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

Tony Awards News Big news: the Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 9, and will return to Radio City Music Hall ! You may recall that due to scheduling conflicts, for the last two years theatre's biggest night was held at the Beacon Theatre. But this year, "Broadway's Night of Nights" (as it's called in the official press release ), will return to the famed movie theater. (Note: because of the larger venue, this year theatre lovers will be able to purchase tickets to the big game.) Other important Tony dates: nominations will be announced on Tuesday, April 30 , following the Thursday, April 25 Tony eligibility cut-off date. In other Tony news, the Tony administration committee met again to determine shows' eligibility. The two shows under consideration were Cinderella and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . The committee ruled that Cinderella 's Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana (Cinderella and Prince Charming, respectively), will be eligible in the Lea...

The Newsroom What an incredible episode. ( Go Inside the Episode with Aaron Sorkin .) I can't wait for part two! What I found was so interesting about "Tragedy Porn" is that we're seeing this team we have come to admire do something so seemingly beneath them. We're seeing them do a big thing badly. And it elicits newly found sympathy for some real life news teams because it makes you think that some of the anchors really want to be doing News Night 2.0, i.e., good, informative stories that matter, not news as entertainment, but their hands are tied because they do, after all, have network bosses, ratings analysts and shareholders to answer to. Plus, the episode brought us some great lines, like "There's not enough bourbon in Kentucky."; "Have you been listening? Because we have."; and the show-closing punctuation, "I didn't know we had that kind of comic timing." Below, take a look at next week's episode, "The Bla...

The 2012 Tony Awards have been handed out! It was a great, permformance-filled broadcast, with host Neil Patrick Harris once again proving what an affable and versatile performer he is. I loved his effusive praise of the Broadway community, and the way he made Ted Chapin and Angela Lansbury's American Theater Wing speech watchable! (I also loved Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin's intro to the Best Revival category - now that's an intro!) There were definitely some surprises throughout the night, which makes any award more fun to watch. So, without any further ado, here is the full list of winners. (Winners are notated with an asterisk and bold type. Pictures to be added throughout the day.) Best Play  Clybourne Park , Bruce Norris* Other Desert Cities , John Robin Baitz Peter and the Starcatcher , Rick Elice Venus in Fur , David Ives Of course I wanted Starcatcher  to win, but this is extremely well-deserved. Clybourne Park  is a fantastic, classic, funny an...

"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...