All stories by Jason Mannino on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Recommended Cabaret Series: SUMMER CABARET SERIES, JUNE 2024 (Coachella Valley Rep) by Jason Mannino

COACHELLA VALLEY REPERTORY'S SUMMER CABARET SERIES of music, charismatic personalities and theatre insider stories galore continues through in June with Tony Award® nominee and 'Broadway …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:23AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 16, 2024

Theater Review: THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

SEE THE LIGHT Palm Canyon Theatre (PCT) opened a glorious production of The Light in the Piazza last Friday, and it's sensational. Based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Recommended Cabaret Series: SUMMER CABARET SERIES, MAY 2024 (Coachella Valley Rep) by Jason Mannino

CV REP'S 2024 SUMMER CABARET SERIES STELLAR LINE-UP FOR MAY A summer of great music, charismatic personalities and unspoken  theatre insider-only stories galore starts when COACHELLA VALL…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:42AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 6, 2024

Theater Interview: JASON REALE (Now Appearing in "The Lincoln Debate" at Palm Springs Cultural Center) by Jason Mannino

The Bent, in partnership with Palm Springs Cultural Center, is completing its second season with a revival run of the play that launched the company in December, 2022: Terry Ray's The Lincol…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:45AM[SHARE]

Theater Review: OKLAHOMA! (Desert Theatricals) by Jason Mannino

THERE'S A BRIGHT, GOLDEN HAZE IN THE DESERT As the audience sat under a gorgeous golden sky with incessant desert winds, Jordan Killion sang "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" in his stunning, B…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 21, 2024

Theater Interview: TERRY RAY (Writer Appearing in "The Lincoln Debate" by The Bent at Palm Springs Cultural Center) by Jason Mannino

A RAY OF LIGHT ON THE RAIL SPLITTER The Lincoln Debate, the hit show by Terry Ray that launched The Bent theatre company in 2022, is having an encore run at Palm Springs Cultural Center from…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:06PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Theater Review: MR. PARKER (Dezart Performs in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

GET A PARKER TICKET Michael McKeever's newest play Mr. Parker, under Randy Brenner's sublime direction is Dezart Performs' final production this season running through April 21. McKeever, (D…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:54AM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 14, 2024

Theater Review: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (CVRep) by Jason Mannino

NICE WORK! CVRep is closing its 23/24 season this month with a bewitching production of Nice Work If You Can Get It running through April 28th. Like other "new" Gershwin musicals including C…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 7, 2024

Theater Review: DAMN YANKEES (Desert Theatricals) by Jason Mannino

DAMN, IT'S GREAT Desert Theatricals hits another home run this weekend with their contagiously joyful production of Damn Yankees at Rancho Mirage Amphitheater running through Sunday, April 7…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:49AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 31, 2024

Theater Interview: BRENT BARRETT (Now Appearing with The Four Phantoms in Concert) by Jason Mannino

An extravagant celebration of the iconic music of Broadway and more, The Four Phantoms in Concert brings together " you guessed it " four actors who have played the lead role in The Phantom …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:21PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 22, 2024

Theater News: SCRIPT2STAGE2SCREEN (Final Season Announcement) by Jason Mannino

SCRIPT2STAGE2SCREEN TO DROP ITS FINAL CURTAIN Script2Stage2Screen, the theatrical group that has produced staged readings of original works since 2010, has confirmed that this 2023-24 season…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:00AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 16, 2024

Theater Review: THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR (Revolution Stage Company in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul. " George Bernard Shaw With Avenue Q, Mid-Century Moderns, and The Boy Band Project, Palm Springs' newest profe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:31PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Theater Review: ELLIE (Desert Ensemble Theatre, Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

NEW PLAY ELLIE SHOWS ITS UNDERBELLY Desert Ensemble Theater (DET) is one of the boldest and few Coachella Valley companies committed to creating new work and producing envelope-pushing plays…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:47AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 7, 2024

Theater Review: A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD (Dezart Performs in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

A CASE OF GREAT THEATER It is rare to see intimate, loving friendships between straight and gay men both in life and on stage. In A Case for the Existence of God, running at Dezart Performs …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:16PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Interviews: STEVE YOUNG & WAYNE BRYAN (Creator and Director of INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH BROADWAY; World Premiere at The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert by Jason Mannino

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED WHEN BROADWAY WAS HIRED BY A TOILET COMPANY A few years back I discovered a fascinating theatrical vehicle referred to as the "industrial musical." These were musicals…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Theater Review: THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT (Desert Ensemble Theatre at the Palm Springs Cultural Center) by Jason Mannino

ALTERNATIVE FACTS This past weekend Desert Ensemble Theater kicked off 2024 with The Lifespan of a Fact, a poignant and funny play by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Jordan Farrell. Based…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:03AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 26, 2024

