This is, essentially, Woody Allen's band, without Woody. It's the only seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band with a steady gig in New York. And if you like traditional jazz, this band"co…
I've never seen any student production"at the high school or college level"achieve a more glorious ensemble sound than the ensemble sound produced by the students of the Sinatra School in th…
I've always loved their work, from the very start of their careers. Jimmy (on guitar) and Jerry (on tenor sax) have worked with some of the biggest names in the business--Tony Bennett, Bruce…
I think the city's top performing-arts schools"Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts, and the Performing Arts; PPAS; and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts"are among the crown…
What a terrific, beautifully layered performance Ben Levi Ross gives in "The Connector""a moving, original new musical from Jason Robert Brown, Jonathan Marc Sherman, and Daisy Prince. …
On March 4th, 2024, I witnessed the best major-club debut I've seen in years. And I kept thinking, as I watched David Marino sing, "The good old days are now…" The post appeared first o…
I don't think I've ever been as disappointed by a Paper Mill Playhouse presentation as I have been by their production of After Midnight. This adaptation of the original Broadway production…
This fall, I saw two of the most rewarding tribute-type concerts I've seen in recent years"one a glittering (if overlong), star-filled salute to "the Voice of Broadway," Betty Buckley; the…
Brice"as a pioneering Jewish female Broadway star who took charge of her own fabulous career in an era when few women did"became a source of inspiration for many aspiring young Jewish perfor…
He sang all his life. When New York's Triborough Bridge (known today as the RFK Bridge) opened in May of 1936, Tony Bennett--then a boy singer from Astoria who loved the work of Al Jolson a…
As a lover of the performing arts, I'll remember this month as when I witnesseed Matthew Broderick give one of the finest, subtlest performances of his career. I'll remember, too, the uplif…
Oliver! is darker than most so-called family musicals"mixing elation and heartbreak as casually as life itself does"but it touches us more than most family musicals. And Encores' production…
In the last few weeks I feel like I've been stepping back in time"in a nice way.  I've enjoyed seeing the new Broadway musicals "New York, New York" (set in 1946-47) and (with some de…
Each was an individual; I liked hearing all of the different voices and accents and inflections. Each one brought his or her own personality to the work.  But"and this is a compliment…
He was perhaps best-known for his play "Kennedy's Children"--produced successfully on Broadway and on the West End, and in many cities, internationally. He also gave us some 60 ot…
Roundabout, under Haimes' leadership, was noted both for new works and for revivals of older shows with strikingly new elements (like this season's gender-bending revival of "1776.") …
Rapp's show"directed by Steve Maler, with musical direction/orchestrations by Daniel A. Weiss (who was the associate conductor/second keyboards player of the original Broadway production of …
"Fiddler"--brilliantly directed by Joel Grey"is an unusually impactful production. It's emotionally rich, moving, and timeless. And wholly believable. They had me from the first words of…
Everyone who loves theater owes a debt of gratitude to Julie Boardman and Diane Nicoletti. About five years ago, they got the idea of creating a museum in the theater district, dedicated…
The new production of "The Sound of Music" at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse is such an utter delight, you shouldn't be wasting time reading this review, you  should be ordering ticket…
Boy! This is going to be a tough review to write. The York Theatre Company, which has such a strong track record when it comes to honoring important songwriters, is currently presenting …
Clary scored a great success on Broadway in "Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952."Â My father, who enjoyed that show, recalled Eartha Kitt and Robert Clary as the standouts in the cast of…
He saw seemingly everything, and championed plays and productions he found meaningful, even if they were at the smallest of theaters. He chose what he wished to cover, and would sometime…
I think this is great news. I'm happy the show will finally be getting a full theatrical production in New York. I saw the original festival-production tryout of "Without You" about a do…
He had his first album out by age nine, the same year he began opening for the Backstreet Boys. (His older brother, Nick Carter, was of course one of the Backstreet Boys.)Â And he enjoyed…