Features

Phillipa Soo, the actor best known for her work in musical favorites like Hamilton and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, has lent her Tony-nominated vocals to a more intimate avenue. In The Stand-In, an Audible Original by Lily Chu, she narrates and performs the story of Gracie, a Chinese-Canadian woman who becomes a Chinese star’s secret body double after a series of mistaken identities.

We spoke with director Walter Meierjohann on bringing Blindness to New York City at the Daryl Roth Theatre.

In this week's column, Juan dives into Tony Winner Lillias White and all of her roles from Dreamgrils to Hercules.

Rema Webb plays the role that famously won Audra McDonald her sixth Tony in a production of Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, directed by Shariffa Ali that is now open at the Cape Playhouse.

Will Anything Goes even be understood by Gen Z? Juan is READY to fly to London and see Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney and talks all about it in his latest And Scene!

I recently caught up with members of the Schmigadoon! team including showrunner and co-creator Cinco Paul, Tony Award-nominee Aaron Tveit, Dove Cameron, and Ann Harada to learn more about the hilarious new series, and what they might include in their own auction picnic basket.

The tweet heard around the world on October 27, 2015, was the start of an absolutely wild, stranger than fiction epic of one dancer (A’Ziah-Monae King, aka ZOLA) that has now been turned into a major motion picture thanks to A24 from writer-director Janicza Bravo and playwright Jeremy O. Harris. 

John Benjamin Hickey recently starred in Sublet, a film by Yossi & Jagger director Eytan Fox about a gay travel writer who strikes up a friendship with the young owner of the Tel Aviv apartment he rents for an assignment.

The New York City-based organization dedicated to providing individuals with developmental disabilities a space in the theatre arts celebrated its 10th anniversary with a virtual festival and benefit. The 10th anniversary celebrations focused on honoring CO/LAB’s past and present accomplishments as well as looking into the future.

In this week's AND...SCENE!, Juan talks more about Sweet Charity.

Krysta Rodriguez has spent much of her career playing ambitious, off-beat women. From Wednesday Addams, to Ilse in Spring Awakening, and Megara in the Public’s Hercules, her characters have often reflected her own scrappy, can-do spirit.In the Netflix miniseries Halston, about the fashion trailblazer’s life, she has found a perfect match playing Liza Minnelli. The EGOT recipient was a close friend of the fashion icon, and their Studio 54-heavy lifestyles closely mirrored each other in their highly publicized mix of brilliance and self-destruction.

Revolution Rent airs on HBO and HBO Max on June 15. We spoke with Andy Señor Jr. on how the film came to be.

Theatre royalty Daphne Rubin-Vega stars in IN THE HEIGHTS, we caught up with Rubin-Vega via Zoom to talk about her career, and why she thinks the film is a landmark for movie musicals and Latinx representation. 

In this week's AND...SCENE!, Juan dives deep into stanning a new diva, the one and only Ellen Greene!

The Niceties, Eleanor Burgess’s play about the explosive fallout between a white American History professor and one of her Black students, is now a free, online production.

New York is all abuzz with Pride festivities this June. We sat down with Alex Birsh, Vice President and COO of Playbill, to talk about their first live, in-person production at Radial Park.

Just 15 days following The Hollywood Reporter’s groundbreaking expose on the abusive behaviors and actions of Broadway producer Scott Rudin, hundreds attended the March on Broadway. This protest was not a direct response to the Rudin reports, but rather a culmination of conversations that have been brewing throughout the Broadway shutdown

Earlier today, hundreds took to the streets of New York to demand accountability within the theatre industry. Organized by Courtney Daniels and Nattalyee Randall, the march advocated for change and greater protection from Actor’s Equity as well as to protest producer Scott Rudin’s actions and call for his removal from the Broadway League.

The Drama Book Shop—a storied purveyor of scripts and other theatre-related products—will open its doors in a new location on West 39th Street. Owners Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail, lead producer Jeffrey Seller, and theatre-owner James L. Nederlander are excited to share it with New York once more.

It is almost entirely confirmed that Orville Peck was in the cast of Peter Pan Goes Wrong on the West End and possibly other stage shows.

In Michael Kushner’s Dear Multi-Hyphanate, he chats with artists and explores the many facets of show business. From Alex Wyse to Brad Oscar to Rachel Brosnahan, he runs the gambit with his guests and they explore all that is multi-hyphenation.

As New York City enters its long anticipated reopening phase, it seems fitting that the first large-scale art attraction to welcome visitors is the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit at Pier 36 in Manhattan. 

Marquee Digital––a paperless alternative to print theatre programs––has the potential to revolutionize the way we engage with the performing arts. 

Prometheus Bound is a story that has been adapted many times in it’s 3,000 year history. Theatrely recently sat down with Ran Xia, director of a new film adaptation for The Tank to talk about why this story still holds relevance today.

Earlier this week, Amazon announced that the film adaptation of "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" is headed to their streaming service, and Juan A. Ramirez has some thoughts in this week's AND...SCENE!

It's dream casting season now baby...In this week's AND...SCENE! Juan ponders who might be in Chicago once it reopens in New York City this September.

