All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 27, 2025

The Picture of Dorian Gray Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

Sarah Snook portrays some 25 characters as well as the narrator in this dazzling and sometimes dizzying stage-and-video adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel, but at the curtain call, she is far…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:50PM[SHARE]

World Theatre Day 2025. Rosalba Rolón on the Power of Storytelling by Jonathan Mandell

Today is World Theatre Day, celebrated internationally every March 27th since 1962, even when the lovely enveloping darkness in a theater feels no match for the ugly encroaching darkne…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:50AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 26, 2025

New York Theater Awards Calendar and Guide 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of dates from April to June in 2025 when nominations and awards are announced, and ceremonies take place, for the major New York theater awards (and a few others), follow…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:10AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 25, 2025

The 20 Women Playwrights Who Have Won Pulitzer Prizes by Jonathan Mandell

In honor of Women's History Month, here are the 20 women playwrights who have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an annual award given for "a distinguished play by an American author…dealin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:06AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 24, 2025

Peak Broadway: Purpose, Buena Vista, Mincemeat, Othello. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Good theater can heal, as proven by the daily dose of theater openings last week " four shows on Broadway, several Off Broadway and beyond " many of them restorative. Ok, some were not. But …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:19AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 23, 2025

Othello Broadway Reviews. Denzel and Jake Take on the Bard by Jonathan Mandell

Denzel Washington stars in the title role of Othello, and Jake Gyllenhaal as his secret nemesis Iago, in director Kenny Leon's production of Shakespeare's tragedy, opening officially tonight…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:45PM[SHARE]

Sondheim at 95 by Jonathan Mandell

Stephen Sondheim would have turned 95 today. In the three years and four months since his death, attention to the Broadway composer has only grown, with the opening of a new musical, a reviv…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:42AM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 22, 2025

Untitled Miniature. Gelb nude in an even smaller box. by Jonathan Mandell

Joshua William Gelb writhes nude and mute in a box for forty-five minutes. That's "[Untitled Miniature]" in a nutshell. It's my job to put this in context, so I'll try. I'll also explain how…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:32AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 21, 2025

New York City Fringe Festival 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Greg Kotis, whose "Urinetown" won a Tony shortly after its debut at the New York International Fringe Festival, now offers a new post-apocalyptic musical at a new New York fringe festival. H…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:23PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 20, 2025

Operation Mincemeat Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

"Operation Mincemeat" is terribly clever and frightfully British, with a strong next-generation Monty Python vibe. If it ultimately feels too clever by half, that may be because this new mus…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:02PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Buena Vista Social Club Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

As a band and a brand, "Buena Vista Social Club" has been gold from the get-go: It was a hit Grammy-winning album that in 1996 had brought together an impromptu group of old-time Cuban music…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:51PM[SHARE]

We Had A World Review by Jonathan Mandell

Playwright Joshua Harmon secretly recorded the last conversation he had with his dying grandmother, during which he told her that his next play was going to be about their family. "Do you ha…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:51PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Vanya Review. Andrew Scott in a One-Man Chekhov Play by Jonathan Mandell

After watching Andrew Scott portray all eight characters by himself in a new version of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," which is playing Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel through May 11, I s…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:51PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 17, 2025

Purpose Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

In "Purpose," an extraordinary play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Tony winner for last season's "Appropriate") opening tonight on Broadway in a terrifically acted, crowd-pleasing production tha…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:40PM[SHARE]

The "Taylor Swift Effect" on Broadway (aka "obscene" ticket prices.) Dimming dilemma addressed. Stageworthy News of the Week. by Jonathan Mandell

Tickets for "Othello" are selling for $921, even as far back as Row M, which helped the Shakespeare play starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal gross a record-breaking $2.8 million l…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 16, 2025

It Happened At the Palace: A History of New York's Iconic Broadway Theater by Jonathan Mandell

