5,757 stories by "Jonathan Mandell"
At a press conference on Friday announcing 1,500 free tickets to the Under the Radar Festival, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said: "This is just one example of an agenda and an approach that we ar…
"I'm not an ax murderer," Peter (Namir Smallwood) says to Agnes (Carrie Coon.) It's his first line in "Bug," Tracy Letts' intentionally unsettling 1996 play, now in its Broadway debut. But w…
LaChanze, a 19-time Broadway veteran. has won five Tony Awards,  one of them for her starring role in the original 2005 Broadway production of "The Color Purple," the other four as a B…
A young man strips an older woman of her clothes, wipes her bottom and changes her diaper: It is an early scene in "Mami," one of the many startling wordless moments that have the otherworld…
Marc Shaiman, one-half the songwriting team behind the Broadway musicals "Hairspray," "Catch Me If You Can," "Some Like It Hot," and "Smash," doesn't even start to tell us about any of his m…
Both Princess Diana and musician Bob Marley died tragically at the age of 36, and both have been the subject of an endless stream of books and films and plays. They each have another such sh…
"Sweetheart, I'm fine, and I'm running for my life, I cannot talk to you right now," Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif) recalls telling her son, when he telephoned her while she was scrambling down…
"We expect greatness from the cooks wielding a thousand spices, from those who stride out onto our Broadway stages, and from our starting point guard at Madison Square Garden. Let us demand …
Choose the show that you are most looking forward to, among the 16 that (so far) have firm opening dates on Broadway between now and the end of April, 2026. Please consider answering two oth…
Below is a calendar of selected theater opening* this month in New York, including one Broadway show, "Bug" by Tracy Letts, a mixed-reality play starring Ian McKellen, and the return of t…
There are more than 100 shows produced by the six annual theater festivals listed below, all of which begin in January. On offer are Beckett and Kabuki; a campy Princess Diana and an outrage…
The affordability crisis, fascism, Artificial Intelligence, America's 250th birthday: As 2026 begins, the theater is not immune to the large questions about what is happening in the count…
Let us celebrate the new year by honoring Broadway veterans like Dick Van Dyke, who just wrote a book 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life He turned 100 in Dec…
How much do you remember of this year in New York theater? Answer these 10 questions to find out. Loading…
How DO you measure a year? New York theater lovers do so in shows, sure (Top 10 Critics' Lists (+ 6) of Top 10 NYC Theater),but not in shows alone. Clockwise from top left: a moment from Mas…
Below is a list of theater books that were published in 2025, most of which I read and enjoyed (sometimes immensely, sometimes with caveats), several I hope to get to in the new year. Beneat…
The 20 moments I select below happened in an instant " an image, an action, a remark, a sudden realization, in one case a touch. All were far shorter than a scene or a song or even a monolog…
My last-minute guide to New Year's Eve in New York City, when 2025 turns into 2026, features information on: Times Square.Dining Out,Theater (Plays as parties, Broadway show schedule, family…
Several movies are opening today, a traditional day of moviegoing, including "Marty Supreme," "Song Sung Blue," "The Testament of Ann Lee,"Â Â The Choral" and 'No Other Choice." I'm roll…
Below are some of the people from the theater community who died in 2025, listed alphabetically. Click on any photograph (and click the ⌽ button) to read the caption. Most of these were…
Here are ten of the biggest stories involving theater this year 1. The Federal War on Culture and the Arts Near the beginning of 2025, President Donald Trump took over the Kennedy Center for…
The last Broadway show of 2025, "All Out," has provoked complaints anew about high ticket prices, at the same time that a new study concludes "affordability challenges for artists have…
The day after I saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular for the first time in decades, I attended the New York Nutcracker for the first time ever. Both were holiday shows, though one cost u…
Here are a dozen of my favorite Broadway performances of 2025, listed (more or less) alphabetically, with a dozen more below, who performed on or beyond Broadway and are just as worthy. Some…
Below is the Broadway scheduled from Monday, December 22 to Sunday, December 28, with links to my reviews of the shows. (The reviews have links to each show's website). Twelve shows will be …