NEW YORK (AP) — When Jordan Donica was about 9 or 10, his aunt took him to New York City with a mission: Get the notion of making it on Broadway out of his system. Thankfully, that mission failed spectacularly.
LONDON (AP) — “Brokeback Mountain” was a star-making story onscreen. It may turn out to be the same onstage.
Rising American stars Lucas Hedges and Mike Faist are making their London theater debuts in an adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story about two star-crossed Wyoming shepherds whose love is stifled by the strictures of their society.
‘Succession’ star Jeremy Strong lands a role on Broadway in 2024 in ‘An Enemy of the People’
May 12, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Jeremy Strong is going from a corporate boardroom on TV to a whistleblower on Broadway.
The actor who plays Kendall Roy in the HBO television series “Succession” has signed on to play a man who tries to expose water contamination in a Norwegian spa town in Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play “An Enemy of the People.”
‘Some Like It Hot’ leads Tony Award nominations with 13 nods
May 3, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — “Some Like It Hot,” a Broadway musical adaptation of the cross-dressing movie comedy that starred Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, waltzed away Tuesday with a leading 13 Tony Award nominations, putting the spotlight on a show that is a sweet, full-hearted embrace of trans rights.
Todd Haimes, who led a theater company to Broadway, dies
April 20, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Todd Haimes, who led the Roundabout Theatre Company from an off-off-Broadway company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy into a major theatrical force with works on five stages — including three Broadway theaters — and dozens of Tony Awards, has died.
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ closes on Broadway after 35 years
April 17, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The final curtain came down Sunday on New York's production of “The Phantom of the Opera,” ending Broadway’s longest-running show with thunderous standing ovations, champagne toasts and gold and silver confetti bursting from its famous chandelier.
With ‘Camelot,’ a legendary fight director exits the fray
April 13, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — In a hushed and empty Broadway theater, two men appear onstage in street clothes, each wielding fearsome-looking broad swords. One lunges at the other, who quickly strikes back. They exchange a flurry of slices and counter-slices, with the screech of metal on metal.
Colman Domingo wants theater like ‘Fat Ham’ to happen more
April 13, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Colman Domingo believes in paying it forward, literally — so he joined the producer team of the Broadway play, “Fat Ham.”
Recently, at a curated cookout in New York before the show's opening night, the Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated actor said his goal is to “hold the door open for Black, queer expression.”
Winners of the London stage 2023 Olivier Awards
April 2, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — The winners of the 2023 Olivier Awards, handed out Sunday for achievement in London theater, opera and dance:
Reviving Bob Fosse’s ‘Dancin’ calls on body memory for fuel
February 28, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Director Wayne Cilento faced an uphill task leading the new Broadway revival of Bob Fosse's revue “Dancin'” — no video had been made of the original show, there was no script to study and none of the steps had been recorded.
‘Cocaine Bear’ gets high with $23.1M, ‘Ant-Man’ sinks fast
February 26, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The gonzo R-rated horror comedy “Cocaine Bear" sniffed up $23.1 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, while Marvel's “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” shrank unusually quickly in its second weekend.
Usher eyes EGOT, talks Vegas residency and Super Bowl debate
February 23, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Nearly two decades after his iconic “Confessions” album, Usher is revealing more of his inner thoughts — but this time, it’s about future aspirations.
“That EGOT is definitely on the list,” said the music megastar.
Sondheim covers on Instagram, TikTok paved Eleri Ward’s path
February 23, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — It was 2019 and aspiring Broadway actor Eleri Ward had Stephen Sondheim’s “Every Day a Little Death” stuck in her head.
“I would see friends at auditions and whatnot, and having been awake since like 4 or 5 a.m., they’d ask me how I’m doing,” she said.
German ballet director issues apology over feces attack
February 14, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A German ballet director issued a public apology on Tuesday for smearing dog feces on the face of a newspaper critic whose reviews he had taken exception to.
Marco Goecke was suspended from his post as ballet chief at the Hannover state opera following the weekend incident.
Jodie Comer named best actress at UK’s WhatOnStage awards
February 13, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — “Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer was named best actor at London’s WhatsOnStage awards, were female performers dominated newly gender-neutral acting categories.