Composer Lewis Flinn reflected on the joy that happens in that moment, and compiled an album of his favorite curtain call cues he has written.

Juan dives deep into his obsession of Sutton Foster and explores her new pre-recorded concert special "Bring Me to Light" at New York City Center in this week's AND...SCENE!

We spoke with Cheyenne Jackson about coming to Boston for the first time and singing at the historic Emerson Colonial theatre for a one night only concert with Seth Rudetsky.

Lara McCallister recently sat down with Dana Stern and Liba Vaynberg who currently star in Lila Rose Kaplan’s world premiere We All Fall Down at the Huntington Theatre Company.

From Horton The Elephant in "Seussical" to Uncle Fester in "The Addams Family" to Bertram on Disney Channel’s "Jessie", Chamberlin has established himself as a well rounded performer. In "The Prom", Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of the 2018 Broadway comedy premiering December 11 on Netflix, the 57 year-old actor assumes the role of publicist extraordinaire Sheldon Saperstein as he joins a starry cast that includes Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and James Corden.

Continuing with his love of Gwen Verdon, in this week's AND...SCENE!, Juan A. Ramirez explores the latest TikTok trend using the "Rich Man's Frug".

Ted Sperling is one of Broadway's more prolific musicians, and now he is back with a new concert series "Broadway Songs & Stories"

Theatre Talk Boston (henceforth TTB) caught up with Christian Fary, who plays Dwight in The Office! A Musical Parody which opens tonight at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA and plays until December 1.

Michael Arden, the two-time Tony Award nominated director and actor, is using his COVID-19 self-isolation as an opportunity to devise a “socially distant” piece of immersive theatre in Philmont, New York

It’s the holiday season, and with it comes new song standards by some incredible artists. Theatrely recently spoke to Boston native and Broadway veteren Mary Callanan about “At Least There’s Christmas” – written by conductor/pianist Caleb Hoyer – that tries to encapsulate the wide range of emotions everyone is experiencing as Christmas 2020 approaches.

Theatre Talk Boston sat down with Ginny Swanson, a semifinalist in “The Search for Roxie" for Broadway’s Chicago the Musical.

While the curtain is still down on Broadway, and at theatres around the country, there is a light at the end of the tunnel–that light is Broadway On Demand.

I attended BroadwayCon for the first time this year, and, long story short, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. In past years, BroadwayCon seems like a gathering place for theatre superfans with the opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts and the Broadway stars we love.

Theatre Talk Boston (henceforth TTB) caught up with Julia Lester from the new Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

After announcing the theater would be suspending programs, users took to Twitter to announce their displeasure.

Star of stage and screen Billy Magnussen chats with Juan A. Ramirez on his latest performance in HBO Max's "Made For Love" and his love of the theatre.

An in-depth conversation with Fake Friends, the group behind the new digital hit "Circle Jerk" which is now streaming on-demand through January 17.

We spoke with Mr. Kissel after a matinee performance of Nixon's Nixon currently playing at New Rep Theatre until October 6th.

Theatre Talk Boston (henceforth TTB) caught up with Cheaza Figueroa who currently stars as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard at North Shore Music Theatre.

Theatre Talk Boston resident television lover Jamey Miller previews the latest episode of Encore! on Disney+ where we see what happens when the cast of the iconic Irving Berlin musical reunites after 20 years.

Theatre Talk Boston's television guru Jamey Miller caught up with Dan Lanigan from the new Disney+ series Prop Culture to chat about the epic history of Disney films and how he got started.

In this week's And...Scene!, Juan reflects on his love of actress Jessica Walter and the incredible moments she gave us on stage and screen.

Scott Siegel, the producer behind the “Broadway by the Year” and “11 O’Clock” cabaret series in New York, has taken a turn towards the digital. His latest venture, a paid subscription service called “Nightclub New York,” streams select archival performances by dozens of singers taken from his past nightclub productions.

“The show must go on” is an often-repeated phrase in the world of show business, and this is the attitude many theatre programs at Boston-area universities are adopting going into the upcoming Fall 2020 semester.

I spent the last few months digging into one particular subgenre of TikTok and talking to creators about why they make TikToks and how their community garnered national attention more than once this year—#TheatreTikTok.

A chat with Rebecca Bradshaw, whose has recently directed The Treasuerer at the Lyric Stage Company in Boston.

Theatre Talk Boston recently chatted with Susan Egan (Original Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway/ Voice of Meg in Hercules) all about her experience with Encore! now streaming on Disney+.

After announcing an online virtual gala, Gloucester Stage Company received backlash on Facebook regarding their casting.

Theatre Talk Boston spoke with Broadway’s Clay Thomson, who choreographed Matilda playing at the Franklin Performing Arts Company this month.

We all love a good Broadway Diva...but what about the leading men?! Juan A. Ramirez explores this very topic in this week's AND...SCENE!

“This is for our generation. This is for the kids that feel unheard. That grew up thinking their story wasn’t enough or felt unseen. This is for you.”

Theatrely recently chatted with West Hyler and Shelley Butler, the artistic directors behind Artistic Stamp, an experience that uses handwritten letters to tell stories over the course of four months.

