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

The winners for the 89th Academy Awards have been announced and honored. Herein, the full list of winners. (Winners are notated with an asterisk, and are in bold typeface.) Best Picture Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight * Maybe the best moment and surprise of the night, the right movie actually won! And you know that "There's been a mistake. Moonlight , you guys won Best Picture," will be not only be remembered for years to come, but will also be part of the Oscars promo next year with a tagline like, "It's live. Anything can happen." Actor in a Leading Role Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea* Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences Actress in a Leading Role Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie Emma Stone, La La Land * Meryl Streep, Florence F...

Winners for the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards announced and celebrated January 29. Herein, the full list of winners. Winners are in bold typeface and are notated with an asterisk. Movies Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Captain Fantastic Fences Hidden Figures* Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences* Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Amy Adams, Arrival Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train Natalie Portman, Jackie Emma Stone, La La Land * Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali, Moonlight * Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion   Outstanding Performan...

The nominees for the 89th Academy Awards have been announced. Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the February 26 ceremony. Herein, the full list of nominees. Best Picture Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Actor in a Leading Role Casey Affleck , Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield , Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling , La La Land Viggo Mortensen , Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington , Fences Actress in a Leading Role Isabelle Huppert , Elle Ruth Negga , Loving Natalie Portman , Jackie Emma Stone , La La Land Meryl Streep , Florence Foster Jenkins Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali , Moonlight Jeff Bridges , Hell or High Water Lucas Hedges , Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel , Lion Michael Shannon , Nocturnal Animals Actress in a Supporting Role Viola Davis , Fences Naomie Harris , Moonlight Nicole Kidman , Lion Octavia Spencer , Hidden Figures Michelle Williams , Man...

Winners of the 74th Golden Globe Awards were announced and celebrated on January 8. The full list of winners is below. (Winners are notated in bold typeface and with an asterisk.) Movies Best Motion Picture, Drama Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight * Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama Amy Adams, Arrival Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane Isabelle Huppert, Elle* Ruth Negga, Loving Natalie Portman, Jackie     Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea* Joel Edgerton, Loving Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge   Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences   Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy 20th Century Women Deadpool Florence Foster Jenkins La La Land * Sing Street   Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Annette Bening, 20th Century Women   Lily Collins, Rules Don't...

Remember those wonderful MGM movie musicals? The ones from the studio system, with Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, the simple feel-good flicks with those fabulous scores from legendary songwriters like the Gershwins and Leonard Bernstein and Adolph + Green? The ambitious La La Land  aims to capture that spirit. Writer and director Damien Chazelle ( Whiplash ) doesn't quite grab the stars, but he reaches for them. Set in Los Angeles (La La Land, where dreams are made), La La Land  tracks Sebastian ( Ryan Gosling ) and Mia's ( Emma Stone ) romance. And I do mean romance, which is one of the things I like about the movie. There is actually a sense of Romance, of exploration and finding beauty and hope in their world. Much like in (500) Days of Summer , this finds its characters actually appreciating their surroundings, not just complaining about traffic. (That's in there.) Mia is an aspiring actress who, like Cathy in  The Last Five Years , is becoming disillusion...

Nominees for the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced. Winners will be announced and celebrated at the January 29, 2017, ceremony, which will air on TNT and TBS. Herein, the full list of nominees. Movies Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Captain Fantastic Fences Hidden Figures Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Casey Affleck , Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield , Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling , La La Land Viggo Mortensen , Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington , Fences Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Amy Adams , Arrival Emily Blunt , The Girl on the Train Natalie Portman , Jackie Emma Stone , La La Land Meryl Streep , Florence Foster Jenkins   Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali , Moonlight Jeff Bridges , Hell or High Water Hugh Grant , Florence Foster Jenkins Lucas Hedges , Manchester by the Sea De...

Nominees for the 74th Golden Globe Awards have been announced. The full list of nominees is below. Winners will be announced and honored at the January 8, 2017, ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Movies Best Motion Picture, Drama Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama Amy Adams , Arrival Jessica Chastain , Miss Sloane Isabelle Huppert , Elle Ruth Negga , Loving Natalie Portman , Jackie     Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama Casey Affleck , Manchester by the Sea Joel Edgerton , Loving Andrew Garfield , Hacksaw Ridge   Viggo Mortensen , Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington , Fences   Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy 20th Century Women Deadpool Florence Foster Jenkins La La Land Sing Street   Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Annette Bening , 20th Century Women   Lily ...

After hearing much acclaim about Alejandro González Iñárritu 's Birdman , starring Michael Keaton  in a role that's garnering a lot of Oscar buzz, I finally saw the theatre-centric flick. Almost a treatise on what it means to be an actor and the state of theatre today (most the film is even set in the storied St James Theatre, where you can currently see Side Show ), Birdman  follows Keaton's Riggan, an actor who hit it big 20 years ago as the titular caped crusader and is now trying to make a comeback as an actor  by writing, directing and starring in a Broadway show. He's also attempting to mend his relationship with his not-entirely-rehabilitated daughter, Sam, played by an emaciated Emma Stone . Throughout, Riggan's actor-cred is challenged by Edward Norton 's Mike Shiner, a beloved theatre actor who's a mess in his own right. (Mike boards the show after the other actor, played by the great Tony nominee Jeremy Shamos , is injured. Naomi Watts and A...

Foo Fighters' Sonic Highways The rock band's eighth album has a release date and album artwork. Sonic Highways will be released worldwide on November 10 . The release coincides with the band's 20th anniversary. You'll recall that this album was written and recorded differently from the other studio albums. The band traveled the US, talking with local musicians and discussing the local music scene in each city. The artwork, above, reflects the journey and the way music connects us all and stays with us forever. Visit foofighters.com for a preview, to view the track list and to pre-order your copy. And don't forget to tune into HBO beginning October 17 for the accompanying docu-series, also titled Sonic Highways . Trading Theatres The upcoming Broadway productions of Love Letters and Honeymoon in Vegas are switching theatres. Love Letters , the A.R. Gurney play that boasts a rotating roster of stars (including Carol Burnett and Martin Sheen ), will now ...

New York City Ballet 2014-2015 Season NYCB (finally) announced its 2014-2015 season, and there's plenty to look forward to. Favorites like NY Export: Opus Jazz and Interplay are in the mix, as are some new classics, like A Place for Us . It's a Balanchine-heavy season, although audiences can also look forward to several new works, including two (TWO!) world premiere Justin Peck ballets. (Peck's In Creases will also be part of the season, as will his latest, breath-taking work, Everywhere We Go .) The season will also bring us the bittersweet occasion of Wendy Whelan 's farewell performance (on October 18th), the program for which is still to be announced. To learn more and to subscribe, visit nycballet.com . The Bridges of Madison County Sets Closing Date I'm incredibly sad to report that late last week, The Bridges of Madison County posted its closing notice. While the romantic musical with the best score in years (thanks, Jason Robert Brown ) did r...