All stories by Paul Wontorek on BroadwayStars

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Prom Builders: Saluting the Risk-Taking, Culture-Changing Producers of Broadway’s Super-Original Musical Comedy Hit by Paul Wontorek

Source material for Broadway musicals can come from almost anywhere. Of the 11 new musicals of the just-wrapped 2018-2019 season, four were adapted from Hollywood hits, two from the lives of…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:24PM

Linked by Larry: Lou Liberatore and Brandon Uranowitz Dig Deep on the Burn This Role That Turned Into a Ticket to the Tonys by Paul Wontorek

Burn This is the sexy story of the intense collision of two grieving lovers—a hot-headed beast of a man and a soulful, artistic woman. Or is it? Turns out the late Lanford Wilson’s popul…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:54PM
Thursday, May 30, 2019

Why the 2019 Tonys Will Be an Emotional Full-Circle Moment for Torch Song Producer Richie Jackson by Paul Wontorek

One fateful day in 1982, early in the original triumphant three-year run of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, Carol Jackson of Bellmore, Long Island came into the city to catch a perf…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:33PM
Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Fan-Picked 2019 Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Nominations Announced; Be More Chill Leads With 12 by Paul Wontorek

Be More Chill led the list of nominees for the 2019 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, the only major theater prize chosen by Broadway fans. The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Joe …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:48PM
Friday, April 26, 2019

John Lithgow on Exposing Vulnerability, Sadness and His Legs in Hillary and Clinton by Paul Wontorek

Two-time Tony Award winner John Lithgow may not really look like the 42nd President of the United States, but both accomplished men have one thing in commen: they know about popular. That co…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 02:00PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Jeff Daniels on Becoming Atticus Finch, the Iconic Hero Without a Cape by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Gideon Glick on Unlocking the 'Ebullient Joy' in Dill by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, April 20, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: LaTanya Richardson Jackson on Revealing the Heart and Purpose of Calpurnia by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Friday, April 19, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Will Pullen on Playing the 'Last Bit of Sunlight of Boyhood' as Jem Finch by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, April 18, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Dakin Matthews on the Good Old Boy Who Rules Over the Courtroom with Wisdom and Wit by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Gbenga Akinnagbe on Finding the Light in Playing Tom Robinson by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:00AM
Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Citizens of Mockingbird: Celia Keenan-Bolger on the Magic and Morality of Playing Scout Finch by Paul Wontorek

In adapting Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird for the stage, award-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin looked at the iconic characters of the recently named "best-loved" American novel with fre…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:28PM
Friday, April 5, 2019

Corbin Bleu and Stephanie Styles on Tapping, Flirting and Falling in Love in Kiss Me, Kate by Paul Wontorek

With its brassy songs, high-energy hoofing, outrageous plot and unabashed love of all things show, no classic musical screams “Broadway musical comedy” like Kiss Me, Kate. A fun tonic f…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:23PM
Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Hamilton’s Carvens Lissaint Takes Aim with His New Book of Poetry and Shares His Story of Rising Up by Paul Wontorek

"Young, scrappy and hungry" are the adjectives Lin-Manuel Miranda memorably uses to describe Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton, but he could have just as well been talking about the teenage yea…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:12AM
Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Prom’s Wayne ‘Juice’ Mackins on the Origin of His Nickname and the Best Part of His Day by Paul Wontorek

Wayne "Juice" MackinsWayne “Juice” Mackins burst onto the Broadway scene last fall as part of the spirited ensemble of the musical comedy The Prom. He plays a high schooler onstage and i…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:41PM
Sunday, March 17, 2019

Spring Preview: Finding the Power in the Pioneer Women of Oklahoma! by Paul Wontorek

Oklahoma! is back, 76 years after its Broadway premiere, in a bold new staging by director Daniel Fish that is ready to make audiences hear its songs—and the stories of its iconic characte…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:00PM
Saturday, March 9, 2019

Spring Preview: No Hate in Kiss Me, Kate for Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase by Paul Wontorek

Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and her Tony-nominated friend and co-star Will Chase have been testing out their chemistry for a big Broadway musical like Kiss Me, Kate! for a dozen years now. Fi…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:00PM
Monday, March 4, 2019

Anastasia Vet Lyrica Woodruff on Her Journey from Bunhead to Broadway Breakout by Paul Wontorek