Comer won for her performance as a lawyer dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault in one-person show “Prima Facie,” which is due to open on Broadway in April.
Hasty Pudding fetes Bob Odenkirk as its 2023 Man of the Year
February 3, 2023 GMTCAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Award-winning actor and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk was feted Thursday as 2023 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals, which included a roast during which he donned a pink dress over his clothes.
Better call Bob Odenkirk Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year
January 19, 2023 GMTCAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Award-winning actor, writer and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk, perhaps best known as shady lawyer Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad" and “Better Call Saul,” was named 2023 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals on Thursday.
David Byrne’s next Broadway show will be ‘Here Lies Love’
January 12, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — David Byrne's “American Utopia” may have left Broadway but the Talking Heads leader is plotting a return — with disco.
A lion roars on Broadway as box office hauls reveal winners
January 4, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — It was feast or famine at the Broadway box office as 2022 wound down, with eye-popping revenue for popular shows — including a staggering new Broadway record for “The Lion King” — not lifting all strugglers.
Tony Award-winner, Chicago stage champion Frank Galati dies
January 3, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Frank Galati, an actor, director, teacher and adapter who was a pivotal figure in Chicago's theater community and a two-time Tony Award winner, died Monday, according to Steppenwolf Theatre.
Ukrainian youth choir defies war with messages of freedom
December 10, 2022 GMTCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — From a dank Kyiv bomb shelter to the bright stage lights of Europe's theaters, a Ukrainian youth choir's hymns in praise of freedom offer a kind of healing balm to its war-scarred members.
‘The Lion King’ hits a key milestone in its circle of life
November 16, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — In the summer of 1997, audiences in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre saw something no one had ever seen before: leaping antelopes, fluttering birds and elephants lumbering through the orchestra seats.
From Wordle to sweets, holiday gift ideas for the grown-ups
November 15, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Adults. They, too, need fun stuff for the holidays.
From sweet treats to things with wheels, some ideas for pleasing a child at heart this holiday season:
R.E.M., Blondie, Snoop Dogg get nods for Songwriters Hall
November 14, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Adams, R.E.M., Blondie, Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Heart and The Doobie Brothers are among the nominees for the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame, part of a dazzling list of talented acts who left their mark on country, pop, rap, Broadway, post-punk, Latin and New Jack Swing.
Bob Fosse’s ‘Dancin’” confirms Broadway return this spring
November 10, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Bob Fosse's all-singing, all-dancing 1978 revue “Dancin'” is headin' back to Broadway and the late choreographer's daughter calls “a magic carpet ride.”
“Everything is in it,” Nicole Fosse tells The Associated Press.
Review: In ‘The Fabelmans,’ Spielberg looks back in vanity
November 8, 2022 GMTA movie by one of Hollywood's most successful directors that's based on his early life begins, appropriately enough, at a movie theater and ends in a movie back lot.
“The Fabelmans” is clearly a very personal film for Steven Spielberg and it's as much a coming-of-age journey as a form of expensive therapy with John Williams offering lovely mood music.
Japanese Kabuki star wants to reach younger, global audience
November 4, 2022 GMTTOKYO (AP) — A Japanese Kabuki star who recently assumed a prestigious stage name said Friday he wants to preserve the traditional art while adopting a new approach, including by collaborating with artists from other genres around the world as he seeks to attract younger audiences.
Emerging playwrights get a boost in Terrence McNally’s honor
November 3, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — If it was show time at any of the city's myriad off-Broadway theaters, audience members could likely expect to see a theatrical giant in their midst — playwright Terrence McNally.
McNally had a five-night-a-week habit of stopping into small theaters far from the bright lights of Broadway to support emerging playwrights, recalled his husband, producer Tom Kirdahy.
Team picked to make ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ into stage musical
October 13, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — “A Wrinkle in Time,” the classic sci-fi coming-of-age tale celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, has been adapted into a film, a TV movie, opera, several plays and a graphic novel.
Andrew Lloyd Webber to transfer his ‘Cinderella’ to Broadway
October 3, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Lloyd Webber is saying goodbye to his last remaining show on Broadway and welcoming another.
