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Joe Papp

Joe Papp — volatile, tyrannical and egomaniacal — was, from the 1960s until his death in 1991, the most influential force in American theater. He battled Robert Moses, the omnipotent Parks Commissioner, to present free Shakespeare in Central Park. He ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  22 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Robert Moses,  George C. Scott,  Meryl Streep,  Sam Shepard,  Kevin Kline

Flop-secret

The latest trend in New York theater: reviving the biggest flops of all time. As The Post re ported, producers Kevin McCollum ("White Christmas" -- ick!) and Jeffrey Seller are resurrecting "Carrie." A workshop of that infamous fiasco, about a teenage ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  20 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Paul Simon,  Sutton Foster,  Oskar Eustis,  Derek Walcott,  Ruben Blades

Talking cure for B'way ills

'OLEANNA," David Mamet's play about radical feminism and polit ical correctness run rampant on campus, is closing Jan. 3 at a loss of more than $2 million. That's too bad. This is a solid revival, well acted by Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman, of an old ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  18 Nov 2009

Related Topics: David Mamet,  Julia Stiles,  Bill Pullman,  David Dinkins,  Nathan Lane

Stritch -- in time

Here's to the ladies who punch. Two Broadway legends -- and, some say, legendary rivals -- will square off next year in revues featuring the songs of Stephen Sondheim. As The Post first reported, Barbara Cook is returning to Broadway in April for the ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  13 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Elaine Stritch,  Barbara Cook,  Stephen Sondheim

Denzel atop 'Fences'

Denzel Washington isn't coming to Broadway to play it safe. The Oscar-winning actor will tackle one of the great roles in the American theater -- Troy Maxson -- in a revival this spring of August Wilson's "Fences." Troy is a man "so big," his wife ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  11 Nov 2009

Related Topics: August Wilson,  Denzel Washington,  James Earl Jones,  Frank Rich,  Julius Caesar

'West Side' whack

YOU gotta love that Arthur Laurents. At 91, standing about 5-foot-2, he's still the Tiny Terror of Broadway. Over the summer, I reported that Laurents, who wrote the script for "West Side Story" and directed the hit revival, read the riot act to his ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  6 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Arthur Laurents,  Leonard Bernstein,  Jenny Powers,  Bono,  U2 (musician)

Times' toll on 'Memoirs'

NEIL Simon has written 33 plays and musicals -- just a few shy of the number of theories floating around Shubert Alley this week as to why one of his best, "Brighton Beach Memoirs," closed faster than one of his worst, "Jake's Women." His humor is ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  4 Nov 2009

Related Topics: Ben Brantley,  Neil Simon,  New York Times Company

Broderick's 'Starry' plight

MATTHEW Brode rick is getting sav aged this week for flubbing his lines in off-Broadway's "The Starry Messenger." He has a reputation for being slow (some say lazy) in rehearsals, and his recent stage appearances have been, to put it gently, awful. ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  30 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Kenneth Lonergan,  Scott Elliott

'Carrie,' unburied

IT'S the most infamous musical flop in Broad way history, and only a couple of supremely confident (bordering on cocky) producers would be bold enough to bring it back. "Carrie" ran five performances on Broadway in 1988, but those who saw it can never ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  28 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Stephen King,  Betty Buckley,  Time Magazine

Hey, 'Fela!' You need some buzz

Jay-Z and Will Smith are getting behind "Fela!" in a big way. The hip-hop mogul and the movie star are putting a combined $3 million into Bill T. Jones' rousing musical about Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti, production sources say. ...

From MICHAEL RIEDEL, New York Post,  22 Oct 2009

Related Topics: Jay-Z,  David Letterman,  Phil Smith,  Bill T. Jones,  Will Smith

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