Mitch Strong

Tom Cavanagh, Tony Danza, and Michael Longfellow Will Lead Premiere of BROKEN SNOW
by Stephi Wild - Apr 10, 2026

New psychological drama Broken Snow will premiere at Theatre 71 this month, starring Tom Cavanagh, Tony Danza, and Michael Longfellow. Learn more here!

Interview: Mitch Hara Talks Revamped MUTANT OLIVE 2.0 at the Hudson Guild Theatre
by Shari Barrett - Feb 26, 2023

Back in 2015, I caught a solo performance play Mutant Olive, created and performed by Mitch Hara. I decided to speak with him about his revamped play, Mutant Olive 2.0, soon to begin performance at the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood, to ask about the new show, it’s title, and what’s been going on during the 8 years since Mutant Olive in its original form premiered.

Interview: The Pentatonix Are Going 'Around The World' This Holiday Season
by Michael Major - Nov 4, 2022

Superstar a cappella group Pentatonix is gearing up for another holiday season, filled with a new holiday album, a Disney+ special, and North American tour dates! BroadwayWorld caught up with Pentatonix to discuss their new album, their favorite memories on tour, and what musical they think should get the a cappella treatment.

BWW Review: YANK! - O MUSICAL at Teatro Dos Quatro proves all's fair in love and war
by Gabriela Benevides - Apr 16, 2018

Yank! is a love letter to the musicals of the 1940's. The musical brings passion and violence to the stage while telling the story of two World War II soldiers who fall in love in a difficult period of human history.

BWW Recap: Alex Celebrates Graduation, & More, on MODERN FAMILY's Season Finale
by Matt Smith - May 21, 2015

So, here we are. After nine months and 23 episodes, we've arrived at the MODERN FAMILY season finale. And the Dunphy-Delgado-Tucker-Pritchetts are going out with a bang, capping two season-long story arcs — the first, of course, being Alex's send-off to college, which we/she has been preparing for all season; and the second being the long-awaited climax of the Andy/Haley relationship (and climax it does!!). Of course, just because they have to — I mean, come on, it's MODERN FAMILY! — the episode's peppered with a variety of subplots, showcasing the rest of the clan at their very best. Wanna see what I mean? Just read on. :-) 

BWW Recap: Emotions are High, Low and Non-Existent on This Week's MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - May 14, 2015

Ever the student, Alex plans to ditch Senior Ditch Day in favor of catching up on work at the library. However, desperate to break her out of her mold, Phil, Luke and Haley “kidnap” her and plan to drive to California Adventure. En route to the park, they pass a demolished movie theatre, which Phil reveals to be the movie theatre he helped renovate as a construction worker(!), before he got into real estate. 

BWW Recap: Alex Faces Competition, Gloria Becomes an American on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - May 7, 2015

Greetings, MODFAM fanatics! Eager to read a recap of what our favorite multi-generational, multi-cultural, completely dysfunctional clan has been up to this week? Look no further!! Here we go.....

BWW Recap: Jay Goes Gay and Mitch & Gloria Are Old on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Apr 23, 2015

Hey, y'all! Welcome back! Spring has officially sprung, and we're in the home stretch! The final batch of episodes will hopefully tie up all the season-long storylines we've come to enjoy throughout the months (Goodbye Alex; Hello Andy!). To start us off, this week's episode found Jay and Cam pairing together for a bowling tournament, Gloria and Mitch kicking up their heels for a night on the town, and Phil and Claire enduring the return of neighbors Ronnie and Amber (guest stars Steve Zahn and Andrea Anders). Here's a full run-down of what specifically went on this week: 

BWW Recap: Jay Shoots a Commercial & Haley and Andy Make Progress on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Mar 5, 2015

So, as you probably already know, MODFAM covered a whole lotta ground this week, making progress in terms of plot and character, fleshing out this family we've come to know and love over the past six years. Here's what went down: Cam & Mitch's storyline follows the two of them attempting to alter Lily's choice of song for the upcoming talent show; as they explain in their confessional, they don't want her performing 'cause she's tone-deaf and can't sing. First off, glad to see Cam back at the piano! (These are the countries... these are the countries :p). Nice bit of continuity there. It's soon revealed that the whole scheme is not so much about Cam saving Lily from embarrassment as it is about him saving himself from embarrassment from his rival, Andrew.

