All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Sunday, December 11, 2016

The Band's Visit Review: Egyptian Police in the Israeli Desert, Making Music by Jonathan Mandell

The members of the creative team behind "The Band's Visit," a delightfully low-key musical starring a memorably paired Tony Shalhoub and Katrina Lenk, have taken a 2007 Israeli film that is …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:29AM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 10, 2016

#HairsprayLive 12 Pics, 7 Videos, 10 takeaways by Jonathan Mandell

Below are a dozen photographs from “Hairspray Live,” which was broadcast on NBC December 7th; videos of seven of its songs; and my ten takeaways.   Takeaways from Hairspray …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:53AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 9, 2016

A Bronx Tale Review by Jonathan Mandell

"A Bronx Tale," the new Broadway musical co-directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks, tells a story that its author, Chazz Palminteri, says is true: He really did witness a mob killing as a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:15PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 8, 2016

Top 10 New York Theater in 2016 To Be Grateful For by Jonathan Mandell

My list of ten favorite shows on New York stages in 2016 reflect two unmistakable trends " the use of the stage to present important current issues facing the country, and shows that innovat…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:09PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Tiny Beautiful Things Review: Nia Vardalos Dramatizes Dear Sugar Advice Columns by Jonathan Mandell

While watching "Tiny Beautiful Things," a stage version at the Public Theater of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling book, I started to wonder whether it made sense to try to adapt a collection of…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:00PM[SHARE]

Sing Along With #HairsprayLive by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the tracklist for Hairspray Live broadcast on NBC today December 7, 2016, 8 to 11 p.m. ET.  The song titles (accompanied in parentheses by the character or characters  s…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:05AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Rancho Viejo Review: Life in the California Suburbs by Jonathan Mandell

At one of the continual neighborhood get-togethers in "Rancho Viejo," Dan LeFranc's new play at Playwrights Horizons about the residents of a fictional California suburb, one of the characte…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:03PM[SHARE]

Watch Tony Kushner, Stephen Schwartz et al talk about their work by Jonathan Mandell

Below, ten major theater artists are interviewed by their peers as part of the Dramatist Guild Fund’s Legacy Project TONY KUSHNER Interviewed By Michael Friedman GRETCHEN CRYER & N…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:57AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 5, 2016

Harry Potter Kicks Out Paramour. The Trump Effect. Lin-Manuel Inc. Week in NY Theater by Jonathan Mandell

The world may feel as if it's coming to an end (see The Trump Effect, below), but the future looks promising for the theater, even in the few weeks remaining of this year, with several intri…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:43AM[SHARE]

The Illusionists " Turn of the Century review at Palace Theatre, New York " 'only likely to appeal to magic addicts' by Jonathan Mandell

For its third annual holiday appearance on Broadway, The Illusionists, a variety showcase for a rotating group of magicians and stunt performers,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 10:20AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 4, 2016

The Illusionists-Turn of the Century: Review, pics, video by Jonathan Mandell

For its third annual holiday appearance on Broadway, The Illusionists, a variety showcase for a rotating group of magicians and stunt performers, has a new subtitle, "Turn of the Century," w…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:00PM[SHARE]

Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway (review) by Jonathan Mandell

Dear Evan Hansen has changed now that it's on Broadway, in ways that make it an even more affecting musical. Ben Platt's performance, impressive from the get-go, is even better. But what's c…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:02PM[SHARE]

Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway: Review, pics, video by Jonathan Mandell

"Dear Evan Hansen" has changed now that it's on Broadway, in ways that make it an even more affecting musical. Ben Platt's performance, impressive from the get-go, is even better. But what's…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 1, 2016

December 2016 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Four shows are opening on Broadway this month, three of them new musicals: “A Bronx Tale” marks the Broadway debut of Robert De Niro as a “co-director,” although Jerr…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:24AM[SHARE]

Watch Hamilton Mixtape Concert Live, and Preorder by Jonathan Mandell

Live from the Hamilton stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City, some of the recording artists in the Hamilton Mixtape — songs directly from, or related to, the Hamilton m…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:22AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Ride the Cyclone Review: Glee in Purgatory by Jonathan Mandell

"Ride the Cyclone" begins with six teenagers from the high school choir of a small Canadian town dying on a roller coaster called the Cyclone. Then, one by one, we hear their stories " or, m…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:02PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Lin-Manuel Miranda on Drunk History: Watch Alexander Hamilton's Steamy Affair by Jonathan Mandell

Here is a 2 1/2 minute excerpt from tonight’s episode of the Comedy Central series, Drunk History, in which Lin-Manuel Miranda recounts Alexander Hamilton’s adulterous affair wit…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:51PM[SHARE]

New York Theater Quiz November 2016 by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to theater news and reviews in November? Take this 13-question quiz and see.