This is a coffee table book put together by a landlord to promote his property. It's also a history of a 112-year-old Broadway theater with a glamorous and complicated past, written by a Ton…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:29PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 15, 2025

Ghosts Review by Jonathan Mandell

As Helena Alving in "Ghosts,", Lily Rabe seems to do the exact inverse of what Jessica Chastain did as Nora Helmer in "A Doll's House" two years ago. Chastain sat in a chair for the whole sh…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:31PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 14, 2025

The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War by Jonathan Mandell

Donald Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center mirrors the attack nine decades ago by the House Un-American Activities Committee on the Federal Theater Project in an arresting way: Like the c…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:02PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 13, 2025

Broadway Poll for The Final Stretch: Favorite Play, Favorite Musical? by Jonathan Mandell

Seven plays and 11 musicals are opening on Broadway in March and April, over the final six weeks of the Broadway 2024-2025 season, starting Monday and ending on April 27, the final date of e…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:47PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Digital Theater 5 Years Later. ACTA 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Five years ago today, the then-Governor of New York ordered all Broadway theaters closed because of Covid-19, which within days spawned a pioneering era of digital theater.  The …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:14AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Broadway 2025-26: Jean Smart, Kristen Chenoweth, Mamma Mia, Punch, Oedipus, Rocky Horror. Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

The current Broadway season is about to rev up, with 18 shows scheduled to open in its final six weeks, but next season is already starting to come into focus: Jean Smart ("Hacks") returns t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:33AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 10, 2025

The Jonathan Larson Project Review by Jonathan Mandell

This may be my final hourThis may be the dying dayAnd though they never taught me why in school,I think I'm learning how to pray Jonathan Larson wrote this song, entitled "SOS," when he was …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:50PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Oscar Winners 2025: Anora! by Jonathan Mandell

Anora, about a sex worker in Brooklyn, dominated the 97th Academy Awards, winning best picture, best director, best actress, best editor and original screenplay. Wicked, a film adaptation of…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:12PM[SHARE]

Best Picture Oscar Nominees Ranked by Broadway-adaptability by Jonathan Mandell

The night we learn who wins the Oscars may be a good time to show the results of last month's poll ranking which of the best picture nominees could be best (and worst) adapted as play or mus…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:57PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 1, 2025

March 2025 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of selected theater opening* in March, a month that's bursting with shows: Six on Broadway alone " Denzel and Jake in Othello, Kieran Culkin in a Mamet revival,  Sarah…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:19AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Theater Quiz for February 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to theater news, views and reviews this month? Answer these ten questions and see Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:07AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Awards Season Preview. Arts, Anxiety and Resistance. Cole Escola to return to Oh Mary. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Cynthia Erivo will serve as host for the first time when the 78th annual Tony Awards is presented at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday June 8, 2025. This will be the 21st time the ceremony has…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:29AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 24, 2025

Grangeville Review by Jonathan Mandell

Their mother is dying, which is the only reason why Arnold (Brian J. Smith) has " reluctantly " picked up the phone to answer a call by his half-brother Jerry (Paul Starks.) It's been many y…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:45PM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 22, 2025

How Is It That We Live, or Shakey Jake + Alice. What's the frequency, Lenneth? by Jonathan Mandell

How DO Jake and Alice live? The answer is: lyrically. That, anyway, is how playwright Len Jenkin presents their lives in three extended scenes in his awkwardly titled play " as spikey adoles…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:42PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 21, 2025

Anywhere at Here. Oedipus as a melting marionette by Jonathan Mandell

"Anywhere" is an hour-long puppet piece that features a marionette who is made of ice, slowly melts, then turns to mist, and finally disappears completely. It mystified me. There are several…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:28PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 20, 2025

Garside's Career Review. A Demagogue's Comeuppance by Jonathan Mandell

Peter Garside calls himself a demagogue, freely admits he's in politics to make money, and says "the public likes to be fooled."  It's a corrupt attitude that, despite his good looks a…

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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