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Paul Batterson

Paul Batterson

Since 2013, Paul Batterson has had a secret life: being a volunteer writer for BroadwayWorld. During this time, he has had the pleasure to see some of the best plays, musicals, and concerts, interview some of his personal heroes (Joe Walsh, Steven Page, and Ben Folds) and industry leaders (Andrew Lippa and Nathan Tysen) and watching Columbus theatre scene grow and grow. Batterson graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism and from Capital University with a teaching license. He has been married to his lovely wife Nancy for over three decades and has two grown children in Alicia Millerson, an actress in Denver, and Grant Batterson, who is heading to grad school in England.




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First Show:

Marmalade Gumdrops

Favorite Show:

I think EVITA is one of my favorite shows. It is great story telling about an event I knew nothing about and it changed my thinking of what a Broadway show could be.

Favorite Stories:

  • Henry Winkler - As a child growing up in the 70s, a person couldn't get any cooler than the Fonz. Getting a chance to meet Henry Winkler and hear tell the stories of his life journey was amazing.
  • Waiting in line half the adventure for Walsh fans - How many times do you get a chance to meet one of your heroes? It was so interesting to spend three or so hours with fans waiting to meet Joe Walsh at a record signing in his home town of Columbus, Ohio.
  • Squeeze’s Difford ready to test road waters in band’s NomadBand tour - Chris Difford pens some of the most poetic, thoughtful lyrics out there. It was interesting to sit down with him (via the miracle of Zoom) and see how he does it.
  • DEAR EVAN, Thanks For Everything. Sincerely, Columbus. - I truly enjoyed DEAR EVAN HANSEN because of the way it took the audience on a journey through despair to hope. It tackles some of the big issues of today (teenage suicide and social media) in a way that didn't sound preachy or like an afterschool special.
  • TOXIC AVENGER Earns a Glowing Review - You have to love a show whose opening line is a warning: The story we're about to tell you is so disturbing, we've stationed a registered nurse outside in the lobby. She is armed with a tranquilizer dart gun for those needing sedation. She also has Xanax and Vicodin she got off the internet."


MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

Interview: A.D. Weaver of HAMILTON at Ohio Theatre
Interview: A.D. Weaver of HAMILTON at Ohio Theatre
July 1, 2025

Like many young actors and performers, A.D. Weaver moved to New York City because of the entertainment industry. What’s different about Weaver’s story is he bit into the Big Apple to get away from Broadway instead of running towards it.

Interview: K.J. Hippensteel And Brooke Jacob of WAITRESS at Short North Stage
Interview: K.J. Hippensteel And Brooke Jacob of WAITRESS at Short North Stage
June 29, 2025

Brooke Jacob is the first to admit her storyline is a bit unusual in the Short North Stage’s production of WAITRESS, which runs July 10-Aug. 10 at the Garden Theatre.

Review: YOU'RE MY BOY at Abbey Theater Of Dublin
Review: YOU'RE MY BOY at Abbey Theater Of Dublin
June 14, 2025

Playwright Herb Brown faces an uphill battle in his play, You're My Boy when trying to give audiences at the Abbey Theater of Dublin (5600 Post Road in Dublin, Ohio) a “better understanding” of Richard Milhouse Nixon.

Review: MILLENNIUM at Shadowbox Live!
Review: MILLENNIUM at Shadowbox Live!
June 12, 2025

What did our critic think of MILLENNIUM at Shadowbox Live!?

Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Ohio Theatre
Review: KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Ohio Theatre
June 5, 2025

Chances are Seth Weetis, the anagram-obsessed friend in KIMBERLY AKIMBO, would have a field day with the show’s title. The two-act musical opened June 3 and runs through June 8 at the Ohio Theatre.

