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Paulanne Simmons
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Concert Review: NEW YORK POPS’ 42ND BIRTHDAY GALA: WORDS AND MUSIC — DIANE WARREN (New York Pops’ 42nd Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall)
Songwriter Diane Warren has won an Honorary Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Her songs have been recorded by the likes of Cher, Celine Dion and Aerosmith. It’s easy to see why she was a fitting honoree for New York Pops’ 42nd Birthday Gala, Words and Music at…
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Broadway Review: STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW (Marquis Theatre)
SPECTACULAR. COMPLICATED. FUN. OVERLONG. DESTINIED TO BE A CULT CLASSIC. STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED. Having never seen the enormously popular Netflix series Stranger Things, I no doubt missed many references to the source material in the new Broadway prequel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. But even if I had been a Stranger Things aficionado, the…
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Broadway Review: SMASH (Imperial Theatre)
A PLATE OF MASHED SMASH Let me be clear. I never saw the television series Smash. I know nothing about the series other than that it focused on a community theater working on a show about the life of Marilyn Monroe. So I had no expectations when I arrived at the Imperial Theatre to see…
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Concert Review: JUDY COLLINS & FRIENDS: 85 YEARS OF MUSIC & PROTEST (New York City’s Town Hall)
SWEET JUDY BLUE EYES STILL EMBODIES HOPE AND RESISTANCE In these tumultuous times when many people believe the constitution is being shredded and the world order overturned, town halls have become the centers of discourse and defiance. So it is entirely fitting that Judy Collins, a messenger of hope and resistance, would celebrate her 85th…
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Dance Review: TANGO AFTER DARK (Germán Cornejo at the Joyce Theater)
NOT YOUR AVERAGE TANGO Tango: a dance with European, Argentinian and Cuban influences, born in the impoverished backstreets of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay, raised in smoky bars and brothels, and now, in all its seductive, high-voltage glory, has come a long way from these humble beginnings, and is now burning up the stage…
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Concert Review: LET’S MISBEHAVE: THE SONGS OF COLE PORTER (New York Pops)
MY HEART BELONGS TO THE NY POPS The New York Pops’ Let’s Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter was filled with many of Porter’s best-known songs: “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” But the evening at Carnegie Hall was also filled with many surprises, thanks to the multi-talented cast. Music …
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Dance Review: THE HARD NUT (Mark Morris Dance at BAM)
Mark Morris Dance Group‘s The Hard Nut made its U.S. debut at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1991. Thirty-three years later, Mark Morris’s reinterpretation of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker is back at BAM, featuring live music by the MMDG Music Ensemble directed by Colin Fowler, and Brooklyn Music School and Brooklyn Technical High School’s The…
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Concert Review: MERRY & BRIGHT WITH JESSICA VOSK (New York Pops at Carnegie Hall)
WHO COULD VOSK FOR ANYTHING MORE? I can think of no better way to celebrate the holidays than at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops’ Merry and Bright, featuring Jessica Vosk (Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Neverland and soon to join Broadway’s Hell’s Kitchen) and the chorus of Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA. Steven…
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Broadway Review: GYPSY (Audra McDonald, Majestic Theatre)
AUDRA MCDONALD GIVES US A POWERFUL MAMA ROSE BUT IS IT A SUITABLE INTERPRETATION? Gypsy is a great show. Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim wrote a justly iconic score, and Arthur Laurents’ book is one of his best. Ever since Ethel Merman opened the show with “I Have a Dream” back in 1959, various divas…
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Broadway Review: ELF: THE MUSICAL (Marquis Theatre)
THE BEST HOLIDAY GIFT ISN’T UNDER THE TREE, IT’S ELF AT THE MARQUIS Elf, the charming story of Buddy, the orphan who crawled into Santa’s sack one Christmas Eve and was raised at the North Pole, surrounded by Santa and his elves, has been delighting young and old since 2003, first as a film and…
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Broadway Review: DEATH BECOMES HER (Lunt-Fontanne)
DEATH BECOMES HER IS NOT FOR PURITANS OR VICTORIAN GRANDMOTHERS. BUT HOW MANY OF THEM ARE AROUND TODAY? Death Becomes Her, the new musical based on the eponymous 1992 black comedy/fantasy and gay cult classic, starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, is boisterous, loud and crass. It’s filled with tasteless one-liners and bawdy slapstick. And…
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Off-Broadway Review: VLADIMIR (Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center)
