230 stories from Kritzerland
As I write this, it's Wednesday and I'm in Cincinnati, far from the home and computer that I love, not to mention all my Leftover notes. I came here last Friday to see the Cincinnati Conserv…
Just as there would have been a time that you would have never predicted that Roger Miller would win a Tony for Best Score -- or that Sally Field would take home a couple of Oscars -- you pr…
The bromide that "comedy is tragedy plus time" is certainly true of Modern Terrorism. Jon Kern's constantly funny play deals with people who want to blow up the Empire State Building. Had it…
Something occurred to me as I was writing about Allegro for my Tuesday masterworksbroadway.com column. The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical celebrated its 65th anniversary this week, as you w…
Remember when The New York Music Theatre Festival used to take place at this time of the year? Before each production, an eager staff member would take the stage and congratulate us for opti…
It was the month that Jake Gyllenhaal made a big splash off-Broadway. Well, actually, so did his co-stars Brian F. O'Byrne, Michelle Gomez and Annie Funke in If There Is I Haven't Found It Y…
"I can't tell you how many times I tried to make David Burns laugh." So says Jim Brochu, who knew Burns for the last 10 years of his life -- until the actor suddenly died during the Philadel…
What Rob McClure really deserves is Chaplin, the 1983 musical which Anthony Newley co-wrote and headlined.
Congratulations to Fred Abramowitz, Peter Alfano, Anya Toes, Susan Berlin, Jonathan Billig, Brigadude, Seth Christenfeld, Ellen Dweck, Wilbur Fineberg, Laura Frankos, Ingrid Gammerman, John …
Whatever anyone thinks of the current production of Into the Woods, isn't "Delacorte" one of the most beautiful words in the English language?
Fun. Fluff. Those were the words I kept hearing about Bring It On - the new musical that started at the Alliance in Atlanta and arrived at the St. James for a limited engagement - which rece…
Broadway is indebted to E.L. Doctorow, Gregory Maguire and Voltaire. They and plenty of other writers have penned books that have become musicals. For that matter, many of us are glad for th…
Well, I know who I'm nominating for a MacArthur "Genius" Grant. The pre-teen narrator of Into the Woods in Central Park.
The baseball team you root for is probably not doing as well as you'd hoped this season. That may seem to be a rash statement to make - especially for those who cheer for Washington…
It was the month that the signs for Annie went up at the Palace: "The sun'll come up Oct. 3," they insist. Shouldn't management have consulted with Harold Camping before making that presumpt…
If someone said to me, "What color were the chair-stools you had at your kitchen counter in 1980?" the answer would have to be "Who remembers?"
All week long, I've been reminded of when I was a kid and my mother would come into my room. She'd immediately shriek in horror before exclaiming, "It looks like a cyclone's been in here!"
I never got his last name, but I did learn that his first name was Earl. His wife's name I didn't catch. What I did discover, however, was that they'd celebrated their 50th anniversary on Ma…
It was the month when we had umpteen ceremonies for theatrical awards. Given that we're living in an age of consolidation -- fewer airlines, fewer companies at which to shop -- will the day …
And the 1945 Pulitzer Prize in Drama goes to ...
The Glass Menagerie wasn't the first non-musical that I saw, but it was the first one to pack a genuine wallop. I can't say for certain wh…
Usually I work the press room at the Tonys. This year, however, I decided to spend it with friends old and new at the home of Ken (Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time) Bloo…
This may have been my favorite Theatre World Awards ceremony since I began emceeing it in 1996.
It was the month in which I returned to Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. My feelings haven't changed much in the 11 months. It's still sit-through-able in Act One and an ordeal in Act Two.
Congratulations to Susan Berlin and Steve Rosenthal, the couple that was the first to answer The 2012 Broadway University Final Exam. Marc Castle was next, followed by Jack Lechner, Donald T…
Memo to Eileen Rand and Derek Wills: cast Ivy Lynn as Marilyn Monroe.
