Trying - 2004 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 1

What did our critic, Peter Nason, think of Jobsite Theater's Rocking Production of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT?

Jaiden Leo Riley discusses making his professional leading man debut as Edward Lewis in PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL at Clear Space Theatre Company, running July 1 through August 25, 2026 in Rehoboth Beach.

Winner of Best New Musical (WhatsOnStage Awards) and direct from the West End, Mean Girls is the hilarious smash-hit musical comedy from an award-winning creative team including writer Tina Fey (30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Saturday Night Live) and starring TV personality, actor & Steps star Faye Tozer, alongside Emily Lane as Cady (Frozen, Starter for Ten) and Vivian Panka as Regina (Dear Evan Hansen, Heathers).

Noah Mannion, Rafferty Smale, Spencer Collins, and William Gurney will share the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical's national tour and limited West End season, with original Olivier Award-winning Billy, Liam Mower, returning as 'Older Billy.'

theAcademy@pbd will present THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND, the Kander and Ebb revue, at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, featuring five student performers and original choreography reproduced by Director of Education Gary Cadwallader.

Based on Tina Fey's (of Saturday Night Live fame) wildly popular 2004 film, Mean Girls wisely embraces what made the original such a phenomenon while bringing enough energy and personality to succeed on stage. Like many movie adaptations, however, it occasionally struggles to escape comparisons to the film, particularly when it comes to length. The original movie clocked in at a brisk 97 minutes. The stage version, with intermission, stretches close to three hours, and the second act occasionally feels every bit of it. That's a challenge in today's attention-deficit world.

It's the end of an era on Broadway. As BroadwayWorld reported last month, the curtain has officially come down on Boneau/Bryan-Brown, the iconic Broadway press office founded by ATPAM-members Chris Boneau and Adrian Bryan-Brown, after more than three decades representing theatre on Broadway, Off-Broadway and around the world.

Two-time Tony Award nominee Megan Hilty isn’t on an official concert tour, but that hasn’t stopped the popular Broadway and television performer from booking numerous upcoming dates including three in the Bay State alone.

THE NOTEBOOK The Musical was a charming chamber piece when I first read Bekah Brunstetter's adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' breakout bestseller. But the touring version is now playing to bigger houses than either its original Chicago premiere or its New York engagement. With Broadway-extravaganza pretensions. Call me back when a local company decides to mount this musical at an appropriate scale.

The stage production does make a lot of strides that strengthens the endurance and popularity of this love story. It repeats iconic moments from the popular 2004 film, but isn’t aping the original screenplay in any way. A new libretto offers a fresh take that borrows the basic structure of the novel and memorable film moments, whilst breathing in new voices and new scenes that add different layers to these familiar characters.

There’s a strange dichotomy that exists in live theater. I may not like the material, but will still find reason to love its execution. And at Theater West End, they’ve culled together a company of players who help elevate the material of POTUS into a comedy that now exists thanks to their approach to the characters. They form a symbiotic relationship with the audience throughout the two acts to make us still care for them, for their arcs, and for their resolutions – no matter how far-fetched it may seem. This is where the production of POTUS shines.

Now having its Southern California regional production, MEAN GIRLS - THE MUSICAL continues performances at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts through May 3, 2026. Produced by McCoy Rigby Entertainment, this fun, high-energy, youthfully-targeted new iteration of the 2018 stage adaptation of Tina Fey’s beloved 2004 film comedy looks and feels like a brand new show—boosted by impressive new visuals and a highly-caffeinated ensemble whose enthusiasm and verve is quite infectious. A dazzling, entertaining show with high-caliber polish, La Mirada's production is a slick, electrically-charged iteration that is a worthwhile new chapter in the show’s evolution.

BroadwayWorld is featuring Ismael Loutfi in a special Off-Broadway Debut of the Month! Read BroadwayWorld's full interview with Ismael as he talks about performing Ismael Loutfi: Heavenly Baba Off-Broadway at SoHo Playhouse.

After the headline-making 2019 run of his “Tea at Five,” which starred Faye Dunaway, playwright Matthew Lombardo returns to Boston’s Huntington Theatre April 3–18 with his latest effort, “When Playwrights Kill,” a behind-the scenes comedy about an up-and-coming playwright whose Broadway dreams are dashed when his female lead, a famously difficult diva, derails his play’s out-of-town tryout in Boston.

On Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 2:30 pm, I had the pleasure of seeing another first-rate performance at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, CT, SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN SHOPKEEPERS.

Theater West End was wise to split Angels in America in the season as two separate performances, each with their own block in the schedule. Originally, I was concerned that the Part Two of it all might turn away prospective theatergoers. But upon watching both parts now, and bearing in mind my own familiarity for the characters, I can also see now how the original production’s 18-month gap would have also been enticing for an audience.

What did our critic think of THE NOTEBOOK at Orpheum Theatre?

Adapted from Nicholas Sparks' ubiquitous 1996 novel (and its popular 2004 film iteration featuring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling), THE NOTEBOOK - THE MUSICAL re-stages a generational love story into a quietly sweeping, memory-fractured stage romance that subtly promotes emotional accumulation over plot novelty. Now on stage at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts, this 2024 three-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical's first national tour continues performances in Costa Mesa through February 8, 2026.

59E59 Theaters will present eight diverse UK productions at the Brits Off Broadway 2026 festival, showcasing a range of dramatic and comedic works.

NYC has so many incredible events, but here are a few top picks to consider this week including Laura Benanti, singer-songwriter Nellie McKay, jazz, a songwriter's response to new work by writer Jennifer Egan (Visit from the Goon Squad) and more.

While much of the dramatic weight of Angels in America undeniably stems from the specter of AIDS, it would do the play a huge disservice to reduce it to a story about disease alone. What Theater West End makes clear is that Kushner’s work is as much about identity, loss, and the human struggle to reconcile who we are deep down with who we present to the world.

Between Ingrid Michelson’s heart-swelling score, a safe and steady book by Bekah Brunstetter and the co-direction of Michael Greif and Schele Williams, this entertaining but hardly remarkable tale kicks off the 2026 season at the Hollywood Pantages on an appropriately tear-streaked note.

Predator: Badlands streaming date is January 6 on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, with 4K and Blu-ray releases on February 17.

It wasn’t until later on in theatre history that revivals began including shows that weren’t initially well received or financially successful in their initial engagements. As musical theatre continued to evolve, and more shows entered the canon, a consensus began to grow about shows being worthy of additional exploration even if they hadn’t been hits the first time around. What about musicals that had been ahead of their time, musicals that had fallen prey to circumstances, early works by writers who became successful later on, and of course, shows that found an audience after closing via their cast recordings?

In a new interview with Collider, Broadway star turned Hollywood leading man, Patrick Wilson revealed that he has more than a little itch to return home to the Broadway stage.