All stories by Gordon Cox on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Linda Lavin Reunites with Nicky Silver and Off Broadway's Vineyard Theater by Gordon Cox

Linda Lavin will reunite with playwright Nicky Silver, helmer Mark Brokaw and Off Broadway’s Vineyard Theater to star in “Too Much Sun,” the new Silver play set to open at …

SOURCE: Variety at 12:12PM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: 'The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence' by Gordon Cox

“Clever” is the word for Madeleine George’s bright idea of writing a play about those go-to guys named Watson with the solution to every scientific mystery from AI to corru…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 9, 2013

Broadway Box Office: '700 Sundays' Is Worth Its Weight in Crystal by Gordon Cox

Billy Crystal’s solo show ” 700 Sundays” may not have made the most money at the Broadway box office last week compared to other shows, but it sure is efficient about the w…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:58PM[SHARE]

Fran Drescher To Get Wicked in Broadway's 'Cinderella' by Gordon Cox

The Broadway revival of “Cinderella” has tapped Fran Drescher to play the wicked stepmother in the Rodgers and Hammerstein tuner, with the actress set to step into the role in th…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:14PM[SHARE]

London Legit Review: 'Let The Right One In' by Gordon Cox

One of the most resonant shocks of the powerful stage version of cult Swedish movie "Let the Right One In" is one of the simplest: the bringing up of the house-lights at the start of the int…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 6, 2013

Off Broadway Review: 'What's It All About? Burt Bacharach Reimagined' by Gordon Cox

Seriously, kids — Burt Bacharach?  Millennial age actor-musician-songwriter Kyle Riabko developed an almighty crush on this composer of an earlier fuddy-duddy generation, and “…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:31PM[SHARE]

HBO 'Sondheim' Docu Shines Spotlight on Theater Legend's Life, Creative Process by Gordon Cox

Maybe credit the overlap of Sondheim's rise to prominence with the flourishing of the television age. But whatever the explanation, the filmmakers discovered they had a wealth of resources t…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:15AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 5, 2013

Don't Speak: 'Bullets Over Broadway' Musical Casts Marin Mazzie as Helen Sinclair by Gordon Cox

The producers and creatives behind the upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of “Bullets Over Broadway” have finalized their choice for the show-stealing role of Helen Sinclair, c…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:40PM[SHARE]

Off Broadway Review: 'Regular Singing,' Part 4 of 'The Apple Family Plays' by Gordon Cox

Is Uncle Benjamin still alive?  Are Marian and Adam back together?   Has Richard gone over to the dark side and become a Republican?  And is everyone agreed that this country has…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 4, 2013

West End Review: 'Henry V' Starring Jude Law by Gordon Cox

"I speak to thee plain soldier. If thou canst love me for this, take me!" No wonder Jessie Buckley's grave, beautifully controlled Princess Katherine reacts like a rabbit trapped in the head…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Regional Legit Review: 'If/Then' Starring Idina Menzel by Gordon Cox

The sublime talents of soprano Idina Menzel are showcased to the hilt in "If/Then," an impressive new tuner by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey that gives new meaning to the term "book-heavy musica…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 2, 2013

Longtime Broadway Publicist Michael Hartman to Shutter Eponymous Shingle by Gordon Cox

Broadway publicist Michael Hartman, a 20-year veteran of the industry, will shutter the Hartman Group, the agency he founded in 2009, at the end of the year, ankling the legit world entirely…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:34PM[SHARE]

Broadway Box Office: Gobbling Up Record Thanksgiving Sales by Gordon Cox

Broadway feasted on record box office totals last week as shows ranging from “Kinky Boots” to “Twelfth Night/Richard III” broke house records and “Pippin”…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:06PM[SHARE]

'Mothers and Sons' with Tyne Daly Locks Broadway Theater and Dates by Gordon Cox

Broadway’s spring lineup of plays continues to fall into place as Tyne Daly starrer “Mothers and Sons,” the latest outing to join a crowded slate, claims the Golden Thea…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:18PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 29, 2013

Angela Lansbury Follows 'Blithe Spirit' to the West End by Gordon Cox

Angela Lansbury will reprise her Tony-winning turn as dotty psychic Madame Arcati in Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" on the West End this spring. Lansbury first appeared in the comedy in the 2…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:41PM[SHARE]

Harvey Fierstein, Reeve Carney Fight AIDS With 'Carols for the Cure' CD by Gordon Cox

