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

photo credit: Shervin Lainez Benjamin Scheuer made a splash in the New York theatre scene in June 2014 with the MTC production of his musical memoir, The Lion . Since that run (and a subsequent run in downtown NYC), Scheuer has toured with the show, and recorded an album, Songs from The Lion . The singer-songwriter continues to write and perform throughout the US and UK. While in rehearsal for the San Diego stop of The Lion  tour, Scheuer talked to me about the show, the album, and revisiting some of the most trying times in his life.  Reviewing the Drama: Hello. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. Benjamin Scheuer: My pleasure. Let’s dive right in. I had the pleasure of seeing The Lion twice. I saw it when it was at MTC and then I saw it when it was downtown. Really? Yeah. Oh man, cool. Yeah. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know who you were, and so I didn’t know what to expect, but I saw a man and several acoustic guitars so I said, “OK...

The Newsroom : Inside the Episode The series finale of The Newsroom will air this Sunday, 12.14, and if you're anything like me, you're probably still gutted from the way the penultimate episode ended. Aaron Sorkin has a habit of creating dramatic and tragic season enders (consider just The West Wing : season one - the shooting at Rosslyn; season two - Mrs. Landingham; season three - Posse Comitatus; season four - Zoe is taken), so I suppose we should have seen this coming. The series finale is titled, as many of his season finales are, "What Kind of Day Has it Been," and it promises to be riveting, so tune in! For more about episode five, let Sorkin take you inside the episode: (and head to HBO Connect for an interview with Sam Waterston and to Alternative Nation for an interview with John Gallagher, Jr. ) Kennedy Center Honors The 2014 "class" of Kennedy Center honorees have been feted in a gala reception and tribute ceremony. This year's...

An American in Paris —First Photos! 'Swonderful! The first promotional photos for the stage adaptation of An American in Paris have been released , and they look incredible! (The photo on the right is one of them. Gorgeous, isn't it?) The photos feature stars Robbie Fairchild (NYCB principal dancer, A Place for Us ) and Leanne Cope dancing around Paris. An American in Paris is inspired by the Gene Kelly film and boasts a score of Gershwin favorites. The stage adaptation is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon ( Cinderella , A Place for Us ), making his stage directorial debut, and features a book by Craig Lucas . An American in Paris will debut in Paris at the Theatre du Chatelet , running November 11, 2014, through January 4, 2015, and a spring 2015 Broadway bow is expected. Visit the Theatre du Chatelet blog to view more photos. "Cookie-tin Banjo" Music Video Last week , Benjamin Scheuer sang "Cookie-tin Banjo" for a New York ...

Coming Soon The 2014-2015 has already begun ( Holler If Ya Hear Me  opened last week), and several shows are getting ready to bow on Broadway. Herein, news about upcoming shows: The Last Ship , the original musical written by Sting , Brian Yorkey  ( If/Then , Next to Normal ) and John Logan  ( Red ), directed by Joe Mantello  ( Casa Valentina ), choreographed by Steven Hoggett  ( American Idiot , Rocky ) and starring Michael Esper  ( American Idiot , Tales from Red Vienna ) and Aaron Lazar  ( A Little Night Music , concert soloist ) is running in Chicago (it opened this week), and is due in New York's Neil Simon Theatre September 30. (Opening night is October 26.) Broadway.com has a sneak peek at  and Broadwayworld.com has production stills of the show, which focuses on a small, seaside "company town" in Northern England. A revival of On the Town  is coming to the Lyric (nee Foxwoods) Theatre, and this week, the three sailors t...

What makes a lion? That’s what Benjamin Scheuer endeavors to discover in his personal coming of age tale. He begins and ends by telling of the cookie-tin banjo his father made for him, his father giving his boy the gift of music. In between, Scheuer struggles with loss, love and sickness, all of which help him uncover the strength and people needed to be a lion.  The accomplished musician (he records with his band, Escapist Papers ) brings his story home to New York in a beautifully staged performance, using multiple acoustic guitars (and one electric), which make the most glorious sounds. Delicate and effective direction by Sean Daniels and a warm and intimate set by Neil Patel and lighting design by Ben Stanton bring us close to Scheuer (like Sawyer but with a “sh” sound to start), who is raw, charming and brave.  He also is doing something so simple yet so important in sharing his journey. The Lion is storytelling + family + love, which is what our past, ...

Casting Updates Film —The incomparable Meryl Streep will star as Maria Callas in HBO's adaptation of Terrence McNally's Master Class . (McNally's Mothers and Sons star, Tyne Daly, played the role in a recent Broadway revival.) The HBO movie will be directed by Mike Nichols ( Death of a Salesman ). Filming will begin in January 2015. Broadway.com has more. Broadway —The starry cast of It's Only a Play added a new player: Rupert Grint , of Harry Potter fame. Grint joins the already announced Nathan Lane ( Guys and Dolls ), Matthew Broderick ( The Producers ), Stockard Channing ( Other Desert Cities ), F. Murray Abraham ( Homeland ) and Megan Mullally ( Guys and Dolls ). It's Only a Play is written by Terrence McNally and directed by Jack O'Brien. Previews begin on October 9 at the Schoenfeld Theatre. Broadway.com has more. Film —Before Andrew Rannells ( The Book of Mormon ) dons Hedwig's wig, he'll make an appearance in The Intern , a new f...