All stories by Paola Bellu on BroadwayStars

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: BLIND RUNNER (St. Ann's Warehouse) by Paola Bellu

RUNNING FOR ONE'S LIFE St. Ann's Warehouse " one of the most eclectic and vibrant venues in New York " is now presenting another cutting-edge production, the North American premiere of Irani…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:35PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Off-Broadway Review: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater) by Paola Bellu

A SPARKLING, SPIRITED PIRATES The Pirates of Penzance is a spirited lampoon of Victorian morality, skewering its pretensions and hypocrisies while also poking fun at the lackluster operas an…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 07:24PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: COCKTAIL MAGIQUE (Company XIV in Bushwick) by Paola Bellu

A MAGIQUE CARPET RIDE Do you need an escape from suffocating daily life? In Bushwick, across the street from Théâtre XIV, home to the best burlesque shows in the city, artistic director …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:06AM[SHARE]
Friday, December 20, 2024

Broadway Review: GYPSY (Audra McDonald, Majestic Theatre) by Paola Bellu

THERE'S A NEW GYPSY IN TOWN AND SHE'S STUNNING In the 1920s, Rose Thompson Hovick steamrolled her way through vaudeville and lived vicariously through her reluctant young daughters, Louise a…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:14PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 30, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: LIFE AND TRUST (Emursive in Conwell Tower, Manhattan's Financial District) by Paola Bellu

PUT YOUR LIFE AND TRUST INTO THE HANDS OF LIFE AND TRUST There is a daunting immersive theater experience in Manhattan's Financial District that is also somehow prophetic. The location, 69 B…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:37PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: THE BLOOD QUILT (Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center) by Paola Bellu

A QUILT BLANKETED BY PREDICTABLE STITCHING Quilts always intrigued me; for millennia, women took scraps of fabric from discarded items and made quilts to be used for warmth or decorative pur…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 24, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: NUTCRACKER ROUGE (Company XIV) by Paola Bellu

GET READY TO CRACK SOME NUTS WIDE OPEN Christmas can be very sexy if you step into the sumptuous world of Théâtre XIV in trendy Bushwick, and catch Company XIV's neo-Baroque classic Nutc…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:07PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 23, 2024

Broadway Review: SWEPT AWAY (Longacre Theatre) by Paola Bellu

PREPARE TO BE SWEPT AWAY What happens when we are faced with extreme necessity? The 1884 tragic wreck of the yacht Mignonette was a cause célèbre in late 19th-century Britain, but not beca…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:02AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: BABE (The New Group) by Paola Bellu

A GENERATIONAL GAP AND A PLAYWRITING GAP As a result of the #MeToo movement, there has been much brought to light about women working in America. But here's a note to the younger generations…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 10:23PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 16, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: THE BIG GAY JAMBOREE (Orpheum) by Paola Bellu

JUST AS PROMISED, IT'S BIG! IT'S GAY! IT'S JAMBOREEING! Yes, there is a way to escape the post-election blues for 90 minutes: The Big Gay Jamboree at the Orpheum Theatre is the sublimely …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:42PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 14, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: KING LEAR (The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company at The Shed) by Paola Bellu

A NEOLITHIC AND LEAN LEAR Shakespeare's works can be read in many ways and I have witnessed so many diverse stage interpretations that I never know what I am about to see when I venture towa…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:59PM[SHARE]

Off-Broadway Review: THE Z TEAM (Theatre Row) by Paola Bellu

THE ZZZZzzz TEAM The Z Team, currently playing at Theatre Row, is a new work by father-and-son team Jeff and Jacob Foy. Directed by Jeff Whiting, it's advertised to be uproarious: "If The…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Dance Review: PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY (Fall Season Programs at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center) by Paola Bellu

Modern dance was born as a protest, a reaction to the rigid structure of classical ballet. It was evident when I've reviewed Extreme Taylor at the Joyce in June, and it was such a d…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 9, 2024

Dance Review: LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY (The Joyce Theater) by Paola Bellu

MISSA BRAVOS The Limón Dance Company celebrates its 78th season at the Joyce Theater with an epic program that reflects José Limón's humanist aesthetic: Limón's The Traito…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:04AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 8, 2024

Theater Review: GATZ (Elevator Repair Service at The Public) by Paola Bellu

GREAT F. SCOTT! Elevator Repair Service's justifiably heralded Gatz returns to The Public, opening tonight for a final New York City encore, and it's congenial, unforgettable theater. …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 11:33PM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 27, 2024