Theater Review: SORDID LIVES (Palm Canyon Theatre in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

HEARTBREAK AND HILARITY IN FULL DISPLAY Palm Canyon Theater has launched into 2024 with a revival of Del Shores' uproarious and heartfelt Sordid Lives. The playwright himself introduced the …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:32PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Theater Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Dezart Performs in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

WHAT A GREAT SHOW CAN MEAN TO YOU Dezart Performs kicked off 2024 this past Friday with a compelling production of Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me. When I saw the direct-fr…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:41AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Theater Review: BRIGADOON (Palm Canyon Theatre) by Jason Mannino

MUSICALS LIKE THIS OCCUR ONCE EVERY 100 YEARS Palm Canyon Theater (PCT) launched its 23/24 theater season here in Coachella Valley this past Friday evening with the opening of Lerner and Loe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Cabaret Interview: CHRISTIA MANTZKE (CVRep's 2023 Summer Cabaret Series) by Jason Mannino

Broadway and concert performer and EMI recording artist CHRISTIA MANTZKE will be performing her first ever cabaret show as part of Coachella Valley Rep's 2023 Summer Cabaret Series for one n…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Interview: CHRISTIANE NOLL (Now Appearing in "Old Friends" at CVREP in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

Christiane Noll is captivating, extraordinarily talented and in demand on Broadway, by concert orchestras and for up-close and personal cabaret performances " and she will be at Coachella Va…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Interview: GLENN ROSENBLUM (appearing in Broadway Showstoppers at CVRep) by Jason Mannino

BROADWAY BABY GLENN ROSENBLUM is a man with an obsession he gladly acknowledges and is eager to share: Broadway and the glorious world of American Musical Theatre. On Thursday, June 15, 2023…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:58AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 5, 2023

Cabaret Interview: TERI RALSTON (Appearing with Alix Korey in Our Broadway, A Memoir in Song at Coachella Valley Repertory) by Jason Mannino

Broadway luminaries Teri Ralston and Alix Korey have performed in more than 15 Broadway shows between them and have worked with some of the greatest composers of all time, including Stephen …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:05PM[SHARE]
Saturday, May 13, 2023

Theater Review: SHE LOVES ME (Palm Canyon Theatre) by Jason Mannino

I LOVES SHE LOVES ME Palm Canyon Theatre closed their 22/23 season this past week with a warm-hearted, inspired mounting of She Loves Me, one of the most romantic musicals ever written. She …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:26AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Theater Review: BOYS IN THE BAND (The Bent at Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

A BAND TO BEAT THE BAND Coachella Valley's new queer theater company The Bent " in partnership with the Palm Springs Cultural Center " closes its wildly successful inaugural season with Mart…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:55AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 28, 2023

Theater Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (Desert Theater Works in Indio) by Jason Mannino

GOES WRONG GOES RIGHT The Play That Goes Wrong running through Sunday, April 30 at Desert Theater Works (DTW) in Indio is the only comedy to ever win both a Tony and Olivier award. It is a h…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 04:00PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 22, 2023

Theater Review: SEX TIPS FOR STRAIGHT WOMEN FROM A GAY MAN (Margaritaville Resort in Palm Springs) by Jason Mannino

TIPS AND TITS Bus Stop Productions LLC is a new entertainment company in the Coachella Valley focusing on lively and unique experiences appealing to all that enjoy local nightlife. Their cur…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:02PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Theater Review: FUTURE THINKING (Desert Ensemble Theater at the Palm Springs Cultural Center) by Jason Mannino

TRAGI-COMIC CON Desert Ensemble Theater's (DET) current production, Eliza Clark's Future Thinking, closing on April 23, is the final play in their season of "West Coast Originals." The compa…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:21PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 15, 2023

Rancho Mirage Theater Review: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (Desert Theatricals at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater) by Jason Mannino

DESERT MUSICAL IS AN OASIS IN THE DESERT I have often proclaimed that Andrew Lloyd Webber's best work was in his pre-1980 collaborations with Tim Rice. If you need proof or simply want to ta…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:59PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 3, 2023

Theater Review: HAND TO GOD (Coachella Valley Rep) by Jason Mannino

TAKING HOLD OF EVIL Robert Askins' 2011 two-act Hand to God is both an existential, insightful commentary on religious hypocrisy and a hysterical dramedy about Tyrone, a possessed sock puppe…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:03AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 26, 2023

Theater Review: JIMMY BUFFET'S ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE (Desert TheaterWorks in Indio) by Jason Mannino

ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE IN THE DESERT Entering the theater at Desert TheatreWorks in Indio (between Palm Springs and the Salton Sea), it sure didn't feel like the desert. I was greeted by J…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 05:26AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off