30Nov

Broadway’s “Kinky Boots” Teaches the Value of Acceptance and Diversity

kinkyboots

It's a new day. With the recent election, there is more of a need for acceptance and diversity than ever.  It hasn't been an easy few weeks for so many of us as we grapple with a new administration that defies everything we believe in. Much of our inherent beliefs and the basis of what our Constitution stands for are on the line. And this is where Broadway's Kinky Boots comes into play. It's a show that pushes the very idea of acceptance and diversity, and that is what our entire nation needs to do. We need to accept everyone for who they are - Read More

10Nov

Guest Post: Review of Odd Squad: LIVE!

odd squad

How do you make your child, who detests math, tolerate the subject and even participate enthusiastically in solving math problems? You can record Odd Squad on PBS and encourage them be part of the team combatting the villain or if you want them to surprise you and solve math problems enthusiastically, take them to watch the play Odd Squad: LIVE!  If your child loves solving math problems, they will be in heaven. Odd Squad: LIVE! , Is a high-tech agency run by kids equipped with the world’s most advanced and unpredictable gadgetry (some of the kids can Read More

02Sep

Guest Post: Review of Off-Broadway’s Stomp

STOMP-off broadway

Guest writer Liat Ginsberg is a mother and former journalist for the Israeli newspaper, Maariv. She has taught at the Film and Media Department at Hunter College. When your kids take pots and pans out of the kitchen cabinets and you think, “No, not again. I had enough of this horrible banging noise.” The show Stomp will give them even more legitimacy to drive you crazy and tell you, “Why can’t we do it? You are killing our creativity!” Also throw into the mix: Zippo lighters, push brooms, wooden poles, hammer handles, garbage cans, inner Read More

27Jul

Review & Giveaway: Cirque du Soleil Paramour on Broadway

Director: Philippe DecoufleArtistic Guide: Jean-Francois BouchardAssociate Creative Director: Pascale HenrotAssociate Creative Director and Scene Director: West HylerComposer: Bob & BillSet Designer: Jean RabasseChoreographer: Daphne MaugerCostume

When I was invited to experience Cirque du Soleil Paramour, the organization’s first created specifically for Broadway at the Lyric Theatre (213 West 42nd Street), I was intrigued. As a big fan of the franchise, I've seen multiple performances, some I've loved more than others. After a visit to Las Vegas last year, I experienced the first Cirque that did not appeal to me at all (Criss Angel Believe), and it dawned on me that not all of the Cirque experiences would actually appeal to me. So I wondered what a Broadway version would be like. I was Read More

03Jul

A Night Out at Feinstein’s/54 Below

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Last week my mother and I experienced a very special night out in New York City, the city I have come to call home since moving up here in the 1990s. A Broadway fanatic since the minute I arrived here, I think I have been seeking a night club that celebrates its music and vibe for a very long time. Feinstein's/54 Below is the answer to my prayers. Located in the heart of midtown, it's a cabaret and restaurant in New York City owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel and has hosted shows by such notable Read More

15Jun

Camp Broadway: On Raising a Theater Goer

Campbroadwayrehearsal

When I was growing up in Atlanta, I must have acquired a love for theater very young. I'm not sure how it happened, living in a culturally void waste land (for the most part), but I found community theater and embraced it. I went to a summer camp where we put on a play one summer (Fiddler on the Roof), I starred in a production I Never Saw Another Butterfly), I went to a performing arts high school much like the one in the movie/TV show Fame (except no one danced on the table) and my mom took me to countless national touring productions from The Sound of Read More

10Jun

Guest Post: Review of That Physics Show

Guest writer Liat Ginsberg is a mother and former journalist for the Israeli newspaper, Maariv. She has taught at the Film and Media Department at Hunter College. If you hated physics in your childhood and were struggling to stay awake in class, and you think your kids are showing the same genetic traces, here is an opportunity to fix that and learn about it. Or if you already love physics, then That Physics Show is definitely a show for you and your family. That Physics Show is based on the hundreds of physics experiments in classrooms across the Read More

08Jun

Review: ON YOUR FEET! on Broadway

onyourfeet

When I was invited to see ON YOUR FEET!, a a new Broadway musical based on the life of  Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio, I wasn't quite sure what to think. While I respect the artist and have known her music most of my life, I wasn't sure how her tale would translate to the Broadway stage. So, intrigued but apathetic, I took my seats one evening, alongside my mother, at the Marquis Theatre, to see what the show was about. What interested me most was the fact that the musical features a Latin cast, furthering this season's increased diversity in Read More

16May

Guest Post: Review of The Pied Piper at NYC’s New Victory Theater

VictorySocial_1

Guest writer Liat Ginsberg is a mother and former journalist for the Israeli newspaper, Maariv. She has taught at the Film and Media Department at Hunter College. There are very few plays that kids and adults will enjoy at the same time. The Pied Piper, which recently ended its run at the New Victory Theater, is one of them. Even if the you and the kids know the story by heart, it was still fascinating to witness the display of 410 handcrafted marionettes, including 300 ravenous rats, who were brought to life by 11 puppeteers. All the marionettes are Read More

07May

Review: Something Rotten, a Musical “Tribute” to Shakespeare

somthingrotten

I have one question about Something Rotten, a Broadway show that just celebrated its one year anniversary. What took me so long????? The play celebrates everything I love more than life - Shakespeare, musicals, dancing, comedy and a superb cast that includes two of my favorite Broadway/screen actors, Brian d'Arcy James and Christian Borle. James is leaving in a few weeks, and I feel grateful to have seen him play Nick Bottom, Shakespeare's nemesis who vows to keep up with this arch rival. He's one of my favorite actors and he plays the role with Read More