Harmony ensemble: Blake Roman, Steven Telsey, Zal Owen, Danny Kornfeld, Eric Peters and Sean Bell. (Julieta Cervantes) Harmony By Fern Siegel Harmony, the new musical by Barry Manilow (music) and Bruce Sussman (book and lyrics) strikes a beautiful, yet mournful chord. The true story of the famed Comedians Harmonists — and…
Arielle Jacobs and Jose Llana. (Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy, and Evan Zimmerman) Here Lies Love By Cammy Paglia The story of Imelda Marcos is taking Broadway by storm in the musical Here Lies Love. This show is a spectacle like none that has gone before. The concept, music and lyrics of…
Aisha Jackson, Morgan Whitley, Briga Heelan, Ashley Chiu, Gabrielle Beckford and Lauren Zakrin (Photo: Matthew Murphy) Once Upon A One More Time By Fern Siegel Betty Friedan is having a moment. And it’s on Broadway. Her book The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963, bravely challenged patriarchal orthodoxies about women, which deemed marriage, children…
Hiran Abeysekera (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) Life of Pi By David Schultz Based on the Booker Prize-wining novel by Yann Martel, this unique tale has been given new life on stage. Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti has channeled all the inherent mystical magic of the book into a totally engrossing visual pageant. Directed…
Jodie Comer in “Prima Facie.” (Photo: Browen Sharp/Caz Lock) Prima Facie By Julia Polinsky In Prima Facie, Tessa Ensler (Jodie Comer), a criminal defense attorney from a working-class family background, has worked hard at law school and achieved great success in the English legal system. Often, she successfully defends men accused of sexual assault….
Marcel Spears and Billy Eugene Jones in Fat Ham. (Photo: Joan Marcus) Fat Ham By Deirdre Donovan Those theatergoers who have hungered for a spicy new take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet need look no further than James Ijames’ comic tragedy, Fat Ham, at the American Airlines Theatre. Directed by Saheem Ali, it is both a…
Anna Uzele and the company of New York, New York. (Photo: Emilio Madrid) New York, New York By Marc Miller This will be a love letter to John Kander. There’s plenty wrong with New York, New York at the St. James, though most of it can be found in the casually assembled book, by David…
Ellie Morris, Jonathan Sayer, Charlie Russell,Henry Shields, Henry Lewis and Matthew Cavendish (Photo: Jeremy Daniel) Peter Pan Goes Wrong By Fern Siegel “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” The quote is courtesy of character actor Edmund Gwenn on his deathbed. But Peter Pan Goes Wrong, now on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, makes comedy…
Alex Newell, Caroline Innerbichler, Kevin Cahoon, and Andrew Durand in Shucked. (Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman) Shucked By Julia Polinsky After a theater season of important work with a message, it’s a relief to sit in that incredibly expensive seat, and just let go and laugh. That rarity among Broadway shows, a…
The cast of Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ By Julia Polinsky Dancin’ has chassed/jeted/moonwalked/shoulder-rolled – ok, danced into the Music Box Theater on Broadway, and that’s a deleriously good thing. Who needs antidepressants? We have Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. Director Wayne Cilento, who was in the original Dancin’ 45 years…