BWW Recap: Technology (and Claire's Paranoia) Take Center Stage on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Feb 26, 2015

It's an exciting episode of MODERN FAMILY this week — and this one takes the “modern” to a whole new level. Yes, as the much-hyped promos throughout the week have shown us, this episode was shot exclusively using the iPhone (and the occasional MacBookPro in some shots). It created an interesting dynamic. My recap, as always, is below: The episode opens up in the middle of an argument between Haley and Claire, and Claire's trying to patch things up via iChat before she boards a flight, and she's trying to piece together where Haley might be.

BWW Recap: Misunderstandings (and Hilarious Guest Stars) Abound on This Week's MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Feb 19, 2015

Claire and Phil are traveling back from a camping trip with Phil's ex-cheerleading buddies (love those guys!!); while Phil's enjoyed himself, Claire's had an awful weekend, and jumps at the chance to upgrade to first-class — and separate herself from her husband — on the flight back. A funny premise made funnier when we see how this plot will be presented, with consistent back-and-forth from Claire's glamorous in-flight experience (a “beautiful stranger” offers her two chardonnays and a hot towel) to Phil's less-than-stellar one (he gets hit with a bag that falls from an overhead compartment on the way to his seat).

BWW Recap: Gloria's Sister Visits, Juliana Meets Phil on a Valentine's MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Feb 12, 2015

It's V-day on MODERN FAMILY, and what does that mean? The return of Clive and Juliana, of course! The alter-ego's fourth appearance (I don't believe Phil and Claire have brought them back since S3) may easily be one of their best, if not entirely because of the execution of this plot. At the start, Phil wants to bring back Clive and Juliana, but Claire doesn't. So, Phil drops the gag, and goes as himself for Valentine's. But it's quickly revealed that Claire's resistance was a ruse — she just wanted to separate herself from her sexier doppleganger. So, the night ends up being Phil and Juliana — brilliant! Claire's at her naughtiest and Phil's just… Phil. A pairing you can't help but laugh at!

BWW Recap: We Almost Lose the Dunphys on This Week's MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Jan 8, 2015

Hey y'all. Welcome back and happy new year! It's time to dive into ModFam 2015! On the first episode of the New Year, the Dunphys experience a near-collision at an intersection that makes each one of them reconsider the way in which they live their life; and they each vow to make a difference, which, of course, lead to a variety of cockamamy consequences.

BWW Recap: Haley Turns 21... and Hilarity Ensues on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Dec 11, 2014

It's Haley's 21st, and the adults (read: Claire) want to take her out to a bar to celebrate. In the midst of the celebration, when Haley pins her mother down on the subject of not being treated like an adult, Claire attempts to become her daughter's “friend,” to hilarious results. This was the best plot of the night — made better by Gloria's quips boosting Haley's suggestions to the next level. (The line, “They also have piercings!” when Claire was hugging Haley made me spit out my drink!) While the tattoo adventure/Claire being Haley's friend, may not have ended as Claire had hoped, what happened between the inciting incident and the result was a continuation of the fantastic development for these characters. I love the sense of realness Hyland and Bowen bring to this relationship, and how we've seen it grow from the first season. Haley's much more fleshed out and not just your “typical older teenage daughter” (well, obviously not anymore, she's 21)… and we've seen Hyland provide incredible examples of that all season. Now, we're starting to get into more of how Claire will treat her adult daughter as a result. It's really nice, and these two give amazing performances, so I'm hoping to see that continue in the second half of the season and beyond.

BWW Recap: Alex Has a Boyfriend and Kristen Johnston Moves In on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Dec 4, 2014

Hi folks! Now that we're all filled up on turkey and stuffed to the brim with pumpkin pie, it's time to settle in for the final two MODERN FAMILY episodes of the year. First up this week, 1 of 2. In the Dunphy household, Alex claims to have a boyfriend, but the rest of the family's in denial. Question: Why does the family have to doubt/make fun of Alex in all the episodes with Dunphy plots that center around her? That said, this one does work better than the other Alex-centered-family-picks-on-her episode from earlier this year, and I love how Haley's roped into it with Claire's digs at Dylan (read: “Bigfoot” “Still better than Dylan”). The best part of this plot was the visual cues Phil and Claire discovered when Alex was speaking of her rebound, Teddy Keys who worked at Mattress King. Really well done, and funny (especially “Leave!” as Phil pulls out a leaf — what?!) Great plot this week!

