All stories by Sandra Mardenfeld on BroadwayStars

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Bliss Street Releases Cast Album by Sandra Mardenfeld

    While theater is an art form with a shelf life — sometimes a show outlives its closing. Such is the story with Bliss Street, an Off-Broadway show at Theater for the New City th…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:32PM
Friday, December 22, 2023

A Christmas Carol by Sandra Mardenfeld

The redemption tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, and how he discards his miserly ways after a few spectral visitations has enchanted audiences since Charles Dickens published the novella in 1843. Ju…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:02PM
Saturday, June 3, 2023

Tony Predictions, Because, Why Not? by Sandra Mardenfeld

Well, it is that time of year again. The 76th Tony Awards will recognize theatrical achievements on Broadway for the 2022-23 season. Who will win? Below are Show Showdown's guesses. Clip fr…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:32AM
Thursday, March 12, 2020

Seven Sins by Sandra Mardenfeld

Company XIV cast of Seven Sins. Photo by Mark Shelby Perry. Seven Sins by Company XIV, their most cohesive production to date, tells the story of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace and the i…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:48PM
Monday, December 16, 2019

Where Are We Now by Sandra Mardenfeld

Sven Ratzke; Photo by Hanneke Wetzer Dutch-German performer Sven Ratzke is the best kind of David Bowie fan. When he sings his Ziggy Stardust songs, he closes his eyes, softens his face and …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:48AM
Thursday, December 12, 2019

Nutcracker Rouge by Sandra Mardenfeld

Ashley Dragon. Credit: Mark Shelby Perry Even when Company XIV produces a problematic show, it’s vastly entertaining. While the Nutcracker Rouge’s version of this well-known holiday t…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:54PM
Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Tonya Pinkins' Truth and Reconciliation: Womyn Working it Out! by Sandra Mardenfeld

The cast; Photo by Katie Walenta While much of Tonya Pinkins' Truth and Reconciliation: Womyn Working it Out, a collective of nine 10-minute plays and songs about women and oppression per…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:36PM
Thursday, August 15, 2019

Queen of Hearts by Sandra Mardenfeld

Ian Spring and LEXXE as Alice. Photo: Mark Shelby Perry This burlesque journey down the rabbit hole transforms Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland into a circus-tinged, sex…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:12PM
Monday, July 22, 2019

Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoots Macbeth by Sandra Mardenfeld

Sometimes the plot in Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoots Macbeth by Tom Stoppard, first produced in 1979, runs too close to home. But some background first:In Dogg's Hamlet, practically everyone speaks…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:48AM
Tuesday, July 2, 2019

The Bachelor Girls by Sandra Mardenfeld

Kristen Egenes, Laura Hall, Kathleen Culler, Kelly Berman, Gia Mongell, Timmy Hays, Emma Vielbig, Lucy Anders, Brittany Rodin, Emily Kersey, Mandy McDonell. Photo: Shoshana Medney The Bach…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:54PM
Friday, June 28, 2019

League Of Professional Theatre Women 2019 Leadership Luncheon by Sandra Mardenfeld

Andre De Shields Donna Walker-Kuhn Inspiring others was the theme at the League of Professional Theatre Women 2019 Leadership Luncheon celebrating the inaugural Rachel Crothers Leadership…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:12PM
Thursday, June 6, 2019

75th Theatre World Awards by Sandra Mardenfeld

Nathan Lane The 75th Theatre World Awards celebrated the debut of promising Broadway and Off-Broadway actors on June 3 in a sweet ceremony full of touching stories, even though it ran more t…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:06PM
Friday, May 31, 2019

Nothing Here Is Real by Sandra Mardenfeld

Mentalist and magician Gary Ferrar Mentalist and magician Gary Ferrar’s open-ended run and residency of Nothing Here is Real at The Cocktail Lounge Below Oxbow Tavern is not glitzy with…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:42PM
Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Bathsheba's Psalms Or, a Woman of Unusual Beauty Taking a Bath by Sandra Mardenfeld

Tanyamaria. Background - Elizabeth Kenny, Marisela Grajeda Gonzalez, C. Bain.Photo credit: Jody ChristophersonA fresh take on the Old Testament’s tale of King David and Bathsheba, April Ra…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:45PM
Monday, December 24, 2018

