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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 …

SOURCE: The Contending at 09:45AM[SHARE]

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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