MY GENERATION TOUR With The Lovin' Spoonful & Gary Lewis to Play Patchogue
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 2, 2026
Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts will present the My Generation Tour, featuring The Lovin' Spoonful, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and The Hollies Greatest Hits starring Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Terry Sylvester.
GISELLE, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and More Set For Chandler Center For The Arts 2026/2027 Lineup
by Stephi Wild - Apr 21, 2026
Chandler Center for the Arts announced its 2026–2027 season lineup, set to launch following a major interior renovation. The season includes music, dance, theater, and family entertainment, with Pick 5 packages now available to members.
More Than 1,700 Shows Added For Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026
by Stephi Wild - Mar 31, 2026
A second batch of shows for this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been announced, bringing the current total number on sale for 2026 to 2,083. Learn more here!
Interview: Paul Slade Smith of THEATRE PEOPLE at Westport Country Playhouse
by Sherry Shameer Cohen - Mar 19, 2025
A Season of Laughter continues at the Westport Country Playhouse with Theatre People, a new adaptation of Ferenc Molnar’s 1924 three-act farce, Play at the Castle (Játék a kastélyban).
Interview: Cheryl Stern of FUNNY GIRL at Bass Concert Hall
by Joni Lorraine - Feb 27, 2025
Cheryl Stern is a powerhouse performer and storyteller with an incredible career spanning Broadway, national tours, TV, and beyond. Next week, she'll be in town with the National Tour of FUNNY GIRL, playing Mrs. Strakosh and stepping into the role of Fanny Brice at select performances.
Review: MARY POPPINS at Palm Canyon Theatre
by Charlie Thomas - Dec 6, 2024
What holiday season can be claimed as complete without a Disney musical, right? While one can tick that box with the opening of “Moana 2” at the local movie house, there is nothing like a live performance to energize those merry-making juices. Palm Canyon Theatre provides that much needed “spoon full of sugar” into their magically musical punch bowl of fun, “Mary Poppins”.
Review: JERSEY BOYS at Desert Theatreworks
by Charlie Thomas - Nov 12, 2024
While many jukebox musicals rely heavily on the audience's pre-existing love for the music, 'Jersey Boys' stands out as an exception. This Tony-winning musical, currently gracing the stage at Desert Theatreworks, transcends its soundtrack.
Interview: CHOREOGRAPHERS ELLENORE SCOTT & AYODELE CASEL GIVE FUNNY GIRL'S SAGA FLAIR, FUN & FINESSE
by Valerie-Jean Miller - May 28, 2024
VJM: Thank you both for giving of your time to answer my questions. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of two Choreographers being hired for the same Broadway show, not even a revival, that I can think of. How did that come about for both of you? Ellenore Scott: Funny Girl was my Broadway debut as a choreographer. I was so happy when I got a call from Michael Mayer (the director) asking me to work on this revival with him. He knew I was NOT a tap dancer and was aware of the multiple tap routines in the show and asked if I would be down to share the billing with Ayodele Casel. Ayo is an extraordinary artist so I was thrilled to be by her side as she made her Broadway debut as well. Michael first met me initially at Head Over Heels on Broadway where I was an associate choreographer to Spencer Liff. In 2019, he asked if I would choreograph the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors and we opened the show October 17th, 2019. I have loved working with Michael and feel as though he keeps his people close and I’m grateful he thought of me for this historic revival. Ayodele Casel: I met Michael Mayer in 2016 when he directed a New York City Center Encores! show I performed in. Later that fall he invited me to perform that piece in a Broadway for Hillary fundraiser he was also directing. We'd kept in touch over the years and in 2019, after seeing a show I’d premiered at The Joyce Theater, he asked if I would be interested in providing the Tap choreography for a revival he was working on. Like Ellenore shared, Michael wanted to work with us both to deliver the full choreographic vision of the show. I believe it was a very progressive vision on his part and I’m really thankful that I was able to make my Broadway debut with this team.
BWW REVIEW: MARY POPPINS Returns To Sydney To Enchant A New Generation With The Tale Of Manners And Magic
by Jade Kops - May 28, 2022
Read our critic's review - twelve years after MARY POPPINS first flew into Australian theatres, the musical theatre adaptation of P.L. Travers’ famous magical nanny returns to the Sydney stage to the delight of young and old.
