All stories by Gordon Cox on BroadwayStars

Friday, October 17, 2014

Broadway's 'On the Town' Brings Out Patriots and 'So You Think You Can Dance' Judges by Gordon Cox

It was a patriotic night at the Oct. 16 opening of the Broadway revival of “On the Town.” One of the second act’s nightclub sequences included a fourth-wall-breaking singal…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:04AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 16, 2014

Broadway Review: 'On the Town' by Gordon Cox

“On the Town” is back on Broadway, and whaddya know, it’s still a helluva show. Helmer John Rando (who directed the musical at Barrington Stage last year) has given t…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM[SHARE]

Lincoln Center Theater Adds New Play by Douglas Carter Beane to Slate by Gordon Cox

Lincoln Center Theater has lined up two productions to open in June, including the world premiere of “Shows for Days,” the latest play by Douglas Carter Beane, whose play “…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:39PM[SHARE]

Al Pacino to Return to Broadway in New Play by David Mamet by Gordon Cox

Al Pacino, one of only a few big-name actors who have proven consistent draws at the Broadway box office, has made plans for his Main Stem return, starring in a new play by David Mamet, R…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:44PM[SHARE]

Off Broadway's Second Stage Replaces 'American Psycho' with 'Between Riverside and Crazy' by Gordon Cox

Second Stage Theater, the Off Broadway company that found itself with a hole in its season when its scheduled production of musical “American Psycho” was yanked by commercial pro…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:00PM[SHARE]

Broadway to Honor Elaine Stritch with Starry Tribute by Gordon Cox

Broadway will turn out to honor the late Elaine Stritch with a starry performance next month that will include theater-industry royalty including Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and Hal Prin…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Off Broadway Review: 'Found' by Gordon Cox

Although there isn’t a kitten or a puppy in sight, “Found” is so cute, it’s almost too cute.  Helmer Lee Overtree has been extremely clever in staging this quir…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:18PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Broadway Box Office: Columbus Day Drives Street-Wide Spike by Gordon Cox

Columbus Day brought a surge of long-weekend tourism business to Broadway last week, with the holiday spurring major gains all along the Street at shows including newly anointed critical dar…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:14PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 13, 2014

Off Broadway Review: The Debate Society's 'Jacuzzi' by Gordon Cox

The stage at Off Broadway’s Ars Nova is so long and narrow, there’s hardly room to swing a cat.  So it might seem absurd to install a fully functioning hot tub as the centerpi…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 10, 2014

Nathan Lane Wrestles Open Nighters to the Ground in 'It's Only a Play' by Gordon Cox

The Oct. 9 opening of starry comedy “It’s Only a Play” brought a little old-fashioned glamor back to Broadway: The event was black tie, just like in the golden age, and all…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:12AM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 9, 2014

Broadway Review: 'It's Only a Play' by Gordon Cox

Nobody does mean-nasty-vicious like Terrence McNally, bless his black heart. The pitiless playwright has exhumed "It's Only a Play," his 1986 love-hate letter to those big babies who work an…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Broadway Musical 'Once' to Close in January by Gordon Cox

Amid the continuing global expansion of stage musical “Once,” the Broadway production that launched the Tony-winning legit title will shutter in January, ending its run after abo…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:30PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 6, 2014

Marian Seldes, Broadway Favorite, Dies at 86 by Gordon Cox

Marian Seldes, the actress and recent winner of the Tonys' lifetime achievement award, died at her home Oct. 6 following a long illness. The actress' brother, Timothy Seldes, announced the d…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:55PM[SHARE]

Broadway's 'Curious Incident' Opening: Nobody Thought It Was a Good Idea by Gordon Cox

The National Theater's stage adaptation of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" opened on Broadway to rave reviews Oct. 5, after a well-received London debut that led to a Wes…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:10AM[SHARE]

Broadway's 'Curious Incident' opening: nobody thought it was a good idea by Gordon Cox

The National Theater's stage adaptation of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" opened on Broadway to rave reviews Oct. 5, after a well-received London debut that led to a Wes…

SOURCE: Boston Herald at 12:10AM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 5, 2014

Broadway Review: 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Gordon Cox

Believe the buzz. The National Theater Production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is spectacular, like Cirque du Soleil with brains. Scribe Simon Stephens …

SOURCE: Variety at 11:39PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 3, 2014

Theater Review: 'Speed-the-Plow' Starring Lindsay Lohan by Gordon Cox

Nobody ever chose to go to the theater to watch an actor be adequate. Sadly, "adequate" sums up Lindsay Lohan's London stage debut in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow." The bad news, however, i…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:54PM[SHARE]
Thursday, October 2, 2014

Broadway Review: 'The Country House' with Blythe Danner by Gordon Cox

Donald Margulies gets a big, sloppy kiss from leading lady Blythe Danner, who is effortlessly lovely and irresistibly charismatic as the queenly head of a fractious theatrical family in his …

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM[SHARE]

London Theater Review: Kristin Scott Thomas in 'Electra' by Gordon Cox

"You will die from all this grieving." Oh no she won't. Playing the title role of Sophocles' "Electra," a mesmerizing Kristin Scott Thomas is paradoxically alive with grief. Being both simul…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:13PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Ruth Wilson Joins Jake Gyllenhaal in Broadway's 'Constellations' by Gordon Cox

Ruth Wilson, the British actress (“Luther”) who is one of the stars of upcoming Showtime series “The Affair,” will appear opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in “Constella…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Chicago Theater Review: 'The World of Extreme Happiness' by Gordon Cox

The title of Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's fascinating, flawed play about massive social change in China, "The World of Extreme Happiness," is almost beyond ironic.  Nobody in this work, premie…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:55PM[SHARE]

Random House Nabs New Biography of Stephen Sondheim Written By Variety Critic by Gordon Cox

Random House has acquired a new biography of musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim, to be written by Variety‘s London theater critic David Benedict. Benedict will wrap up his eight-y…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, September 29, 2014

Broadway Box Office: London Hit 'Curious Incident' Picks Up Steam by Gordon Cox

London hit “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” has begun to gain momentum at the Broadway box office, which makes for a promising sign ahead of the show’s o…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:54PM[SHARE]

Two Shows Set Sights on the 2015-16 Broadway Season by Gordon Cox

Two productions, a new revival of “Children of a Lesser God” and a Thai-inflected musical called “Waterfall,” have begun to steer themselves toward Broadway, with bot…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:22PM[SHARE]

Broadway Musicals Make Bigscreen Push into China by Gordon Cox

Broadway Worldwide, the company with ambitious plans to capture and distribute Broadway titles in surround sound and HD, has pacted with Chinese firm Sun New Light Culture Development Limite…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:25PM[SHARE]

'Finding Neverland' Musical Finds Its Broadway Theater by Gordon Cox

The Harvey Weinstein-produced musical "Finding Neverland" has found its Broadway home, nabbing the Lunt-Fontanne Theater for an April opening. The tuner, which got an unusual showcase on …

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00AM[SHARE]

San Diego Theater Review: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's 'Bright Star' by Gordon Cox

Yep, that's the real Steve Martin collaborating with roots-music queen Edie Brickell on the Old Globe premiere "Bright Star," but not the wild and crazy guy with an arrow through his head no…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 28, 2014

Broadway Review: 'You Can't Take It With You' with Rose Byrne, James Earl Jones by Gordon Cox

“You Can’t Take It With You” declares itself in a stage direction: “This is a house where you do as you like, and no questions asked.” That license to live the …

SOURCE: Variety at 11:30PM[SHARE]

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