Off-Off-Broadway Review: WHORE'S EYE VIEW (Tour@HERE) by Paola Bellu

Whore's Eye View is a unique event, more of a lecture on the history of women's sexuality than the personal monologue one would expect from a sex-worker. Now at HERE Arts Center as part of a…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Saturday, October 26, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: RAWSHOCK (Manhattan Rep) by Paola Bellu

OUR SHOCKING HEALTH CARE SYSTEM Rawshock, a new drama by Rita Lewis which opened last night for a limited run by Manhattan Rep at the Chain Theatre, is set in a psychiatric hospital. As is o…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: KAFKAESQUE! (154 Christopher Street) by Paola Bellu

EVERYTHING ABOUT KAFKAESQUE!, INCLUDING THE COCKROACH, PROVES THAT JAMES HARVEY HAS A HISS, I MEAN, HIT, ON HIS HANDS Full-time lawyer by day, prolific author Franz Kafka wrote at night and …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Sunday, October 20, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: FRANKLINLAND (World Premiere by Lloyd Suh at Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) by Paola Bellu

LET'S BE FRANKLIN Were our Founding Fathers good fathers to their children? Lloyd Suh's play Franklinland, directed by Chika Ike, now having its world premiere at the Ensemble Studio Theatre…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 06:34PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: THE WITNESS ROOM (AMT Theatre) by Paola Bellu

AN ASTOUNDING CAST CAN'T HELP TO SHAKE THE FEELING THAT WE'VE WITNESSED THIS BEFORE Pedro Antonio Garcia, a criminal defense attorney and a playwright, must have written The Witness Room as …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:53AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 23, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: MEDEA: RE-VERSED (Red Bull Theater and Bedlam at The Sheen Center Shiner Theatre) by Paola Bellu

SOMETIMES THINGS HAVE TO GET VERSE TO GET BETTER Medea: Re-Versed, a Hip Hopera by Luis Quintero, has landed at the Frank Shiner Theatre and it is, without doubt, a memorable exp…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:27PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE (Out of the Box Theatrics at 154 Christopher Street) by Paola Bellu

I'D LOVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SEE It is extremely hard to translate the work of writers as ingenious and imaginative as RyÅ«nosuke Akutagawa, the father of Japanese s…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:58PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 13, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: COUNTING AND CRACKING (North American Premiere " The Public Theater at NYU Skirball) by Paola Bellu

RESPLENDENT ISLAND Sri Lanka is the epitome of a tropical paradise with golden sand beaches and luxurious palm trees, regal elephants and sexy leopards, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean once kn…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 01:50PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: LIFELINE (Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, Pershing Square Signature Center) by Paola Bellu

A FASCINATING SUBJECT BOTH MOLD AND NEW In 2019, antibiotic resistance contributed to almost 5 million deaths globally affecting everyone, no matter what age, race or financial status. Here …

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 03:18PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: HURRICANE SEASON (Theatre Row) by Paola Bellu

A DOWNSIZED HURRICANE Hurricane Season at Theatre Row is an experimental play where it's difficult to understand what is happening, and why, from the beginning to the very end. Produced by A…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Broadway Review: ONCE UPON A MATTRESS (Hudson Theatre) by Paola Bellu

MATTRESS HOLDS THE BREW THAT IS TRUE After 25 years, Once Upon a Mattress is back on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre, with a new adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino (creator of Th…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:37AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 12, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: EMPIRE (New World Stages) by Paola Bellu

IF ONLY THIS MUSICAL WAS CONSTRUCTED WITH THE SAME EFFICIENCY AS THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING Empire, at New World Stages, is unquestionably a musical created with an adult public in mind, p…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 12:22AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: THE MEETING: THE INTERPRETER (Theater at St. Clements) by Paola Bellu

A MEETING THAT'S TOUGH TO INTERPRET Four months before the November 2016 presidential elections, a crucial meeting took place at Trump Tower between Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.; T…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:51AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 2, 2024

Dance Review: re:CREATION (Pilobolus at the Joyce Theatre) by Paola Bellu

PILOBOLUS IS re:INVIGORATING In 1971, at Dartmouth College, three non-dance students were asked by their composition teacher to create a dance piece. The students were Jonathan Wolken, Steve…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 02:59AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Off-Broadway Review: SOMEONE SPECTACULAR (Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre @ Pershing Square Signature Center) by Paola Bellu

Humor leads to the release of endorphins in the brain, which help to control pain.  " RA Haig The Anatomy of Humor A play based on a grief group therapy session and life after an importan…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 08:14PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Broadway Review: JOB (Hayes Theatre) by Paola Bellu

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A GREAT JOB, HEAD TO THE HAYES THEATRE Two plays on therapy sessions presented at the same time a few blocks apart certainly show a phycological trend among young New Y…

SOURCE: Stage and Cinema at 09:20PM[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