By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (‘Steppin’ Out“) When A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical opened on Broadway nearly eight weeks ago, there was some bellyaching from first night critics that book writer Anthony McCarten’s conceit of a former rock star and multi-Platinum selling songwriter in an ongoing therapy session was hardly worthy of a […]
By ALAN SMASON There are a plethora of plays that have become the basis of successful Broadway musicals. A classic example is Lynn Riggs’ Green Grow the Lilacs, which became Oklahoma. Thronton Wilder’s A Yonker’s Tale was rewritten to become The Matchmaker which, in turn, was made into Hello, Dolly! Despite George Bernard Shaw’s intransigence while he was alive that Pygmalion must never become […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Billy Wilder’s “Some Like It Hot,” considered by many film enthusiasts as one of the greatest movies of all time, would seem to be a perfect vehicle for adaption into a musical comedy. Originally based on a 1935 French film, “Fanfare of Love,” it was adapted into […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Tom Stoppard has long established his credentials as one of the 20th century’s leading playwrights and authors. Raised a proud Englishman with a proper British name and bearing, Stoppard was in his fifties before he ever learned the full extent of his Jewish heritage. His mother, who […]
By EDWARD RUBIN Sometimes, a gripping story with universal relevance sells big. Such was the case of “The Kite Runner,” Khaled Hossein’s 2003 semi-autobiographical novel which was turned into a movie, A graphic novel, an audio tape, and now a Broadway play. Topping the New York Times Bestseller list for over two years – thanks […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Back when I was still in high school, writer Peter Stone and composer and lyricist Sherman Edwards got together to reimagine a patriotic musical that covered the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Starring William Daniels in the pivotal role of revolutionary John Adams, 1776 won three […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) From the first few lines in the opening number (“We’re Live”) of “Mr. Saturday Night,” it is apparent this is a throwback to Broadway spectaculars of the past. With a huge crescendo of Jason Robert Brown’s music and Amanda Green’s incisive lyrics, the story of Buddy Young, […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) It’s taken more than two years to finally open the revival of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite at the Hudson Theatre, a show that was preparing to begin previews in 2020 when the pandemic set in and closed Broadway until recent times. With real-life married stars Sarah Jessica Parker […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Coming just a year after the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and last summer’s massive Black Lives Matter responsive protests, the recently-opened revival of Jeanine Tessori and Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change by the Roundabout Theatre Company gives Broadway musical audiences a powerful […]
By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Any child of the Sixties or worthy Deadhead would probably bet their monthly Social Security check that Harvard professor Timothy Leary first popularized Lysergic acid diethylamide – LSD-25 – and that its usage was actively pioneered and promoted by rock icons such as Jerry Garcia, Jim Morrison, […]