BWW Interview: Valerie Schillawski, Jen Knight, and Deborah Moylan of LEGENDS AND BRIDGE at Dramatically Incorrect Theater Group & Dance Company
by Shari Barrett - Apr 16, 2021
LEGENDS AND BRIDGE is a comedy imagining former, silver-screen legend Joan Crawford (matronly, washed-up, and pickled on spiked Pepsi) who invites Judy Garland (recently fired from her CBS TV show) and Bette Davis (bitter at no longer being the “Queen of Hollywood”) up to her Manhattan apartment in 1964 to live with her as they work on a “secret” film project. I find it difficult to believe anyone reading this does not already know about the three screen legends featured in the show. But just to be sure, I decided to interview the three actors portraying them to find out more about what it was like to portray such well-known personalities.
BWW Feature: DAISY Examines the First Political Attack Ad Created in 1964
by Shari Barrett - Oct 26, 2020
Based on true events and strikingly relevant today, DAISY explores the moment in TV history when the political attack ad was born. In the autumn of 1964, one year after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, bloody turmoil over Civil Rights was spilling onto the streets, a fearful ideology that made the threat of nuclear war palpable was growing from the conservative right, and a skirmish in the far-off nation of Vietnam wouldn't go away. With the presidential election looming, an advertising agency working for Lyndon Johnson unleashed the most devastating political commercial ever conceived, the 'Daisy' ad.
BWW Review: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Providence Performing Arts Center. Don't Miss It!
by Larry O'Brien - Feb 12, 2020
There are times when being a theater reviewer is a fabulous gig. Last night at the Providence Performing Arts Center was one of those times. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, running through Sunday at PPAC is not to be missed. It is warm, funny, sad, uplifting, and helps us see the world from the vantage point of the oppressed-it is gorgeous. First, let's give credit to FIDDLER'S creators: Jerry Bock wrote the music, Sheldon Harnick the lyrics, and Joseph Stein the book. Bock and Harnick had previously collaborated on the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Fiorello; Stein had been part of the writing team along with Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Neil Simon on television's Your Show on Shows-these were some talented guys. The original Broadway production of the show, which opened in 1964, had the first musical theatre run in history to surpass 3,000 performances. It held the record for the longest running Broadway musical for almost ten years. The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed. It won nine Tony awards, including best musical, score, book, direction and choreography. It spawned five Broadway revivals and a highly successful film adaptation and has enjoyed enduring international popularity.
BWW Review: BW/Beck's THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is Both Compelling and Uneven
by Roy Berko - Feb 9, 2020
The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American teenagers, ages 13 to 20, falsely accused in Alabama of raping two white-women on a train in 1931.
Photo Flash: Odyssey Theatre Presents Sam Shepard's THE UNSEEN HAND
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 20, 2020
What happens when 1880 Western bandits are brought back to life in Azusa, CA by a space alien? Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand joins Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 50th Anniversary “Circa '69” Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the company's inception, coupled with Shepard's gritty and audacious Killer's Head. Longtime Shepard collaborator Darrell Larson directs both plays for a Jan. 25 opening at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A., where performances will continue through March 8.
BWW Review: ORLANDO: A Revolutionary, Radical New Opera Blends Art With Activism at Vienna State Opera
by Cindy Sibilsky - Dec 31, 2019
Orlando was a deeply engaging, intriguing and thought-provoking exploration whose pondering, messages, striking soundscapes and visuals reverberated and lingered long after the curtain had closed. It is a highly ambitious undertaking but Neuwirth and her colleagues were up for the challenge. What is most exciting is what has now been established for a venue such as The Wiener Straatsoper as we move into a new decade of uncertain times when it is vital that radical expressions of art and activism combined are given such a grand stage with which to proclaim their truths.
Review: The Zmed Brothers Honor the Early Rock and Roll Icons in THE EVERLY BROTHERS EXPERIENCE
by Shari Barrett - Oct 10, 2019
For those too young to remember, from 1957 to 1962 The Everly Brothers sold more than 35 million records and had 35 Billboard top-100 singles, 26 in the top 40, and to this day, carry the record for most Billboard charting hits of any American Duo. Their success at that time was only rivaled by Elvis. The Zmeds are absolutely thrilled to be able to contribute to a cause that supports the recognition and preservation of the intimate origins of America's greatest Rock 'n Roll sibling duo, stating, 'We are not impersonators. Our aim is to honor the aesthetics of the Everly Brothers' iconic sound and their unique place in music history, all while having a little fun telling our own personal story.' And that they certainly did with great style, talent, and humor.
