All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Monday, January 20, 2020

Leaving the Blues Review: The (Gay) Life of Alberta Hunter by Jonathan Mandell

"Leaving the Blues" dramatizes the life of the amazing jazz, blues and Broadway singer/songwriter Alberta Hunter. I long thought her story was ideal for a musical, ever since I saw her aston…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:36PM[SHARE]

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 1/20/2020: King on Health Over Hotels, Housing Over War, Morality Over Materialism by Jonathan Mandell

"We must devote at least as much to our children's education and the health of the poor as we do to the care of our automobiles and the building of beautiful, impressive hotels," Martin Luth…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:53PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 19, 2020

Ich kann nicht anders review: Slovenian avant-garde theater troupe Beton at La MaMa by Jonathan Mandell

"You will hear an unbelievable true story,"  one of the three actors from the Republic of Slovenia on a stage designed to look like a makeshift bunker, tells us at the beginning of the pl…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:04PM[SHARE]

Broadway Review: My Name Is Lucy Barton, starring Laura Linney by Jonathan Mandell

"Lonely was the first flavor I had tasted in my life, and it was always there, hidden inside the crevices of my mouth, reminding me." That's what Laura Linney as Lucy Barton tells us from he…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 05:54AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 18, 2020

My Name Is Lucy Barton on Broadway with Laura Linney by Jonathan Mandell

…"My Name is Lucy Barton" is a sometimes poignant, often tedious 90-minute monologue… The hope was that Laura Linney would do for it what France McDormand did in the HBO miniseries that …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:51PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 17, 2020

Ann Harada, from Q to Poo by Jonathan Mandell

Ann Harada, who made her Broadway debut more than 30 years ago, is philosophical about the latest character she portrays. "Sometimes you get to play glamorous roles," she says, "and sometime…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 16, 2020

Under the Radar: Feos. Two ugly puppets meet and mate by Jonathan Mandell

They meet on a line for a movie; the man and the woman " each disfigured by childhood accidents "  are used to be stared at, and they are used to being alone. Inspired by the late Uruguay…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:41PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Modern Maori Quartet Two Worlds Review: New Zealand Musical Theater, Via Vegas by Jonathan Mandell

Those theatergoers drawn to "Modern Maori Quartet: Two Worlds" for the authentic music and culture of the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand might feel blindsided by what seems like a La…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:18AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Under the Radar: To The Moon. Laurie Anderson's playful lunar exploration via Virtual Reality by Jonathan Mandell

This 15 minutes of Virtual Reality offering the sensation of looking at, walking on and flying over the moon " created by performance artist Laurie Anderson and new media artist Hsin-Chien H…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:06PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 13, 2020

Diana, MJ, Mack and Mabel, Birthday Candles, Intimate Apparel Complete Their Casts. Who Goes to Broadway! #Stageworthy News of the Week. by Jonathan Mandell

The typical Broadway theatergoer is still a well-to-do , middle-aged woman from out-of-town, according to statistics presented in The Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2018"2019, the 22n…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:54PM[SHARE]

Oscar Nominations 2020 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the nominations in 24 categories for the 92nd Academy Awards, Joker" led all films with 11 nominations, including for Best Actor Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director Todd Phillips, fo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:24AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 12, 2020

Broadway and the Oscars: A Quiz by Jonathan Mandell

Nominations for the 92nd annual Academy Awards will be announced tomorrow January 13, so it seems a good time to test your knowledge of the history of Broadway at the Oscars. (The 92nd Oscar…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:25PM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 11, 2020

Broadway Week 2-for-1 tickets on sale now by Jonathan Mandell

Tickets are now on sale for Broadway Week, where you can buy two tickets for the price of one for performances from January 21 through February 9 of 21 Broadway shows, from "Ain't Too Proud"…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:35AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 10, 2020

A Hunger Artist Review: A Visual Feast, A Morsel of Meaning by Jonathan Mandell

There was a time when people made a living by starving themselves in front of a paying audience " an art form that lasted for centuries, but one that was on the wane when Franz Kafka wrote o…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:04PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 9, 2020

Under the Radar: The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes by Jonathan Mandell

The long arty title and the vague, grand description of the show in the Under the Radar festival listing are both misleading. "The Shadow" etc. has a straightforward subject and a clear poin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:13PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt Review: When the Rainbow is Enuf in New Zealand by Jonathan Mandell

