All stories by Matt Wolf on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Theater Review: Unlikely Royalty and Sons of the London Stage by Matt Wolf

The Donmar Warehouse's Richard II leads a pack of young male characters, their demons at the ready.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Sharon Gless on Ageism, TV Stardom and Finding Lust on the London Stage in A Round-Heeled Woman by Matt Wolf

Sharon Gless has appeared three times on the West End but never before to the waves of empathy she is eliciting in A Round-Heeled Woman as Jane Juska, an American woman in her 60s who decide…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:50AM[SHARE]

Pippin, Menier Chocolate Factory by Matt Wolf

Should the people who made Tron - or for that matter James Cameron - ever decide  to take on a Broadway musical, they owe themselves a trip to the Menier Chocolate Factory's ludicrous p…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:35AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 30, 2011

America Ferrera on Showing Off Her Sexy Side as Roxie in the West End's Chicago by Matt Wolf

In the six years since America Ferrera appeared off-Broadway in Dog Sees God, the actress, now 27, shot to TV fame in Ugly Betty, scooping up copious awards along the way. Ferrera is now bac…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:51AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Theater Review: Growing Pains at Center Stage by Matt Wolf

Neil LaBute has a heart, it seems, and "Matilda" takes wing in song. Presented By: Chicago Booth Business Forecast   Ads by Pheedo

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:31PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sean Palmer on Jumping from Mermaid Prince to West End Playboy in Crazy For You by Matt Wolf

Sean Palmer appeared an English National Opera production of On the Town in the spring of 2007, but this season has seen the Nevada-born co-star of Broadway’s The Little Mermaid move o…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Bertie Carvel on His Astonishing Transformation in the Buzzed-About London Musical Matilda by Matt Wolf

Bertie Carvel made his name across London’s not-for-profit sector, winning raves at the Almeida (Rope), Royal Court (The Pride) and Donmar Warehouse (as Leo Frank in Olivier-nominated …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:14AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Lion In Winter, Theatre Royal, Haymarket by Matt Wolf

Don't be misled by the mini-history lesson with which Trevor Nunn's belated London stage premiere of The Lion in Winter begins, a sequence of dates, facts and maps that scroll up a decorativ…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:38PM[SHARE]

Theater Review: Dictators, Duchesses and Jukebox Musicals by Matt Wolf

Notable theatrical offerings in London include a riveting play about Stalin, a strained take on intrigue around Wallis Simpson and a production about the early Beatles.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:25PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Boyd Gaines on Co-Starring With Strong Women and Making His West End Debut in Driving Miss Daisy by Matt Wolf

At 58, and with four Tony Awards to show for his sterling career, Boyd Gaines is only now making his U.K. theater debut alongside Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy,…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:29PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Welsh Heartthrob Mark Evans on Playing Fiyero in London's Wicked and His New Solo CD by Matt Wolf

At 6’2”, Mark Evans may not be the tallest Fiyero ever in the London production of Wicked: That honor goes to Oliver Tompsett, 6’3”, who has subsequently moved across…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 03:37PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Theater Review: They're Ripping Themselves Apart Onstage, Inside and Out by Matt Wolf

A sequence of London openings put various sorts of meltdowns center stage.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 26, 2011

John Leguizamo on the Thrill of Making His London Stage Debut in Ghetto Klown by Matt Wolf

John Leguizamo has headlined three Broadway solo shows, not to mention countless movie and TV appearance, but only now is the 47-year-old performer making his London stage debut. The Colombi…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:43PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Andrew Knott on Bringing Beatle John Lennon to Life in London's Backbeat by Matt Wolf

Andrew Knott was scarcely into his teens when the actor, 32 next month, appeared as Dickon in the 1993 screen retelling of The Secret Garden, starring Maggie Smith. Nearly two decades later,…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:28PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Richard McCabe, Star of London's Yes, Prime Minister, on His Newfound Sympathy for Politicians by Matt Wolf

Bill McCabe uses Richard as his professional first name, since there was already a Bill McCabe in Equity, the actors’ union. But there is only one Scottish-born actor, now 51, who has …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:32PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Lisa Eichhorn, 'It' Girl of '70s Cinema, on Returning to the London Stage in Cool Hand Luke by Matt Wolf

