Does ‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’ belong on Broadway?
After a few weeks of previews at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre, the off-Broadway hit from last season, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” officially opens on Broadway Wednesday night. The rock-fueled show is...
View ArticleNotes on a preview of ‘Women on the Verge…’
Broadway has been inundated with musicals based on movies over the past decade, but I don’t think there has ever been a show that displayed more reverance for its film source material than “Women on...
View ArticleBartlett Sher scores another Manhattan hit with ‘Le Comte Ory’
What a pleasure it has been watching the hard-working director Barlett Sher become one of the stars of the New York opera and theater worlds over the past few years. It seems like only yesterday that...
View ArticleJane Fonda and campus unrest at the dawn of the 1960s
Warner Archive has released a DVD-on-demand version of the 1960 comedy that gave Jane Fonda her first screen role — “Tall Story” — and while it by no means qualifies as a good movie, as a Hollywood and...
View Article‘Pippin’: when a cast album is better than the show
Broadway cast albums live on long after a show closes and can be deceptive listening experiences. So-called “flops” like “Subways are for Sleeping” (1961) and “High Spirits” (1964) can have more audio...
View ArticleR.I.P. Ruby Dee — stage barrier breaker
The career of actress Ruby Dee — who died at 91 on Wednesday — spanned all of the performing arts for more than 60 years so it is virtually impossible to characterize her work. Dee was in the original...
View Article‘Starred Up’: the rise of Jack O’Connell
The 24-year-old English actor Jack O’Connell should be receiving lots of press attention when the film version of the best-selling Laura Hillenbrand book “Unbroken” opens in December. O’Connell landed...
View Article#FridayReads ‘New York Mid-Century 1945-1965
A very pleasing combination of first-rate text and wonderfully chosen illustrations, the new Vendome Press book “New York Mid-Century 1945-1965” takes us through one of the peak periods in the history...
View Article‘Broadway Backwards 10’: musical role reversal
The tenth annual “Broadway Backwards” benefit was presented Monday night with a starry line-up of singers, dancers and comedians. The sold-out show produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS raised...
View Article‘Beautiful Room’: restaurants & real estate
The new musical that is closing the Long Wharf Theatre season – “The Most Beautiful Room in New York” – is jam-packed with talent and deals with material that seems up to the minute. The...
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