paul Wontorek

Age: 41 Hometown: Neath, South Wales David Thaxton (Photo: Andy Henderson) Current Role: David Thaxton makes his Broadway debut in Jamie Lloyd’s Olivier Award-winning revival of An…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:42PM
Friday, April 4, 2025

Lea Michele’s New Tour Is a Musical Memoir 30 Years in the Making by Paul Wontorek

Lea Michele is thrilled to share a milestone moment: “April marks 30 years that I’ve been working on Broadway!” she gushed during an interview for an upcoming episode of The Broadway S…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:24PM

Best of the Week: From Smash to Sondheim and a (Dead) Singing Outlaw by Paul Wontorek

Broadway this week offers a tribute to a musical titan, a stage debut for a cult-favorite TV show, and a genre-bending Western about a corpse with staying power. From a cast of theater royal…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:12PM
Friday, March 28, 2025

Best of the Week: Groff Croons, Culkin Closes and Jonas Breaks Hearts by Paul Wontorek

Broadway is giving us the full spectrum of masculinity this week: a bunch of desperate salesmen, one legendary showman, and a hopeless romantic who sings his feelings in reverse. With big na…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:32PM
Friday, March 21, 2025

Best of the Week: Dorian Gray, Demogorgons and a Dream Deferred by Paul Wontorek

From Sarah Snook’s shape-shifting tour de force in The Picture of Dorian Gray to the theatrical wizardry of Stranger Things and the long-awaited revival of Floyd Collins, this week’s the…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 06:12PM
Sunday, March 16, 2025

Best of the Week: Washington & Gyllenhaal Face Off, La Música Matters at Buena Vista, Mincemeat Meets Ultimate Mission by Paul Wontorek

Clooney! Denzel! Culkin! Gyllenhaal! As Broadway bursts with genuine Hollywood star power across just four New York City blocks, the electricity is undeniable. In just a few days, Denzel Wa…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:06AM
Sunday, March 9, 2025

Best of the Week: Renthead Heaven, BOOP! Bursts Through, George Clooney Goes Live by Paul Wontorek

There’s no doubt we’re at the starting line of an exciting spring season, with 18 plays and musicals set to open before the April 27 Tony Awards eligibility cutoff. With five of those sh…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:54PM
Friday, February 14, 2025

Between Two Worlds: Sanaz Toossi's English Finds Its Place on Broadway by Paul Wontorek

Winning a Pulitzer Prize and staging productions at prestigious theaters didn’t mean playwright Sanaz Toossi was ready to stop fine-tuning English. “I’m never done,” she told one of …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:32PM
Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Celebrating Disney on Broadway, and Walt’s Enduring Theatrical Legacy, at EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts by Paul Wontorek

The late, great Walt Disney, one of the most influential artists of all time, continues to shape popular culture 58 years after his passing. His creative legacy is everywhere—in Disney’s…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 02:06PM
Thursday, April 18, 2024

Sara Gettelfinger on Her Broadway Rise, Devastating Downfall and Clear-Eyed Comeback in Water for Elephants by Paul Wontorek

In 2011, Water for Elephants star Sara Gettelfinger landed maybe the biggest break in a theater career filled with numerous highlights: a genuine leading lady turn as Morticia Addams in the…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:48PM
Wednesday, December 20, 2023

With His Latest Queer Turn, Gideon Glick Brings Leonard Bernstein's Boyfriend to Life in Maestro by Paul Wontorek

“I’ve made a career playing gay men,” says Gideon Glick, who boasts a resume marked by the memorable queer Broadway characters he introduced in Spring Awakening, Significant Other and…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:06AM
Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Vinny Sainato, Broadway Advertising Visionary, Dies at 55 by Paul Wontorek

Broadway advertising visionary Vinny Sainato, 55, died on January 8 in Ipswich, Massachusetts after a battle with cancer. As Art Director at SpotCo and Vice President of Creative Services …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:54PM
Thursday, November 18, 2021

Hooray for Tommy Tune! American Dance Machine Takes On The Will Rogers Follies with Original Stars by Paul Wontorek

