All stories by Gordon Cox on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

George C. Wolfe to Receive 2016 Monte Cristo Award from O'Neill Theater Center by Gordon Cox

George C. Wolfe, the director-writer at the helm of the upcoming, starry Broadway musical “Shuffle Along,” will be honored by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center with the 201…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:37PM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: Zachary Quinto in 'Smokefall' by Gordon Cox

Chicago swooned over an earlier production of “Smokefall,” a work written by playwright-screenwriter Noah Haidle (“Stand Up Guys”) and pristinely directed at Off B…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:34AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 22, 2016

Broadway Box Office: Plays Take Center Stage by Gordon Cox

With fewer tourists in town to pack into big-name musical crowdpleasers, plays got a little room to breath at the Broadway box office last week as nonmusical titles, including well-received …

SOURCE: Variety at 07:20PM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: Mark Rylance's 'Nice Fish' by Gordon Cox

“Nice Fish” is both the title and the punchline of the deliriously funny existential ruminations that Mark Rylance (currently up for an acting Oscar for “Bridge of Spies…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:28PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 19, 2016

Broadway Review: 'The Humans' by Gordon Cox

The formula for a family-reunion play goes like this: Multiple generations of a clan get together for a holiday, air their dirty laundry at dinner, start fighting over dessert and at t…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:52AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 18, 2016

Director Joe Mantello on His Broadway Plays 'The Humans,' 'Blackbird' by Gordon Cox

Actor-turned-director Joe Mantello is among New York's most regularly employed stage directors, but even so, things are unusually busy for him this spring. His critically lauded staging of S…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:04PM[SHARE]

Sandy Duncan Abruptly Exits Broadway's 'Finding Neverland' by Gordon Cox

Sandy Duncan has made a hasty exit from Broadway musical “Finding Neverland,” with its producers — led by Harvey Weinstein — battling rumors that she quit with a stat…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:20AM[SHARE]

London Theater Review: 'Uncle Vanya' at the Almeida Theatre by Gordon Cox

Director Robert Icke has become the great hope of British theater. The 29-year-old has a rare talent for tapping into a text's driving forces. He staged "1984" not as a possible future, but …

SOURCE: Variety at 07:20AM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: 'Buried Child' with Ed Harris, Taissa Farmiga by Gordon Cox

We know “a Sam Shepard actor” when we see one. He’s lean and weather-beaten and never far from a bottle. A mean look in his eye suggests he might be dangerous, or maybe jus…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:20AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Broadway Box Office: On the Rebound with Valentines and Presidents by Gordon Cox

After taking a bruising the previous week, the Broadway box office bounced back in a big way last week — thanks to valentines and presidents. Valentine’s Day always bring a sp…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:03PM[SHARE]

Musical 'Come From Away' Sets Broadway Flight Plan by Gordon Cox

“Come from Away,” the musical that earned enthusiastic reviews in an initial co-production at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theater, has mapped out a road to Broadway,…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:05PM[SHARE]

New Jersey Theater Review: 'A Bronx Tale,' The Musical, Co-Directed by Robert De Niro by Gordon Cox

It’s not a stretch to imagine a musical version of "A Bronx Tale.” The 1993 film adaptation of Chazz Palminteri’s autobiographical one-man play — about growing up in …

SOURCE: Variety at 04:05PM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 13, 2016

Matthew Perry's Playwriting Debut Slammed by West End Critics by Gordon Cox

Matthew Perry’s playwriting debut “The End of Longing” opened on the West End last night — and many London critics weren’t kind. The play, in which Perry also s…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:06AM[SHARE]

West End Theater Review: Matthew Perry's 'The End of Longing' by Gordon Cox

In the run-up to "The End of Longing," the West End play written by and starring Matthew Perry, the actor-playwright let slip that he can't remember filming three seasons of "Friends," such …

SOURCE: Variety at 08:06AM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: Mike Birbiglia's 'Thank God for Jokes' by Gordon Cox

It’s a common belief that analyzing what’s funny is not particularly funny. Mike Birbiglia proves the exception to the rule in his new solo show at Off Broadway's Lynn Redgrave T…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:06AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 12, 2016

Off Broadway Review: 'Smart People' with Joshua Jackson by Gordon Cox

Four attractive urban professionals cross paths, flirt, make love, wrestle with racial issues and talk their way in and out of romantic relationships without quite committing themselves. Sou…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:29AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 11, 2016