Broadway types really know how to get into the Christmas spirit. To wit, look no further than "Carols for a Cure." The enthusiasm of Main Stem casts has helped sustain 15 years of wassailing…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Broadway Drooling for its Annual Thanksgiving Feast by Gordon Cox

If the eyes of Broadway producers light up at the mention of the word "Thanksgiving," it's not because they like turkey so much. It's because every year the Main Stem rings in big-money sale…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Bryan Cranston Sets February Start for His Broadway Bow in 'All the Way' by Gordon Cox

The Bryan Cranston-toplined production of “All the Way,” in which the “Breaking Bad” thesp will make his Broadway debut in the bio-play about Lyndon B. Johnson, has s…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:05PM[SHARE]

James Franco Locks in Broadway Debut in 'Of Mice and Men' by Gordon Cox

James Franco’s long-gestating Broadway bow in “Of Mice and Men” has at last set a theater and dates, with the thesp starring opposite Chris O’Dowd in a production set…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 25, 2013

Broadway Box Office: 'Beautiful' Bows Ahead of Thanksgiving Bounty by Gordon Cox

Broadway had a single new addition to the lineup last week, and even if box office for "Beautiful" wasn't quite gorgeous, it was still a promising start for a tuner that looks to tap the sam…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:11PM[SHARE]

Broadway Review: 'No Man's Land/Waiting for Godot' by Gordon Cox

Trying to figure out a Pinter play is like pounding nails in your skull.  Trying to figure out a Beckett play is like using a drill.  But holding forth in a death-defying reperto…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM[SHARE]

Amy Sherman-Palladino Joins Roundabout in Bringing 'Violet' to Broadway with Sutton Foster by Gordon Cox

TV creative Amy Sherman-Palladino is getting behind her “Bunheads” star, Sutton Foster, to join New York nonprofit Roundabout Theater Company and a team of commercial producers o…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 22, 2013

Broadway Review: 'Shakespeare's Macbeth' by Gordon Cox

The play's not quite the thing in helmer Jack O'Brien's high-concept revival, a showcase for spectacular visual and acoustic effects.

SOURCE: Variety at 01:35PM[SHARE]

Disney Looks Beyond the Magic Kingdom for Broadway Prospects by Gordon Cox

As underscored by the recent movement on a couple of projects " including a developing stage version of "The Princess Bride" and a play adaptation of "Shakespeare in Love" gearing up for a 2…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:30AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 21, 2013

Off Broadway Review: 'The Commons of Pensacola' by Gordon Cox

Amanda Peet's play about the wretched (and lightly disguised) family of Bernie Madoff may not realize its ambitions, but it's not half bad in the hands of a superb cast led by Blythe Danner …

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Denver Center Theater Sets Slate for 2014 New Play Summit by Gordon Cox

Denver Center Theater Company has set the majority of its slate for its 9th annual Colorado New Play Summit with a 2014 roster of readings that includes “Benediction,” the third …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 18, 2013

Broadway Box Office: Unlikely Duo of Il Divo and Shakespeare Draw Crowds by Gordon Cox

Here's a sentence you never thought you'd read: The two hot tickets on Broadway last week were William Shakespeare and classical boy-band Il Divo. It seems unlikely enough that the Bard, muc…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:36PM[SHARE]

Regional Legit Review: 'Side Show' Directed by Bill Condon by Gordon Cox

Bill Condon has reworked "Side Show," the 1997 tuner succes d'estime " translation, floppo with cult status " into a handsome production that will follow its bow at the La Jolla Playho…

SOURCE: Variety at 02:30PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 17, 2013

Broadway Review: 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' by Gordon Cox

How very daring " a witty musical about a serial killer that Stephen Sondheim didn’t write.   Fashioned from the ingeniously absurd plot of the novel that inspired the classic…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:30PM[SHARE]

Nonprofits Topple Commercial Titles at London's Evening Standard Awards by Gordon Cox

London's thriving not-for-profit houses again nudged out commercial competish to dominate the 59th Evening Standard Theater Awards at a glamorous ceremony held at the Savoy Hotel Nov. 17 and…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:45PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 14, 2013

West End Review: 'Mojo' by Gordon Cox

Mix two parts Tarantino with two parts Pinter and one part Mamet " for violence, actor-friendly dialogue and punch, respectively " and serve in 1950s gangland London. That's "Mojo," th…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:52PM[SHARE]

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