“The Last Five Years” featuring a book, music and lyrics, by Jason Robert Brown, has had a long journey since first opening in Chicago in 2001. It has had two off Broadway runs, two London runs (one West End), it was made into a film, and it has now finally arrived on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre. It is a…
One of the latest offerings to open on Broadway comes in the form of a tribute musical revue, dedicated to the incredible work of the iconic composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. It is devised by producer Cameron Mackintosh, who has carefully selected songs from the musicals he produced in association with Mr. Sondheim. The two names that appear above the…
The themes explored in Alice Childress’s “Wine in the Wilderness” currently running at Classic Stage Company include classism and economic struggles; the resilience and strength of communities and individuals navigating challenges in the economic, social and personal environments; identity; and the role of the arts in interpreting and influencing societal norms. And although these themes resonate in every community, Childress…
Yet another new production enters the current Broadway season boasting a well-known film and television star, a large movie screen, and several television screens that surround the proscenium to provide close-ups of the actor. It is an adaptation for stage, from a movie bearing the same name. The well-known star is George Clooney, making his Broadway debut, and the show…
There are skeletons in Helena Alving’s (a tortured yet stalwart Lily Rabe) closet whose secrets she would rather not be revealed. More devastating to Helena than these skeletons is the bevy of ghosts that will not allow her to rest until their messages and warnings from her past are heard and fully processed in the present. Helena’s reawakened trauma is…
The creative team for the musical “Buena Vista Social Club” have been hard at work making a few changes in preparation for its Broadway debut after a successful run at the Atlantic Theater. The most notable alteration is the transition from a small off-Broadway stage to the considerably larger stage of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Although, at no fault of…
A star-studded production has found its way to Broadway from Sydney Australia, with an adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. This transformation of the classic is written and directed by Kip Williams, and features one actor, Sarah Snook, playing all the roles, including the narrator. In this modern age of theater, it has become extremely common…
In Simon Stephens’s brilliant “Vanya,” the adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya, Andrew Scott portrays the eight main characters from the 1897 play. He depicts these familiar characters with a degree of believability and authenticity that is beyond remarkable. That would be impressive enough if he portrayed one character at a time, but there is often more than one character…
The latest import from London is a perfect example of the broad slapstick comedy that British audiences are fond of across the pond, and it joins the ranks of several similar shows that have invaded Broadway in the past few years. One of the reasons the new musical “Operation Mincemeat” is successful is the interesting and compelling storyline based on…
Two half-brothers half a world apart face the decline of their mother in Samuel D. Hunter’s “Grangeville” currently on at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffen Jewel Box Theatre. The mood of the conversations between forty-something Arnold (Brian J. Smith) who lives in Rotterdam and his older half-brother Jerry (Paul Sparks) who still lives in Grangeville, Idaho range from…