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

Kennedy Center Honorees The 2014 Kennedy Center Honorees have been announced. Al Green , Tom Hanks , Patricia McBride , Sting and Lily Tomlin will be honored at the 37th annual celebration of the arts. The gala performance will be held December 7, and an edited broadcast will air on CBS on December 30 at 9pm. (Tune in - it's always an entertaining, often illuminating celebration.) The timing of the honor coincides with the arrival of Sting's The Last Ship , which is bowing on Broadway this fall. (Previews being September 30; opening night is set for October 26.) Who do you think will be on hand to honor these luminaries? Playbill has more about the Kennedy Center Honors . Coming to the Boards A couple of new productions were announced this week, as were rumors of an Aussie transfer: Broadway will welcome the West End hit revival of David Hare 's Skylight , with stars Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan ( Inside Llewyn Davis ) in tow. Bowing at the Golden Theatre, Sk...

The nominations for the 67th Tony Awards are in! Without any further ado, here is the full list of nominees, first the plays, then the musicals: Best Play The Assembled Parties , Richard Greenberg Lucky Guy , Nora Ephron The Testament of Mary , Colm Toibin Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike , Christopher Durang All of these are spring shows, leaving new plays from the fall, like Grace and Dead Accounts , out of the running. My vote is for the hilarious Vanya... , though I hear good things about Lucky Guy , written by the late Nora Ephron. Best Revival of a Play Golden Boy Orphans The Trip to Bountiful Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Is this even a competition? Virginia Woolf?  was the best show on Broadway this year - play or musical, revival or new. It was an absolutely flawless production. Tony voters, do the right thing, otherwise George and Martha will come after you, and they know how to fight! Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Pl...

The nominations for the 62nd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards were announced earlier today. (These awards honor excellence in Broadway and off-Broadway, and are presented by writers and commentators who cover New York theatre for out-of-town media outlets.) Pippin leads with 11 nominations, though Kinky Boots is not far behind with nine nods (look for my review of Kinky Boots later this week). Winners will be announced May 13 and honored at a luncheon on May 23. Herein, the full list of nominees. Outstanding New Broadway Play Grace (by Craig Wright) Lucky Guy (by Nora Ephron) The Nance (by Douglas Carter Beane) The Testament of Mary (by Colm Toibin) Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (by Christopher Durang) Outstanding New Broadway Musical Chaplin A Christmas Story Hands on a Hardbody Kinky Boots Matilda Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play Bad Jews (by Joshua Harmon) Cock (by Mike Bartlett) My Name is Asher Lev (by Aaron Posner) Really Really (by ...

Top 50 Showrunners This week, The Hollywood Reporter released its list of the top 50 showrunners. (Showrunners are often, but not always, the creators of shows, and often the head writer and sometimes the chief director.) With separate lists for comedy series and drama series , the list is full of some of the most creative forces working in television today. (Check the main page for bonus video footage.) In candid interviews, the showrunners reveal secrets of their show(s) and let us into their creative processes, both past and present. Check it out to hear from Girls ' Lena Dunham , Veep 's Armando Ianucci , The Newsroom 's Aaron Sorkin , Family Guy 's Team Seth MacFarlane and more! 2012-2013 Theatre Season Update Tom Hanks will make his Broadway debut when the late Nora Ephron 's last play, Lucky Guy , bows on Broadway next spring. Lucky Guy begins previews on March 1, 2013, in advance of an April 1 opening, and will conclude the strictly limit...