617 stories by "Jan Simpson"
It may seem strange for a theater lover"and hip-hop know-nothing"like me to be quoting the rapper Drake but his self-congratulatory lyrics "Started from the bottom, now we're here" seem part…
Samuel D. Hunter's A Case for the Existence of God has been almost universally adored by the critics. And the play, which has just been extended at Signature Theatre through May 22, deserves…
Seventeen shows opened or reopened on Broadway this month and as I bounced from one to the other, I found myself asking what exactly is a Broadway show. The simplest answer to that question …
We're in the midst of the spring crush when new shows are opening literally every night as they rush in to be considered for the awards that celebrate the end of each theater season.Â
So …
Making a good musical is hard. Now I don't consider that statement to be a conceptual scoop that no one has ever considered before. But the thought has been much on my mind after seeing and …
In the opening monologue of Confederates, now running at the Pershing Square Signature Center through April 24, a college professor runs down a list of popular culture centered around slaver…
All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Beyond the Horizon"1920 Pulitze…
Here's the dilemma: reviews are usually written by people who see anywhere between 200 and 300 shows a year but the people who read those reviews may see only two or three shows a year, ofte…
There are so many things to admire about Lloyd Suh's The Chinese Lady which is currently running at The Public Theater through April 10. And here are just a few of them.
ADMIRATION #1: T…
There are so many themes"cultural assimilation, filial responsibility, sibling rivalry, climate change, animal cruelty, homophobia"packed into This Space Between Us that this new dramedy, wh…
All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Of Thee I Sing" Of Thee I Sing …
The playwright Charly Evon Simpson had written a bunch of stuff before she got her breakthrough three years ago with Behind the Sheet, a devastating drama about how the father of American gy…
There have been so many voices absent from the American stage that sometimes we don't even know what we've been missing until we suddenly hear it. English, the deceptively simple play by San…
Even before it opened at the Pershing Square Signature Center on Tuesday, some people were calling the musical Black No More "the new Hamilton." And it's easy to see why.Â
The score, much…
I can hardly believe it but I published the first Broadway & Me post 15 years ago on Valentine's Day. So this post should have gone up yesterday. However I was so busy celebrating V-Day …
All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "How I Learned to Drive" by Paul…
It's not easy to write about Tambo & Bones, the new play that opened at Playwrights Horizons this week. And I'm pretty sure its playwright Dave Harris intended it to be difficult.Â
Th…
All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Anna in the Tropics" by Nilo Cr…
...and the chance to once again safely put the spotlights back on some really good theater:
Please click the arrow below and enjoy!
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My Smilebox Creation
You might have thought that I'd given up on theatergoing if you've been checking in here to see what I had to say about this comeback season's new shows only to discover that I'd written abo…
 Lots of words are going to be written over the next few days by people who knew him, people who admired him and people who have a better way with words than I do. So although the ple…
Everyone involved with The Public Theater's new musical The Visitor seems to be walking on eggshells. And who can blame them? Â
The week before previews were scheduled to begin, the pr…
All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Cost of Living by Martyna Majok …
