All stories by FRANK J. AVELLA on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

'Ragtime:' A Sensational, Too-Timely Broadway Revival by Frank J. Avella

Lincoln Center Theater's sensational new production of the musical Ragtime, which began its renewed life as a Gala produced in 2024 by New York City Center, is a theatrical wonder for the ey…

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:58AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 3, 2025

'Liberation:' Poignant, Hilarious, Timely Broadway Play By Bess Wohl by Frank J. Avella

The memory play is a genre that has grown a bit stale since Tennessee Williams shattered it with The Glass Menagerie's Broadway premiere in 1944. But Tony-nominee Bess Wohl has breathed new,…

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:11AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 11, 2025

London Calling: West End Musicals Boast A Dazzling 'Burlesque,' Enjoyable 'Devil Wears Prada,' & Rousing 'Oliver!' Revival by Frank J. Avella

Evita was the definite highlight of my recent London theatergoing experience. The production is truly inspired and I am so excited for it's Broadway run. You can read my rave HERE. But I did…

SOURCE: The Contending at 04:58PM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 24, 2025

'Evita' Review: Zegler Stuns In Vigorous, Passionate Theatre by Frank J. Avella

Even as someone who has special childhood memories tied to the show, I can admit Evita is a flawed work. It's more rock opera than book musical. The politics can get a bit muddled. And the f…

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:08PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 1, 2025

'Beau the Musical' Dazzling Lead Matt Rodin On the Importance of Queer Representation [VIDEO] by Frank J. Avella

A true star performance is on display seven times a week in a smallish off-Broadway house on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. Matt Rodin takes the stage at Theater 154 and metaphoric…

SOURCE: The Contending at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

'Beau The Musical' Hidden Queer-Themed Off-Broadway Gem Playing In Greenwich Village by Frank J. Avella

There's a (nearly) hidden, gay-themed gem playing this Pride season in Greenwich Village. A musical, seven-years in the making, that is rousing, disturbing and, ultimately, empowering. Beau …

SOURCE: The Contending at 12:25PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 20, 2025

'Pirates! The Penzance Musical' Breakout Star Nicholas Barasch Discusses Performing On The Tonys With Seven Stitches On His Face by Frank J. Avella

Nicholas Barasch is currently wowing audiences as young Frederic in the Roundabout Theatre Company's splendid reworking of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera, now titled, Pirates! The Penz…

SOURCE: The Contending at 05:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 12, 2025

Jean Smart Triumphs In Riveting Solo Play 'Call Me Izzy' by Frank J. Avella

I managed to avoid reading anything about Call Me Izzy except for the obvious fact that it stars Jean Smart and it's a one-character play. Full disclosure, I am NOT a fan of one-person shows…

SOURCE: The Contending at 11:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 9, 2025

Tonys 2025: The Long, Perilous Road to Nicole Scherzinger's Triumphant Tony Victory for 'Sunset Blvd' by Frank J. Avella

The last three Oscar ceremonies have had very intense and competitive Best Actress races. Truth to be told, it's the category that always excites and scares me, because of how much I invest …

SOURCE: The Contending at 03:13PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 2, 2025

Tonys 2025: Predictions & Preferences, Don't Let The Patti LuPone Controversy Detract From A Banner Year On Broadway by Frank J. Avella

Now that Patti LuPone has apologized: forgive her, support her or sharpen your pitchforks, but WAIT until after Broadway's biggest night. This year's Tony Awards will be one for the books si…

SOURCE: The Contending at 07:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 1, 2025

'Shellshocked' Newcomer Jack Stokes Chats About His Stunning Performance, Exciting Future [VIDEO] by Frank J. Avella

Who is Jack Stokes? He's an astonishingly impressive young British actor you may be hearing a lot more about in the coming years. Stokes is currently electrifying audiences in the play Shell…

SOURCE: The Contending at 06:44PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 23, 2025

Tonys 2025: 'Dead Outlaw' Standout Julia Knitel On Her Dreams Coming True [VIDEO] by Frank J. Avella

Tony nominee Julia Knitel seamlessly slips into a slew of characters at each performance of the new Broadway musical sensation Dead Outlaw. The brilliant, non-linear show, which began life o…

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:30PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 12, 2025

2025 Tonys: Chatting With Oh, Mary!'s Outrageously Funny Conrad Ricamora [VIDEO] by Frank J. Avella

Tony nominee Conrad Ricamora is currently wowing audiences portraying a closeted, hypermasculine Abraham Lincoln in the wacky Broadway comedy Oh, Mary!, playwright and star Cole Escola's 'fe…

