Cats CATS (2019) Starring Francesca Hayward, Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, Ian McKellen, James Corden, Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Ray Winstone, Jennifer Hudson, Laurie Davidson, Robbie Fairchild, Jason Derulo, Laurent Bourgeois, Naoimh Morgan, Larry Bourgeois, Mette Towley, Steven Mcrae, Bluey Robinson, Daniela Norman, Zizi Strallen and Melissa Madden-Gray. Screenplay by Lee Hall & Tom Hooper. Directed by Tom Hooper. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 110 minutes. Rated PG. Who wo

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – December 21, 2018 – photo by Nick Bergmann © 2018 Trans-Siberian Orchestra It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like TSO Tour Season by Jay S. Jacobs There is a nip in the air, it’s getting dark earlier, the leaves are falling from the trees. You know what that means – it’s almost time for the annual Trans-Siberian Orchestra winter tour. A spectacle of sights, sounds, twinkling lights and Christmas Spirit, TSO takes t

Lesli Margherita at BroadwayCon – January 12, 2019 Lesli Margherita An Audience with the Queen By Jay S. Jacobs It was just BroadwayCon time again, as some of the biggest names in theater braved the cold and congregated to the New York Midtown Hilton and the Ziegfield Theater to meet, greet and chat with some of their biggest fans. BroadwayCon is a celebration of all things theatrical, a heady mixture of lectures, live performances, memorabilia, cosplay, pictures and autograp

Dan and Jeff in Potted Potter Dan and Jeff Entertaining the Muggles with Potted Potter By Leni Paul With shades of Hogwarts, I sat down in a secluded corner of a library – sadly, not an enchanted one – to chat (over the phone) with the Olivier-nominated British comedy writing/performing duo Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner. They are better known as Dan and Jeff, creators of the popular stage parody Potted Potter. We talked for nearly an hour about the birth of their show,

Julie Cerda Julie Cerda Reaching New Heights in Children of a Lesser God By Jay S. Jacobs Broadway is the dream, and Julee Cerda has finally reached it. The role which has made this dream a reality is in the much-anticipated revival of Mark Medoff’s Tony Award-winning play Children of a Lesser God, which became a smash when it originally played on Broadway in 1980. It was made into a film with William Hurt and Marlee Matlin, who won an Oscar for her role. Children of a Lesser

Breakable You BREAKABLE YOU (2017) Starring Holly Hunter, Tony Shalhoub, Cristin Milioti, Omar Metwally, Alfred Molina, Isabelle Candelier, Adrian Lester, Brooke Adams, Peter O’Meara, Yumi Iwama, Caroline Aaron, Beege Barkette, Angela Church, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Tamika Sonja Lawrence, Carl Lundstedt, Siena Marino, Doris McCarthy, Adam McLaughlin, Barry Primus and Jeremy Shamos. Screenplay by Andrew Wagner & Fred Parnes. Directed by Andrew Wagner. Distributed by Sony Pictures

Pitch Perfect 3 PITCH PERFECT 3 (2017) Starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Chrissie Fit, Kelley Jakle, Shelley Regner, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, John Lithgow, DJ Khaled, Ruby Rose, Matt Lanter, Guy Burnet, Andy Allo, Venzella Joy and Hannah Fairlight. Screenplay by Kay Cannon. Directed by Trish Sie. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 93 minutes. Rated PG-13. My daughter begged m

24: Legacy – Season One 24: Legacy Season One (2017) (Fox Home Video – 2017) It’s a little disorienting to return to the universe of 24 without Kiefer Sutherland’s scowling super-Fed Jack Bauer saving the world. However, Sutherland has left the role behind. He’s now saving the world as President in Designated Survivor. What is CTU going to do? This reboot of 24 is different from the original series in several ways, so the fact that they have a new lead role is not all that sh

André Holland and Carra Patterson André Holland and Carra Patterson Drive August Wilson’s Jitney onto The Broadway Stage by Brad Balfour Before he died in 2005, playwright August Wilson had created the 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle (or Century Cycle) chronicling black American life which spanned over 10 decades. This work is not only Wilson’s benchmark but is a touchstone for fans of great theater and creative writing made in the USA. His insights into black life ring true and off

Jackson Harris Jackson Harris A Journal Entry of His Life by Caroline Serling Jackson Harris is an up-and-coming 23 year-old singer songwriter from New York, working his way into the spotlight.  Growing up surrounded by the influence of a musical family, it was clear Harris had the right people around to set him on the proper path to success.  His mother is Broadway producer Dede Harris, whose current hit musical is  the hit Something Rotten!  This theatrical connection had a