BWW Recap: Turkey on Turkey on Turkey on a MODERN FAMILY Thanksgiving
by Matt Smith - Nov 20, 2014

It's the MODFAM Thanksgiving episode, and, as expected, there's a whole lot of turkeys present this week (three to be exact). Luckily, this episode wasn't one of them. :-) As I said on Halloween, generally, holiday episodes that continuously repeat holidays well into their run (like, six seasons in) may grow stale, as the holiday doesn't change and in a show's sixth season, creators may find less original storylines that haven't already been used up, say, last Thanksgiving. But, not the case with MODERN FAMILY, who, in their — give or take — sixth seasonal outing, gives us an original — and hilarious — storyline, that, again, was anything but a turkey. The episode provided a nice balance of Thanksgiving-centered stories and mixed them in with stories that didn't have to do with the holiday, but still seamlessly bled into those storylines — that's why the writing on this show is sooooo genius! (Okay… anyone have a count on how many times I've said that?!)

BWW Recap: Wins and Losses Explored on This Week's MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Oct 16, 2014

This week's episode moves the Dunphys from their house to “the last room at a hotel nearby”; as Claire explains in the opening confessional, they have to vacate the house — for one night — as it's treated for mold. Claire's thinking positively about the family-of-five sharing a room — again, it's only for one night — though a cut to the hotel shows us their stay's been delayed; it's day five, and it's looking anything but the positive experience Claire was hoping for: Luke and Alex butt heads when he interferes with her cello practice, while Claire and Haley quarrel about sharing WiFi usage; Luke then turns on a blender which sets off the dogs in the room next door (which they can hear due to the ever-cliché paper-thin walls). Oh, yes. And in the middle of all this, Phil's found a Charleston Chew, which — to give you a clearer idea of the state of the motel (if you couldn't already tell) — advertises a contest from 2005. The night doesn't get any better, wherein the various members of the family have to climb over each other to exit the bed; except for Luke, who sleeps in the tub. With the single flush of a toilet, the neighboring dogs begin to bark, and the cycle begins again. Yes, the humor here is a bit forced, but it does set up a good storyline, which I'm interested to see played out.

BWW Recap: Claire Catches the Plague on MODERN FAMILY
by Matt Smith - Oct 9, 2014

Just a note before I begin: as the world's biggest hypochondriac, I rarely watch episodes of TV shows where any character is sick (in fact, “Chirp” — the Season 2 episode where Claire was last sick — is still the only episode in the MODERN FAMILY canon I have not re-watched). Still, as I recall being said in an early interview with Ty Burrell, Chris Lloyd & Steve Levitan (Phil and the show's creators), seeing a character sick means you're seeing them physically weaker, which, strange as it may sound, is a different side to the character. Thus, providing a whole episode about a family illness shows the depths the creators are going to expose these characters' different sides. And to have it be a MAJOR plot point in this week's episode — rather than in “Chirp” where it was just a different thing (for lack of a better word) for the character to have — shows the creators going the extra step, and with such hilarious results, is something I appreciate, despite the fact that I'm fully aware I'll be tuning in to Claire with the sniffles and characters talking about DayQuil usage and headaches.

SUMMER STAGES: Top 10 Picks for Chicago Summer Theatre
by Paul W. Thompson - Jun 14, 2013

Here's a listing of the top ten places that are really burning it up in theater this summer, in Chicago and the region nearby. Seek them out, and enjoy!

'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for May 22nd, 2013
by Paul W. Thompson - May 22, 2013

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. It's our annual Summer Musical Theater Guide! This week, Part One: Chicagoland. Check out 'The Jungle Book,' 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman,' 'Next To Normal,' 'The Color Purple,' 'Spelling Bee,' 'Cabaret' and a whole lot more!