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Henry VI, Part 3
"Henry VI Part 3," one of Shakespeare's earliest history plays, is not exactly his finest. The final part of the War of the Roses history cycle prior to "Richard III," it is essentially stuffed with...
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Bachelorette
Rest assured that "Bachelorette" has absolutely nothing in common with ABC's "The Bachelorette." Whereas "The Bachelorette" is a dumb and pointless television reality show, Leslye Headland's new play...
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Summer Broadway Festival
As Charles Isherwood correctly pointed out in his latest Sunday New York Times feature, the summer theater season in New York has been less than joyous in both quality and character. After all,...
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A Little Night Music
It was all over. At least it seemed to be. The producers of “A Little Night Music” announced that the Broadway revival would end its run in mid-June when Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury’s...
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Secrets of the Trade
“Secrets of the Trade,” Jonathan Tolins’ semi-autobiographical new play, desperately wants to be more than just another tale of a wide-eyed, stage-struck kid who meets his idol. In fact, Tolins sets...
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Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party
“Abraham Lincoln’s Big, Gay Dance Party” is a pretty amusing title. No doubt about it. Whether Aaron Loeb’s play is actually any good is another issue entirely. In fact, it’s a real stinker.The...
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Trust
Sutton Foster has a lot more in common with Miley Cyrus than you might think. Both are now trying to shed their nice girl reputations by dressing up in sexually provocative attire.Foster is best known...
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Random Roundup of New Jersey Productions
It's time to play catch-up. I've got a plethora of shows that tend to involve either Shakespeare or New Jersey to go over with you. Where to start? It all feels like a blur, but I'll try and make sense...
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Next to Normal - Replacement Cast
Don’t get us wrong. “Next to Normal” is still the most daring, original and haunting new musical on Broadway. And it has the potential to live on without Alice Ripley in the role of Diana Goodman. But...
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Our Town - David Cromer Returns
It sounded like just another boring production of “Our Town,” Thornton Wilder’s classic play about everyday life in Grover’s Corner that’s been performed in virtually every high school in America at...
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If It Only Even Runs a Minute 3
It was the second best moment of theater I’ve witnessed this entire summer, second only to Bernadette Peters’ rendition of “Send in the Clowns.” Frank Vlastnik, Daniel Jenkins’ understudy in the...
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Me, Myself & I
In Edward Albee’s new play “Me, Myself & I,” a disheveled mother played by Elizabeth Ashley can’t tell her two sons apart. The young men are identical twins that are both named Otto. Actually, one...
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The Little Foxes
Here are three words guaranteed to strike fear and terror into the hearts of any theatrical purist who dislikes the avant-garde: Ivo-van-Hove.Hove, a notorious Flemish director, is best known in New...
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Brief Encounter
You don’t need to see two people fly into the air against a dramatic backdrop of rushing waters to know that they have fallen in love. Such is the problem with the tongue-in-cheek and excessive stage...
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The Pitmen Painters
Perhaps Lee Hall intended his new play “The Pitmen Painters” to be an unofficial prequel to his popular musical “Billy Elliot.” Both are powerful, humorous and warm-hearted studies in the power of the...
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Mrs. Warren's Profession
“Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” George Bernard Shaw’s 1894 drama that reexamines the pros and cons of prostitution, contains no violence or obscenities. Yet when it was first performed in New York in 1905,...
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I Wish to Go to the Festival: My Brief Encounters at NYMF
If you blinked, you missed the latest installment of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, which since its founding has given birth to musicals such as “Next to Normal” (then under its original...
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End of the Year Guide: Best and Worst Shows and Moments
Best Shows of 20101. The Scottsboro Boys – It is difficult to imagine a more daring,disturbing or dangerous Broadway musical than this true story aboutnine young black males falsely accused of raping...
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Which theater gala are you going to on Monday?
This Monday night, November 14, offers a load of galas and special events:1. Broadway Unplugged (Town Hall) - This is a must for all fans of Scott Siegel's Broadway by the Year series and its numerous...
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2011 Steinberg Playwright "Mimi" Awards
For three years in a row, I have attended the cocktail hour portion of the Steinberg Playwright "Mimi" Awards, which recognize some playwright or other. Why just the cocktail hour? Why not stick around...
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Broadway Unplugged
Carolee Carmello was a no show. So was Marc Kudisch. But this year's "Broadway Unplugged" concert - where performers must sing without the aid of electronic amplification - was offered a generous...
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3rd Anniversary Performance of Billy Elliot
"Billy Elliot" was supposed to be the next mega-hit. Oh sure, it played to sell-out crowds for a while and received rave reviews and plenty of Tony Awards, including Best Musical over "Next to Normal."...
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The Best and Worst Shows of 2011
In retrospect, 2011 was marked by some pretty extraordinary shows, including the biggest hit musical to play Broadway in 10 years, a return visit from a really hot matinee idol and a stunning revival...
View ArticleIf It Only Even Runs a Minute
"There's no booing here. This is a house of love." Those words were spoken by Jennifer Ashley Tepper to the crowd at Joe's Pub at the latest installment of her and Kevin Michael Murphy's addictive,...
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (City Center Encores!)
The 1949 musical comedy “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” based on the best-selling 1925 Anita Loos novel, is hardly ever performed nowadays. Carol Channing, who would later gain worldwide fame as Dolly Levi...
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