The musical theater icon announced Monday that his retooled version of “Cinderella” will land in New York at the Imperial Theatre in February with new songs, a new leading lady and a new title.
Do the ‘Time Warp’ again — ‘Rocky Horror’ show will travel
September 29, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Grab your toilet paper. Bring a flashlight. Don't forget a newspaper — or your fishnets.
A touring, interactive version of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is hitting the road to celebrate the cult film's birthday with screenings, live shadow casts, the invitation to be inappropriate and one of its original stars — Barry Bostwick.
TV hit ‘Peaky Blinders’ expands story through dance show
September 26, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — Steven Knight looks astounded, almost lost for words. He’s just watched contemporary dance company Rambert run through scenes from the first act of their “Peaky Blinders” production, based on the hit TV show that he wrote and created.
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ to close on Broadway next year
September 16, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — “The Phantom of the Opera” — Broadway’s longest-running show — is scheduled to close in February 2023, the biggest victim yet of the post-pandemic softening in theater attendance in New York.
Rapper-actor Common to make his Broadway debut in November
September 16, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Rapper and actor Common will make his Broadway debut this fall in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Between Riverside and Crazy.”
The Oscar-, Emmy-, and Grammy Award-winner will join actors Stephen McKinley Henderson, Elizabeth Canavan, Liza Colón-Zayas, Victor Almanzar, Michael Rispoli and Rosal Colón — who all premiered the work off-Broadway in 2015.
Meet Little Amal: A puppet celebrating New York City’s roots
September 15, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — New York City's latest celebrity visitor is stopping traffic even in this jaded, larger-than-life town.
Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee, is on a 17-day blitz through every corner of the Big Apple as part of a theater project hoping to raise awareness about immigration.
Broadway theater renamed in honor of James Earl Jones
September 13, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The newly restored Cort Theatre on Broadway has been renamed after James Earl Jones, becoming the second theater on the Great White Way named after a Black artist.
During Monday's ceremony included Norm Lewis singing “Go the Distance,” Brian Stokes Mitchell singing “Make Them Hear You” and words from Mayor Eric Adams, Samuel L.
Emmys Latest | Winners dance and dine at Governors Gala
September 13, 2022 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the Emmy Awards (all times local):
9:20 p.m.
Newly minted Emmy winners made their first party stop at the Governors Gala.
Trans actor Angelica Ross to make history on Broadway
September 8, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The fictional character Roxie Hart has many awful attributes — she's adulterous, narcissistic, scheming, manipulating and murderous. Next week she'll also be something unexpected: Inspirational.
You can’t rain on Lea Michele’s parade at ‘Funny Girl’
September 2, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Lea Michele was 21 when she first saw “Funny Girl.” She was starring on Broadway in “Spring Awakening,” but all was not well in her personal life.
“I had just gone through a horrible breakup," she recalls.
Bob LuPone, who helped lead MCC Theater, has died at 76
August 28, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Bob LuPone, who as an actor earned a Tony Award nomination in the original run of “A Chorus Line” and played Tony Soprano’s family physician, and also helped found and lead the influential off-Broadway theater company MCC Theater for almost 40 years, has died.
Met Opera drops vaccine requirement, still mandates masks
August 23, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera is dropping its vaccination requirement for audiences next season but still will mandate the wearing of masks.
The decision announced Tuesday differentiates the Met from Broadway theaters, which loosened restrictions in July by making mask-wearing optional.
Rock icon Melissa Etheridge announces solo off-Broadway show
August 15, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Rocker Melissa Etheridge has found a new stage: The Grammy- and Oscar-winner will unveil a solo show mixing her music and stories off-Broadway.
“Melissa Etheridge: My Window – A Journey Through Life” will play 12 performances only starting Oct.
US soprano, offended by blackface, pulls out of Italy opera
July 16, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — Soprano Angel Blue says she won’t perform in an opera in Italy this month because blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage.
The U.S. singer posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out of “La Traviata” at Verona’s Arena this month because the theater recently mounted another Giuseppe Verdi opera, “Aida,” that had performers in blackface.
