All stories by Tony Frankel on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 42ND ANNUAL ELLIOT NORTON AWARDS (Boston Theater Critics Association) by Tony Frankel

More than 140 nominations in over two dozen categories of outstanding actors, directors, designers, choreographers, musicians, and productions and 5 awards for visiting productions were anno…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 05:22AM
Sunday, April 20, 2025

Highly Recommended Cabaret Series: BROADWAY BY THE SEASON & 54 SINGS BROADWAY’S GREATEST HITS (Scott Siegel Presents at 54 Below and Merkin Hall by Tony Frankel

While visiting New York, I was lucky enough to catch two Scott Siegel events. Similar in structure but with completely different feels were Broadway by the Season at Merkin Hall and 54 Sings…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 04:04PM
Thursday, April 3, 2025

Highly Recommended Broadway: FLOYD COLLINS (Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center) by Tony Frankel

I CAN’T CAVE ENOUGH In 1917, Kentucky cave explorer Floyd Collins discovered Crystal Cave. Located in the same area as Mammoth Cave—the longest cave system known in the world—the site …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 10:55PM
Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Broadway Review: GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (Palace Theatre) by Tony Frankel

SHARP AS EVER, BUT DOES IT CUT DEEP ENOUGH? OR, IF YOU WANT BIGGER SHARKS, YOU NEED MORE BLOOD IN THE WATER Glengarry Glen Ross is a testosterone-saturated 24 hours of five salesmen, some me…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 10:05PM
Sunday, March 30, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: LAST CALL (New World Stages) by Tony Frankel

A WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN BERNSTEIN AND VON KARAJAN… AND THE AUDIENCE LOSES Peter Danish‘s Last Call at New World Stages imagines a high-stakes intellectual showdown between two musical tit…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:21PM

Broadway Review: OPERATION MINCEMEAT (Golden Theatre) by Tony Frankel

A RIPPING GOOD YARN WITH A JOLLY GOOD CAST OPERATION MINCEMEAT LANDS ON BROADWAY When I first encountered Operation Mincemeat at Riverside Studios in London back in 2022, it was a scrappy, s…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 02:33PM
Friday, March 28, 2025

Broadway Review: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (Music Box) by Tony Frankel

THE PICTURE OF ASTOUNDING THEATRE I’ve been fortunate to witness some extraordinary one-person plays on Broadway. To name a few: Zoe Caldwell in Lillian, Ben Kingsley in Edmund Kean, Rober…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:32AM
Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Theater Review: THE UNRAVELING (Ghost Road Theatre) by Tony Frankel

LOOM WITH A VIEW Ghost Road Theatre’s The Unraveling pulls you into its strange, hypnotic orbit and doesn’t let go. This is a truly original work with some breathtaking theatrical coups.…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:42PM
Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Broadway Review: PURPOSE (The Hayes Theater) by Tony Frankel

HERE’S A BROADWAY SUCCESS THAT ALSO BRIMS WITH PURPOSE Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ doesn’t just expose the cracks in a so-called perfect life—he shines a floodlight on them. Except for a…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 05:13AM
Monday, March 24, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: WE HAD A WORLD (Manhattan Theatre Club World Premiere by Joshua Harmon at NY City Center) by Tony Frankel

WE HAD A BALL Manhattan Theatre Club’s We Had a World is an unconventional modern-day three-hander memory play that covers roughly 30 years. Our diarist, memoirist, and damn funny playwrig…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 02:05PM
Sunday, March 23, 2025

Broadway Review: BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre) by Tony Frankel

FROM HAVANA TO BROADWAY: A SOCIAL CLUB WORTH JOINING Buena Vista Social Club is a sun-drenched, rhythm-soaked explosion of life, proving that sometimes a show just needs space to breathe—a…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 01:26PM
Friday, March 14, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER? (Ensemble Studio Theatre) by Tony Frankel

WIT, WONDER AND WILD CHIMPS Embarking on a theatrical safari at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), I stumbled upon a wildly witty gem tonight that rivals the most exhilarating of jungle adve…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 02:22PM
Saturday, March 8, 2025

Theater Review: FROU-FROU: A MENAGERIE OF SORTS (Boston Court in Pasadena) by Tony Frankel

A MENAGERIE GONE MAD–IN THE BEST WAY Boston Court has never been a company to play it safe, and John Anthony Loffredo‘s world premiere of Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts is no exception.…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 12:37PM

Theater Review: BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL (Open Fist) by Tony Frankel

OPEN FIST’S BAT BOY SINKS ITS TEETH IN — AND DOESN’T LET GO Bat Boy: The Musical has returned to Los Angeles with a vengeance. This outrageous comedy/horror Off-Broadway musical, whic…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 12:37PM
Monday, March 3, 2025

Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (The Nocturne Theatre) by Tony Frankel

The Nocturne Theatre’s West Side Story proves that “professional community theatre” can still hit you in the gut like a Broadway-caliber production. With a book by Arthur Laurents, mus…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 11:03AM
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Highly Recommended Concert: FINN, THE MUSICAL (Stars in the House Fifth Anniversary at Town Hall, NYC) by Tony Frankel