American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (ADM21), the reboot of the legendary Broadway choreography restoration project American Dance Machine, has launched its latest video. Led by Tony …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:36PM
Friday, September 17, 2021

Jagged Little Pill Producers Address Character's Gender Identity for Broadway Restart by Paul Wontorek

After past fan confusion over the topic of the gender identity of one its lead characters, producers of the Tony-nominated musical Jagged Little Pill have announced script changes for the up…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 07:48PM

Jane Powell, Who Dazzled in Movie Musicals and on Broadway, Dies at 92 by Paul Wontorek

MGM movie musical icon Jane Powell died on September 16, 2021 of natural causes at her home in Wilton, CT. She was 92. After making her Hollywood debut in Song of the Open Road in 1944, Pow…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 07:48PM
Monday, August 24, 2020

Michael Riedel's Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway to Be Released November 10 by Paul Wontorek

Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway, Michael Riedel’s follow-up to his acclaimed bestseller Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway, is set for release. The Simon and Schuster book …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:06PM
Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Diana Musical to Hit Netflix Before Broadway Return, Marking Musical First for Streaming Giant by Paul Wontorek

Diana is headed to Netflix. Producers of the on-hold Broadway bio-musical about Princess Diana of Wales, unveiled plans to premiere a filmed version of the show before opening night at the …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:32PM
Thursday, July 2, 2020

Christina Tippit Brown, Who Wrote for the Stage and for Stars, Dies at 94 by Paul Wontorek

Christina "Tina" Tippit Brown, writer, photographer, performer and longtime wife and collaborator of The Wiz librettist William F. Brown, died at her Westport, CT home on July 2. She was 94.…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:18PM
Saturday, March 21, 2020

Rosie O'Donnell on Prepping for the Starry One-Night-Only Return of Her Show: 'I Will Have to Take a Shower!' by Paul Wontorek

From 1996 to 2002, Rosie O’Donnell ruled the daytime airwaves with The Rosie O’Donnell Show, a joyful talk show featuring A-list stars, flying Koosh balls and a healthy obsession with Ba…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 08:32AM
Monday, March 9, 2020

Rob McClure's Nanny State: How the Mrs. Doubtfire Star Balances Broadway Fame and His Philly Family by Paul Wontorek

Rob McClure was done. After 17 years as a working Broadway actor, he finally landed in a million-dollar hit. But just as the musical Beetlejuice was topping that magical weekly gross figure,…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:42PM
Thursday, March 5, 2020

Why Blair Underwood is Honored to Be Working Alongside the 'Young Lions' of A Soldier's Play by Paul Wontorek

Emmy-winning actor Blair Underwood is currently playing Army captain Richard Davenport on stage, in Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer-winning work A Soldier’s Play, on Broadway for a limited ru…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:48PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Breaking Glass: How Kyle Soller Found His Way Into the Role of a Lifetime by Paul Wontorek

Kyle Soller's callback for The Inheritance was one for the books. He walked into a London audition room in late 2017 with a great desire to play Eric Glass, the lead role of the new play.�…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:18PM
Thursday, December 12, 2019

Harry Connick Jr. on Playing Diners for Cheeseburgers to Celebrating Cole Porter on Broadway by Paul Wontorek

Harry Connick Jr., a dashing 21-year-old jazz musician from New Orleans, became famous overnight 30 years ago when the double-platinum 1989 soundtrack for the film When Harry Met Sally br…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:42PM
Thursday, December 5, 2019

Choreographer Sonya Tayeh on Expressing Impossible Love and Her Ravishing Moulin Rouge! Dancers by Paul Wontorek

Sonya Tayeh put a shot of adrenaline in the theater season with her electrifying choreography for Moulin Rouge! The deliciously over-the-top musical extravaganza marks the Broadway debut for…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:54PM
Saturday, November 16, 2019

"A Great Broadway Binge': Talking with the Stars of The Inheritance by Paul Wontorek

After much buzz following a wildly-successful London run, Matthew Lopez’s two-part play The Inheritance has finally arrived on Broadway, where it opens at the Barrymore Theatre this Sunday…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:12AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre