Wednesday was a real dessert day at the theater ― two musicals, Matilda and Kinky Boots, widely expected to be competing against each other for the top Tony Award. Matilda arrives from London weighed down with Olivier Awards and is the front runner to win over here, but I think it could be a closer race than anticipated. Matilda is based on a Roald Dahl kid’s book about a … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York, No. 4: Easter Bonnet show, ‘Vanya and Sonia’
The reason I come up to New York at this specific time of the year is that it is the final week of Tony Award eligibility, when there is a last burst of openings for the season. But in addition, this is the week of the Easter Bonnet Competition, a two-performance celebration of the end of the annual fund-raising begathon drive at New York theaters for Broadway Cares/Equity … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York, No. 3: ‘Finks’ addresses dark pages in show-biz history
Mondays are sparse on Broadway, but I’d go through withdrawal symptoms without a play to see. I was scheduled to see a new musical called Hands on a Hardbody, based on the little-seen film about a truck dealership's marathon promotion, but it failed to attract much of an audience and closed two weeks ago. Instead, it was back to off-Broadway, to Ensemble Studio Theatre far on … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York No. 2: Bette’s back in ‘I’ll Eat You Last’
Sunday in New York, a two-show day after a tasty brunch at the Brooklyn Diner, a justifiably popular theater district eatery. This afternoon it was I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers, a one-woman show about the mega-powerful Hollywood talent agent of the ’80s and ’90s, starring Bette Midler in her first return to Broadway since appearing in Fiddler in the Roof in her … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York, No. 1: ‘The Trip to Bountiful’
I arrived in New York Saturday morning for an eight-day visit, during which I will see 10 or 11 plays and musicals, the most promising productions on Broadway and off, as the season winds to a close. Less than six hours after I took off from West Palm Beach, I was in a fourth row center seat at the Sondheim Theatre for one of the final previews of Horton Foote’s The Trip to … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York: ‘Woolf’ still has bite; ‘13 Things’ and The Ride
NEW YORK ― I spent last weekend in Manhattan, checking out the holiday lights and the department store window decorations. And a few shows, too, to see whether they are naughty or nice. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Fifty years ago, Edward Albee burst onto Broadway with his take-no-prisoners view of marriage, academia division. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? cemented his … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York No. 8: ‘Venus’ marks advance for Ives
Just before catching a plane back to South Florida, I was able to squeeze in one final play -- a matinee of David Ives’ kinky, amusing Venus in Fur, starring Broadway’s latest “it” girl, Nina Arianda. Last season, she made her Broadway debut in Born Yesterday, filling the legendary shoes of Judy Holliday quite credibly. Now, she returns to a new work, a darkly comic … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York No. 7: A visit with an Idol, and ‘Other Desert Cities’
Having spoken with composer Frank Wildhorn about his upcoming tour and Broadway revival of Jekyll & Hyde, I met Friday with the show's star, Constantine Maroulis, the American Idol sensation who went on to headline Rock of Ages (and has a small role in this summer's film version with Tom Cruise). We met at an Eastside diner and while we chatted, I could see out of the corner … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York No. 6: Frank Wildhorn, and wild ‘Guvnors’
Thursday morning, I schlepped way downtown, near the former site of the World Trade Center where a steady stream of people arrived to view the new 9-11 memorial, for an interview. In a nearby high-hrise apartment lives composer Frank Wildhorn, whose cult hit Jekyll & Hyde is about to get a re-conceived major revival starring Constantine Maroulis (American Idol, Rock of Ages) … [Read more...]
Postcard from New York No. 5: Magnificent ‘Porgy,’ listless ‘Once’
Most of my theater-obsessed friends here in New York are pretty depressed by the state of this season's crop of musicals. And it is easy to see why, based solely on the two shows I saw Wednesday. At the matinee, I saw a superlative production of Porgy and Bess, one of the great "they-don't-write-em-like they-used-to" pieces of musical theater, hailing from 1935. And … [Read more...]