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Sandra Mardenfeld

Cooper Bates PhotographyBurt Grinstead and Anna Stromberg wore many hats during Blanket Fort Entertainment’s New York premiere of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde from Dec. 6-16 at the Soho Playh…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:12AM
Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Salome by Sandra Mardenfeld

Salome dances for the tetrarch. Laura Butler Rivera  (Salome);  Background:  Anthony  Simone  (Tigellin),   Ross  Cowan  (Soldier),  Marty&n…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 03:12AM
Friday, July 27, 2018

Brecht on Brecht by Sandra Mardenfeld

Brecht on Brecht takes the work of dramatist Bertolt Brecht, a polarizing post-war Germany writer whose work criticized anti-Semitism and fascism, and compiles a provocative grouping of his …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:18PM
Tuesday, July 17, 2018

The Blue Room by Sandra Mardenfeld

When David Hare's The Blue Room with Nicole Kidman was on Broadway in 1998, it seemed a thin and cliched story about sexual encounters. The Bridge Production Group at The WhiteBox Art Galler…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 03:32PM
Monday, May 14, 2018

League of Professional Theatre Woman presents Chita Rivera in conversation with Richard Ridge by Sandra Mardenfeld

Richard Ridge and Chita RiveraChita Rivera may be known primarily as an actress and a dancer, but she knows how to choreograph a punchline. She provided plenty of laughs as she spoke about h…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:42AM
Sunday, December 31, 2017

Sandra's Faves of 2017 by Sandra Mardenfeld

Here's seven of my 2017 favorites. Why seven? Well, in many cultures seven is considered sacred, both beneficial and protective for its bearer.Honestly? Seven is all I got. I probably saw ab…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:06PM
Thursday, November 30, 2017

Meteor Shower by Sandra Mardenfeld

"Meteor Shower" by Steve Martin is perfectly cast and great fun, but it's not much of a play. The nonlinear plot makes little sense, the characters aren't compelling - except in their q…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:33AM
Thursday, November 9, 2017

Don't Feed the Indians - A Divine Comedy Pageant by Sandra Mardenfeld

Don't Feed the Indians - A Divine Comedy Pageant has inflated its title a bit. The La MaMa world premiere of Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective Projects was created and features an all Nativ…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:48PM
Monday, July 24, 2017

Arcadia by Sandra Mardenfeld

Just twice in four decades of theatre have I bought the show's script duringintermission, and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1995 was one of them (Shadowlands byWilliam Nicholson was the other). …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:06AM
Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Soot and Spit by Sandra Mardenfeld

JW Guido and EnsemblePhoto: Nina WurtzelFive years in the making, Our Voices' world premiere of Soot and Spit at the Ohio Theatre tells the story James Castle, a profoundly deaf man born in …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:54PM
Monday, May 29, 2017

Lou by Sandra Mardenfeld

Mieko Gavia as Lou Salome. Photo credit: Jody Christopherson.More than 100 black and white copies of photos and letters, adhered on black stock, suspend from the rafters and hang on the wa…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:48PM
Friday, March 17, 2017

Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie by Sandra Mardenfeld

The Sam Gold-helmed version of The Glass Menagerie isn't for everyone (as you can see by reviews  here   and  here  ), but this stripped-down version of Tennessee William…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:36PM
Friday, December 23, 2016

2016 Top Five: Sandra Mardenfeld by Sandra Mardenfeld

Jay and his mentor--from The Royale. Photo by Charles Erickson I marvel at how many shows Wendy and Liz saw last year. I come in under two dozen--and, even then, I am still playing catc…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:06PM
Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Sandra Mardenfeld

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is a puzzle to me. Because the show is invigorating, original, and evocative and, yet, also overbearing in its intensity. Based on 70-pages of L…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:54AM
Thursday, April 21, 2016

Taming of the Shrew by Sandra Mardenfeld

There must be something in the water ... at least, in Padua. The first of two productions of The Taming of the Shrew featuring an all-female cast opened on April 16 at the Wild Pro…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:01PM
Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Top Theater Moments of 2015 by Sandra Mardenfeld

This wasn’t my favorite theater season. Yes, it had the sublime Fun Home, but more often I felt mixed about the just-under two-dozen shows I saw. I enjoyed parts, but not always the whole …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:27AM
Monday, November 2, 2015

Allegiance by Sandra Mardenfeld

I saw something I've never seen when I went to an October evening preview of Allegiance: a 69-question survey taped to my seat. From queries about story lines and characters to why you chose…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:15PM

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