Read below to see Nathan speak about connecting with his character, his thoughts on the current college admissions scandals, and his own college journey.

Theatre Talk Boston (henceforth TTB) chatted with Ben Swimmer who plays Zalmy in Trayf at New Rep.

We recently caught up with Nikki Blonsky, who is, of course, most well known as Tracy Turnblad from the hit 2007 film Hairspray.

For his latest role, the 58-year-old actor will assume the part of Old Max in Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical! airing on NBC December 9 at 8pm ET. I caught up with the Tony winning entertainer over Zoom from his home in Paris to discuss bringing a musical to life in the times of COVID-19 and what’s next for him.

Do you love listening to podcasts? We at Theatrely do too, and we sat down with one of our favorite podcasts Drama with Connor and Dylan MacDowell to spill the tea on how they got started and their favorite moments in the last year of the podcast.

How one wild thought sparked a comedic web series for two undergraduates.

The play, titled after X’s Boston nickname, zeroes in on the formative years the civil rights’ leaders spent living in Roxbury, which Power believes few people acknowledge.

2019 has been a whirlwind of Boston theatre offerings from Pre-Broadway engagements to smaller fringe companies taking the spotlight.

You might not know the name Jared Mezzocchi, but oh boy are you about to. He’s an award winning multi-hyphenated director, designer, playwright, and actor taking the digital theatrical realm by storm. His newest work, the world premiere of Someone Else’s House, is now in performances at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles

Have you ever been to a Broadway show and tried their signature cocktail in the bar in the lobby? Theatrely recently had a virtual drink with Brain Sedita and Kelly Coyle, who took those drinks and are teaching you how to make them on their Instagram, Broadway By The Glass.

No thoughts this week, just Gwen Verdon. In this week's AND...SCENE!, Juan A. Ramierz dives into his deep love of Ms. Verdon.

Throughout quarantine, he has kept busy with his latest solo project The Sun is Sleeping, a new film that is “a cross between a pop star's visual album and a theatrical solo show” as he puts it–more on that later.

"The Wandering" is a new, four-day immersive experience that features augmented reality, online interactions, outdoor missions, film, drag, and Schubert.

Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn, who star in "A Week Away", chat with Juan A. Ramirez about the new movie musical now on Netflix.

Need a new summer binge? Look no further than your local theatre community. Boston-area company Sparkhaven Theatre is premiering their new six-part live anthology, Tales from Camp Strangewood, this Sunday.

Early outside the State House this morning, here in Boston, a rally was held in support of the live events industry.

As much of the world abruptly came to a halt in March due to the ongoing pandemic, so did Franklin Performing Arts Company’s production of Legally Blonde the Musical.

We chatted with Ms. Glushak about working with the feminist icon and returning to perform here in Bean Town.

In this week's AND SCENE!, Juan looks to how the industry will react as New York slowly starts to reopen for in-person performances.

In this week's AND... SCENE!, Juan A. Ramirez caught the official teaser for Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story", and he has some thoughts...

As President Donald J. Trump prepares to leave the White House, Theatrely chatted with the Critic in Chief one last time.

A chat with Laurie Davidson, who plays Mr. Mistoffelees, about his experience bringing this epic feline flick to life.

Theatre Talk Boston (henceforth TTB) chatted with Juan Luis Espinal from the National Tour of Rent.

In a matter of minutes, memes featuring Sanders as being part of everyone’s favorite musicals were racking up retweets.

Theatre and television extraordinaire Jamey Miller is back with his take on another episode of Encore! now streaming on Disney+.

As Chef Gusteau always says, Anyone Can Cook! Andrew Barth Feldman prepares to take on the iconic Linguini in "Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical" as a one-performance-only benefit for the Actors Fund.

The "Who’s Holiday!" stream will benefit BC/EFA, an organization very dear to Margherita. “I’m a huge supporter and always try to do as many events as I can for them.”

Mere hours after Playbill had tweeted out the article, many Twitter users started calling out the participants for their frustration in supporting Mr. Kennedy’s campaign.

We caught up with Tom Kenny and Ethan Slater of The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage! before it makes its debut on Nickelodeon on December 7th.

Filmed each night with a four-camera setup, the show feels just as intimate, regardless of viewing location. The theatre has even been expanding its geographical footprint, with online audience members tuning in from far and wide.

Due to the social distancing practices precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 38th annual Elliot Norton Awards will be presented virtually this year.

With all that is going on in the world, it may be hard to take a step back and focus on today, but that is exactly what illusionist Helder Guimarães is honing in on in his new show, The Present, which opened Thursday at the Geffen Playhouse.

NBC’s hit musical TV show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist returned for a second season this week. Theatrely sat down with Andrew Leeds, who plays Zoe’s older brother David, to talk about what we can expect from his character.‍

Laura Heywood, who created a name for herself in the Broadway community as the “first professional Broadway fan”, founded the online marketplace Applause Shop to help support theatre artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Theatre Talk Boston (henceforce TTB) caught up with the stars of La Cage Aux Folles playing until August 18th at Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston.

Learn about Cliff's experience traveling the country performing in this holiday classic.