All stories by David Buchanan on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

'for colored girls' reviews celebrate 'riveting' Broadway revival and 'resplendent' Kenita R. Miller by David Buchanan

Forty-six years after the original production of Ntozake Shange's legendary choreopoem "for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf," a sterling revival has retur…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

'How I Learned to Drive': First Broadway production showcases a 'crushing' Mary-Louise Parker by David Buchanan

Twenty five years after the Off-Broadway debut of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "How I Learned to Drive," the contemporary American classic has at long last made its bow on Broad…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:00PM[SHARE]

'The Minutes' reviews: 'Astonishing' Tracy Letts play features shocking satire and starry ensemble by David Buchanan

In a Broadway season teeming with exciting plays, musicals, and revivals, a dramatization of a small city council meeting may sound dull. Perhaps in the hands of a lesser playwright than Pul…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 18, 2022

'American Buffalo' reviews: 'Beautifully' acted revival overshadowed by David Mamet controversy by David Buchanan

Over two years after its slated pre-pandemic bow, the fourth production of David Mamet's "American Buffalo" has arrived on Broadway. The nearly 50-year-old play takes place in a junk shop ow…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 12, 2022

'Birthday Candles' reviews: Under-baked play features an 'exceptionally moving' Debra Messing by David Buchanan

Almost a decade after her Broadway debut, Emmy-winner Debra Messing has returned to the New York stage in new play "Birthday Candles," which taps into her gifts of comedy and sentimentality.…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 6, 2022

'Take Me Out' reviews: 'Provocative' revival poised to hit home run at Tony Awards by David Buchanan

The ensemble of Second Stage Theatre's revival of "Take Me Out" has waited over two years for the first pitch of this baseball drama on Broadway, but after the lengthy pandemic delay the rem…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 5, 2022

'Paradise Square' reviews: 'Overwrought' new historical musical stars an 'amazing' Joaquina Kalukango by David Buchanan

Broadway's mad dash to the Tony Award nominations began on April 3 with the opening of original musical "Paradise Square," the first of 17 new productions set to bow this month. Set during t…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 29, 2022

'Plaza Suite' returns to Broadway with an 'exuberant' Sarah Jessica Parker in an otherwise 'overlong' production by David Buchanan

Twenty-five years after her last appearance on Broadway, Sarah Jessica Parker has returned to the stage in the first revival of Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite." For her long-awaited bow, Parker h…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 21, 2022

2022 Tony Awards slugfest: 20 productions vie for places in Play races [WATCH] by David Buchanan

"It's been a great season for Black playwrights," Sam Eckmann says as he introduces Gold Derby's first slugfest of the 2022 Tony Awards season. A whopping 20 new plays and play revivals are …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 14, 2022

'The Music Man' reviews: Critics find trouble in Hugh Jackman's River City in 'cautious' revival by David Buchanan

It has been eight years since Hugh Jackman notoriously hopped his way into Radio City Music Hall to host the 68th Tony Awards and even longer since he won a Tony himself. But at long last, J…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:30AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 3, 2022

'MJ The Musical' reviews: Myles Frost 'mesmerizing' as Michael Jackson, but musical is 'surface-skimming' by David Buchanan

Two weeks after the closing of her play "Clyde's," Lynn Nottage has opened a new jukebox musical about a star who needs no introduction. Penned by the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, "MJ The…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 28, 2022

'Skeleton Crew' reviews: 'Commanding' Phylicia Rashad leads this 'moving' Dominique Morisseau play by David Buchanan

Ten days after her first Broadway show ended an acclaimed run, playwright Dominique Morisseau has just opened another. The Tony-nominee penned the libretto for musical "Ain't Too Proud: The …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, January 17, 2022

'Flying Over Sunset' closes on Broadway: Will Tony voters remember this 'delectable' but 'bewildering' new musical? by David Buchanan

Cary Grant back on Broadway? For five weeks this winter, the debonaire actor treaded the boards again in spirit in the form of Tony Yazbeck, who portrayed the Golden Age movie star in the mu…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:00PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 11, 2021

'Company' returns to Broadway reimagined in a 'sublime' production that honors the late Stephen Sondheim's 'indelible' score by David Buchanan

Over fifty years after its debut on Broadway in 1970, Stephen Sondheim's genre-redefining musical "Company" has returned in a reimagined production by Tony Award-winning director Marianne El…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 10, 2021

'Mrs. Doubtfire' reviews: Stage musical 'predictable' and 'pandering,' but Rob McClure is 'vivacious' by David Buchanan

Almost thirty years after Robin Williams played "Mrs. Doubtfire" on the big screen, a musical adaptation has bowed on Broadway. The farcical plot follows divorced father Daniel, who dress…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 24, 2021

'Clyde's' reviews: Uzo Aduba hailed for return to Broadway in 'delightful' new play by Lynn Nottage by David Buchanan

