Opinion: I’m tired of being the token Black friend
A few years ago, I was having a conversation with friends over dinner and drinks. OK, mostly drinks. As we discussed our experiences working...
Opinion: It’s time for critics to step in
“Crrrritic!” Estragon sneers as the trumping put-down in the battery of insults he trades with Vladimir in “Waiting for Godot.” You might say that...
Opinion: What people of color experience at the theater
“I’m running 10 minutes late, can you leave my ticket at the box office?” Who hasn’t received the exact same text message while waiting...
Opinion: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ sticks to its Off-Broadway roots
For a typical producer, the phrase “somewhere that’s green” — to quote one of the best-known ballads from “Little Shop of Horrors” — refers...
Opinion: The best of the West End on Broadway this season
Never mind a land-based wall that Donald Trump may or may not erect with Mexico, or American trade tariffs being imposed on China; forget,...
Opinion: The indomitable legacy of Hal Prince
The Prince is dead, long live the King. Is that too glib? Perhaps, yet it is no overstatement. Hal Prince is gone, and with...
Opinion: Publicizing goats, puppets and Founding Fathers on Broadway
Some shows pose a greater challenge to a press agent than your run-of-the-mill Broadway musical or boulevard comedy. One might feature copulating puppets with...
Opinion: The great reckoning on Broadway
The official report from the Broadway League at the end of the 2018-2019 season couldn’t have been more upbeat.
“For the 2018-2019 season, total attendance...
Opinion: How Cora Cahan transformed 42nd Street
An oversized, disembodied gold hand greets me as I enter Cora Cahan’s office. Its fingers, which dangle over Madame Tussauds across the street, appear...
Opinion: A bland Tony Awards telecast with moments of sincerity
Terrence McNally has a history of getting cut off by the Tonys telecast.
The first time was in 1995, when his drama “Love! Valour!...
Opinion: ‘Be More Chill’ and the buying power of social media
Social media is such an important factor in the marketing of Broadway shows that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become not only ticket sellers,...
Opinion: The revolution that propelled this year’s Tony nominations
Take a close look at the Tony Awards nominations announced Tuesday morning and a couple of things come into focus. Foremost is that a...
Opinion: The Game Changers knocking down the walls of Broadway
At its penultimate meeting of the Broadway season, the Tony Administration Committee handed down a couple of eminently reasonable rulings, along with two mild...
Opinion: Expectations vs. reality at ‘The Prom’
The only thing missing from the money reviews was the money.
Critics greeted “The Prom” with cheers when it opened in November at the Longacre...
Opinion: In the battle for profit-sharing, it’s a question of risk
Should actors be paid for their contribution to shows that go on to be hits?
I’ve been going to the theater regularly since I turned...
Opinion: On ‘All My Sons’ and breaking with tradition
In the midst of the usual year-end rash of “Best Of” lists and seasonal jolliness came news that a spring revival of Arthur Miller’s...
Opinion: To close or not to close?
Heading into the holidays, the Broadway season so far has been remarkable for the breadth of its appeal and the range of subjects. Along...
Opinion: Can off-Broadway intimacy survive a Broadway transfer?
“Will it move?”
If you’re in the theater business, you know what that question is about. When a new show opens anywhere outside the Broadway...
Opinion: Is $20 million-plus the new normal for Broadway musicals?
Every Broadway season boasts a show or two that promises big-screen thrills delivered on record-busting budgets. Back in 1987, the Shubert Organization swallowed the...
Opinion: Craig Zadan’s legacy will live on through Broadway, TV projects
As he accepted the fifth, and most important, Creative Emmy award for “Jesus Christ Superstar” last Sunday, executive producer Neil Meron said, “This is...
Opinion: How two Broadway musicals adapted to the #MeToo era
Rarely has the phrase “900-pound gorilla” seemed as apt as the dilemma facing Broadway producers and creatives this season — especially those who are...
Opinion: Broadway profits keep nonprofits alive
“There’s no profit like nonprofit!” was a cherished mantra of the late Shubert Organization chairman Gerald Schoenfeld. Long before his passing in 2008, Schoenfeld...
Opinion: Raise a glass to the Tony voters
Some praise is due to the 850-plus Tony voters, a group more maligned than any industry group outside of the Golden Globes. They violate...
Opinion: It’s time to break out of the confines of Broadway
The Tony Awards on Sunday are sure to paint a happy face on the Broadway season that just concluded with record high ticket sales...
Opinion: A radical proposal for Broadway plays
If you judged the state of playwriting by this year's Tony nominations for best play, you might think some unidentified virus had wiped out...
Opinion: Make the Tony Awards more like the Grammys
All creative competitions are ridiculous, and in that respect, the Tony Awards are no different from the Oscars, the Grammys and the seasonal art...
Opinion: Small musicals punch above their weight
Even before it got to Broadway, people were predicting that "The Band's Visit" would win the Tony Award for Best Musical. And, indeed it...
Opinion: Forget the Top 40, Broadway musicals still resonate
Channel surfing a few nights ago, I alighted on PBS and had the unexpected thrill of hearing a familiar tune that wasn’t from the...
Opinion: What if Broadway revivals dared to be more provocative?
Clubby and tradition-bound as Skull and Bones, Broadway has made worthy strides toward sunlight in recent years as conventions of sex and race finally...