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

Erivo and Henry Set for The Last Five Years Benefit Tony winner Cynthia Erivo  ( The Color Purple ) and two-time Tony nominee Joshua Henry  ( The Scottsboro Boys , Violet , Shuffle Along... ) will star in a one-night-only benefit concert of Jason Robert Brown's   The Last Five Years , which was last seen in New York in 2013 . Proceeds from the September 12 Town Hall concert will go to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence . (Brown has been a vocal support of gun safety measures.) Though Erivo and Henry are African-American performers, nothing about the show—dramaturgically speaking—will change. ( The Last Five Years  is specifically about a Jewish man, Jamie, and his shiksa goddess, Cathy.) Tickets go on sale Wednesday. Visit The New York Times  for more. Television Critics Association Awards Nominations The TCA Awards nominees have been announced. The Hollywood Reporter has the full list of nominees. Herein, some notable nominations: Rami Male...

I spent about eleven years listening to the first off-Broadway, Sherie Rene Scott–Norbert Leo Butz recording of Jason Robert Brown 's  The Last Five Years  before seeing it on stage in 2013. I love the music and wasn't sure what to expect when seeing it live. Turns out, I was blown away by the chamber musical's power, and the performances of Betsy Wolfe and Adam Kantor. My love for the musical only grew, and I now listen to that  off-Broadway recording on a regular basis. (That production, by the way, was directed by Brown.) And so it was with cautious optimism that I approached the film adaptation, directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. I didn't love it. What makes The Last Five Years  work so well on stage is what keeps it from really taking off on screen. As Brown explained during the recent off-Broadway run, this show is about two people who can never seem to be in the same place at the same time. Thus, they never in...

There's an overture! And an entr'acte! Neither is a mainstay of musicals these days, but composer Jason Robert Brown put them both in his new musical, Honeymoon in Vegas . (The orchestra is on stage throughout the show, though they're often hidden by scenery. For the overture and entr'acte, they are moved to center stage, and the players are dressed according to the setting. Love this.) It is a slick and polished musical comedy. The plot is silly, but that was true of the movie upon which it's based. ( Andrew Bergman wrote the screenplay; he adapted his work and wrote the book for this musical.) It's decent splash, the kind of glitzy, superficial musical that isn't generally my taste. Honeymoon in Vegas doesn't change that, but it's well done. Mostly. The action revolves around Jack (Rob McClure) and Betsy (Brynn O'Malley). They've been together for five years, but Jack can't bring himself to pop the question because of lingering ...

The New Year is almost here so in lieu of a Week in Review, please enjoy this Year in Review. The Bridges of Madison County Score —Music is better than words, which is what made this show work and why I feel I can't fully express, with mere words, how good the score is. Head to Sh-K-Boom to purchase a copy. You'll thank me. I feel like crying when Kelli O'Hara starts singing "To Build a Home," the opening number. I ache when Whitney Bashor goes full Joni Mitchell in "Another Life." I absolutely swoon anytime Steven Pasquale sings, especially a love song, like "Falling into You." And if you don't completely melt from the one-two punch of the final two numbers, "It All Fades Away" and "Always Better," then you have no feeling. It's a magnificent, unabashedly emotional score from Tony winner Jason Robert Brown ( The Last Five Years ), a treasure of modern musical theatre. Freestyle Love Supreme —The frees...

Foo Fighters' Sonic Highways As you know by now, Foo Fighters went on an incredible journey as they developed, wrote and recorded their eighth studio album, Sonic Highways . The band traveled the United States, making stops in cities known for a unique musical sound or influence. Frontman Dave Grohl interviewed musicians, and the band used the influence of the city to write songs. (One song for each city.) Not only is the band releasing the resulting album, but, following on the success of Grohl's Sound City , there is an accompanying HBO docu-series, which premieres tonight. Below, check out the first single from the album, "Something from Nothing," and then watch the bonus performance from the Foos' week-long residency on the Late Show with David Letterman . You can still pre-order the album; visit foofighters.com to do so. The Last Ship in the News The Times Talk featuring The Last Ship collaborators Sting and Joe Mantello will be live stre...

Foo Fighters' Sonic Highways The rock band's eighth album has a release date and album artwork. Sonic Highways will be released worldwide on November 10 . The release coincides with the band's 20th anniversary. You'll recall that this album was written and recorded differently from the other studio albums. The band traveled the US, talking with local musicians and discussing the local music scene in each city. The artwork, above, reflects the journey and the way music connects us all and stays with us forever. Visit foofighters.com for a preview, to view the track list and to pre-order your copy. And don't forget to tune into HBO beginning October 17 for the accompanying docu-series, also titled Sonic Highways . Trading Theatres The upcoming Broadway productions of Love Letters and Honeymoon in Vegas are switching theatres. Love Letters , the A.R. Gurney play that boasts a rotating roster of stars (including Carol Burnett and Martin Sheen ), will now ...

(Scroll all the way down for the first snippet of new Foo Fighters music.) Side Show Coming Back to Broadway A revival of the 1997 musical Side Show , about twins Daisy and Violet Hilton and their journey through the vaudeville circuit, will bow on Broadway this fall. Bill Condon directs the reimagined production that took shape in celebrated runs at La Jolla and the Kennedy Center. Those productions' stars, Erin Davie and Emily Padgett , will reprise their roles in the Broadway run. Side Show features a book by Bill Russell (with addition book material by Condon) and a score by Russell (lyrics) and Henry Krieger (music). The revival will play at the St. James Theatre; previews begin October 28, with opening night set for November 17. Playbill has more. Larry David to Star on Broadway "Pretty, pretty good." Larry David ( Seinfeld , Curb Your Enthusiasm ) will make his Broadway debut in Fish in the Dark . David has developed the play (which was previou...