Aladdin: Diamond Edition ALADDIN (2015) Featuring the voices of Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale, Brad Kane, Lea Salonga, Bruce Adler, Charlie Adler, Corey Burton, Jim Cummings, Debi Derryberry, Jerry Houser, Hal Smith and Vera Lockwood. Screenplay by John Musker, Ron Clements, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  90 minutes.  Rat

The Nanny – The Complete Series The Nanny The Complete Series (1993 – 1999) (Shout! Factory-2015) It’s hard to remember now, with all the years of reruns, jokes about Fran Drescher’s voice, Beautician and the Beast, the oddball tabloid stories, Happily Divorced and the inevitable marching on of time, but for a brief white hot pop culture period, The Nanny was by far one of the funniest shows on television. Yes.  That’s right.  I will go further.  When it was hitting on all cy

Listen to Me, Marlon LISTEN TO ME, MARLON (2015) Featuring footage of Marlon Brando, Christian Brando, Cheyenne Brando, Anna Kashfi, Tarita Teriipia, Vivienne Leigh, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Francis Ford Coppola, Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Lee J. Cobb, Bernardo Bertolucci, Maria Schneider, David Niven, Susanna York, Stella Adler and Bob Crane. Written by Stevan Riley. Directed by Stevan Riley. Distributed by Passion Pictures.  102 minutes.  Not Rated. Marl

Micky Dolenz Micky Dolenz Monkees Around In Career-Spanning Show by Brad Balfour For another 70-year old, kicking it out on stage for three July nights at 54 Below under the banner of A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock ‘n’ Roll might seem like a daunting task. Yet given Micky Dolenz’s uncanny history, it’s not surprising.  Produced by label exec Van Dean — directed by Dean and Dolenz — and under Michael J. Moritz, Jr.’s music direction, this show demonstrates a love for

Bradley Cooper stars in “American Sniper.” Bradley Cooper Transforms Himself into an American Sniper by Brad Balfour Master director Clint Eastwood’s latest feature, American Sniper, offers a taut yet complex portrait of the late Iraqi war vet Chris Kyle. With over 160 kills, Kyle was the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. Uncannily portrayed by two-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle), there was much more to this U.S. Navy

Into the Woods INTO THE WOODS (2014) Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Mackenzie Mauzy, Chris Pine, Billy Magnussen, Christine Baranski, Lucy Punch, Johnny Depp, Tracey Ullman, Tammy Blanchard, Mackenzie Mauzy, Simon Russell Beale, Annette Crosbie, Richard Glover and Frances de la Tour. Screenplay by James Lapine. Directed by Rob Marshall. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  124 minutes.  Rated PG. Director

Clint Eastwood, John Lloyd Young and Erich Bergen in Jersey Boys. Photo by Keith Bernstein – © 2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and RatPac Entertainment. Clint Eastwood, John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice Down on the Corner with the Jersey Boys by Ally Abramson Clint Eastwood is the “Big Man In Town” now. Eastwood recently finished a new project that tells an old story, a story that has been told many times through music. The hit musical Je

“The Bay” director Barry Levinson at NY Comic Con 2012 Barry Levinson The Veteran Director Takes A Horrifying Dip Into The Bay by Brad Balfour Who would have thought that Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson – better known for Rain Man, Diner and Wag the Dog – would team up with the producers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious to make a nerve-shredding tale of a small town plunged into absolute terror? When two million fish washed ashore and more than a thousand blackbirds

Jules Brown, director Spike Lee and Ty Lysaith at the press day for “Red Hook Summer,” taking place at Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks headquarters in Brooklyn, NY. Director Spike Lee Has His Red Hook Summer by Brad Balfour When New York-based director Spike Lee makes a film, it’s almost always an event. That’s been the case virtually from the moment he emerged as a hot young indie filmmaker breaking both the color barrier by dealing with subject matter most mainstream direc

Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks and Tom Hooper – Bringing a Broadway Classic to the Big Screen with Les Misérables by Brad Balfour Based on the legendary Victor Hugo novel – by way of the operatic stage musical created around it – the recently released cinematic version of Les Misérables spans 17 years and is set against the political turmoil of post Napoleonic France, which culminates in the June Rebellion of 1832. Within this context, ex-convi