THE MUSICAL FINN SWIMS TO TOWN HALL AFTER A STORMY SEA OF KENNEDY CENTER PIRATES TOSSED IT OVERBOARD The show they tried to sink is coming back stronger than ever. Finn, the vibrant family m…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:21PM

Theater Review: I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Chromolume Theatre at the Zephyr Theatre) by Tony Frankel

I COULD’VE LOVED YOU BECAUSE Chromolume Theatre’s production of I Love You Because at the Zephyr Theatre tries to charm, but struggles under the weight of a broad acting style and a perp…

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

Theater Review: ALABASTER (Fountain Theatre) by Tony Frankel

RUMINATING ON RUMINANTS As a way to heal from recent tragedies, Alice (Erin Pineda), a big-city photographer, visits June (Virginia Newcomb), a reclusive artist on a small farm in Alabaster,…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:19AM
Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Theater Review: JERSEY BOYS (Musical Theatre West) by Tony Frankel

GET READY TO ENBOY YOURSELF Jersey Boys has been around long enough that you might assume it’s just another jukebox musical, cranking out hits for an easy nostalgia trip. But that’s neve…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:11PM

Theater Review: TARANTINO: PULP ROCK (CineVita) by Tony Frankel

THE SHOW WITH A BEAT TO A PULP INT. CINEVITA – NIGHT You walk in, and boom! You’re hit with this electric vibe, like stepping into a Tarantino flick—one minute, you’re feeling cool, …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 12:38PM

Theater Review: TWELFTH NIGHT (Antaeus Theatre in Glendale) by Tony Frankel

WHAT PRODUCTION, FRIENDS, IS THIS? After a ship wreck, Viola and her twin, Sebastian, land on different shores, each fearing the other has perished (consider them separated at surf). And by …

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 07:59AM

Theater Review: AVENUE Q (Wisteria Theatre, North Hollywood) by Tony Frankel

FURFECT Peter Pan never grew up. Likewise Alice in Wonderland, the Hardy Boys, Freddy the Pig, Nancy Drew, or Huck Finn. It’s a pity that people do: Why must grown-ups leave behind innocen…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 05:05AM
Sunday, February 23, 2025

Theater Review: OKLAHOMA! (Valley Opera and Performing Arts at El Portal in North Hollywood) by Tony Frankel

WHAT A RELIEF: OKLAHOMA! IS OK WITH VOPA The real stars of Oklahoma!, presented for two weekends only by Valley Opera and Performing Arts (VOPA) at the El Portal Theatre, are—no surprise�…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:37AM
Thursday, February 20, 2025

Theater Review: NOISES OFF (Geffen Playhouse) by Tony Frankel

ONE COULD GO ON AND ON, EVEN THOUGH IT’S A LITTLE OFF Ah, Noises Off, the ever-reliable theatrical farce that’s been delighting us for decades with its impeccable timing, pratfalls, and,…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 01:12PM
Sunday, February 16, 2025

Theater Review: SONDHEIM’S OLD FRIENDS (Pre-Broadway Engagement at The Ahmanson in Los Angeles) by Tony Frankel

SONDHEIM MERRILY ROLLS ALONG, BUT OLD FRIENDS DOESN’T ALWAYS BOUNCE When a show is billed as a tribute to Stephen Sondheim, expectations are sky-high. His music isn’t just a collection o…

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

Concert Review: LET’S MISBEHAVE: THE SONGS OF COLE PORTER (New York Pops) by Tony Frankel

MY HEART BELONGS TO THE NY POPS The New York Pops’ Let’s Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter was filled with many of Porter’s best-known songs: “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris,”…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 07:50AM
Saturday, February 8, 2025

Theater Review: WICKED (National Tour) by Tony Frankel

STILL A WICKED GOOD TIME The stage musical Wicked is is now Broadway’s fourth longest-running show—surpassing Cats; productions continue to sprout up globally in many languages; and last…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 12:58PM
Friday, January 31, 2025

Broadway Opening: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (Sarah Snook at the Music Box Theatre) by Tony Frankel

A deal with the devil; eternal youth, for the ultimate price. The Picture of Dorian Gray is coming to Broadway’s Music Box Theatre for  a strictly limited engagement 14-week engagement fo…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:19PM
Monday, January 27, 2025

Theater Review: THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (CV Rep) by Tony Frankel

A LUSH, ROMANTIC JOURNEY THROUGH LOVE AND TRANSFORMATION Since Adam Karsten‘s arrival as Artistic Director at CV Rep, the quality and consistency of the theater’s productions have improv…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 06:26AM
Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Highly Recommended Off-Broadway: LOS SOLES TRUNCOS (Repertorio Español) by Tony Frankel

NYC PREMIERE OF RENÉ MARQUÉS’ LOS SOLES TRUNCOS René Marqués‘ seminal work, Los Soles Truncos, stands as a cornerstone of Puerto Rican classical theater. Written in 1958, the play is…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 08:22PM

Highly Recommended Dance: MEMORYHOUSE (Los Angeles Ballet at The Wallis in Beverly Hills) by Tony Frankel

YOUR MEMORY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME With its gripping ensembles, intense partner work and evocative movement, Los Angeles Ballet’s Memoryhouse tells personal and collective stories of los…

SOURCE: stageandcinema.com at 09:17AM

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