"Wild Dogs Under My Skirt," a rhythmic, exuberant and startling work of theater that is the first of three New Zealand plays at Soho Playhouse this month, resembles Ntozake Shange's choreopo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:30PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Off-Off Broadway Season Preview Guide by Jonathan Mandell

Two Broadway veterans " Taylor Mac, Tony-nominated playwright of "Gary" and Greg Kotis, the Tony-winning co-author of "Urinetown" " are back Off-Off Broadway this season, and why would that …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:44PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 6, 2020

Broadway at the Golden Globes. What To See in 2020. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Broadway and Off-Broadway were represented at the 77th annual Golden Globes; click on photographs for details. (Full list of 2020 Golden Globe winners and nominees.) Theater is an art form t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:20AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 5, 2020

Broadway Poll: Spring 2020 Show You Most Want to See by Jonathan Mandell

Choose the show that you are most looking forward to. The list below is for shows that have opening dates on Broadway from January through April 2020 as of this writing, and they are listed …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 4, 2020

Off Broadway Spring 2020 Preview Guide: 20 Shows to See Through April by Jonathan Mandell

Genocide, suicide, murder, deportation, terror, kidnapping, mass explosion " those are some of the bleak subjects of the Off-Broadway shows I'm most looking forward to this season, listed be…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:49PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 3, 2020

Spring 2020 Broadway Preview: Familiar Stars, Familiar Stories, With A Few Curveballs by Jonathan Mandell

For all the Broadway lore and persistent hope that a show on the Great White Way will make new stars and break new ground, the appeal of Broadway increasingly has become its familiarity " fa…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:50PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 2, 2020

January 2020 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a selection of New York theater openings in January, organized chronologically by opening date.* Three shows  are opening on Broadway this month "  Laura Linney in "My Name Is…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:13PM[SHARE]

Watch the Sondheim New Year's Eve Concert by Jonathan Mandell

Watch the entire 90-minute concert "Celebrating Sondheim," performed by the New York Philharmonic live on New Year's Eve 2020, with host Bernadette Peters and guest vocalist Katrina Lenk sin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:11AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Seeing 2020: Major Theater Trends of The Future? by Jonathan Mandell

In the decade just ended, there were unmistakable trends specific to the theater " teen musicals, for example, and celebrity bio jukebox musicals. Which of these trends will continue in 2020…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:40PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Ring IN The Old: Broadway Veterans Age 88 to 105 by Jonathan Mandell

We celebrate the new decade by saluting  Broadway veterans who are aged 88 to 105, many of them still working. Click on any photograph to see it enlarged and read the caption.    

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:07PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 30, 2019

Weirdest Theater Stories of the Decade. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

It would be hard to have put together these weekly summaries of New York theater news for the entire decade, as I have, without noticing: This has been a weird decade. Even the name of the d…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:21PM[SHARE]

Watch the Top 10 New York Theater Videos of 2019…and the 5 Most Popular in the Decade by Jonathan Mandell

  Below are the ten most popular videos posted in 2019 on my New York Theater Youtube channel, in order of popularity. Below that are the top five New York theater videos of the decade Be…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:13AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 29, 2019

New York Theater Year-End Quiz: A Look Back at 2019 by Jonathan Mandell

Recall what happened in theater in 2019 by answering these 16 questions, many adapted from my monthly quizzes throughout the year.

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:09PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 28, 2019

Top Posts and Best Reads of 2019: Hamilton Reconsidered, Nicole Fosse on Fosse/Verdon, André De Shields in Gay August Wilson Play; Mrs. Maisel's Br by Jonathan Mandell

Here are the 10 most popular posts of NewYorkTheater.me from 2019, and below that some good reads from the year. Then: the top five posts of the decade! 10 Most Popular Posts From 2019 Poll:…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:43AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 27, 2019

Goodbye Jerry Herman (July 10, 1931 " December 26, 2019 by Jonathan Mandell

  Broadway lights will dim on January 7 at 6:45 p.m. for Jerry Herman, who died on Thursday at the age of  88, at the end of a year that saw the death of Carol Channing at its beginnin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:45PM[SHARE]

Theater Books of 2019 to read in 2020 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a list of theater books to read in 2020, most of which were  published in 2019*.  Click on the titles to find more information and to purchase these books, grouped under four …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:28AM[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