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

Long Day's Journey to Broadway Added to Roundabout's 2015-2016 season is a revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night , and a fantastic cast is in tow. The revival, set to begin previews March 31, 2016, with opening night scheduled for April 19, will be led by Jessica Lange , Gabriel Byrne and—wait for it—Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr. , who'll be returning to the stage for the first time since 2011's Jerusalem . Directed by Jonathan Kent , the play, Broadway.com reports , is being "mounted in association with...Ryan Murphy." Other cast and creative team members will be announced later. (Young adult theatergoers: this is a Roundabout production so if you're between the ages of 18 and 35, you can purchase Hiptix for just $25.) Annaleigh Ashford and Julie White Team Up for Sylvia A revival of A. R. Gurney 's Sylvia will bow on Broadway this fall, and it boasts two fantastic ladies as the stars. Tony nominee A...

(Scroll down for news about the Freestyle Love Supreme TV show!) Creative Arts Emmy Winners The prime time Emmy Awards will be handed out on Monday (and the Academy has offered this infographic to show how winners are chosen), but this past Saturday night the Creative Arts Emmy winners were announced and honored. The Creative Arts Emmys cover most of the technical or behind the scenes categories, as well as the guest actor categories. Below are some of the night's winners; visit the Emmys website to view the full list , which includes talented people from Cosmos , The Daily Show , Breaking Bad , House of Cards , Game of Thrones and more. I've been updating my Pinterest Emmys board with pictures from the evening, and Broadwayworld.com also has photo coverage. Allison Janney , Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Masters of Sex (so well-deserved) Tom Kitt and Lin-Manuel Miranda , Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, "Bigger!" from the 2013 T...

(Scroll down to find out which New York City Ballet dancer is taking her final bow with the Company.) If/Then Opens on Broadway Sunday marked the official Broadway opening of the fantastic, original, challenging musical, If/Then . The show, written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and directed by their Next to Normal collaborator Michael Greif , follows Elizabeth ( Idina Menzel ) as different "what if"s play out. Some opening buzz: Menzel talks about coming back to Broadway ; photo coverage , from Broadway.com; and opening night arrivals , curtain call , after party part one and after party part two , all from Broadwayworld.com. And post-opening buzz: Menzel talks to People magazine about the road not taken and also performs on Today , including "Here I Go," with costar James Snyder . In addition, the cast album is now available for pre-order via Amazon . And below, watch as Kitt and Yorkey give you an in-depth look at the score. To learn more about I...

What if? It's a short question, something we often wonder throughout our lives (maybe even multiple times each day). On the surface, it's a simple question, too. What if? What if just one seemingly innocuous choice changes your fate—or does it? What if there were a musical that asked us to grapple with this? Then it would be If/Then . This original Broadway musical, which reunites team Next to Normal , Tom Kitt (music), Brian Yorkey (lyrics and book) and Michael Greif (direction), tells Elizabeth's stories. Recently divorced and in her late thirties, Elizabeth (Idina Menzel) moves back to New York. One friend, Kate (LaChanze), says "Liz" moved to NYC to find true love. Another friend, Lucas (Anthony Rapp), says "Beth" returned to pursue her dream career. (As part of her reinvention, Elizabeth decides between calling herself Liz and Beth.) At the top of the show, Elizabeth meets up with Kate and Lucas in Madison Square Park and each asks her to t...

(Scroll down to read this week's biggest news!)   Oscar Recovery Are you still reeling from Sunday? Here are some follow up tidbits: My Oscar Wrap Up , including red carpet coverage and the full list of winners, and my Pinterest Oscars board Possibly because of host Seth MacFarlane , possibly because of the slate of nominees or possibly because of the entertainment promised, Oscars ratings were up this year. As Rolling Stone reports , this year's broadcast was "the most-watched Oscars telecast since 2007...when Ellen DeGeneres hosted and Martin Scorsese's The Departed won Best Picture." The Hollywood Reporter 's awards guru, Scott Feinberg, provides analysis of the night, laying out the reasons certain people walked home a winner and others did not. GQ makes its selections for best and worst dressed men at Vanity Fair 's Oscars soiree The Hollywood Reporter lets us in on the secret moments that happened on the red carpet while...

For pure fun on Broadway, Bring It On is definitely the way to go. The book by Jeff Whitty is snappy; the score by Tom Kitt, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Amanda Green is clever and catchy; the direction and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler is fluid and super energetic. Bring It On is nothing incredibly sophisticated or important with regard to artistic expression or musical theatre history, but that’s okay. Sometimes, shows are meant to be entertaining, and this is. This is “fun fluff” of the best kind. As noted in the Playbill, Bring It On: The Musical is "inspired" by the 2000 Kirsten Dunst-Gabrielle Union movie , and that’s actually accurate. The plot of the musical diverges a great deal from the movie, and as such works better at focusing the story and bringing out the heart. In the musical, Campbell (Taylor Louderman) is a senior at Truman High, the high school for the affluent and mostly white suburban crowd. She’s captain of its cheerleading squad, and has a...