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Rob Lester
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Cabaret Review: LAURIE ROLDAN – A SONG FOR YOU: THE MUSIC OF KAREN CARPENTER & FRIENDS! (The Green Room 42 / New York)
A TRIBUTE WITH HEART Laurie Roldan honors Karen Carpenter with affection, authenticity, and grace. Singer Laurie Roldan could easily be elected president of the Karen Carpenter Appreciation Society. Her concert tribute at The Green Room 42, A Song for You: The Music of Karen Carpenter & Friends!, reflects a lifelong devotion to the singer/drummer while…
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Music: BRYCE EDWARDS: MY PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
THE OLD SOUL OF THE NEW CENTURY Singer, multi-instrumentalist, vaudevillian, songwriter, musical historian—and one of today’s most irresistible entertainers Halfway through 2026 may seem a little early to name a Performer of the Year, but I’m comfortable making the call. Bryce Edwards has earned it. I’m forever crawling under the table to retrieve my socks…
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Concert Review: TONY DANZA AND THE STARS OF TOMORROW (The Triad Theatre / New York City)
THEY’RE GONNA SHINE Young performers take center stage with heart and hope A sold-out fundraiser on Feb. 26 at The Triad offered a fast-moving night of entertainment and an emotionally moving glimpse into the Stars of Tomorrow Project, introducing many of its current and former participants through song, dance, and heartfelt testimonials. Opening eyes and…
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Concert Review: CHANGED FOR GOOD: A CELEBRATION OF STEPHEN SCHWARTZ (The New York Pops / Carnegie Hall)
NO PLACE LIKE SCHWARTZ A star-studded birthday gala honors one of musical theater’s most enduring songwriters The New York Pops celebrated its 43rd Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall on April 27 with Changed for Good: A Celebration of Stephen Schwartz, honoring the Academy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist. Led by music director Steven Reineke, an…
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Theater Review: MELISSA MANCHESTER: FIFTY THREADS: AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY (54 Below, NY)
MAN, OH MAN! MANCHESTER IS IN FINE FORM A warm, witty retrospective celebrates fifty years of songs, stories, and an artist still at the top of her game. Regulars at 54 Below may have done a double take upon entering the room for one of Melissa Manchester‘s four May performances. First, the piano had been…
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Music Preview: ON THE TOWN in Concert (Carnegie Hall / New York City)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK… AGAIN After the success of Oklahoma!, Carnegie Hall launches a five-year celebration of classic American musicals. After the sold-out success of Oklahoma! earlier this year, Carnegie Hall and Orchestra of St. Luke’s are making concert musicals an annual tradition. They’ve announced a new five-year series devoted to classic American musicals, beginning…
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Cabaret Review: BACK TO BARBRA (Melissa Errico / 54 Below / New York City)
A SUAVE, STREISAND- CENTRIC SOIGNÉE SOIRÉE Errico eloquently echoes superstar Streisand with style Musical mega-talents cast long shadows. Any performer who builds a show around their repertoire risks comparison, yet that hasn’t stopped a parade of vocalists from tackling the songs associated with Barbra Streisand. In The Streisand Effect: Back to Barbra at 54 Below,…
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Theater Review: WEST SIDE STORY (Paper Mill Playhouse / Millburn, NJ)
SOMEWHERE, STILL Paper Mill Playhouse proves that a classic doesn’t need fixing The powerful and poignant West Side Story has been retooled, tweaked, and tinkered with in the years since the original 1957 production boldly burst forth on Broadway. Not every change was for the better. For a change, those presenting the version at Paper…
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Film Review: LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS (directed by Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs)
AN OUT OF THIS WORLD ADVENTURE IN THE CARTOONIVERSE Some time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (one that’s pointedly pronounced GAY-laxy in this case), there lived a lesbian princess prone to crying floods of tears and full of fears. It didn’t help her low self-esteem that her girlfriend, Kiki, suddenly broke up with…
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Event Coverage: BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT (Amas Musical Theatre 58th Anniversary Gala Event)
BUBBLING OVER WITH NOSTALGIA Amas celebrates a milestone with a joyful reminder of the music that put the company on the map Amas Musical Theatre sure knows how to throw a party. Held in a penthouse with a wraparound terrace, the company’s 58th Anniversary Gala Benefit found guests happily mingling over hors d’oeuvres, conversation, and…
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Cabaret Review: 54 SINGS THE SECOND BARBRA STREISAND ALBUM (54 Below / New York)