Lisa Eichhorn was a celluloid “it” girl three decades ago, leaping to stardom opposite Richard Gere in the 1979 film Yanks, followed by the cult classic Cutter’s Way alongs…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:47AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Theater Review: Welcoming Back Synge, and Stomping Along With 'Rock of Ages' by Matt Wolf

Language is the key in a revival of "The Playboy of the Western World;" "Terrible Advice" centers on two cads, and a rock show is laden with hummable tunes.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:14PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 3, 2011

Cool Hand Luke, Aldwych Theatre by Matt Wolf

The human spirit won't be easily vanquished, or so we're led to believe from Cool Hand Luke, which in itself should provide succour to those trapped at this stage adaptation of the novel tha…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:18PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

X Factor Winner Shayne Ward Feels the Noize as Stacee Jaxx in London's Rock of Ages by Matt Wolf

Recording star Shayne Ward is a 2005 winner of Simon Cowell’s X Factor, but only now is the Twitter favorite making his West End debut. Ward, soon to be 27, has signed on through March…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:49PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Elisabeth Hopper on Her Life-Changing Role as Ralph Fiennes' Daughter in London's The Tempest by Matt Wolf

At 23, newcomer Elisabeth Hopper isn’t that much older than Miranda, the teenage castaway she is playing in Trevor Nunn's hit London production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, op…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 12:04PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Theater Review: Onstage in London, Works That Look Back in Time as They Move Forward by Matt Wolf

"Decade," a mosaic of responses to the Sept. 11 tragedy, acts as a textual tapestry of grief, rage and compassion -- and as first-rate theater, too.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:40AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Lucy Briers on Playing the Pope in the Hit London Revival of Top Girls by Matt Wolf

Lucy Briers comes by her theatrical leanings naturally as the daughter of actress Ann Davies and the veteran English comic actor Richard Briers (a 1998 Tony nominee for his Broadway performa…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Alex Gaumond on His Big Jump from London's Legally Blonde to We Will Rock You by Matt Wolf

Alex Gaumond was adorable (and sang up a storm) as Emmett in Legally Blonde, garnering an Olivier Award nomination, and the Montreal native has since gone all rock-starry and cool (while sti…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 01:12PM[SHARE]

Theater Review: Boys' Night Out, Girls' Night Out, and 'The Faith Machine' by Matt Wolf

Two plays toy with structure and time, and the cockeyed optimist comes to town.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:00AM[SHARE]

The Tempest, Theatre Royal Haymarket by Matt Wolf

Memo to William Shakespeare: could we have more, please, in The Tempest of the anxious, angsty Prospero, the mortality-minded magus played in his most riveting theatre performance in years b…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 02:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 2, 2011

The God of Soho, Shakespeare's Globe by Matt Wolf

It's grin and bear it - even on occasion bare it - time at Shakespeare's Globe, which closes its 2011 season not with a bang but with a wearyingly facetious whimper. A nice idea that in diff…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:25PM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 1, 2011

Martin Marquez on Parenting Lessons Learned from Playing Billy's Dad in London's Billy Elliot by Matt Wolf

Martin Marquez has worked extensively around London, often in the not-for-profit theater. For now, Martin is appearing at the Victoria Palace as Dad in Billy Elliot, the same role that won G…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:31PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Theater Review: Jude Law Makes a Revelatory Performance in London by Matt Wolf

He has opened in Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie" for a limited run in which he plays a swaggering Irish stoker last played on Broadway in 1993 by Liam Neeson.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:54PM[SHARE]

Adrian Scarborough on His Meaty West End Musical Debut in Betty Blue Eyes by Matt Wolf

After years of exploring classic plays—from Shakespeare and Stoppard to David Hare and Alan Bennett—at the National Theatre, Adrian Scarborough is making his musical theater debu…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 09:45AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 18, 2011

Nigel Harman on the Hidden Fitness Benefits of Playing Lord Farquaad in London's Shrek by Matt Wolf

Who says little guys finish last? As the diminutive Lord Farquaad in the West End incarnation of the Broadway musical Shrek, Nigel Harman all but walks off with the Drury Lane production, pl…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:50AM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 11, 2011

Sam Attwater on Playing a'60s Heartthrob in the West End's Dreamboats and Petticoats by Matt Wolf

Sam Attwater has done the British TV soap opera rounds, first in Hollyoaks and then EastEnders. In March, he hit it big on the reality competition Dancing on Ice, delivering a show-stopping …

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 11:23AM[SHARE]

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