BWW Review: DOUBT at Studio Theatre is Gripping
by Benjamin Tomchik - Sep 10, 2019
Doubt: A Parable, a fitting title if ever there was one. Jesus used parables to teach as does Shanley. His message that even though stories like that of Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn did happen, it's up to us to make sure they do not happen again.
Throwing Out My CDs by Ben Rimalower: OKLAHOMA!
by Ben Rimalower - Mar 15, 2019
In 10th Grade, I was in the chorus of a production of Oklahoma! in the auditorium of my synagogue and it was the best theatrical experience I've ever had. I remember getting home from the closing night cast party and crying myself to sleep. I could cry now putting on the movie or listening to 'The Farmer and the Cowman,' or maybe most of all, if I sing a little bit of the introduction to the title song.
BWW Review: PLAID TIDINGS Brings Musical Holiday Cheer to Simi Valley
by Shari Barrett - Dec 28, 2018
The hilarious angel doo-wop quartet of Frankie, Sparky, Jinx and Smudge (Craig Sherman, Philip McBride, Augusto Guardado and Andrew Allen) again return to Earth to get a second chance at 'making it big' after missing out on the opportunity when a freak accident caused their demise on the night of February 9, 1964 while the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Believing their mission is to find the purpose for their return, the spirited guys set out to recall past show-stopping performances, finally realizing how much it meant to bring joy and music to their fans.
BWW Previews: THE GOOD SWIMMER World Premiere at BAM Fishman Space
by Cindy Sibilsky - Nov 25, 2018
The saying, 'Good things come to those who wait,' could certainly be applied to the world premiere of The Good Swimmer playing at BAM's Fishman Space as part of the Next Wave festival from November 28th-December 1st. Defined as a pop requiem for the youth of the Vietnam War, this collaboration between Heidi Rodewald (music) and Donna Di Novelli (lyrics) directed by Kevin Newbury has been the better part of a decade in the making since the two women began working on the piece at a Eugene O'Neill Theater Center residency and left with three songs based on text from out-of-print lifesaving manuals that would become the foundation of The Good Swimmer -- the title song, 'Red Cross' and 'Double Drowning'.
Photo Flash: San Jose Stage Company Continues Season 35 with FOOL FOR LOVE
by A.A. Cristi - Nov 27, 2017
San Jose Stage Company continues their Season 35 honoring an American Theatre icon who shaped the very core of their organization with their presentation of Sam Shepard's Fool for Love. This cowboy romance dissects the poignant causes and effects of love lost through the retrospective eyes of two past lovers.
BWW Interview: Theresa Cunningham Channels Truth with Arena Stage's NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN
by Benjamin Tomchik - Oct 26, 2017
Starting November 10, Theresa Cunningham gets to channel the pioneering songstress and make her Arena Stage debut with the East Coast premiere of Nina Simone: Four Women. Before there was Bono or John Lennon, there was Nina Simone and Christina Ham's new play follows her transformation from artist, to artist and activist.
BWW Feature: BOURBON AND RAISINS in Omaha
by Christine Swerczek - Sep 26, 2017
This has been an unusual weekend for me. I had the privilege of attending two compelling plays written by African Americans about African Americans and performed by African Americans. Both shows are moving presentations that made me laugh. They made me cry. And they made me view the lives of families very different from my own with a new sense of understanding.
BWW Review: I AM NOT A COMEDIAN - I'M LENNY BRUCE Will Open Your Eyes to his Comedic Genius and Dedication to Free Speech
by Shari Barrett - Jun 25, 2017
An undisputed comic legend, Lenny Bruce was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. His life and work have had an impact on poetry, politics, music, film and comedy from Don Rickles to Richard Pryor and Chris Rock, and any other comedian who is now free to speak his/her mind without fear of legal retribution thanks to Bruce challenging our First Amendment freedom of speech rights. Lenny's tempestuous personal and professional life which Marmo embodies with his body, heart and soul, was marked by great passion and great pain, thanks to his unwavering commitment to free speech, which led to numerous obscenity charges and arrests.
Photo Flash: The Theatre Group at SBCC presents HIGH SOCIETY
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 22, 2017
The Theatre Group at SBCC opens the 17/18 season with Cole Porter's sparkling musical, HIGH SOCIETY, July 12-29 in the Garvin Theatre.
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