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

I had never read Bret Easton Ellis 's novel, American Psycho , but I had seen the movie, liked the movie, and was excited for the musical stage adaptation. I walked out of American Psycho  the musical thinking that it was too sanitized. I was expecting something bloodier, more gory, more violent. The next day, I re-watched the movie (I had never returned the videotape). While there were a couple more violent sequences, and the violence felt more intimate (and therefore more brutal), it wasn't the Tarantino-esque blood fest I remembered. And so while I realize my expectations were unfounded, I find I'm ambivalent about this production. There are elements to praise, but it doesn't thrill like a thriller should. In much the same way John Hughes and his films captured the 80s teenager, novelist Ellis captured the late 80s yuppie. That flush urbanite who was too cool for school, snorted cocaine out of boredom, and went on a killing spree after hours. Well, maybe not e...

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...

Casting News Broadway —Additional casting has been announced for the Broadway bow of American Psycho . Next to Normal  co-stars Alice Ripley  and Jennifer Damiano  will reunite for the new musical. Helene Yorke  ( Masters of Sex ) also joins the company, which will be led by the previously announced Benjamin Walker. Opening night has not been set, but previews, at the Schoenfeld Theatre, begin March 24, 2016. Theater Mania has more. TV — Andrew Call  ( American Idiot , Brooklynite ) and Ana Gastayer ( A New Brain ) have joined the cast of the upcoming Fox telecast of Grease . Call will play T-Bird Sonny, and Gastayer will delight as Principal McGee. They join a cast that is led by Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko. Broadwayworld.com has more about Call and Deadline has the report on Gastayer. Off-Broadway —The Vineyard Theatre production of Colman Domingo's Dot  will be led by Leslie Uggams . Directed by Susan Stroman, previews begin February 4, 20...

Holy Thespis, Venice is sick! This new musical, currently at the Public Theater, is a rock and roll hip-hopera that uses modern music (love the great grooves and dope beats) to tell a classic tale (and throws in some classic theatre tropes for good measure along the way). Venice tells the dystopian tale of a war-torn country (a fictional Venice), torn apart after a devastating terrorist attack. Fast forward to 20 years later when two friends, Willow, the daughter of the late president (he was killed in the attack), and Venice, a commoner, reunite after being separated in the aftermath of the attack. (Naturally, the elite, Willow and her ilk, were taken to a nearly hermetically-sealed safe zone; the others, like Venice, were left to fend for themselves in the ruins.) They plan to marry in order to reunite their beloved country and bring peace to their people. But someone has other plans. As Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis explains in his program notes, writers...