All stories by Rob Lester on BroadwayStars

Monday, April 28, 2025

Broadway Review: SONDHEIM’S OLD FRIENDS (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre) by Rob Lester

HOORAY FOR THIS BANQUET OF BLISS— ALL THOSE SENSATIONAL SONGS AND ENERGY— BEING ALIVE ON STAGE Words seem woefully inadequate to praise the wonderful, song-stuffed, dazzling and polished…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 01:52PM

Off-Broadway Review: ZORBA! (J2 Spotlight at AMT Theater) by Rob Lester

A FUN, LIVELY KANDER & EBB MUSICAL AND THE TICKET PRICE ISN’T EX-ZORBA-TANT Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: If a character in musical theatre is going to make a declaratio…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 01:52PM
Friday, April 25, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: COMPANY (Theater 2020 in Brooklyn) by Rob Lester

A BARE-BONES BOBBY IN BROOKLYN: A COMPANY THAT GHOSTS THE GOODS IS STILL ABOUT BEING ALIVE A revival of a show featuring the smart songs by the late Stephen Sondheim is sure to draw interest…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:49AM

Cabaret Review: TAKE ME TO THE WORLD (Donna McKechnie: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim at 54 Below) by Rob Lester

DONNA MCKECHNIE TAKES US INTO SONDHEIM’S WORLD It may be impossible NOT to be charmed by the mega-vivacious, sunny-spirited, endearing veteran Donna McKechnie. Her smile and talent light u…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:49AM

Cabaret Review: TWO OF A KIND: FROM HOLLYWOOD TO BROADWAY (Lorna Luft and Andrea McArdle at 54 Below) by Rob Lester

BRAVURA BELTING, BONDING, AND BONHOMIE A double dose of old-school star power, show biz history, and charisma radiated through the showroom at 54 Below, fondly received and encouraged by a c…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:49AM
Friday, April 18, 2025

Cabaret Review: TAKE ONE: ORIGINAL “SMILE” CONCERT PRESENTATION (In The Spotlight, The J2 Cabaret Series) by Rob Lester

TAKE ONE: J2 AND A TALE OF TWO SMILES: THE FINAL SCORE AND WHAT CAME BEFORE While some companies reviving musicals long after their time on the Great White White might restore one or more so…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 10:52AM
Thursday, April 17, 2025

Broadway Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS (Hudson Theatre) by Rob Lester

IT WON’T LAST FIVE YEARS, BUT IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO (THE RELATIONSHIP AND THE BROADWAY MUSICAL) Although the traditional wedding vow includes the pledge to stay together “‘til death do…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:25AM

Cabaret Review: SUSPENDED IN TIME LIVE (Rondi Charleston, Fred Hersch, Kate McGarry, Gabrielle Stravelli at Joe’s Pub NYC) by Rob Lester

A REWARDING TIME SPENT SUSPENDED WITH THE ARTISTS OF SUSPENDED IN TIME Some musical performances—in concert or on recordings—while unquestionably or undemandingly enjoyable, may go in on…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:25AM
Sunday, April 13, 2025

Broadway Review: SMASH (Imperial Theatre) by Rob Lester

MAKING THE IMPLAUSABLE APPLAUSEABLE, SMASH IS A WILD, WACKY, WONDERFUL WOW “S” is for “splashy”; “M” is for “Marilyn Monroe”; “A” is for “audience-pleasing”; “S” …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:53AM

Cabaret Review: MARILYN MAYE (NYC’s 54 Below) by Rob Lester

THE NONPAREIL NONAGENARIAN REMAINS A NON-STOP WHIRLWIND OF TALENT There’s a problem with singer Marilyn Maye’s appearances. And it’s this: For reviewers, all the positive adjectives ha…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:53AM

Off-Broadway Review: SMILE (JR2 Spotlight at AMT Theater) by Rob Lester

GRINS, GOWNS, AND GRIT: A WINNING SMILE SASHAYS BACK ONSTAGE In the year 1919, the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway featured an ode to female finery as a bevy of beauties graced the stage to the…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:53AM
Thursday, April 10, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: I’M ASSUMING YOU KNOW DAVID GREENSPAN (Atlantic Stage 2) by Rob Lester

MR. GREENSPAN, PARTY OF FOUR Here’s a one-of-a-kind, one-person, one-act play in which one man plays four women—simultaneously—without ever leaving the stage. Three (sometimes all four…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:12PM
Monday, April 7, 2025

Broadway Review: BOOP! THE MUSICAL (Broadhurst Theatre) by Rob Lester

HERE’S THE SCOOP ON BOOP! ENDEARINGLY CUTE, ASTUTE AND A HOOT Some things are meant to last. Cartoon character Betty Boop has been around for 95 years and has been rejuvenated—as youthfu…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 07:17PM
Thursday, March 27, 2025

Cabaret Review: DIVINE SASS: A TRIBUTE TO SARAH VAUGHAN (Lillias White Album Release Concert at 54 Below) by Rob Lester

QUITE A NIGHT WITH MISS WHITE The series of concerts by Lillias White at 54 Below—running nightly through March 29 (and live streamed on the 28)—is billed as Divine Sass: A Tribute to Sa…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 11:24PM
Monday, March 17, 2025

Concert Review: 100 YEARS OF EPIC FILM SCORES (The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall) by Rob Lester

NOW HEAR THIS! Film may be first and foremost a visual medium, but where would it be without music to bring out the emotions, heighten the drama, quicken the heart, create tension, and tie t…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 04:25PM
Sunday, March 16, 2025

