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

Shakespeare in the Park We may still be in the cold, snowy days of winter, but we can look forward to a great summer season of Shakespeare in the Park. This week, the Public Theater announced the program for the venerable summer tradition. May 28-June 30 will bring a Daniel Sullivan-directed production of The Comedy of Errors , starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson ( Modern Family ) and Hamish Linklater ( Seminar , The School for Lies ). Later in the summer (July 23-August 18), we'll get to see a new musical adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost , penned by the Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson team: Michael Friedman is writing the score and Alex Timbers ( Peter and the Starcatcher ) is writing the book and will direct the production. In a statement, Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis said, "This summer will be a joyous and light-hearted celebration of Shakespeare's comic side, from the wild slapstick of The Comedy of Errors to the hip beauty of Alex Ti...

Theatre Updates New cast members have been announced for the upcoming world premiere production of Richard Greenberg 's play The Assembled Parties . Joining the previously announced Judith Light ( Other Desert Cities ) and Jessica Hecht are Jeremy Shamos ( Clybourne Park , the now-in-previews revival of Glengarry Glen Ross ), Mark Blum ( We Live Here ) and Sam Robards . The Assembled Parties will be directed by Manhattan Theatre Club's artistic director Lynne Meadow ( Wit ); it runs at MTC's Friedman (nee Biltmore) Theatre beginning March 19, 2013. Opening night is April 17 and the run continues through June 2. Playbill has details. A revival of Pump Boys and Dinettes will bow on Broadway in spring 2013. John Doyle ( Company , Wings ) will direct. Playbill has more. The man who writes the songs is coming to Broadway. For only 17 performances, Barry Manilow will take up residence at the St James Theatre (currently home to Bring It On ). Performances will run f...

Green Day is Hitting the Road In support of the band's upcoming triple album, Uno! Dos! Tre! , Green Day will launch the first leg of a North American tour this fall, continuing through winter 2013. Rolling Stone reports the full list of dates, including stops in Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and Las Vegas. (The NYC show will be at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, not at the Garden, on Wednesday, January 16, 2013.) Visit Green Day's website to pre-order the albums and to learn more about on-sale dates for all the shows. Gary Clark Jr Announces New Album The up-and-coming guitar virtuoso has announced the title and release date for his upcoming, full-length album. On October 22 , you'll be able to purchase Blak and Blu . Learn more about the musician, the album and the music on garyclarkjr.com , and listen, below, to the first single from Blak and Blu , "Ain't Messin' 'Round": SNL Welcomes New Cast Members, Seth...

"Don't Owe You a Thang" Check out the latest from Gary Clark, Jr.:  Next Season on Broadway... We may find the upcoming Shakespeare in the Park production of Into the Woods transferring out of the woods and into a proscenium theatre, with Amy Adams in tow. Hands on a Hardbody (with music by Phish's Trey Anastasio ) will tread the boards. Annie will be back ( as we learned last week ), headed by Katie Finneran as Miss Hannigan. We may see a revival of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , this one (possibly) starring Tony winner (for A View from the Bridge ) Scarlett Johansson as Maggie and either Jeremy Renner ( The Hurt Locker ) or Chris Pine ( Star Trek (the recent movie remake)) as Brick. Visit Playbill for details. Rob McClure will play the title role in the upcoming Broadway musical Chaplin . And Off-Broadway ... The Last Five Years is coming back to New York! This breakthrough work from Tony-winning songwriter Jaso...

The Great Gatsby It's here! The trailer for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, The Great Gatsby , starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan has been released. This. Looks. Incredible. It comes to a theater near you on December 25, 2012. Anchorman: The Legend Continues Exclusive Anchorman 2 Teaser from Will Ferrell Peter and the Starcatcher Starstuff Another week means another episode of Boy's Life , the Adam Chanler-Berat-hosted behind-the-scenes look at Peter and the Starcatcher . In this week's episode, Chanler-Berat reports on the scene at the Starcatcher lottery. Watch below ! And then head over to Broadway.com to take a look at these photos of the Starcatcher cast greeting notable audience members , like Tony host Neil Patrick Harris! Plus, Playbill gets the scoop on the pineapple motif at Starcatcher . (Hint: Playwright Rick Elice says, "pineapples were the iPa...