There’s an eponymous and ominous presence onstage at New York City Center Stage I. You can’t see him. But his evil, autocratic and tyrannical nature permeates every scene in Erika Sheffer’s riveting play, Vladimir, from the moment we see a drunk Boris Yeltsin resign to the play’s tragic ending. That man, of course, is Vladimir…
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Off-Broadway Review: FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG (Theater 555)
FORBIDDEN PLEASURES Even the most avid theatergoers may not realize how much about Broadway there is to have fun with until they see Forbidden Broadway, the decades-old Off-Broadway musical parody created, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini. The newest show, Merrily We Stole a Song, is no exception. JENNY LEE STERN, CHRIS COLLINS-PISANO and DANNY…
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Broadway Review: THE ROOMMATE (Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone at the Booth Theatre)
FOR THE ROOMMATE, IT’S ULTIMATELY ABOUT THE CASTMATES Take a big dose of Grace and Frankie, add a bit of Arsenic and Old Lace, and top it off with the magnificent Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone and you’ve got Jen Silverman’s The Roommate, a two-hander helmed by Jack O’Brien which opened last night at the…
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New York Cabaret Review: DEEP INSIDE TONIGHT! (The Kinsey Sicks at Green Room 42 and On Tour)
WITH SICKS YOU GET MANHOLE Few people these days remember the gorgeous harmonies of the Andrew Sisters or the McGuire Sisters. They sang jazz, pop and traditional songs while executing elaborate dance moves. But today we have a new version of these famous girl groups. They’re a Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet called The Kinsey Sicks and…
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Cabaret Review: I REMEMBER HIM WELL: THE SONGS OF ALAN JAY LERNER (Steve Ross at Birdland)
Despite his three Academy Awards and three Tony Awards, Alan Jay Lerner is not the lyricist who comes to mind when one thinks of urbane and witty lyrics. But with I Remember Him Well: The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner, Steve Ross reminds us we should not underestimate the talent behind such well known songs…
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Cabaret Review: JULIE BENKO AT BIRDLAND
JULIE BENKO IS, AND IS ABOUT TO HAVE, A BROADWAY BABY Vocalists have found many fruitful ways of reaching their audiences, from celebrating other singers to paying tribute to composers and lyricists, from revealing personal challenges to reviewing personal triumphs. Julie Benko may be the first to reflect on the ups and downs of pregnancy….
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Cabaret Review: JEFF HARNAR SINGS SAMMY CAHN: THE SECOND TIME AROUND (54 Below)
IN HARNAR’S WAY Sammy Cahn was born on the Lower East Side, the only son of Jewish immigrants Abraham and Elka Reiss Cohen. He attended Seward Park High School, and, after learning the violin, his first professional gigs were playing in Bar Mitzvah bands and burlesque houses. His side jobs included working at a meat-packing…
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Cabaret Review: CAROLYN MONTGOMERY: GIRLSINGER, A CELEBRATION OF ROSEMARY CLOONEY (54 Below)
THE BLOOM IS ON THE ROSEMARY Midway into her cabaret show, girlSINGER, A Celebration of Rosemary Clooney, Carolyn Montgomery explains the meaning of the show’s name. When Clooney dropped out of high school to begin her career touring with the big bands, such women were called “girl singers,” no matter what their age. Back in…
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Broadway Review: SUFFS (Music Box Theatre)
IT MAY BE ABOUT A MOVEMENT MORE THAN ITS PEOPLE, BUT A POWERHOUSE SCORE AND WINNING PERFORMANCES EMPOWER SUFFS There are several major conflicts in Suffs, the new Broadway musical directed by Leigh Silverman, with book, music and lyrics by Shaina Taub. Suffragists are battling the male hierarchy, which is not inclined to cede power…
Concert Review: AN EVENING WITH LAURA BENANTI (Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92NY)
by Rob Lester | February 5, 2026
in Concerts / Events, New YorkTheater Review: CONFEDERATES (Redtwist Theatre)
by Croydon Fernandes | February 5, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: DESCRIBE THE NIGHT (Austin Playhouse West Campus)
by Leo Weiser | February 4, 2026
in Texas, TheaterChicago Opera Review: COSÌ FAN TUTTE (Lyric Opera)
by Barnaby Hughes | February 4, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: RISING WATER (Theatre L’Acadie)
by Croydon Fernandes | February 4, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: STEREOPHONIC (National Tour, CIBC Theatre Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | February 3, 2026
in Chicago, Theater, ToursOff-Broadway Review: ULYSSES (Elevator Repair Service at The Public Theater)
by Paola Bellu | February 2, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: PUNISH ME: A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER (Hudson Backstage Theatre)
by Nick McCall | February 2, 2026
in Los Angeles, Theater
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