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‘He was a star maker, in every sense’: Celebrating the distinctive Broadway art of Al Hirschfeld

In Broadway, Features, International, Interviews, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays by Mark ShentonLeave a Comment

Another constant for over 40 years was Al Hirschfeld, whose highly distinctive line drawing caricatures of Broadway accompanied the New York Times reviews of new openings. No one elevated the simple line drawing embodiment of Broadway to an art form in its own right quite as he did.

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‘Live entertainment has come back with an encouraging roar’: Alun Hood celebrates his Top 20 new theatre shows of 2022

In Broadway, Features, London theatre, Manchester, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Touring by Alun HoodLeave a Comment

As somebody who loves a listicle plus a bandwagon to jump on, how could I NOT compile my list of my top 20 new (to me) shows of 2022? It’s been 12 months in which live entertainment has come back with an encouraging roar, although the impending cost of living crisis is inevitably, and understandably, causing anxiety in theatrical circles. Please do get out there, if you can, and support your local venue in 2023.

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‘A biting fury that feels raw & authentic’: AIN’T NO MO’ – Broadway ★★★★

In Broadway, International, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Alun HoodLeave a Comment

AIN’T NO MO’ by Jordan E Cooper Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb Belasco Theatre, New York City – until 26 February 2023 https://aintnomobway.com All aboard the final flight of African American Airlines, a journey taking every last Black American, tired and pissed off from being sidelined, passed over, disappointed, hurt, viewed with suspicion and just plain […]

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‘A performance for the ages’: FUNNY GIRL – Broadway

In Broadway, International, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Reviews by Simon ParrisLeave a Comment

No doubt about it, Lea Michele is the Greatest Star, singlehandedly salvaging a train wreck of a revival and tuning it into a white hot hit. Not seen on Broadway since its original 1964 production, Funny Girl returns with a redesign of the 2016 London production, retaining direction by Michael Mayer and updates to Isobel Lennart’s original book by show-doctor Harvey Fierstein.

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‘Sassy, sexy musical comedy’: & JULIET – Broadway

In Broadway, International, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Reviews by Simon ParrisLeave a Comment

Musical theatre’s new guilty pleasure, & Juliet is an accelerated endorphin rush that leaves the cheering crowd on a giddy high. A jukebox musical so in touch with its identity that it literally starts with a jukebox on the stage, & Juliet corrals more than two dozen of 100-plus hits of mega successful songwriter Max Martin into a sassy, sexy musical comedy.

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‘Didn’t I want to see it unfiltered by the opinions of others?’: Mark Shenton explores critical opinion and its influence on perception

In Broadway, Features, London theatre, Musicals, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays by Mark ShentonLeave a Comment

One of the pleasures — but also the risks — of being a theatre critic is that you come first to a new production, ready to form your own opinions on what you’ve seen, before you’ve already encountered or digested the opinions of others.

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NEWS: Moulin Rouge is the big winner at the Tony Awards & there is British success for A Christmas Carol & The Inheritance

In Awards, Broadway, International, London theatre, Musicals, Native, News, Other Recent Articles, Plays by Press Releases

Moulin Rouge! The Musical triumphed in 10 categories at the 74th Tony Awards, including being named Best Musical, but there was also British success, with Rob Howell and Hugh Vanstone winning awards for their design work on the Old Vic’s A Christmas Carol (5) and Stephen Daldry named Best Director for his staging of Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance (4), originally at London’s Young Vic Theatre before its West End transfer.

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‘A feelgood triumph?’: Mark Shenton finds out what critics thought of Back To The Future, a West End premiere not without drama

In Broadway, Features, London theatre, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Reviews by Mark ShentonLeave a Comment

Although this newsletter officially remains on hiatus and will resume publication on Monday 20 September, I’m interrupting my time on the beach for a second time to deliver this bulletin with the reviews of Back To The Future that opened officially at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre on Monday.