All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Spring 2026 New York Theater Preview: 10 Shows to See* by Jonathan Mandell

In a season that promises to be rich in starry revivals and adaptations of familiar titles, the ten shows below are largely from beyond Broadway " most Off Broadway, some more out-of-the-way…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:16AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Under the Radar: Try/Step/Trip by Jonathan Mandell

"Try/Step/Trip,"  a terrifically rhythmic, unconventional musical that merges rap with step-dancing, was inspired by the court-ordered stay in drug rehab by poet, composer and performe…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:59PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Broadway Week 2-for-1 Tickets On Sale Now by Jonathan Mandell

There are seven new participants in the twice-yearly discount program: All Out:, Chess, Liberation, Marjorie Prime, Oedipus,Ragtime, Two Strangers (the links are to my reviews.) Click on the…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:41PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 12, 2026

Mamdani: Free tickets are just the beginning. APAP: "Outrage is not a strategy." #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

At a press conference on Friday announcing 1,500 free tickets to the Under the Radar Festival, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said: "This is just one example of an agenda and an approach that we ar…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:38AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 11, 2026

Bug Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

"I'm not an ax murderer," Peter (Namir Smallwood) says to Agnes (Carrie Coon.) It's his first line in "Bug," Tracy Letts' intentionally unsettling 1996 play, now in its Broadway debut. But w…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:50PM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 10, 2026

LaChanze on her journey to Broadway producer by Jonathan Mandell

LaChanze, a 19-time Broadway veteran. has won five Tony Awards,  one of them for her starring role in the original 2005 Broadway production of "The Color Purple," the other four as a B…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:58AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 9, 2026

Under the Radar: Mami by Jonathan Mandell

A young man strips an older woman of her clothes, wipes her bottom and changes her diaper: It is an early scene in "Mami," one of the many startling wordless moments that have the otherworld…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:30PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 8, 2026

Never Mind The Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner by Jonathan Mandell

Marc Shaiman, one-half the songwriting team behind the Broadway musicals "Hairspray," "Catch Me If You Can," "Some Like It Hot," and "Smash," doesn't even start to tell us about any of his m…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:03AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Fringe: Diana and Bob Marley by Jonathan Mandell

Both Princess Diana and musician Bob Marley died tragically at the age of 36, and both have been the subject of an endless stream of books and films and plays. They each have another such sh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:58PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Remembering January 6, on Stage by Jonathan Mandell

"Sweetheart, I'm fine, and I'm running for my life, I cannot talk to you right now," Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif) recalls telling her son, when he telephoned her while she was scrambling down…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:35PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 5, 2026

Broadway Picks for 2026? Theater Survives 2025. #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

"We expect greatness from the cooks wielding a thousand spices, from those who stride out onto our Broadway stages, and from our starting point guard at Madison Square Garden. Let us demand …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:07AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 4, 2026

Broadway Poll: Spring 2026 Show You Most Want To See? by Jonathan Mandell

Choose the show that you are most looking forward to, among the 16 that (so far) have firm opening dates on Broadway between now and the end of April, 2026. Please consider answering two oth…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:42AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 3, 2026

January 2026 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of selected theater opening* this month in New York, including one Broadway show, "Bug" by Tracy Letts, a mixed-reality play starring Ian McKellen, and the return of t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:49PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 2, 2026

January Theater Festivals 2026 by Jonathan Mandell

There are more than 100 shows produced by the six annual theater festivals listed below, all of which begin in January. On offer are Beckett and Kabuki; a campy Princess Diana and an outrage…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:40PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 1, 2026

10 Questions About Theater in 2026 by Jonathan Mandell

The affordability crisis, fascism, Artificial Intelligence, America's 250th birthday: As 2026 begins, the theater is not immune to the large questions about what is happening in the count…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:09PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Ring IN The Old: Saluting 25 Broadway Troupers Aged 89 to 101 by Jonathan Mandell

Let us celebrate the new year by honoring Broadway veterans like Dick Van Dyke, who just wrote a book 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life He turned 100 in Dec…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:30AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Year End Theater Quiz: A Look Back at 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

How much do you remember of this year in New York theater? Answer these 10 questions to find out. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:25PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 29, 2025

The Year in Theater: The Moments, Stories, Books, Lost Lives of 2025. #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

How DO you measure a year? New York theater lovers do so in shows, sure (Top 10 Critics' Lists (+ 6) of Top 10 NYC Theater),but not in shows alone. Clockwise from top left: a moment from Mas…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:40AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 28, 2025

Theater Books of 2025 to Read in 2026 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a list of theater books that were published in 2025, most of which I read and enjoyed (sometimes immensely, sometimes with caveats), several I hope to get to in the new year. Beneat…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:53PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 27, 2025

20 Memorable Moments on Stage in 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

The 20 moments I select below happened in an instant " an image, an action, a remark, a sudden realization, in one case a touch. All were far shorter than a scene or a song or even a monolog…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:29PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 26, 2025

New Year's Eve in NYC Last Minute Guide to Greeting 2026 by Jonathan Mandell

My last-minute guide to New Year's Eve in New York City, when 2025 turns into 2026, features information on: Times Square.Dining Out,Theater (Plays as parties, Broadway show schedule, family…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:04PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 25, 2025

10 Movies in Cinemas Today: Capsule Reviews by Jonathan Mandell

Several movies are opening today, a traditional day of moviegoing, including "Marty Supreme," "Song Sung Blue," "The Testament of Ann Lee,"  The Choral" and 'No Other Choice." I'm roll…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:17PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 24, 2025

In Memoriam: Theater Community Members Who Died in 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are some of the people from the theater community who died in 2025, listed alphabetically. Click on any photograph (and click the ⌽ button) to read the caption. Most of these were…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:12PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 23, 2025

10 Big Theater Stories of 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Here are ten of the biggest stories involving theater this year 1. The Federal War on Culture and the Arts Near the beginning of 2025, President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center for…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:32PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 22, 2025

Broadway and the Affordability Crisis. Stageworthy News of the Week. by Jonathan Mandell

The last Broadway show of 2025, "All Out," has provoked complaints anew about high ticket prices, at the same time that a new study concludes "affordability challenges for artists have…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:42AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 21, 2025

A tale of two holiday shows by Jonathan Mandell

The day after I saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular for the first time in decades, I attended the New York Nutcracker for the first time ever. Both were holiday shows, though one cost u…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:08PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 20, 2025

Favorite New York Stage Performances of 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Here are a dozen of my favorite Broadway performances of 2025, listed (more or less) alphabetically, with a dozen more below, who performed on or beyond Broadway and are just as worthy. Some…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:06PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 19, 2025

Broadway Christmas Week Schedule 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the Broadway scheduled from Monday, December 22 to Sunday, December 28, with links to my reviews of the shows. (The reviews have links to each show's website). Twelve shows will be …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:09AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 18, 2025

Theater Closing Soon by Jonathan Mandell

Two of the best plays I saw this year are closing on Sunday " way too soon, if you ask me. They are reason enough to post this list of shows (seven of them on Broadway) that are closing with…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:32PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 17, 2025

All Out Comedy About Ambition Review by Jonathan Mandell

"All Out," much like last year's "All In," has generated accusations of a "cynical cash grab," in the words of a poster in a theater chatroom outraged by ticket prices as high as $320 for a …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:42PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Top 10 Lists of Top 10 NYC Theater in 2025: Liberation is number 1 by Jonathan Mandell

Liberation" is by far the most critically acclaimed theater of 2025, featured in nine of the ten Top 10 lists below. Bess Wohl's play about a woman's liberation group in the 1970s is followe…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:29AM[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