EXTRA! EXTRA! SING ALL ABOUT IT

A musical about paparazzi culture delivers energy
and tunes but could stand to sharpen its storytelling

Brogan Nelson, Jack Rasmussen

The new musical The Paparazzi, now playing at AMT Theater, takes aim at celebrity gossip culture with a story about ambition, scandal, and the price of chasing headlines. To guide us through the mayhem, the show resurrects the infamous radio commentator and gossip columnist Walter Winchell (PJ Cirino), who steps forward as narrator, linking the tabloid excesses of the 1930s with today’s paparazzi-fueled media frenzy.

William Warren Carver, Jake Evans, Gabi Garcia, Alex Herrera,
Sydney Kamel, Julia Meadows, Austin Mirsoltani, Brogan Nelson

Winchell introduces Christie (Brogan Nelson), a young writer newly arrived in New York from Kansas. She has landed an internship at The Beacon, a gossip newspaper that thrives on exaggeration and rumor in its relentless pursuit of celebrity scandal.

Emily Bacino Althaus, William Warren Carver, Gabi Garcia, Alex Herrera,
Sydney Kamel, Austin Mirsoltani, Brogan Nelson, Jack Rasmussen

Christie quickly realizes the kind of world she has joined, and just when you think she’ll rebel against the lowest of all bars—becoming a paparazzi—her sense of competition begins to rival the paper’s lead writer, Betty (Julia Meadows), and she sinks to the depths of the loathsome gossip trade. After hearing her Want Song, “Christie’s Theme,” which rivals the hopeful ambitions of “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story, her eventual fall is both unexpected and yet expected.

Brogan Nelson

Nelson, reminiscent of a young Sutton Foster in spunk and energy, stands out as the wide-eyed transplant from Kansas—enhanced by Cathy Small’s costume, her most telling design in the show. Yet, as much as the audience wants to root for Christie’s success, it becomes increasingly difficult to care after the choices she makes. Not until late in Act II—after a tragic event caused by her writing—does she finally see the light and return to Kansas to reset her values.

William Warren Carver, Jake Evans, Alex Herrera, Sydney Kamel,
Julia Meadows, Austin Mirsoltani, Brogan Nelson

In the intimate AMT Theater, a charming and cozy space, Ryan Howell’s attractive scenic design makes the most of the smaller stage for the 12-member ensemble. The classic Art Deco aesthetic is further enhanced by John Burkland’s lighting. Steven Fine’s sound design ensures every lyric is clearly heard, though it’s not entirely convincing that the dialogue needed quite so much amplification. David Wolfson’s music direction draws out strong choral work from the ensemble, whose voices are uniformly impressive. On keyboards, he conducts bassist Ken Rizzo and percussionist Greg Landes, creating a full sound one might never guess comes from only three musicians.

Jake Evans, Dan Olson 

Standout performances include Dan Olson as Tom, The Beacon’s photographer, and Jack Rasmussen as Jimmy, a country singer celebrity who gets burned by The Beacon. Both performances feel grounded and true to life, with appealing vocals and an interior life that makes the audience care. Austin Mirsoltani is also impressive, transforming completely between the two characters he plays—Matthew and Ricky Knight.

William Warren Carver, Jake Evans, Gabi Garcia, Alex Herrera,
Sydney Kamel, Julia Meadows, Austin Mirsoltani, Dan Olson, Jack Rasmussen

Others certainly have standout moments that showcase their talents (Jake Evans, Julia Meadows, and Alex Herrera), but, out of their control, it proves difficult to root for characters who display so little sense of value or consequence.

Jake Evans, Julia Meadows, Brogan Nelson

Kelli Gautreau keeps things lively with her limited but spirited choreography, once again highlighting the strengths of talent onstage. Unfortunately, director Nancy Robillard’s muddled staging often spends more time shifting furniture and pushing actors to play out front than allowing for moments of genuine connection to develop.

Jake Evans, Gabi Garcia, Alex Herrera, Sydney Kamel,
Julia Meadows, Austin Mirsoltani, Jack Rasmussen

Prolific composer/lyricist Albert M. Tapper—who has more than ten musicals to his credit—offers two acts of The Paparazzi containing eleven songs in each. Not all of them move the story forward, however: when Christie is advised to find an apartment in Brooklyn, there’s a song about “Brooklyn”; when she dreams of writing for The New York Times, there’s a song about “The Times of New York.” Certainly, some do function as interior monologues and others are lively and enjoyable, including “The Nightbird Gets the Worm,” “Front Page Betty,” and “You’ll Get the Right Shot.” Finally, when Christie has returned to her home state and longs for a second chance, Jimmy’s “How I Wish I Was 22 Again” lands with genuine relevance and emotional weight.

Emily Bacino Althaus, Brogan Nelson

Along with the direction, the book by Tony Sportiello, Artistic Director of the AMT Theater, isn’t always on target. It’s never entirely clear why Winchell—who died in 1972 with only one person reportedly attending his funeral—returns to comment on the present-day paparazzi. Has he had a change of heart? Learned a lesson? Does he endorse The Beacon and still champion the paparazzi trade? According to Al Tapper’s admirable program note, you’d think he’d have a change of heart. “Truth is the only thing that can save our nation and all we see all around us are lies, exaggerations, and literary confusion. We can’t live in a world of Paparazzi. We cannot live in a world of lies.” That’s a musical worth supporting, but I’m not convinced the program note truly made it to the stage.

William Warren Carver, Jake Evans, Gabi Garcia, Alex Herrera,
Sydney Kamel, Julia Meadows, Austin Mirsoltani, Jack Rasmussen

Still, The Paparazzi benefits from an energetic cast and several tuneful numbers that showcase the performers’ talents. A sharper focus with the book and staging could resonate the show’s premise—examining the national cost of the paparazzi.

William Warren Carver, Gabi Garcia, Alex Herrera, Sydney Kamel,
Austin Mirsoltani, Brogan Nelson, Dan Olson, Jack Rasmussen

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

photos by Jillian Nelson

The Paparazzi
AMT Theater, 354 West 45th St
Wed-Sat at 7; Wed, Sat & Sun at 2
ends on April 11, 2026
for tickets ($25-$55), call 917.388.2630 or visit AMT

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Gregory Fletcher is an author, theater professor, playwright, director, and stage manager. His publishing credits include a craft book on playwriting entitled Shorts and Briefs, as well as a collection entitled A Playwright’s Dozen: 13 short plays. Other publishing includes two YA novels (Other People’s Crazy, and Other People’s Drama), 2 novellas in the series Inclusive Bedtime Stories, 2 short stories in The Night Bazaar series, and five essays. Website, Facebook, Instagram.