Theater Articles
The Flying Karamazov Brothers: Off-Broadway & Open-Ended
They’re back, and turning Off-Broadway’s legendary Minetta Lane Theatre into their own personal playground -- indefinitely! I’m talking, of course, about The Flying Karamazov Brothers and their euphorically loopy, technically stunning hit show.
New York Shows With a Twist Make a Splash - The Ultimate Summer Coolers!
You've already hit the retro highway with tickets for Rock of Ages, Mamma Mia!, Million Dollar Quartet and Jersey Boys and yet (more likely 'because of') you find yourself jonesing for bigger doses of vintage jukebox musical satisfaction. Don't lose Heart, Power Balladz will be arriving Off-Broadway on August 5th with a belt-a-thon of rock music, hi-res video images, a romantic storyline, and some highly interactive pre- and post-show antics (game show trivia; live-band karaoke).
Rock of Ages - I'm Ready for the Wayback Machine, Mr. Peabody...So Pump Up the Volume!
All the program tells you is that his name is Lonny and that he's played by Mitchell Jarvis. The moment he sets foot on the stage, however, you see the light. Lonny is the whole package: a comic maestro/narrator who is destined to guide the uninitiated through every plot twist and hit from the '80s that Rock of Ages can dish out.
Celebrity Sizzle: A Major Draw for Big Apple Summer Stages
In case you hadn’t noticed, New York’s summer star-scape is in excellent form this year, with some of the biggest talents in show biz embracing the sultry months of June, July and August to appear both on and Off-Broadway.
Banana Shpeel Brings Vaudeville Appeal to the Beacon Theatre
If you think you know Cirque du Soleil, think again. Banana Shpeel, billed as “a Riot of Ha-Has, La-Las and Ta-Das,” is definitely not your typical Cirque production. The dance numbers alone dictate this is not so much a new show as it is a new performance genre. And considering its creative source, writer-director David Shiner (whose Fool Moon with Bill Irwin garnered Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards), it’s no surprise.
Banana Shpeel: All Showbiz, All Schmelky
“A Riot of Ha-Ha’s, La-La’s and Ta-Da’s” -- that’s how the glitzy, spandex-y, and unrepentantly silly Banana Shpeel is billing itself and you’ll get no argument here.
New York, New York... Where the Brightest Stars Shimmer & Shine
From Oscar winners Denzel Washington (Fences) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (A Little Night Music), to Tony winners Barbara Cook (Sondheim on Sondheim), Kristin Chenoweth (Promises, Promises) and Nathan Lane/Bebe Neuwirth (The Addams Family), and Emmy winners Kelsey Grammer (La Cage aux Folles), Linda Lavin (Collected Stories) and Sean Hayes (Promises, Promises), Broadway’s luminary wattage as Summer Solstice 2010 approaches is nothing short of dazzling.
The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical: New Tribe – Great HAIR!
For baby boomers, the 2008 production of Hair at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre was one of those seminal retro experiences: a Zen-like then-and-now laced with nostalgia and the compulsion to unearth long-buried appliquéd bell-bottoms and fringed suede vests.
The Addams Family - A Rollicking Walk on the Dark Side of Broadway
From their butler Lurch, who’s been dead many years, to the tentacle-waving giant squid they harbor in their basement, to Grandma and her plethora of potions left over from her Woodstock days, The Addams Family combines hilarious one-liners with dark humor, vibrant songs and high-flying dances -- all against a backdrop of exquisite scenery and dazzling special effects.
Come Fly Away Takes to the Broadway Stratosphere
If you love dazzling choreography (laced with acrobatic highlights), and you're a Frank Sinatra fan to boot, Come Fly Away is a must-see. Director/choreographer Twyla Tharp combines a nightclub setting with a 1940s vibe, the smooth tones of Ol' Blue Eyes, and a live big band to depict the eternal dance of boy-meets-girl, spun out in a kaleidoscope of tantalizing movement.
Big Apple Theatre Update - Puppets, Gossip & the People Behind Both
While Julie Taymor’s current project, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, dawdles in pre-Broadway limbo, her puppet masterwork The Lion King still rules on the Great White Way. But what of that other long-running, Tony-winning musical cohabitated by people and puppets, Avenue Q?
Million Dollar Quartet: Four Rock n' Roll Hall-of-Famers...One Historic Jam Session
It happened one amazing December day in 1956: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins played an impromptu jam session at Sun Records in Memphis.
Show Time for the A-List: Mega March Is Here!
