What Did He See? - 1988 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 2

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been taped at the Ed Sullivan Theatre located on Broadway between 53rd and 54th Streets since it began in 2015. Before the Broadway-loving Colbert took over The Late Show, the host was David Letterman, who ruled late night from 1993 onward via his perch at 1697 Broadway.

The brilliance of the script is that, although first written in the 1950s, it still has so much relevance to our world today. The audience at the performance I saw was one of the most robust, vocally supportive and emotional audiences I have ever seen. 

Oscar Wilde’s scandalous novel gets a razor-edged revival at TheatreFor, where director Michael Cote and actor Juan Toro pull back the velvet curtain on The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Brian Stokes Mitchell says he doesn’t recall exactly when it was that he met Keith Lockhart, but he’ll never forget his first impression of the Boston Pops conductor.

Brian Wilson, musical genius and founder of the Beach Boys, died today (Wednesday, June 11, 2025), so in honor of him, here is an article of the 40 greatest Beach Boys songs that I wrote for Broadway World two years ago.  Love & Mercy, Brian!

Few honors in entertainment are as coveted—or as rare—as achieving EGOT status. This elite distinction marks a career filled with versatility, longevity, and extraordinary talent across multiple mediums. What does it all mean? We're taking a closer look at the artists who have managed to join one of the industry’s most exclusive clubs.

Carmen opened the show with two back-to-back songs from Steve Martin & Edie Brickell’s Bright Star. The musical where she made her Broadway debut in 2016 after many years in the industry.

A production to remember.

Josefina López, the celebrated Mexican-American award-winning playwright and screenwriter best known for creating and authoring the play and co-authoring the film Real Women Have Curves, was an undocumented five-year-old immigrant when she migrated with her family from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to the United States in 1974 to settle in Boyle Heights. And on April 27, she will be making her Broadway debut when Real Women Have Curves: The Musical opens on Broadway!

John Waters made films for queer people long before the word queer was embraced by the community. That he was good friends with Warhol makes complete sense to me. They were cut from the same jib. What makes Waters a far better filmmaker was his ability to give us a fun story steeped in pretty clear messages while Warhol’s films are more like abstract art.

OMG what a fun time I had experiencing BEETLEJUICE at Century II last night! The audience was having a blast, whooping and hollering, and gave the cast a standing ovation at the end of it all!

Into the Woods is a Tony Award-winning 1986 Musical written by Stephen Sondheim (Music/Lyrics) and James Lapine (Book), marking their second collaboration following Sunday in the Park with George (1984). Into the Woods premiered in 1986 at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre and then was followed by a Broadway transfer in 1987 which amassed three Tony Awards (Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress. A year in which many know the “Great White Way,” was dominated by The Phantom of the Opera.

Now that we are a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, the serious debate can begin: What is the best stage musical of this century so far? There are several contenders, including The Producers, Hamilton, Waitress, Wicked, Spring Awakening, Fun Home, Next to Normal and In the Heights. High on my list, maybe at or near the very top of it, must be HAIRSPRAY. 

Some of the shows that the Orpheum has been best known for are Stomp, which ran there for an astounding 29 years, from 1994 to 2023, and the original production of Little Shop of Horrors which spent over five years at the theater from 1982 to 1987. 

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is February 6, 2025 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

Actor Karen MacDonald has done everything from the classics to contemporary dramas, comedies, and musicals – including some 70 productions as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater – on greater Boston stages and beyond. Read our interview.

Audiences are sure to flip over Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre’s production of Hairspray! To provide our readers with a little twist on the usual show interview, wig designer Brandon Miller took some time to talk about one aspect of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a production.

The 7 Fingers, also known as Les 7 doigts de la main, are making their Center Theatre Group debut at the Ahmanson September 11, 2024. This artist collective based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada was founded in 2002 by seven circus artists: Isabelle Chassé, Shana Carroll, Patrick Léonard, Faon Shane, Gypsy Snider, Sébastien Soldevila, and Samuel Tétreault. Shana found time to describe 7 Fingers’ signature electrifying mix of circus, theatre, illusion, music, and dance inspired by the star-crossed tale of Romeo and Juliet. 

54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond in September. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets.

The Peterborough Players ends a record breaking season with a production of “Man of La Mancha,” starring Scott Bakula (From television in, “Quantum Leap,” “Star Trek Enterprise,” and “NCIS:New Orleans”) and his wife, Chelsea Field (best known Rita Devereaux  in “NCIS:New Orleans”), in the lead roles of Cervantes and Aldonza.

On July 24th, 2024, I had the great pleasure to see the storied musical Into the Woods at Roxy’s Downtown. This exceptional production runs until August 9, so hurry and get your tickets before they are completely sold out! I hear there are only a few select nights left. The piece moves at an engaging pace, is visually rich, and there are many delightful surprises that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Two questions almost immediately sprang up when people were told that the Temptations and the Four Tops were performing June 11 at the Jeanne B. McCoy Center for the Arts in New Albany. People asked, Those two groups are still around? and How many of the original members are left?

Today I spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking to one of Wellingtons most recognised music teachers, Jane Keller. She is well known in the region as not only an excellent vocal coach, but extending that skill by helping with character development and performance.

There's this obvious fantasy of the character in that we're in mid-century pinks and blues and teals and aquamarines and this whole color palette and it's a musical, and it's songs, and it's a man dressed up as a woman. But the thing the reality is that Edna turns out as a woman, and you're playing a mom, and she's and that's what she is.

Catch the jukebox musical BURT & ME this June, featuring the iconic songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.