All stories by Michael Portantiere on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

See How They Sparkle! by Michael Portantiere

Sparkle!, a starry holiday concert masterminded by Scott Nevins, brought gladness and cheer to the audience that assembled at XL Cabaret on Monday, December 17 for the one-night-only event. …

SOURCE: stage.broadwaystars.com at 01:24AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 4, 2012

BC/EFA Salutes Fred Ebb and Other Show People by Michael Portantiere

The 24th annual Gypsy of the Year competition, held at the New Amsterdam Theatre, raised $3,902,608 to support the good works of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This year's event culminat…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 11:05PM[SHARE]

BC/EFA Salutes Fred Ebb and Other Show People by Michael Portantiere

The 24th annual Gypsy of the Year competition, held at the New Amsterdam Theatre, raised $3,902,608 to support the good works of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This year's event culminat…

SOURCE: stage.broadwaystars.com at 11:05PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 22, 2012

Alan Menken Seizes the Day by Michael Portantiere

The great composer Alan Menken was honored by Encompass New Opera Theatre on Sunday, October 21 at the National Arts Club in a celebration that featured memorable performances of his songs, …

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 01:24AM[SHARE]
Friday, October 19, 2012

Bedbugs Bite!!! by Michael Portantiere

There's a musical about cats, and there's a musical about frogs, so why not one about bedbugs? True, New Yorkers who went through a big bedbug scare a just a few years ago may not feel there…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 08:36PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fade Out - Fade In by Michael Portantiere

The musical Fade Out - Fade In has a hilarious libretto by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, a terrific score with both music and lyrics by Jule Styne, and the original production was directed …

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 02:04AM[SHARE]

Fade Out - Fade In by Michael Portantiere

Fade Out - Fade In has a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by the great Jule Styne, and the original production was directed by George Abbott and starred Carol Burnett.…

SOURCE: stage.broadwaystars.com at 02:04AM[SHARE]
Friday, October 12, 2012

Gayby, It's You! by Michael Portantiere

One of the several excellent reasons why you should see Gayby, a new indie film written and directed by Jonathan Lisecki, is that most of the actors involved are young New York theater veter…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 08:34PM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 7, 2012

Giuseppe Bausilio's Spring Awakening by Michael Portantiere

There's a paradox surrounding Frank Wedekind's 1891 play Spring's Awakening (or Spring Awakening, depending on the translation) and its latter-day musical version, a paradox that also exists…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 02:03PM[SHARE]

Giuseppe Bausilio's Spring Awakening by Michael Portantiere

There's a paradox surrounding Frank Wedekind's 1891 play Spring Awakening (or Spring's Awakening, depending on the translation) and its latter-day musical version, a paradox that also exists…

SOURCE: stage.broadwaystars.com at 02:03PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Hello, Gorgeous! by Michael Portantiere

As you may have heard, Barbra Streisand will soon return to the borough of her birth, Brooklyn, to give two concerts in the brand new Barclays Center. If you're a big Barbra fan but you can'…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 07:25PM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 27, 2012

Marry Me a Little More by Michael Portantiere

I'm one of those people who look askance at musicals built around pre-existing songs, but many of us who feel that way are happy to give a pass to Marry Me a Little. Originally staged Off-Br…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 12:22PM[SHARE]
Monday, September 10, 2012

Sing a Song of Mario Lanza by Michael Portantiere

The late, great tenor Mario Lanza is most famous for almost single-handedly popularizing opera for a mass audience of Americans in the 1950s through his glorious singing in a series of big-b…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 09:29PM[SHARE]

Sing a Song of Mario Lanza by Michael Portantiere

The late, great tenor Mario Lanza is most famous for almost single-handedly popularizing opera for a mass audience of Americans in the 1950s through his glorious singing in a series of big-b…

SOURCE: stage.broadwaystars.com at 09:29PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Debra Barsha: A Womb With a View by Michael Portantiere

Debra Barsha composed the music for Radiant Baby, one of the best musicals you've probably never heard of. For whatever reasons, the show was not a critical success in its 2003 world premier…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 09:06PM[SHARE]
Sunday, September 2, 2012