It’s not quite the Twilight Zone, although there is a whiff of the surreal in the air as the latest batch of Tony hopefuls flutter onto the Great White Way during this schizoid month of slush and sunshine.
This Week's Off-Broadway Openings: February 15th-February 21st
Dozens of new plays and musicals open every week in theaters across New York City. Here are the shows that begin previews or open this week. Who knows? You may catch the next Avenue Q or Rent. Click on the show title for more information.
Falling in Love Again... Broadway in February -- Let the Seduction Begin!
Perhaps it’s the whole St. Valentine’s Day thing. Or the urge to slip out of the cold and into a cozy New York City theatre. Most likely though, it’s the unprecedented list of major stars landing on the Great White Way in February.
Corbin Bleu: Now Hanging His Alpha Star In the Heights
In the Heights, the Tony- and Grammy Award-winning musical that brought the barrio to Broadway in 2008, is breaking new ground in early 2010 thanks to one of the hottest young talents around: Corbin Bleu, who recently stepped into the lead role of Usnavi, narrator/bodega owner/Romeo wannabe/rapper extraordinaire.
Not-to-Be-Missed Musicals: Mega-Stars Optional
The holidays are history, and January isn’t nearly as socially animated as holly-jolly December. Fortunately, as things quiet down on the family-and-friends circuit, New York’s vibrant theatre scene provides a savory antidote to post-party depression. Particularly when one turns one’s sights to a trio of outstanding musicals that arrived on the Great White Way this past October and November: Fela!, Finian’s Rainbow, and Memphis.
Irving Berlin's White Christmas: Spreading Holiday Cheer by the Sleigh-full
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is back at the Marriott Marquis Theatre for the second straight holiday season, bringing to Broadway the warmth of a lighthearted romantic comedy and the elegance of the composer’s quintessentially American songs.
Ragtime: The Show-Stopping Revival Returns to the Great White Way!
Ragtime is back on Broadway, at the Neil Simon Theatre, and two of its creators believe that its rich and compelling story about the calamitous changes in America in the early years of the 20th century is more relevant than it was when it debuted in 1998.
In the Heights Soars as a New Kind of Broadway
Javier Muñoz wants to get up close and personal with his audience, and at every performance of In the Heights, he gets his wish. As Usnavi, the bodega owner and narrator of the Broadway show, he forges a special connection with onlookers.
Memphis: A New Musical With Equal Parts Heart and Soul
According to Joe DiPietro, it all started with a producer who came to him with an idea -- an irresistibly tantalizing idea -- “about these early rock n’ roll DJs playing R&B music for white teenagers. And I thought, ‘This is a really important story to tell.’”
Living La Vida Hip-Hop: GROOVALOO
The performers range in age from (roughly) 20 to 40. The genre is dance -- mostly freestyle hip-hop: popping, locking, breaking, house...laced with a bit of jazz and commercial hip-hop. The spoken word that underscores the physical is personal to the dancers: humorous and heart-wrenching; confessional and redemptive; beautiful and unflinching.
Broadway on Broadway 2009 - Kicking Off the 2009-2010 Theater Season
The Broadway League and the Times Square Alliance proudly present the 18th Annual Broadway on Broadway, presented by Buick LaCrosse and Continental Airlines on Sunday, September 13th. The annual free outdoor concert brings together stars and performances from current Broadway productions to celebrate the beginning of the new season, and offers a special sneak peak at shows making their Great White Way debut this fall.
The Groundbreaking Musical That Brought the Barrio to Broadway: In the Heights
Spread out in front of me are three In The Heights Playbills. The first is dated February, 2007 -- the month the “new musical about three days in the life of Washington Heights, a vibrant and tight-knit community at the top of the island of Manhattan” opened at Off-Broadway’s 37 Arts Theatre. The second is dated March, 2008, not long after it transferred to Broadway -- and shortly before it took home 2008’s “Best Musical” Tony.
Faith Prince (Nefarious) & Drew Seeley (Romantic) Star in Disney's The Little Mermaid
A Saturday matinee at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre featuring a pre-show flurry that is pretty much what you’d expect -- only better: Kids sauntering or scampering down aisles, up stairs and around corners with mom and/or dad in tow. Giggling, gazing, and, in the case of more than one dressed-to-impress young lady, glittering (sparkly shoes and tulle still rule). All the while, good-natured ushers sidestep shopping bags and happy feet to deliver massive seat cushions to the wee-est of the wee.
