Michael Urie Co-stars in Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Revival of Talene Monohon’s Jane Anger …
By: Ellis Nassour
December 16, 2022: Are you ready for a bloody good time? It’s 1606 and an egomaniacal Shakespeare is plagued with writer’s block. London’s theatres are closed and the plague, the Black one, has the Bard in quarantine with his sly apprentice, Francis. However, he’s not as sly as the cunning woman known as Jane Anger, who climbs in through a window.
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Peter Felichia’s Wit Strikes Again; Three Vintage Books by the Late Arthur Laurents
By: Ellis Nassour
November 14, 2022: In The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes, and Disagreements by Peter Felichia (Globe Pequot/Applause Books; SRP $27.95, e-book $26.50; 366 pages/trade edition; 15 photos; Index) he purposely means to start arguments and to settle them – all in good fun, with Filichia’s (sometime) sarcastic humor and tongue-in-cheek comments very much intact. Never has his wit been shaper.
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“It’s important to have that sort of graciousness in wanting to see others succeed.” Jamie deRoy The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle
By: Alix Cohen
October 8, 2022: Jamie deRoy is an actress, host, vocalist, producer (78 Broadway shows -10 Tony Awards and counting- also Off Broadway and film), collector of art and artists, and a humanitarian. She juggles all this with energy – though not in the morning, honed acumen – 50-plus years in entertainment, unbridled, unjaded enthusiasm (sparks still fly), humor, and her gut.
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Paul Jabara, Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe Award-winning Songwriter/Actor Celebrated with Digital LP Debuts and Tribute
By: Ellis Nassour
September 28, 2022 – Two of Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter/actor Paul Jabara’s most in demand vinyl albums, Keeping Time and Shut Out are being released for the first time in a digital format in a 30th Ann
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SHY: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers by Mary Rodgers and Jesse Green Is Alarming, But Alarming Can Be Riotously Sad and Fun
By: Ellis Nassour
August 26, 2022 – Whoever accused Mary Rodgers of being shy, certainly didn’t know her. Her memoir, written with New York Times chief theater critic Jesse Green, SHY: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; 467 pages; SRP $35 Hard; $20 Trade; mostly 69 B&W photos and illustrations; sadly, no Index; Loaded with interesting footnotes by Green] is one of the most noteworthy theater books to come along since Moss Hart’s Act One.
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By: Iris Wiener
February 1, 2022: Joe Iconis musicals have typically demonstrated the songwriter’s innate, brilliant knack for storytelling through song (see Be More Chill, Love in Hate Nation and The Black Suits for a taste). With Punk Rock Girl !, his and Rob Rokicki’s latest offering currently debuting at the Argyle Theatre in Babylon, the Tony-nominated songwriter takes on a jukebox musical to delightful results. Here are a few of the many reasons why audiences will enjoy this rockin’, world premiere experience:
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Steven Spielberg’s Long-awaited Film Adaptation of West Side Story Finally Arrives.
By: Ellis Nassour
December 9, 2021: As we waited for the COVID-19-delayed adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s vision of West Side Story, with screenplay by Pulitzer and Tony winner Tony Kushner, questions were raised about whether there was a reason to mess with a classic and vastly popular film; and if, indeed, there even needed to be a new WSS.
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Five Reasons Why Chicken & Biscuits is Broadway’s Delightful Main Course
By: Iris Wiener
October 14, 2021: Chicken & Biscuits is a delectable treat, one that excites the pallet and leaves its audiences satiated with joy. A funeral may not be the first place one would imagine a comedy being set, but this feast delivers at every turn. Playwright Douglas Lyons builds a full Baptist memorial service in a Black church, at which the Jenkins’, a family of misshapen, foiled characters, arrive to mourn (or celebrate) the passing of their elder. The uplifting heart and abounding humor are only two of many reasons audiences will want second helpings of this perfect reason to revisit Broadway. Here are five more:
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By: David Sheward
August 12, 2021: it’s confirmed that Funny Girl, the 1964 musical bio of the legendary comedienne Fanny Brice which made Barbra Streisand a star will be returning to Broadway for its first revival. The lead role will be played by Beanie Feldstein who played Minnie Fay in the recent Bette Midler-led revival of Hello, Dolly! and will be featured as Monica Lewinski in the upcoming TV mini-series Impeachment: America Crime Story. Tony winner Michael Mayer (Thoroughly Modern Millie, American Idiot) will direct and four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein will revise Isobelle Lennart’s original book. The iconic score which includes “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “I’m the Greatest Star” and “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty” is by Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics).
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By: Alix Cohen
Proceeds benefit the Costume Industry Coalition Recovery Fund advocating for the survival of New York City’s costume industry.
August 12, 2021: “Without us they’d all be naked!” flashes across the screen during this exhibition’s teaser video. While perhaps stretching the point, it’s impossible to recall New York theater experiences without the apt, imaginative, sometimes extraordinary couture costumes that enhance a production. On stage wardrobe can place a character’s era, location, economic status, attitude and taste.
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Legendary Impersonator Rich Little Impeaches Richard Nixon Beginning August 5; And There’s More …
By: Ellis Nassour
August 1, 2021: Legendary voice impersonator, TV star, and long-time Las Vegas legend Rich Little, 82 years young, just can’t keep his mouth shut, but this time, finally making his Off-Broadway debut, is taking on Richard Nixon in Trial on the Potomac: The Impeachment of Richard Nixon by George Bugatt. The engagements runs August 5 (Opening Night/August 6) – September 4 at Theatre at St Clements (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues). All performances are at 7 P.M. The play is premiering after a pandemic delay from May 2020.
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By: Paulanne Simmons
August 1, 2021: Nothing heals a troubled soul better than music. And in these troubled times it’s truly a blessing to discover music in the most unusual places. Victoria Paterson and her musicians have been proving this over and over again in the last few months as they appear in various venues around New York City and beyond.
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A Notable Death: Broadway’s Veteran Hair Magician Paul Huntley, 88
By: Ellis Nassour
July 15, 2021 — Paul Huntley, 88, Broadway’s trendsetting go-to wig designer, passed on Friday. Liz Carboni, his longtime friend, confirmed his death in London from complications from a lung infection. He was honored in 2003 with a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater. He also was the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards.
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By: Paulanne Simmons
July 15, 2021: Confined to their homes during the pandemic, many people decided to master a new skill. For some, that skill was speaking Yiddish. In fact, according to Motl Didner, associate artistic director of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, thousands of people have watched Folksbiene’s “15-Minute Yiddish” over the past year. This, says Didner, is just part of the “Yiddish Renaissance,” which began in the 1970s and received a huge online boost during the pandemic.
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