New this week: ‘Black Bird,’ Lizzo and ‘The Rehearsal’
July 11, 2022 GMTHere’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— Jane Austen’s last completed novel “Persuasion” gets a fresh spin from British theater director Carrie Cracknell.
Larry Storch, zany Cpl. Agarn on TV’s ‘F Troop,’ dies at 99
July 8, 2022 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — Larry Storch, the rubber-faced comic whose long career in theater, movies and television was capped by his “F Troop” role as zany Cpl. Agarn in the 1960s spoof of Western frontier TV shows, died Friday.
British theater, film director Peter Brook dies at age 97
July 3, 2022 GMTLONDON (AP) — Peter Brook, a British theater and film director known for an influential and distinguished career which saw him garner worldwide acclaim, has died. He was 97.
The two-time Tony Award winner, who had settled in France decades ago, directed the film adaptations of his best stage works as well as the 1963 movie “Lord of the Flies.”
Broadway’s ‘MJ’ gets a box office bump after the Tony Awards
June 22, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — “MJ,” the hit-filled Broadway musical about the King of Pop, got a huge bump at the box office after nabbing four Tony Awards and getting valuable exposure in front of millions during its electric telecast performance.
James Rado, who co-created groundbreaking ‘Hair,’ dies at 90
June 22, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — James Rado, co-creator of the groundbreaking hippie musical “Hair,” which celebrated protest, pot and free love and paved the way for the sound of rock on Broadway, has died. He was 90.
Cruise ship with Broadway stars to steam off in spring 2023
June 21, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The maiden voyage of a cruise ship starring a boatload of musical theater stars — like Tony Award-winners Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming and Lena Hall — will set sail next spring.
NBA Finals, Jan. 6 hearing lead ABC to ratings win
June 14, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — ABC was the top-rated television network last week largely behind the NBA Finals, and its news division won bragging rights for the first prime-time hearing of the congressional committee investigating the Jan.
‘A Strange Loop’ makes history at Tonys; ‘Company’ wins 5
June 13, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — “A Strange Loop,” an irreverent, sexually frank work about Blackness and queerness took home the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on Sunday, as voters celebrated Broadway’s most racially diverse season by choosing an envelope-pushing Black voice.
Philip Baker Hall, of ‘Hard Eight,’ ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 90
June 13, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Philip Baker Hall, the prolific character actor of film and theater who starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's first movies and who memorably hunted down a long-overdue library book in “Seinfeld,” has died.
Tony Moments: A night for Broadway to reclaim its groove
June 13, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Surely many in the audience were thinking it, but “Company” director Marianne Elliott said it most directly at Sunday's Tony awards: In the devastating two years since the pandemic hit, it “felt at times that live theater was endangered.”
Tonys Latest | ‘A Strange Loop’ wins for best new musical
June 13, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the Tony Awards (all times local):
11 p.m.
“A Strange Loop,” an utterly unforgettable, idiosyncratic trip into one man’s psyche, has won the best new musical Tony Award, beating more commercial fare.
‘Shine the light’: Ariana DeBose talks hosting Tony Awards
June 9, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Tony Award host and theater veteran Ariana DeBose says this year's telecast will spread its arms wider than just Broadway's stars and celebrate the unsung heroes like understudies and swings who kept shows open during the pandemic restart.
Kyiv theater reopens, plays sell out: `You continue living’
June 7, 2022 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A theater in Ukraine’s capital reopened over the weekend for the first time since Russian forces invaded the country, and tickets quickly sold out.
Theater on Podil was the latest cultural institution in Kyiv to resume operations.
On Broadway, more visibility, yes, but also an unseen threat
June 6, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — At a lunch for Tony Award nominees last month, veteran theater producer Ron Simons looked around and smiled.
Q&A: Moisés Kaufman reflects on the roots of our divisions
June 3, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Seven years ago, Moisés Kaufman was approached to direct the Broadway musical “Paradise Square” and, after reading it, he immediately said yes.
Prize-winning Texas drama teacher to get special Tony Award
June 2, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The special Tony Award that honors educators will go to a drama teacher in Texas who argues that “musical theater has a unique way of bringing people together.”
Roshunda Jones-Koumba, the theater director at G.W.