Theater Articles
Spring Ahead: Full Throttle
While many people view Fall as the theatrical season to be reckoned with - some misplaced allegiance to Labor Day and the start of the new school year, no doubt - it is Spring that generates the most new productions on and off the Great White Way. I am pleased to report, springtime, 2008, is proving to be particularly vibrant on many levels, from groundbreaking new works and sizzling revivals to an incredibly high degree of star voltage!
Broadway, Baby! The '50s Revival Continues on Broadway With John Waters' Cry-Baby
You can now add another celluloid cult classic to the Hollywood-to-Broadway mix: Cry-Baby, from John Waters, the same writer-director behind the original, 1988 film version of Hairspray. This 1990 movie musical - starring a lip-synching (yep, he's come a long way with Sweeney Todd!) Johnny Depp, Traci Lords, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, and Troy Donahue - takes place in 1954 Baltimore, a somewhat idyllic place where everyone likes Ike, no one likes communism, and greasers break into rockabilly songs.
And Now For Something Completely Silly... Monty Python's Spamalot
Knights without horses prancing to the clip-clopping of coconut shells; an empty-headed King Arthur searching for the Holy Grail; a killer rabbit (and a giant wooden one that serves as a Trojan Horse for the Middle Ages); a nasty and flatulent French Taunter defending his castle against the Brits; and a gaggle of fearsome Knights who say "Ni!" - these are only some of the elements that ensure Monty Python's Spamalot status as Broadway's most slaphappy musical ever.
March Madness: It's Not Just For Jocks Anymore
Ah, March - the time of year when a sports fan's fancy turns to NCAA basketball and a theatre lover's fancy turns to the budding Broadway season. For both sets of devotees, the aim is the same: to be entertained to the nth degree. Leaving the NCAA and sports pages to alert their demographic as to who's who and who's hot on the courts, I am happy to take on the task of alerting you to the ins and outs of the shows and celebs who have come together to make March 2008 a killer month on Broadway.
In the Heights: From Barrio to Broadway, With Love
Barely six months after closing Off-Broadway, the Latin hip-hop musical In the Heights begins previews on February 14th at the Richard Rodgers Theatre with backing from some of the producers behind Rent and Avenue Q, three new songs, and a slightly larger cast.
On Broadway: Star-Spangled Broadway
During Broadway's current season, audiences are privy to an intoxicating catalogue of theatrical thoroughbreds: performers whose stage and TV reputations are legendary. Even more impressive, a staggering number of them have Tony Awards propped up on their mantelpieces and coffee tables.
Off-Broadway: The Other (Great) White Way!
Broadway: the gold standard for New York theatre - or is it? If you read between the queues (that would be the folks lining up for theatre tickets in New York), you'll find that some of the hottest shows on Broadway arrived via Off-Broadway.
Soothing the Post-Holiday Blahs: The New York Theatre Antidote!
The arrival of New Year 2008 signifies a fresh influx of big stars, some long-awaited Broadway openings, and several enticing bits of casting news.
The New Shanghai Circus
Welcome to the latest New York edition of The New Shanghai Circus. The world-celebrated troupe of Chinese aerialists, acrobats, jugglers, contortionists, and daredevils returns for a holiday engagement.
Disney on Broadway: Three Magical Musicals to Thrill Audiences of All Ages
If you want to know how to make a musical magical, ask Disney! Disney on Broadway has something for everyone. Whether it's the the wondrous magic of Mary Poppins, the majestic spectacle of The Lion King or the excitement of Disney's new musical The Little Mermaid, you know you're sure to make a memory that lasts forever.
Dear Santa: A Sleighful of (Awesome!) Holiday Shows, Please!
New York during the holiday season, where on any given day, the Rockettes become a kick line of Santas, the Sugar Plum Fairy serves up a dance buffet to Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, and the Grinch lets green fur fly--all for your entertainment pleasure.
Avenue Q: Boulevard of Puppet Dreams
Along Broadway's fictional rundown street Avenue Q, the young denizens experience love, rejection, homelessness, joy, depression, anger, and unexpected generosity. They search for a purpose, and more practically, for jobs. They deal with disappointment and temptation, and contemplate the happiness in the misfortune of others. The twist? Almost all the characters are oversized hand puppets.
Groovin' with Barry Williams: Keeper of the 1970s Flame (Make That Lava Lamp!)
Former "Brady Bunch" star Barry Williams' latest venture is a musical-comedy revue called Growing Up 70s that begins performances at New York's HA! Comedy Club on November 15
TV's Roots Planted on Broadway: The Farnsworth Invention
Aaron Sorkin has returned to Broadway with a brilliantly theatrical take on the creation of television as a battle for credit between its true inventor, Philo T. Farnsworth, and David Sarnoff, the cunning president of R.C.A.
Off-Broadway Spectacular Fuerzabruta has arrived
What can you say about a show that breaks through theatre's fourth wall and the other three walls as well?
Mamma Mia!'s Carolee Carmello--Doing It All and Having a Ball
Looking for a Broadway musical that will have you humming the score and smiling all the way home? Then head for the international hit packed with 22 ABBA classics, multiple love stories, and a wonderfully vibrant cast led by the flame-haired Carolee Carmello.
Three Mo' Tenors: Let The Good Times Roll!
Three Mo' Tenors is a joyful musical alchemy that makes you ask: Where are the great, young black tenors and why aren't they singing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"?
She’s Back: JoAnne Worley Returns to Broadway in a Show-Stopping Performance
The fabulously loopy Mrs. Tottendale is inhabited by the larger-than-life vocal chords and dead-on comic timing of the actress
Broadway on Broadway: Annual Free Concert Kicks Off the New Broadway Season
The League of American Theatres and Producers and The Times Square Alliance present the 16th annual Broadway on Broadway on Sunday, September 16 at 11:30am in Times Square.
Legally Blonde The Musical: Can This Much Fun Be Legal?
If there's one who doesn't know the plot of Legally Blonde, you could knock us over with a feather boa. But then suspense is not really the point of this good-time musical about sorority girl Elle Woods -- it's the joyride that gets us there that matters.
Spiegelworld: Transporting Audiences to a Bygone Era, One Spectacular Act at a Time
This summer, New Yorkers (native and temporary) are invited to enjoy the sort of unique burlesque, cirque, and vaudeville that Europeans have flocked to for generations. That's because, through Sept. 30, Spiegelworld is taking over the South Street Seaport once again!
Off-Broadway Offers Off-Season Alternatives: Gypsy, The Roast of Utopia, and More
Whereas only a smattering of Broadway shows open during the summer, I’m happy to report several stellar limited-edition performances in town right now, each guaranteed to trigger envy in the hearts of theatergoers.
Star Power Turns Up the Heat for 110 in the Shade
Those who take in 110 in the Shade will witness a fairy tale about the arrival of a handsome, big-talking rainmaker in a parched Texas panhandle town in 1936. But what they are likely to remember most is Audra McDonald’s performance.
Beauty and the Beast: Time Is Running Out to 'Be Their Guest' on Broadway
Bye-bye, Belle! Farewell, Beast! On July 29, the final petal will drop from the enchanted rose that Disney planted on Broadway in 1994. When it does, it will be a bittersweet moment for the thousands who received their introduction to live theatre courtesy of this groundbreaking production.
Curtains: Broadway's Newest Classic
Curtains is a show-within-a-show about a 1950s musical with Broadway pretensions working out its considerable kinks in Boston, where people in the company keep dying.