Concert Review: VAPE! (The Town Hall in Manhattan; A Benefit for the Entertainment Community Fund) by Rob Lester

A GRANDLY GREASE-Y SPOOF! Poking fun, flinging a pun, prizing satirizing — that’s the paradise that is parody and Vape!, blatantly billing itself as “The Grease Parody,” aims its pla…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 07:25PM
Saturday, March 15, 2025

New York Cabaret Review: I’LL BE HERE TOMORROW: THE OPTIMISM OF JERRY HERMAN (54 Below) by Rob Lester

Songs and gab at this swell cabaret Starting the party is Mame‘s “It’s Today.” Hear the cheer in the singer’s voice With this merry Jerry Herman choice. The room has no gloom. Ther…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:47PM

Concert Review: BROADWAY’S LEADING LADIES (The Town Hall in New York & Filmed for PBS) by Rob Lester

AN AMAZING NIGHT OF STARS GALORE –AND IT’S COMING TO PBS Filmed to be shown on PBS stations later this year, the concert cavalcade called Broadway’s Leading Ladies at The Town Hall on …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:47PM
Thursday, March 13, 2025

Theater Review: MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND (MMAC Theater) by Rob Lester

Marital Mayhem and Matrimonial Mishaps: My First Ex-Husband’s Second Cast Delivers Divorce Tales with Bite “Do you take this man — To have and to hold — from this day forward — for…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 03:15PM

Off-Broadway Review: THE JONATHAN LARSON PROJECT (Orpheum Theatre) by Rob Lester

TICK, TICK… ENCORE! LARSON’S TRUNK SONGS SHINE If you’re a fan of potent post-Golden Age theatre music, you should check out a show that just officially opened downtown last night. The…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 03:15PM
Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Literally Alive Family Theatre at The Players Theatre) by Rob Lester

WHEN CHILDREN’S THEATER IS A BEAUTIFUL THING Two “P” words—“professional” and “pleasant”—describe the stage production in Greenwich Village with two “B” words in its ti…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 11:47AM
Saturday, March 8, 2025

Cabaret Review: THE KLEINBORT COLLECTION: THE SONGS OF BARRY KLEINBORT (Jamie deRoy & Friends at Birdland) by Rob Lester

THINGS ARE O.K. WITH MR. K For decades, three words—“by Barry Kleinbort”—have often appeared in cabaret and theatre credits, typically preceded by “directed” or “written.” At…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 02:00PM

Cabaret Review: LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT… (Kate Baldwin at 54 Below) by Rob Lester

A DATE WITH KATE She looks and sounds radiant, and the audience knows it. Tonight, March 6, she was greeted with some of the most enthusiastic and sustained cheers I’ve heard in a long tim…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 12:37PM
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Off-Off-Broadway Review: A EULOGY FOR ROMAN (Multiple Venues: Churches & Community Centers, Manhattan & Brooklyn) by Rob Lester

HOW TO URN AUDIENCE SYMPATHY This one-man show is described as an “immersive” experience, and the immersiveness begins right at the entrance of the particularly fitting venue, the oh-so-…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:21PM
Thursday, February 27, 2025

Cabaret Review: THE BRYCE EDWARDS FRIVOLITY HOUR (Birdland Jazz Club) by Rob Lester

BRIGHT, BROMIDIC BRYCE AND HIS FREEWHEELING FRABJOUS FRIVOLITY Take note, nightclub-goers: Attending an edition of the spiffy soiree The Bryce Edwards Frivolity Hour might just make you beli…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:01PM
Sunday, February 23, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: STILL (Loreto Theatre, The Sheen Center) by Rob Lester

IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT, WILL EX-LOVERS REUNITE OR FIGHT? After decades apart, can the passion of once-young lovers sizzle again, like leftover pizza zapped in the microwave? Picking up an…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 04:27PM
Saturday, February 22, 2025

Cabaret Review: BEYOND THE WALLS OF JOE ALLEN (Backstage Babble at 54 Below) by Rob Lester

BACKSTAGE BABBLE AT STUDIO 54: TOPS WITH FLOPS Not every musical is a hit, and some barely get a chance to stumble before vanishing into obscurity. The midtown Manhattan nightclub 54 Below h…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:36AM
Monday, February 17, 2025

Cabaret Review: DIANNE REEVES: WITH LOVE (Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater) by Rob Lester

DIANNE REEVES’ WITH LOVE RECEIVED WITH LOVE If Grammy-winning singer Dianne Reeves’ suitcase could talk (and I’m guessing that it can’t), it would tell tales of trekking all over the…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:07PM
Sunday, February 16, 2025

Cabaret Review: LOVE IS IN THE AIR (Davis Gaines, Green Room 42) by Rob Lester

EVERYTHING TO GAINES AND NOTHING TO LOSE No, he doesn’t sing “My Funny Valentine” in his entertaining show called Love Is in the Air on the night before Valentine’s Day at Green Room…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 01:28PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: EMILIO’S A MILLION CHAMELEONS (SoHo Playhouse’s International Fringe Encore Theater Series) by Rob Lester

A COLORFUL, KINETIC AND PUPPET-FILLED POW Emilio’s A Million Chameleons at Soho Playhouse offers family-friendly, fabulously frenzied fun. Like many offerings aimed at, or at least semi-ta…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:19PM
Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Sound Advice Reviews: Karen Mason, Janis Siegel, Rebecca Kilgore and Rio - 12/31/24 by Rob Lester

Here are three releases that celebrate songwriters, each from a long-careered, stylish female singer. Karen Mason mines the oeuvre of the team of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Including selectio…

SOURCE: TalkinBroadway at 09:21AM

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