by Jonathan Mandell
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I picked up these two recently published books about the history of comedy in America for something to read on my long flight to Edinburgh. This felt ironic, because neither book spends much time on theater, while at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest performing arts festival, comedy and theater are so thoroughly intertwined, it’s hard...
Which of the eleven shows scheduled so far to open on Broadway between now and the end of 2026 are you most looking forward to? Why? And which do you want to know more about? Take the poll and let us know The shows are listed below chronologically by opening date Loading…
“Theater kid” revived as an insult; Superagent Ari’s takeover of ATG; AI taking over everything; a controversial casting choice; a eulogy for non-profit theater. There is no dearth of outrage and obsession among theater bloggers/substackers over events this summer. But this is also traditionally a time to relax and read. “Reading is one the most...
Tickets are on sale now for Broadway Week, 2-for-1 tickets to 25 Broadway shows, including some of the longest-running hit musicals and seven shows newly participating in this semi-annual discount program (which began in 2011): Just in Time, The Lost Boys, Paranormal Activity, The Rocky Horror Show, Schmigadoon, School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play,...
The dog days of August are a good time to get away, which may explain why there was so much New York coverage of theater festivals this past week that were out-of-town, some just a little out of town, like The Festival in Kingston, N.Y. (Original RENT Cast Reunites at The Festival Day 2), some way out of...
Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire, wants you to know he had humble beginnings. “My father was an Africana farmer, but he suffered great prejudice, bias, and hatred, and had to sell all his slaves on the cheap. Life was hard. The family had nothing, just a plantation.” “Elon Musk Is Cool AF” was one of...
Lavinia Draper would have reminded me of Carol Channing – an exaggerated show biz blonde with a theatrically raspy, half-spoken singing voice – if Channing had been a full-on floozy whose career highlight was understudying (but never getting to perform) in CATS. A character written and performed by New York-based solo artist Susan Companaro for more...
La MaMa is anything but retiring in its 65th year, an anniversary that will be celebrated with a free block party on East Fourth Street the afternoon of October 18th. The season promises: .A revival of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge starring Sam Rockwell, Marin Ireland and Alfred Molina; an oratorio about the Epstein files, co-starring...
The casts from two Broadway and two Off-Broadway musicals performed in the final Broadway in Bryant Park concert of the summer. From Heated Rivalry, the Unofficial Parody Musical’s “Big Ass, Cold Heart” From The Great Gatsby’s “Roaring On” From Heather’s Candy Store The convert began with a long jazz riff by Taiwanese Jazz musician Vincent...
Short videos below sample the puppet parade and red carpet that launched the fourth International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC today, as well as six of the 18 puppet shows for adults that are being presented through Sunday. Word Play Champagne Dreams Shterna and the Lost Voice, by Magid Ensemble Mujeres a cuatro manos by Teatro...
The new production of the 1997 play “An American Daughter” has so much going for it that it takes a while to realize how much of a clunker it is. Written by the late Wendy Wasserstein (her third Broadway comedy after The Heidi Chronicles and The Sisters Rosensweig), it focuses on one Lyssa Dent Hughes (portrayed by Jean Lichty), a...
Two of the plays that opened this past week dramatized the stories of two New York City architectural landmarks, one an imposing structure of granite, wrought iron and pine (the Brooklyn Bridge), the other an imposition of glass and steel (The Vessel) This same week, two recently built theater buildings that promote themselves as architectural...