It has been almost five years since playwright Lynn Nottage made her Broadway debut with "Sweat" and almost 10 since Uzo Aduba last appeared on a Broadway stage. They both return, triumphant…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:15AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 19, 2021

'Trouble in Mind' reviews: Alice Childress' 'exemplary,' 'eye-opening' play an early Tony Awards Best Revival contender by David Buchanan

Many plays and musicals have had to wait a long year and a half to open on Broadway, with premieres delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. But none are more overdue than Alice Childres…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:30AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 18, 2021

'Diana, The Musical' reviews: 'Cold and crass' new show fails to live up to its beloved subject by David Buchanan

Diana, Princess of Wales has been portrayed in no shortage of high profile works of fiction this past year, from her introduction on the fourth season of Netflix's "The Crown" to Pablo Larra…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:45AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 28, 2021

'Caroline, or Change' reviews: 'Thrilling' revival showcases Sharon D Clarke's 'titanic' performance by David Buchanan

Seventeen years after its Broadway debut, musical "Caroline, or Change" has returned in what critics describe as an "electrifying" production. The show is set in 1960s Louisiana and centers …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 18, 2021

'Dana H.': 'Harrowing' play about abduction showcases 'astonishing' Deirdre O'Connell by David Buchanan

Last week, "Is This a Room" opened on Broadway to rave reviews as one half of a repertory production that also features Tony-nominee Lucas Hnath's "Dana H." This companion piece, of sorts, o…

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Friday, October 15, 2021

'The Lehman Trilogy' arrives on Broadway 'gorgeous and intoxicating,' a 'captivating' but dense financial epic by David Buchanan

"The Lehman Trilogy" has had a protracted journey to Broadway. Not quite as long as the nearly two centuries of history that the play chronicles, of course, but what began in London in 2018 …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 14, 2021

'Girl From the North Country' reopens on Broadway: 'Ravishing' Bob Dylan musical eligible for 2022 Tony Awards by David Buchanan

Back in March 2020, the Bob Dylan songbook musical "Girl From the North Country" opened on Broadway on March 5, just one week before theaters shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now m…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:00PM[SHARE]

'Thoughts of a Colored Man': Critics find this new Broadway play to be 'poetic' but 'uneven' by David Buchanan

Back in February, the new play "Thoughts of a Colored Man" installed its marquee at the Golden Theatre, an encouraging sign almost a year into the coronavirus pandemic that the frost on Broa…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 12, 2021

'Is This a Room' on Broadway is an 'astonishing' new play that dramatizes a real FBI interrogation by David Buchanan

The long-awaited reopening of Broadway has just welcomed one of its most unique offerings of the season with the debut of new drama "Is This a Room." One of a duo of transcript plays to bow …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 11, 2021

Broadway comedy 'Chicken & Biscuits' has 'fresh' humor and heart, but some critics hunger for more by David Buchanan

Ten years after making his Broadway debut as an actor in "The Book of Mormon," Douglas Lyons just took his first bow as a playwright with "Chicken & Biscuits," which opened at the Circle…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:07AM[SHARE]
Friday, October 8, 2021

'Lackawanna Blues': Ruben Santiago-Hudson's 'vibrant' play and performance are a 'master class' by David Buchanan

Twenty years after Ruben Santiago-Hudson first brought the town of Lackawanna, New York to life Off-Broadway, his autobiographical play "Lackawanna Blues" has arrived on Broadway. The solo s…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 4, 2021

The wait was worth it: 'Six' opens on Broadway to 'fantastic' reviews and is early Tony Awards favorite by David Buchanan

In March of last year, the new musical "Six" was literally minutes away from opening on Broadway when the coronavirus pandemic halted its performance. Eighteen months later, the musical by L…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, September 27, 2021

'Moulin Rouge!' wins 10 Tony Awards, two shy of record set by 'The Producers' by David Buchanan

As our exclusive odds predicted, "Moulin Rouge!" won 10 of its 13 Tony Awards races, including the top prize, Best Musical. It also claimed the awards for Best Director (Alex Timbers), Best …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:30AM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 26, 2021

Tony Awards mystery explained: How did Tom Hiddleston ('Betrayal') lose? by David Buchanan

Heading into Sunday night's Tony Awards, Tom Hiddleston looked like a lock for the Best Actor in a Play award. The Emmy-nominated actor and star of Marvel movies and the "Loki" series on Dis…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:02PM[SHARE]

Danny Burstein ('Moulin Rouge!') finally wins at Tonys on lucky nomination #7 by David Buchanan

On his seventh try, Danny Burstein finally has a Tony Award. The beloved Broadway veteran claimed his career-first trophy for his featured performance in "Moulin Rouge! The Musical." The win…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:22PM[SHARE]

Tony Awards: Will 'Moulin Rouge!' sweep the long-delayed 74th ceremony? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG] by David Buchanan

The long-delayed 74th Tony Awards was held on Sunday, September 26 in a two-part telecast staged at the Winter Garden theater. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald hosted a ceremony on Paramo…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:30PM[SHARE]

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