Friday, March 27, 2026
By Alix Cohen The Grand Ole Oprey began in 1925 as Nashville's "WSM Barn Dance", a simple radio show of fiddle tunes and folk songs. A joking, on-air remark gave it the formal name. Quickly …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:30PM[SHARE]Monday, March 23, 2026
By Alix Cohen Brian Stokes Mitchell's life and career span both artistic triumph and personal resilience. Onstage, he rose to the top of Broadway with standout performances in Ragtime and Ki…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 04:33AM[SHARE]Sunday, March 22, 2026
By Alix Cohen Alvin Ailey transformed modern dance by centering Black experience, spirituality, and community in works that speak to universal emotion. His legacy continues to expand access,…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:50PM[SHARE]Friday, March 20, 2026
By Alix Cohen What makes Sunset Circus different? "Two things: the story and the intimate environment. Ours is a theatrical show (on stage) in which the circus acts help tell the story. Phys…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:20PM[SHARE]By Alix Cohen Remember the Golden Age of musicals whose plots had a linear beginning, middle and end; thwarted lovers, apparent villains, drama, comedy relief, and lush music? Monte Cristo a…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:28PM[SHARE]By Alix Cohen Described by friends and associates as gentle, observant, ironic, and emotionally reserved, playwright Anton Chekhov exhibited those qualities in his work. The artist called on…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:23AM[SHARE]Tuesday, March 17, 2026
By Alix Cohen This play sneaks up on one, its hero does not. Every minute Jordan Matthew Brown is onstage as Zack is captivating. The actor creates a sweet, bumbling, childlike young man for…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:44PM[SHARE]By Alix Cohen British director Leigh Carver (Max Baker) practically salivates over having secured Academy Award winning Jay Conway (Michael Broderick) to star in his upcoming production abou…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 06:02AM[SHARE]Sunday, March 15, 2026
By Alix Cohen "Maybe if we stopped chasing grace, we'd learn to love the process of becoming Grace." Elizabeth Addison apparently has no theater and barely any music training. Like Irving Be…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:52AM[SHARE]Friday, March 13, 2026
By Alix Cohen Married 7 years, Bobby (Schoen Hodges) and his second wife, Elise (Leigh Wulff) are on the ropes. Her catering company has imploded; his assistant professorship replaced by sub…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:06AM[SHARE]Thursday, March 12, 2026
By Alix Cohen Charles Strouse (1928-2025) composed music for 14 Broadway musicals, garnering three Tony Awards. An additional 16 musicals were produced elsewhere. Just out of school, playing…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:00AM[SHARE]Wednesday, March 11, 2026
By Alix Cohen Henry Darger was an American outsider artist and reclusive writer whose work remained largely unknown during his lifetime. Born in Chicago in 1892 his mother died when he was y…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:52AM[SHARE]Monday, March 9, 2026
By Alix Cohen The longevity industry in the United States"anti-aging medicine, supplements, biotech research, medical spas, and diagnostics"is worth tens of billions of dollars per year. Ant…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:18AM[SHARE]Sunday, March 8, 2026
By Alix Cohen Lillias White is an amalgam of Etta James, Mae West and Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream.) She sizzles her way onstage with a defiant "I'm Getting' Along Alright" (Bobby Sharp/C…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:22AM[SHARE]Friday, March 6, 2026
By Alix Cohen Mel Tormé (1925-1999), known as "The Velvet Fog", impressed audiences and peers alike with his silken voice, innate swing, improvisational skill, and sophisticated arrangement…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:29PM[SHARE]By Alix Cohen Tin Pan Alley originated in the late 19th century on West 28th Street in New York City, where music publishers and songwriters clustered to produce and promote popular sheet mu…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 09:01AM[SHARE]Wednesday, March 4, 2026
By Alix Cohen Kenneth Ard was in bed when he received a text from a former mentee. Cats: The Jellicle Ball was coming to Broadway. Ard had originated the role of Macavity in the 1982 Winter …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:02AM[SHARE]Thursday, February 26, 2026
By Alix Cohen Prejudice against Chinese women in corporate America often operates at the intersection of race and gender, where stereotypes about both Asian identity and femininity shape wor…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 08:45AM[SHARE]Sunday, February 22, 2026
By Alix Cohen Playwright Eugene O'Neill had a strong personal connection to the sea from his time as a sailor and an interest in New England's whaling culture. Though he never went whaling h…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:21PM[SHARE]Saturday, February 21, 2026
By Alix Cohen Do NOT be put off by title or fight images. There's nothing gratuitously violent in playwright Ngozi Anyanw's chronicle of sibling trauma, abandonment and reconciliation. Borne…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:00PM[SHARE]Friday, February 20, 2026
By Alix Cohen Parched opens with the recording of an actual public service announcement about conserving water and the song "Waiting on the Rain. " Lighting (Tyler Kieffer) and Scenic Design…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 02:34PM[SHARE]By Alix Cohen It's the 1950s. We meet Charlie, a regular guy with a penchant for swing music, draped across an old (full sized) radio console. A fedora covers his face. One day he spots Ruby…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:17AM[SHARE]Thursday, February 19, 2026
By Alix Cohen Thirty five year ago, Laurie Krauz and MD, Daryl Kojak had a regular gig at Danny's Skylight on West 46th Street. In an effort to recreate those "casual" appearances, the colla…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 11:58AM[SHARE]Monday, February 16, 2026
By Alix Cohen Playwright Brian Dykstra has a habit of sneaking up on one with narratives so topically incisive they startle. His work is a prime example of the aphorism "language holds power…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:48PM[SHARE]Thursday, February 12, 2026
By Alix Cohen There's little rhyme or reason to Ann Kittredge's choice of songs this evening except nostalgia with starting her career at Don't Tell Mama's and gratitude to the venue's heart…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 05:08PM[SHARE]Monday, February 9, 2026
Piano player, composer, arranger, musical director, orchestrator, conductor, and uber-fan Marc Shaiman By Alix Cohen At age seven, Marc Shaiman parroted his sister's piano lesson by ear. At …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 01:07PM[SHARE]Thursday, February 5, 2026
By Alix Cohen "CO＿LAB Theater Group is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Creative Opportunities without Limits And Boundaries. The organization offers individuals with de…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 12:05PM[SHARE]Monday, February 2, 2026
By Alix Cohen When Frenchwoman Margot Sergent appeared at the doors of Berklee School of Music 12 years ago, she had a classical harp background. When she left, the vocalist was a jazz baby.…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 10:12AM[SHARE]Sunday, February 1, 2026
By Alix Cohen "No one could have predicted this is an ironic moment for traditional patriotism…I worry about the direction of the country," Leon Botstein notes beginning his brief pre-conc…
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:31PM[SHARE]Friday, January 30, 2026
By Alix Cohen "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." F. Scott Fitzgerald They meet in a church basement outside an AA Meeting. "She" is clearly an …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:06PM[SHARE]Thursday, January 29, 2026
By Alix Cohen Peter Calo has worked with such diverse artists as Dionne Warwick, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Leonard Bernstein, Lesley Gore, and The Platters. He spent …
SOURCE: Theater Pizzazz at 03:50PM[SHARE]Loading more stories…
