Cara Joy David

There is something in the legal world called "expectation damages" -- these are basically damages that represent the amount one would have obtained if a breach of contract had not occurred. This isn't a novel concept; almost everything in life is based on the gap between what you get and...

When Nice Work If You Can Get It opened, Jennifer Laura Thompson wasn't the focus of any review I read. But I'm going to do an entire column about her, because I can.

You see, there are very few people in the musical world that I find hilariously funny. I...

I'm very attached to Love, Loss and What I Wore. I don't think I've ever sent as many people to an off-Broadway show as I have to this Ephron sisters play. So it is with sadness that I reflect on its closing this weekend.

Of course, Love, Loss and What...

I have friends that are not really theater people. Shocking, I know. Not to say they hate the theater, but, they aren't joining me to see Raven-Symoné in Sister Act. The majority of them did want to see Shatner's World: We Just Live In It. My friends probably didn't think...

I was almost late to the theater Saturday night. Thanks to a ridiculous amount of traffic, I was still in a cab at 7:58 p.m. My mother, who was heading with me to see An Evening With Patti LuPone & Mandy Patinkin, was flipping out. (I opt for the calmer...

I love the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) yearly industry-only festival of new musicals. While I didn't have the chance to fully enjoy it this year, I appreciate and applaud the opportunity the festival affords writers and producers. To me it has always been about giving shows that...

I don't generally like revues or concerts. I like stories. So it is with a little bit of surprise and, well, shame, that I tell you the musical entertainment I am currently recommending to the most people is actually a concert. An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin is...

Longtime readers know my love of musicals. I greatly enjoy plays as well, but I have always believed there is something special about being able to sell a scene in which someone randomly breaks into song. So each year I head to the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) in...

The Addams Family will end its Broadway run at the end of 2011. It will give up the ghost (and will give its theater to Ghost) in December. However its closing notice should not overshadow the impact of Brooke Shields.

In a story last week, The New York Times' Patrick...

I am not sure I ever thought I'd be sitting at Lincoln Center seeing a "Korean, Broadway-style musical." I knew such a thing existed, but I wouldn't have thought I'd be seeing it in New York. Yet there I was on opening night, August 23, watching Hero: The Musical at...

It has been quite a month. First my phone lit up ala Bells Are Ringing when the Funny Girl casting was announced and then came last week's furor over the upcoming updated Porgy and Bess. If you haven't heard about the latter, last week there was a New York Times...

I am somewhat fascinated by the impact audience reviews have on Broadway shows. There have of course always been word-of-mouth hits and there always will be. But I don't personally know many people who select shows because of audience comments on The New York Times website or anything similar. Nevertheless,...

The appeal of Cirque du Soleil is pretty much beyond me. I like my shows with a comprehensible story. But there is no denying the unquestionable impressiveness of some of the famous Cirque stunts. And there is also no doubting that tons of people love Cirque du Soleil. The brand...

When the Tony Award nominations are announced this Tuesday, there won't be nominees announced for a Special Theatrical Event award. That is because last season the folks at the Tonys decided to retire the award.

This didn't strike me as the worst thing in the world -- I have never...

Years ago I wrote a story for The Forward about the many off-Broadway shows with the word "jew" in their titles (My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn and Jewtopia). The feature was...

Whenever I go to Los Angeles, I like to see theater. Some laugh when they hear this -- after all, L.A. is not exactly known as a theater town. But there are worthy things to see in the area. Both the Center Theater Group and the

We're heavy into the spring season. The flowers are blooming. Flops are already being declared (that's you, Catch Me If You Can). Artistic hits being promoted (clear your throat, War Horse). And I'm in a mood to both reflect and look forward.

Good People is good theater. Plain and...

The last five weeks have been bizarre ones in the theater. There was the quick meltdown and departure of a respected television star from a Tony winning revival. And the possible firing of a director -- who has been called visionary by more than a few -- from...

Lately part of me has wanted to give the Spider-Man producers a hand. They knew they needed help and they sought it, which is more than one can say for many Broadway producers. And Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was an inspired choice. But I cannot applaud the selection of Philip William McKinley....

It's often said that going too far down the rabbit hole may not be a good idea. One wonders if that is just what the producing team behind Wonderland has done. The buzz around town (among the people who aren't consumed solely by Spider-Man talk) is that the show, scheduled...