L.A. Theater Review: 'An Act of God' with Sean Hayes by Gordon Cox

Ash Wednesday, the Christian calendar's annual reminder of life's transitory nature, seems a provocative choice for unveiling "An Act of God" at the Ahmanson. But if offense was intended, no…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:56PM[SHARE]

Audra McDonald, Harold Prince Are First Inductees into Legends at Lincoln Center Hall of Fame by Gordon Cox

Theater names Audra McDonald and Harold Prince are among the inaugural class of inductees at Lincoln Center’s new performing arts-focused hall of fame, Legends at Lincoln Center. Ja…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:56PM[SHARE]

How 'Dawson's Creek' Stars Measure Up on Stage, From Joshua Jackson to Michelle Williams by Gordon Cox

The New York theater scene is halfway to a “Dawson’s Creek” reunion. Thirteen years after the WB teen drama called it quits, Michelle Williams, who played Dawson’s ne…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:56PM[SHARE]

'Frozen' musical sets Broadway timeline, creative team by Gordon Cox

The stage musical adaptation of Disney animated megahit "Frozen" is targeting a Broadway opening in spring 2018, following an out-of-town tryout in the summer of 2017, with exact dates still…

SOURCE: Boston Herald at 12:37AM[SHARE]

'The Walking Dead' Actress Danai Gurira Carves Path to Broadway as Playwright by Gordon Cox

Danai Gurira doesn't need a sword to be formidable. Take away the dreadlocks and the katana of Michonne, the fan-favorite character she plays on "The Walking Dead," and Gurira proves brainy,…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:24AM[SHARE]

'Frozen' Musical Sets Broadway Timeline, Creative Team by Gordon Cox

The stage musical adaptation of Disney animated megahit “Frozen” is targeting a Broadway opening in spring 2018, following an out-of-town trying in the summer of 2017, with ex…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:24AM[SHARE]

'The Walking Dead's' Danai Gurira on Hollywood's Diversity Problem: 'You Have to Change a System' by Gordon Cox

Fiercely committed to broadening the international reach of African artists and the African story, “The Walking Dead” actress and “Eclipsed” playwright Danai Gurira p…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:24AM[SHARE]

Aaron Sorkin to Adapt 'To Kill a Mockingbird' for Broadway by Gordon Cox

Aaron Sorkin will write a new stage adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” for a Broadway run during the 2017-18 season. Bartlett Sher has signed on to direct the show, produced b…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:23AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Jimmy Buffett Musical Gets Dates, Details by Gordon Cox

The brewing Jimmy Buffett musical doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s got a plot, plus dates for a world premiere production at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in the late sp…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:16AM[SHARE]

Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina to Spend Summer at Williamstown Theater Festival by Gordon Cox

The Williamstown Theater Festival, the Massachusetts summer theater festival that regularly attracts stars and yields New York transfers, has tapped actors including Marisa Tomei, Alfr…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:12AM[SHARE]

London Theater Review: Ralph Fiennes in 'The Master Builder' by Gordon Cox

Ralph Fiennes likes a challenge. He picks his parts like a pole-vaulter pushing himself higher. Last year, it was Jack Tanner in the moral maze of Shaw's “Man and Superman,” a fo…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:12AM[SHARE]

Broadway Box Office: Super Bowl Bangs Up Broadway by Gordon Cox

It might seem like the Super Bowl appeals to an entirely different demographic than Broadway, but that never stops the NFL’s big night from raining on Broadway’s parade. Th…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:01AM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: Oz Backstory 'The Woodsman' by Gordon Cox

After limited runs at Ars Nova and 59E59 Theaters, Strangemen & Co.’s production of “The Woodsman” is back on the boards. There’s a haunting beauty about this dar…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:01AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Broadway Box Office: 'Hamilton' Leads Post-Blizzard Recovery by Gordon Cox

“Hamilton” was the heavy at the Broadway box office last week — by a lot, as the Street recovered from the knockout blow it got dealt by the blizzard the previous frame. Ea…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:48PM[SHARE]

Mary-Louise Parker to Return to Broadway in 'Heisenberg' Remount by Gordon Cox

Mary-Louise Parker will star in a Broadway transfer of the well-received Off Broadway play “Heisenberg,” which will open at Manhattan Theater Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Thea…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:48PM[SHARE]

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