Interview: Ash Davis of MILLENNIUM at Shadowbox Live!
Interview: Ash Davis of MILLENNIUM at Shadowbox Live!
June 1, 2025

As we (Millennials) have all entered our 30s and 40s, we’ve stopped caring about what people think is cool and we dive into whatever we want. We aren't embarrassed by ourselves anymore.” Ash Davis, co-writer of MILLENNIUM

Interview: Carolee Carmello of KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Ohio Theatre
Interview: Carolee Carmello of KIMBERLY AKIMBO at Ohio Theatre
May 22, 2025

“The great thing about this character is she's so positive. She really has such a great outlook on life, much, much better than I have in real life. I can learn a lot from the way she's written.” Carolee Carmello on her character Kimberly Akimbo

Review: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Short North Stage
Review: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Short North Stage
May 11, 2025

Although the cast took a wrecking ball to the fourth wall separating the audience from the actors and the show within a show is intentionally light on plot, The Drowsy Chaperone serves up a cocktail that is two shots of Golden Age musicals, a jigger of acerbic wit, three parts parody, and a half ounce of honesty.

Review: STOP MAKING SENSE'S JERRY HARRISON at Southern Theatre
Review: STOP MAKING SENSE'S JERRY HARRISON at Southern Theatre
May 6, 2025

Jerry Harrison doesn’t have too many regrets in his musical career. The Talking Heads’ keyboardist, who was in town to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band’s landmark film STOP MAKING SENSE May 4 at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main Street in downtown Columbus), is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his bandmates in 2002 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2021.

Review: DONNIE IRIS AND THE CRUSIERS at Bluestone
Review: DONNIE IRIS AND THE CRUSIERS at Bluestone
May 5, 2025

“I'll tell you what it is. It happens because of the audience,” Iris said in an interview with BroadwayWorld.com in April. “The audience is there with you, you know what I mean? The joy we give them, they give it back to us. We just keep going back and forth with them and it’s a wonderful thing. It really is.”

Interview: Jeremy Blaustein of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at the Short North Stage
Interview: Jeremy Blaustein of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at the Short North Stage
May 1, 2025

'It’s full of satire, especially of the musicals of the 1920s before they had figured out story structure, character development, or basically anything else Rodgers and Hammerstein figured out in OKLAHOMA.' Jeremy Blaustein

Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Riffe Center Studio 2
Review: THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Riffe Center Studio 2
April 28, 2025

However, the audience can deduct the pair didn’t make it from the first line of the show’s opening number “Still Hurting” – Jamie is over and Jamie is gone/ Jamie's decided it's time to move on. Although they know the heart ache is coming, the audience can’t turn away from it.

Review: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL at Ohio Theatre
Review: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL at Ohio Theatre
April 24, 2025

The stellar cast accommodates theater goers on both sides of the Diamond spectrum and by the end of the two-act musical the average music fan will be surprised by how many Diamond songs he or she knows by heart and how good some of those songs truly are.

Interview: Jerry Harrison of STOP MAKING SENSE at Southern Theatre
Interview: Jerry Harrison of STOP MAKING SENSE at Southern Theatre
April 22, 2025

Noted reviewer Leonard Maltin gave STOP MAKING SENSE four out of four stars and called it  one of the best concert films. The staging was ambitious: set pieces float in and out of the frame while screens project random images and words behind the band.

Interview: Donnie Iris still steady as a Rock at 82
Interview: Donnie Iris still steady as a Rock at 82
April 22, 2025

Iris is somewhat of a entertainment marvel. For a performer who makes his living with his voice, the Pittsburgh native doesn’t use any sort of vocal gymnastics or care regimes to keep his vocal cords robust. A cigar aficionado, you can find Iris hosting monthly gatherings at bars in Pittsburgh.

Interview: Hunter Minor And Melanie Sierra of THE LAST FIVE YEARS at At Riffe Center Studio Two
Interview: Hunter Minor And Melanie Sierra of THE LAST FIVE YEARS at At Riffe Center Studio Two
April 14, 2025

There’s at least one line that either Jamie or Kathy says that everyone can relate to.' Hunter Minor. Minor and Sierra navigate the emotional terrain of Jason Robert Brown's two-person musical.



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