Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

Hamilton Mixtape Details Announced, Available for Pre-Order The highly-anticipated Hamilton Mixtape , which features covers and remixes of Hamilton songs, demos and cut songs, and original pieces inspired by the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show, will be released December 2, and is now available for pre-order . You can view the full track and performer list on Broadway.com (and on Amazon , where you can place your order). Highlights include the cut song, "Congratulations," John Legend singing "History Has Its Eyes On You," Regina Spektor and Ben Folds 's take on "Dear Theodosia," Lin-Manual Miranda's demo of the slavery rap battle, and Busta Rhymes and friends on a "My Shot" remix. American Songbook The Lincoln Center American Songbook season has been announced. Featured artists include two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster ( Anything Goes ), Tony nominee Santino Fontana ( Cinderella , Act One ), recording artis...

A two-section recap of news and notes from the week: Casting News Rebecca Naomi Jones ( American Idiot , Marie and Rosetta ) is joining the Broadway company of Significant Other . The Joshua Harmon play, which ran off-Broadway in summer 2015 , begins previews at the Booth Theatre February 14, 2017. Opening night is set for March 2, and tickets go on sale October 17. Jones joins Gideon Glick, Lindsay Mendez, Barbara Barrie, John Behlmann, Sas Goldberg, and Luke Smith, all of whom are reprising their off-Broadway roles. Theater Mania has more. Tony nominee Alex Brightman will play his final performance in School of Rock on November 6. Waiting in the wings is Eric Petersen , who'll take on the role of Dewey Finn beginning November 7. Broadway.com has more. Three-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award winner Mark Rylance ( Twelfth Night , Bridge of Spies ) will lead a big screen adaptation of the J.M. Coetzee novel, Waiting for the Barbarians . Deadline has detai...

John Gallagher, Jr. Releases Music Video Check out the video for Johnny Gallagher's "Sarasota Someone," the first single off his debut solo album, Six Day Hurricane . The video was shot live at the Rockwood Music Hall record release party in January. Gallagher, who won a Tony Award for Spring Awakening , returns to Broadway this spring in a revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night (previews begin March 31; opening night is April 19, and the limited run concludes June 26). The American Idiot star last appeared on Broadway in Jerusalem , and was part of the HBO–Aaron Sorkin TV show, The Newsroom .  Casting Updates Christopher Jackson ( Hamilton ) has been cast in the CBS pilot, Bull , which, you might recall from a few weeks ago , is based on the early days of Dr. Phil's trial consulting practice. Deadline has more. Tony winner Julie White ( Little Dog Laughed , Sylvia ) has joined the cast of the CBS pilot, Real Good People . The show is execut...

Wyatt Cenac: Furry Dumb Fighter Wyatt Cenac , comedian and one-time Daily Show correspondent, just released a new comedy album, Furry Dumb Fighter . (His last one, Brooklyn , was nominated for a Grammy .) While promoting the new album, he stopped by Conan ( part one , part two ) and HuffPost Live to talk about comedy, diversity on his upcoming TBS show, People of Earth (which also stars Noises Off 's Tracee Chimo), and his Grammy-going experience. He also chatted with Vulture about those topics, as well as his memorable WTF Podcast appearance. Visit iTunes to purchase your copy of Furry Dumb Fighter . Casting News Broadway —Casting for Nerds, A Musical Dot-Comedy has been announced. Tony nominee Rory O'Malley ( The Book of Mormon , Little Miss Sunshine ) and Bryan Fenkart ( Nobody Loves You , These Paper Bullets ) will star as titular nerds Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, respectively. They'll be joined by Lindsay Mendez ( Godspell , Significant Other ), Pat...

His name is Alexander Hamilton, and he is no longer the forgotten founding father. Much has already been written about Hamilton , the new musical written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda ( In the Heights , tick, tick…BOOM! ) and inspired by Ron Chernow ’s biography, Alexander Hamilton . I’ve written about it ;  Stephen Sondheim and the Roots have written about ; and, just a couple of weeks ago, President Barack Obama gave it his seal of approval . All of it is true. It is a game-changing musical. It is revolutionary. It is an incredible, nearly impossible mix of musical theatre tropes, hip hop references, flipping-the-script casting, history lesson and so much more. Using mostly hip hop (as well as some R+B and Brit pop) to tell Alexander Hamilton’s story—Alexander Hamilton, a bastard, immigrant son of a whore, who wrote his way to great heights and then fell even farther—an important, integral part of our American history is made vivid and accessible. Because David K...

Tupac Shakur is one of the most prolific hip-hop artists, garnering even more success and attention posthumously than he did in his brief life. (He would have been only 43 this year.) He’s also a poet and master storyteller, which makes him a natural fit for theatre. And Broadway will be richer for having his voice in the canon. Holler If Ya Hear Me is a non-biographical musical that features music by the late rapper (I suppose you could call it a jukebox musical, but I think a mix tape musical is more apropos), with music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Daryl Waters and a book by Todd Kreidler . From a dramaturge’s perspective, Holler is plagued by some of the same pitfalls of other jukebox musicals: The book is often weak, feeling as if it’s written not to serve the story but to get to the next hit song. Which is not to say that the characters populating Holler are simply jibber-jabbering on stage; indeed, it seems that many of the conversations had on “the...