Marilyn Maye Hooks Up With Michael Feinstein by Michael Portantiere

One might say that Marilyn Maye is having a glorious renaissance, except that there really haven't been any dark ages in this lady's career. Famous as one of Johnny Carson's all-time favorit…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 11:29AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 28, 2012

Che to the Max by Michael Portantiere

Max von Essen has been duly praised for his performance as Magaldi in the Broadway revival of Evita, but many theatergoers may be unaware that he is also the understudy for the marathon lead…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 02:24PM[SHARE]
Sunday, June 24, 2012

Jack Jones: Upholding Standards by Michael Portantiere

Everyone of a certain age has his/her own favorite mid-20th century pop singers, based on all sorts of qualities including voice, style, phrasing, and repertoire. But in terms of sheer vocal…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 10:46AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Judys, Judys Everywhere! by Michael Portantiere

Over the decades, Judy Garland has been channelled by any number of performers and impersonators, including some biological females. Several of these people have offered skillful and respect…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 12:23AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 11, 2012

Happy, Happy Man by Michael Portantiere

Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella is one of my all-time favorite musicals, but the show has never been tremendously popular with the general public, and I think that's mostly because of b…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 11:09PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Wine, Williams, and Song by Michael Portantiere

Located at the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown is considered by many to be the birthplace of the modern American theater, having served as an artistic home for such playwrights as Eugene O'Nei…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 10:05PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 28, 2012

Take-Home Musicals by Michael Portantiere

As of this writing, cast albums of most of the recently ended season’s new musicals, revivals, and “revisals” have been or are very soon to be released. So, for the benefit…

SOURCE: artsamerica.org at 03:04PM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 27, 2012

Jessie Mueller: Theatre World Award Winner by Michael Portantiere

The show in which Jessie Mueller made her Broadway debut -- the revisal of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever -- didn't run very long at all, but Jessie herself is here to stay. This spectac…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 09:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 24, 2012

Old Jews Telling Jokes by Michael Portantiere

The cast of OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES (Photo: Joan Marcus)The great thing about a show like Old Jews Telling Jokes is that the title tells you pretty much exactly what you’re getting. No …

SOURCE: artsamerica.org at 12:08PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 17, 2012

Bad Work If You Can Stand It by Michael Portantiere

Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Broderick in NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT (Photo: Joan Marcus) In my last ArtsAmerica blog entry, I wrote about what I consider to be an unfortunate omission from…

SOURCE: artsamerica.org at 11:50AM[SHARE]
Monday, May 7, 2012

John Lithgow Shines in THE COLUMNIST by Michael Portantiere

John Lithgow in THE COLUMNIST One of the most inexplicable and unfortunate omissions from this year’s Tony Award nominations is David Auburn’s The Columnist, which definitely des…

SOURCE: artsamerica.org at 09:39PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Hot Guys of BLONDES by Michael Portantiere

The 1953 film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes provides equal opportunity for oglers, whether they be male or female, straight or gay. In addition to starring two of the most voluptuous w…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 09:50AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 30, 2012

Streetcar Is Right on Track by Michael Portantiere

Nicole Ari Parker and Blair Underwood It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised, as I was by the very fine production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire that recently ope…

SOURCE: artsamerica.org at 04:30PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Boy Who Would Be Peter Pan by Michael Portantiere

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER When they are well done, so called “prequels” can serve as highly entertaining and intriguing adjuncts to beloved classics. Though prequels are far more…

SOURCE: artsamerica.org at 03:30PM[SHARE]

Bonnets Full of Easter Joy by Michael Portantiere

This year's Easter Bonnet show marked the culmination of six weeks of fundraising that raised $3,677,855 to support the good works of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Here are my pix of th…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 08:14AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 20, 2012

Jennifer Cody Joins the Busch League by Michael Portantiere

Jennifer Cody plays a whore with a heart of gold and a lot of grit in Judith of Bethulia, an over-the-top campy spoof of Biblical films, written by and starring the one and only Charles Busc…

SOURCE: BroadwayStars at 07:01AM[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