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 6, 2025

'Dead Outlaw:' Bold, Stirring, Darkly Comedic New Musical Ends The Season On A Sublime Note by Frank J. Avella

Every once in a rare while on Broadway, especially in the last two decades, a bold, stirring, wholly original musical opens that dares to combine the darkly comedic with social commentary an…

SOURCE: The Contending at 03:15PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 29, 2025

2025 Tony Awards Nom Predictions, Preferences: A New Broadway Golden Age Is Upon Us by Frank J. Avella

In doing some geeky Tony Award rabbit hole research. It became clear that we are, happily, in a new golden age on Broadway where there are an abundance of fabulous shows, performances and te…

SOURCE: The Contending at 08:22PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 24, 2025

'BOOP! The Musical:' A Chat With 2025 Tony Contender Ainsley Melham [VIDEO] by Frank J. Avella

Australian-born musical theater actor extraordinaire Ainsley Melham is quite the sensation this season as Dwayne, the baby-blue-eyed, Jazz-loving beau of Jasmine Amy Roger's titular characte…

SOURCE: The Contending at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Tonys 2025: The Broadway Battle For Best Actress In A Musical Begins by Frank J. Avella

2025 has become one of the most fabulously fierce and competitive years for lead female awards contenders. First we had an Oscar race where no less than four truly worthy performances (Nicol…

SOURCE: The Contending at 02:05PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 21, 2025

'John Proctor Is The Villain:' Electrifying, Essential New Play by Kimberly Bellflower by Frank J. Avella

It is not going where I think it's going! It is not going where I think it's going! Oh God, I think it's going where I think it's going! This was my near-breathless reaction to experiencing …

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Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Jennifer Simard: Broadway Diva Kills In 'Death Becomes Her' [VIDEO] by Frank J. Avella

Broadway Diva Jennifer Simard has been killing it on Broadway for almost two decades. Note: I use the word "diva" in the best, most fabulous definition of that word. She's currently wowing a…

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:04PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 14, 2025

'BOOP! The Musical:' Betty Comes To Spectacular, Technicolor Life in Dazzling New Production by Frank J. Avella

Certain misguided critics (and that one in particular) are gushing over a monumental mess of a musical, loosely based on a TV series, that just hit Broadway " with a thud. Yet some of those …

SOURCE: The Contending at 01:40PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 9, 2025

'Old Friends:' A Nostalgic Revisit Of The Masterful Work Of Musical Theater Legend Stephen Sondheim by Frank J. Avella

Your feelings about the new Sondheim revue, Old Friends, will probably depend on your familiarity with the composer-lyricist's work as well as whether you enjoy songs sung out of context. I …

SOURCE: The Contending at 01:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 1, 2025

'Ghosts:' A Haunting And Emotionally Devastating Ibsen Revival by Frank J. Avella

I haven't been emotionally slayed at the theater in quite a while. And I can shamefully state that Ghosts is a Henrik Ibsen play I was not completely familiar with. In terms of the Norwegian…

SOURCE: The Contending at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 31, 2025

'Purpose,' Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Riveting New Play Boasts Trio Of Fab Female Performances by Frank J. Avella

One of the many great joys in watching Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' sometimes searing, always riveting new Broadway play, Purpose, is the trio of female performances. Not to take away anything fr…

SOURCE: The Contending at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 28, 2025

A Sensational Sarah Snook In A 'Picture of Dorian Gray' For The Digital Age by Frank J. Avella

Strangely, I thought about Luigi Mangione after seeing Sarah Snook's theatrical tour de force, The Picture of Dorian Gray, at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway"Okay, not really about him but…

SOURCE: The Contending at 01:28PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 25, 2025

'Operation Mincemeat:' Madcap WW2 Musical Madness by Frank J. Avella

Operation Mincemeat presents one of the most bizarre premises for a musical, and certainly a wholly odd choice of subject matter for a comedy. Blend the two together and add a British sensib…

SOURCE: The Contending at 02:03PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 12, 2025

Audra McDonald Triumphs In Mostly Captivating Revival Of 'Gypsy' by Frank J. Avella

Stephen Sondheim is my musical theatre god. My top 3 favorite shows of all time are Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd. That said… I've never agreed with the c…

SOURCE: The Contending at 01:10PM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 11, 2011

Review: SILENCE! The Musical by FRANK J. AVELLA

Back in August of 2005 I called the Fringe presentation of Silence! The Musical "hands down the best musical this year so far." It took way too long for this irreverent, rude and madly enter…

SOURCE: www.newyorkcool.com at 10:37AM[SHARE]

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