Creating a musical from a successful book and movie is a mixed bag. The upside is that the material already has thousands of loyal fans. At the same time, it attracts audiences with expectations. That was one issue when the Harry Potter franchise was …Read more

The latest musical by Jason Robert Brown about working and fact-checking is set at a famous New York magazine in the late 1990’s before the term “fake news” became so popular. Those of us who have worked in newspapers and magazines will feel an immed …Read more

There’s a scene in a dark version of Cinderella where the stepsisters, anxious to make the glass slipper fit, cut off their own toes. They will do anything they can to cram their feet in – whether the shoe fits or not. That’s a problem with many juke …Read more

I saw three shows during my busman’s holiday in London over Martin Luther King weekend. Of the three, the most ‘English’ was Operation Mincemeat, an uproarious musical satire based upon an actual event from World War II. In an attempt to divert a Naz …Read more

How does a musical that is quintessentially New York distinguish itself in London? Especially when it is a classic show that premiered in 1950. How can it be mounted to make it unique and appealing? The answer is simple: Immersion theater. Allow hund …Read more

Who was Johannes Gutenberg? We all know him as the inventor of the printing press which enabled more people to learn how to read.In the musical “Gutenberg,” playwrights Doug (Andrew Rannells) and Bud (Josh Gad) have collaborated to write a musical ab …Read more

When I first saw “Here Lies Love” in 2013 at the Public Theater, I was one of several people who stood on the theater floor and moved around, viewing the show and walking around as the ushers directed us. At the revival at the Broadway Theatre, I cho …Read more

Photo by Hugo Glendinning Broadway tickets can be expensive, especially for musicals. But you really get your money’s worth when you attend “Back to the Future:The Musical.” It’s got glitter, bubbles, dancing girls and even a flying car! Yet sometime …Read more

Once upon a time, children were raised on fairy tales where the beautiful princess waited to be rescued by the valiant handsome prince. Today those stories have been changed to reflect a different attitude about gender and relationships. No more the …Read more

Ever heard of Alan Freed? If so, then you might enjoy Rock & Roll Man, the musical at New World Stages. Freed was the risk-taking disc jockey who coined the term “Rock and Roll” but his influence was far greater than that. He introduced Black music t …Read more