Lyrica WoodruffLyrica Woodruff likes to joke that she was born at the ballet, as her mother took her directly from the hospital to pick up her sister from class days after birth. On the newe…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:08AM
Saturday, February 16, 2019

Gotta Dance: Get to Know Head-Turning My Fair Lady Standout Steven Trumon Gray by Paul Wontorek

Steven Trumon Gray We’ve rebooted our popular series Gotta Dance, turning a well-deserved spotlight on the best and brightest dancers on the Broadway stage. This time out, meet Steve…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:48PM

Darren Criss Marries Longtime Girlfriend Mia Swier in New Orleans by Paul Wontorek

Darren Criss is married! The Broadway and TV favorite said “I do” to longtime girlfriend Mia Swier at a New Orleans ceremony on February 16, according to People. After finding s…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:48PM
Thursday, February 14, 2019

Happy Valentine's Day from the Stars of Pretty Woman! See Their Hot Tips, Celeb Crushes, Pickup Lines & More by Paul Wontorek

Witches and wizards may reign supreme, but proof that Broadway is still for lovers can be found every night at the Nederlander Theatre, where Pretty Woman has become a favorite for audiences…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:36AM
Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Gypsy Movie Back in Motion, with Mrs. Maisel Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino In Talks to Direct by Paul Wontorek

Could everything be coming up roses again for a new big-screen adaptation of Gypsy? According to Deadline, TV queen Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is in…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:18PM
Friday, February 1, 2019

25 Years of Firsts with Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, the Songwriters Behind The Prom by Paul Wontorek

Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar (Photo by Caitlin McNaney) “I think we’ve fought maybe twice,” librettist/lyricist Chad Beguelin says, looking at his writing partner of 2…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:42PM
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Here, Queer and Singing Out on Broadway: Tarell Alvin McCraney and Jeremy Pope Talk Choir Boy by Paul Wontorek

With rousing gospel songs and a talented cast of newcomers, the acclaimed new play Choir Boy tells of the students in a prep school struggling with the institution’s deep roots in trad…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:18PM
Monday, January 28, 2019

Exclusive! Daphne Rubin-Vega on Reuniting with Original Rent Stars and How the Telecast Was Like Black Mirror by Paul Wontorek

Idina Menzel shared this brunch photo with co-stars Aiko Nakasone, Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, Rodney Hicks, Wilson Jermaine Heredia & Timothy Britten …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:48PM
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Nonstop! Lin-Manuel Miranda on Mary Poppins Returns, Fosse/Verdon, The Little Mermaid, Tick, Tick...BOOM! and More by Paul Wontorek

Lin-Manuel Miranda is having a moment. To be fair, the likable Broadway multi-hyphenate has been having a lot of moments since first bursting on the entertainment scene as the star and write…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:12PM
Saturday, November 24, 2018

Zazz Queen Angie Schworer Steps Into the Spotlight in The Prom by Paul Wontorek

Angie Schworer & Caitlin Kinnunen in "The Prom" (Photo by Deen Van Meer) “I get to do everything that I do. A little dance, a little acting, a little singing, a little …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:12AM
Thursday, November 22, 2018

The Phantom of the Opera Star Ben Crawford on Finding His Dark Side and Freaking Out His Daughter by Paul Wontorek

A devilishly handsome leading man with a killer voice, Ben Crawford has primarily shone on Broadway over the last decade in comedic roles—most notably charming audiences under a pile o…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:42AM
Sunday, November 11, 2018

Tony Winner Kelli O'Hara on Why Her Broadway Turn in Kiss Me, Kate Will Be Good For Her Soul by Paul Wontorek

Over two decades on the stage, Kelli O’Hara has built a formidable career, and is one of the leading musical stars of her generation. And after six (!) nominations, the legit powerhous…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:42PM

Paula Wayne, Golden-Voiced Broadway Star of Golden Boy, Dead at 84 by Paul Wontorek

Paula Wayne, the golden-voiced leading lady of Broadway’s Golden Boy, died on November 9 at her South Florida home. She was 84 and had battled pancreatic cancer in recent years. Raise…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 04:36PM
Tuesday, November 6, 2018

The Nap and Transparent Standout Alexandra Billings on the Miracle of Broadway, Why Judith Light Is a Superhero and More by Paul Wontorek

As the stories of transgender life have stepped out of the shadows in recent years, the formidable talents of Alexandra Billings have demanded a brighter spotlight. As the 56-year-old favori…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:06PM

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