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

I never read the Boris Pasternak novel. I never saw the Warner Bros. film. And I'm not particularly well-versed in the early 20th century Russian revolution. Which is all to say I didn't know quite what to expect when seeing this musical adaptation of the epic story. Doctor Zhivago  isn't really bad (with some exceptions) but it's also not really good. This is probably a byproduct of having source material that's so epic in scope. The creators of the musical (book by Michael Weller ; lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers ; music by Lucy Simon ) were clearly trying to cram in a lot of story into a two-and-a-half hour show. In doing so, they present a lot of drama without a lot of exposition and character development. We, therefore, don't get a true sense of the stakes (especially if you're unfamiliar, as I am, with the internal politics of the revolution). And, unfortunately, much of the drama reads like eyeroll-inducing, soap opera-level melodrama. ...

Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs Begins Filming The long-gestating biopic Steve Jobs , written by Aaron Sorkin ( The Social Network , The Newsroom ) and which focuses on the Apple innovator, has officially started filming. After many casting, directing and producing changes, the film, told in three long scenes (sounds quite Sorkin-eqsue), now boasts an enviable cast: Michael Fassbender ( Hunger , 12 Years a Slave ) as the titular Jobs; Seth Rogen ( 50/50 , The Interview ) as Steve Wozniak; and The Newsroom star Jeff Daniels , Kate Winslet ( The Reader ), Michael Stuhlbarg ( A Serious Man , Hugo (he also appeared in an couple of episodes of Sorkin's Studio 60 )) and Katherine Waterston ( Inherent Vice ). Danny Boyle ( 127 Hours ) directs. Slash Film has more. New York Pops Season Announced The 2015-2016 New York Pops concert season has been announced. Concerts will feature the talents of Brian d'Arcy James ( Macbeth , Next to Normal ) and Stephanie J. Block ( Th...

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed last week's Year in Review. Below is a quick whip-around of this and last week's goings on. Though Side Show is concluding its Broadway run, the new cast recording is slated for release on February 17 . Rolling Stone 's Peter Travers has a message for Academy voters: don't forget these performances! Buzz Feed has a (fairly comprehensive) round up of the most anticipated movies and TV shows/movies of 2015, including Sisters , starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler , and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore . Nominees for the American Cinema Editors' Eddie Awards were announced this week. Editors for Birdman , Into the Woods , Whiplash and Nightcrawler , among others, are nominated. The Hollywood Reporter has the full list. Tony Kushner ( The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures ) is working on several projects, Playbill reports , including a film with Steven Spielberg...