SECOND HELPINGS OF STREISAND A talented roster of singers at 54 Below revisit an early Streisand classic with style, affection, and plenty of bonus treats “My new album is called The Second Barbra Streisand Album because that’s just what it is. Why should I give it some fancy name that no one remembers anyway?” That’s…
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Highly Recommended Show: HOT COMBINATION: BRYCE EDWARDS, MIKE DAVIS & BAND (Sunday, June 7 at Birdland)
OLD SONGS GET NEW LIFE FROM TALENTED YOUNG GUYS WHO ARE OLD SOULS Zip and zing with musical fizz and sparkle Hooray! They’re back!! Bryce Edwards—the mercurial, merry multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist and sassy singer—reunites with brilliant brass player Mike Davis, debonair dazzler, along with some top-drawer colleagues for a repeat of the sensational show they premiered…
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Off-Broadway Review: THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company at AMT Theater)
WHO KILLED EDWIN DROOD? WELL, IT’S UP TO THE AUDIENCE The musical whodunit is done with panache by the reliable J2 Musical Theater Company The unpleasant fact about life is that everybody dies. In 1870, before completing his last novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, in which the title character dies—apparently by murder—the author himself…
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Off-Broadway Review: BIKE SHOP: THE MUSICAL (Theater for the New City)
PUT THIS IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE A show that takes its audience on a ride, and shifts gears from drama to comedy and back The oft-heard practical advice to authors hoping that their stories, novels, songs, plays, etc. will ring true is: “Write what you know.” Generally attributed to Mark Twain—who did pretty well for himself…
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Theater Review: CARNIVAL! (J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company / AMT Theater, NYC)
UNDER THE BIG TOP, A SMALL GEM ENDURES A tender revival of a vintage musical finds its strength in sincerity, not spectacle Poignancy, Pep, Pizzazz, and Puppets. If the age of 65 equals becoming a senior citizen, then the musical Carnival!—which opened on Broadway in April of 1961—is certainly eligible. But the current revival, now…
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Music Review: NELLIE McKAY (City Vineyard)
ECCENTRIC CHARM, SWEET AND STRANGE Enjoying an eclectic, engaging evening with Nellie McKay Light-hearted but with some heavier thoughts,Out-and-out outgoing on the outside,Sometimes intense on the inside,Engaging all the way through With a playful twinkle in her eye and her trademark sunny sound, savvy singer Nellie McKay fills a room with charm in her eclectic…
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Off-Broadway Review: THREE WOMEN (Frog & Peach Theatre Company at Theater for the New City)
THREE LOVES, ONE ROAD A gritty, intriguing country-western musical with more implied than explained COMPOSER-LYRICIST/GUITARIST/PROTAGONISTA musician with three younger ladies to romance,two deaths to deal with,and one rough life on the road It’s a little confusing, more than a bit intriguing, and plenty gritty and gutsy. Not everything is spelled out in crystal-clear ways in…
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Off-Broadway Review: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Theater 2020)
COMEDY TONIGHT— AND PLENTY OF IT A zippy, low-budget romp that lands big laughs When in ancient Rome,do as the ancient Romans—and moderns—would do:enjoy the kind of humor that never feels ancient.This musical confection from 1962 has ageless funny flavors and farcical fun. If Theater 2020 charged its audience a dime for every laugh-out-loud moment…
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Theater Preview: CREATIVE STAGE COLLECTIVE – MUSICAL MAD LIBS! (Symphony Space, NYC)
MIX, MATCH, AND MAKE IT UP An intergenerational troupe turns audience ideas into live musical theater Here’s a special recipe for success and entertainment. It’s all in the mixing and blending and combining of diverse ingredients. The people participating are of different ages and experiences and talents. The elements of the production are acting, music,…
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Off-Broadway Review: MILK AND HONEY (J2 Spotlight Theatre Company at AMT, NYC)
MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IN THE MIDDLE OF ADVENTURES Jerry Herman’s early musical still charms Through the magic of musical theatre, we’re vicariously taking a guided tour through Israel in the early 1960s. On your left, a group of widows seeing the sights and setting their sights on finding—maybe (who knows?)—a husband. On…
Off-Broadway Review: GIULIA: THE POISON QUEEN OF PALERMO (PAC NYC)
by Gregory Fletcher | July 10, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: SUFFS (First National Tour)
by Emma S. Rund | July 9, 2026
in Chicago, Theater, ToursMusic: BRYCE EDWARDS: MY PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
by Rob Lester | July 6, 2026
in Cabaret, New York, RegionalHOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR FIRST KALIMBA?
by Connor McCormick | July 6, 2026
in Extras, Music
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