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:29AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 28, 2016

Broadway vs. The West End. Phantom at 12,000. Week in New York Theater by Jonathan Mandell

Yes, they say interval what we say intermission, they call stalls what we call orchestra seats, they eat ice cream in the theater and we certainly do not.  But audiences on Broadway and i…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:45AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 27, 2016

Homos Review: Urie and de Jesus as Splintered Gay Couple by Jonathan Mandell

It might seem as if the creative team behind "Homos, or Everyone in America," a fabulous and fragmented look at six years of a gay relationship, has put up barriers between the audience and …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:51PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 26, 2016

Fences directed by Denzel Washington: Second Trailer by Jonathan Mandell

Denzel Washington's movie adaptation of "Fences," August Wilson's 1987 play, will be in movie theaters nationwide on December 25, 2016. Below is a first movie trailer from Paramount Picures …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:49AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving, the Broadway Way by Jonathan Mandell

The cast of The Humans posed for this photograph, which pays homage to Norman Rockwell’s painting Freedom From Want: The Humans takes place on Thanksgiving. I don’t think it̵…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:01PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Holiday Gifts for Theater Lovers 2016 by Jonathan Mandell

My fifth annual Broadway gift guide below includes info on shopping for theater tickets, theater subscriptions, play scripts, cast recordings and new and cherished books about the theater, a…

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Monday, November 21, 2016

This Day Forward Review: Selfish Mother, Gay Son Again by Jonathan Mandell

In Nicky Silver's new play at the Vineyard Theater, "This Day Forward," we're back again in Silverland — a gay man who has trouble with relationships must deal with his selfish, acerbi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:46PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 20, 2016

Sweet Charity Review: Sutton Foster in Escapist Revival by Jonathan Mandell

Leigh Silverman, director of the 50th anniversary Off-Broadway revival of Sweet Charity starring Sutton Foster, recently spoke about art being "a tool for education, revolution, and resistan…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 08:42PM[SHARE]

Sweet Charity with Sutton Foster: Review, pics, video by Jonathan Mandell

Leigh Silverman, the director of the 50th anniversary Off-Broadway revival of Sweet Charity starring Sutton Foster, recently spoke about art being "a tool for education, and revolution, and …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:45PM[SHARE]

Trump vs. Hamilton. Great Comet and #FairWageOnstage Win and Win and Win. The Week in NY Theater by Jonathan Mandell

When President-elect Donald Trump Tweeted this week "The Theater must always be a safe and special place," it was part of his eruption against the cast of Hamilton for directly addressing Vi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:06PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 18, 2016

Hamilton Cast to VP-elect Mike Pence: Respect Us by Jonathan Mandell

Vice President-elect Mike Pence saw Hamilton tonight on Broadway, where he was both jeered and cheered by a disruptive audience at times. At the curtain call, Brandon V. Dixon, who plays Aar…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:52PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 17, 2016

The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World Review by Jonathan Mandell

African American types and stereotypes crowd the stage in the striking revival of Suzan-Lori Parks surreal and cryptic 1990 play at the Signature " a man in sharecropper overalls holding a w…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:09AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Othello The Remix Review: A Rap Adaptation by Jonathan Mandell

The question hanging over Othello The Remix, 80 minutes of often entertaining and inventive raps written, composed, directed by and co-starring the Q Brothers, is how much it has to do with …

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Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Party People Review: The Black Panthers and Young Lords,Viewed 50 Years Later by Jonathan Mandell

"Party People," a look at the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords, is powerful and intelligent documentary theater — although the documentary theater part struggles for attention a…

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