“Peter Pan Goes Wrong” is a Hilarious Ode to the Mishaps of Amateur Theater

(REVIEW) Following their 2017 success on Broadway with “The Play That Goes Wrong,” the British comedy group “Mischief” returns to Broadway this month with a new show that also explores how a live performance can fall apart on the stage. “Peter Pan Goes Wrong” is a classic re-staging of J.M. Barrie’s iconic fairytale about the boy who never grew up where everything that can go wrong—does. The mishaps begin innocently enough: a forgotten line, a malfunctioning stage light, but as the evening progresses, things go (quite hilariously) from bad to worse.

CultureEli JohnsonApril 19, 2023Eli Johnson, Theatre Review, Review, broadway, Secondary Feature, critics pickComment

“Life of Pi” on Stage is a Cinematic and Philosophical Wonder

(REVIEW) Broadway has long been pulled between commercial, “theme-park” shows and philosophical, artistic works. The former tends to draw larger box office returns, and the latter greater critical acclaim. Occasionally a show is able to achieve success in both categories and this spring one such Oliver Award-winning production transfers from London to the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre by the title of “Life of Pi.”

CultureEli JohnsonApril 1, 2023Eli Johnson, Theatre Review, Review, broadway, critics pick, Secondary FeatureComment

Ben Platt in “Parade” is a Landmark Event on Broadway

Originally staged in 1998 at Lincoln Center, Jason Robert Brown’s “Parade” returns to Broadway this month at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre as the musical event of the season. Set in the deep-south state of Georgia fifty years after the Civil War, “Parade” tells the true story of Leo Frank, a Jewish-American factory superintendent falsely accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old factory worker. It stars Tony-Award winning actor Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen, The Book of Mormon) as Frank and Micaela Diamond (The Cher Show) as his wife Lucille.

CultureEli JohnsonMarch 17, 2023Eli Johnson, broadway, Theatre Review, Theatre, critics pick, still open, parade, Opinion, Secondary FeatureComment

Exploring Relationships, Parents and Success in “Pictures From Home”

The Spring 2023 Broadway season kicks off this week at Studio 54 with a touching tribute to the messy, complicated and beautiful relationships between parents and their children. Inspired by Larry Sultan’s photo memoir of his aging parents, “Pictures From Home” tells the story of how Sultan crafted his deeply personal memoir through eight years of photographing and observing the surroundings, marriage and lives of his retired father Irving and semi-retired mother Jean. The show is nearly perfect in its construction and presentation, and it’s one not to be missed or overlooked by theater-goers this spring.

“Leopoldstadt” Uses Simple Methods to Tell a Beautiful, Complex Story

The latest play to transfer to Broadway from London’s West End is “Leopoldstadt,” a look into the Jewish experience in Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. Directed by Patrick Barber and written by Tom Stoppard (of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” fame), the show opened at the Longacre Theatre on Sunday, October 2.

CultureEli JohnsonOctober 5, 2022Eli Johnson, City, Broadway, Opinion, Culture, Secondary Feature, critics pick, still openComment