Jan Simpson

One of the best things I've seen this summer is "Well, I'll Let You Go," so I was delighted to talk about the show with its playwright Bubba Weiler: bit.ly/stagecraft-b...

It makes sense for off-Broadway shows to perform in church spaces but they need to figure out how to deal with the unbalanced acoustics of those spaces, particularly when they have actors who haven’t been taught to project

Casting for the Broadway production of "The Notebook" was confusing with a young white Noah turning into an older black Noah and a young black Allie into an older white Allie but casting for the national tour sticks to one ethnicity for each character as they age through the stages of their lives

Thank you so much!

All the Drama | Substack Behind-the-scenes stories about the plays and musicals that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Click to read All the Drama, a Substack publication.

I’ve put together an archive of the episodes of my podcast series on Pulitzer Prize-winning plays and musicals on Substack; there's no fee and so I’ll hope you’ll subscribe: bit.ly/atd-substack

I am dying to read your book but in all honesty, I now do all of my reading on my iPad and I haven’t been able to find an e-version of your book

Theater Books for Summer Reading 2025 We’ve already had our first heat waves of the season—the temperature hit 101° in Central Park this past week!—which is a sure sign that summ...

Just posted my annual summer reading list:
broadwayandme.blogspot.com/2025/06/thea...

Stagecraft: Kelundra Smith on "The Wash" - BroadwayRadio The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. The Wash by Kelundra SmithDirec...

Really happy that I got to talk to my friend Kelundra Smith about her smart new play about a forgotten part of American history
broadwayradio.com/blog/2025/06...

25 Standout Looks at the 2025 Tony Awards Red Carpet There were colorful suits, a Bernadette Peters tribute, and gloriously embellished gowns.

One of the many things I loved about this year's Tonys is that the men came dressed to play just as much as the women: playbill.com/article/25-s...

All the Drama: "Lost in Yonkers", 1991 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama - BroadwayRadio All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: “Lost in Yonkers“1991 Pulitzer winner “Los...

I was so honored to have Neil Simon's longtime producer and good friend Manny Azenberg on the most recent episode of All The Drama, my podcast about the plays and musicals that have won the Pulitzer Prize, which this month focuses on Simon's 1991 winner "Lost in Yonkers": bit.ly/atd-lostinyo...

So happy that Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has finally won his Pulitzer Prize

Just back from the party celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Outer Critics Circle: free drinks, free food, lots and lots of great theater people. Who could ask for anything more...

It’s obviously not new (the Greeks did it!) but it seems that more and more shows are relying on characters—the daughter in Liberation, the son in Purpose, the grandson in We Had a World—to provide the context for what’s going on onstage and I can’t decide if that’s efficient or lazy storytelling

One of the best celebrity interviews I’ve read in a very long time

‘Just to see Tom Hiddleston would be enough!’ My eye-popping night with the fans who mob stage doors With London’s West End chockful of Hollywood A-listers, crowds are thronging stage doors. But do some fans go too far? We uncover a shadowy story of joyful adulation, gobby putdowns – and endless TikT...

This piece is London-based but “stage dooring” is becoming a big problem on Broadway too. And I fear it’s going to get even worse with all the movie and TV stars scheduled to do shows this spring:
www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/m...

One of my faves—on screen and onstage

YouTube video by CUNY TV 2025 Spring Theater Preview | THEATER: All the Moving Parts

Delighted to be starting off the month by looking ahead to the spring theater season on my pal Patrick Pacheco's show: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_jc...

Minneapolis theater group doubles down on DEI initiatives as federal funding is threatened The theater organization says it recently received orders from the National Endowment for the Arts to stop promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion or be denied federal funding.

Hoping that more theaters have the courage to do this:
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-li...

After Censorship, Santa Rosa Students Write Their Own Play — and Take the Gold | KQED A state festival awarded top honors to ‘REDACTED,’ which ruthlessly lampooned district officials.

It's so encouraging to see these young people standing up for art and free speech and being rewarded for doing so: www.kqed.org/arts/1397192...

I’ve nothing against Jimmy Fallon but I’m baffled by why he's getting a Sardi’s caricature after doing just one Broadway show (All In) for only five weeks when it used to take years to earn that honor.

Can Movie Stars Handle Greek Classics? London Is Finding Out. Sophocles is suddenly everywhere on the city’s stages. In concurrent shows, Rami Malek is playing Oedipus and Brie Larson is taking on Elektra.

Delighted to see the Brits doing the Greeks, which tend to have more central female characters than Shakespeare does but I don't know what to think of the post-modern directorial flourishes. I'm not advocating actors in bedsheets but isn't there anything in between:
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/t...

As Off Broadway Crews Unionize, Workers See Hope, Producers Peril (Gift Article) Workers say the move is overdue, but theater companies fear it will drive up costs in a wounded sector that has yet to recover from the pandemic.

I come from a strong pro-union family, making me naturally inclined to support the workers who are currently striking against the Atlantic Theater Company but this is a truly tough time for off-Broadway theaters. So I don't know who to root for here
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/t...

Yes!

Had dinner last night at the West Bank Café and am so happy and relieved to have it back, looking—and tasting—even better than it has in a long time and doing so at still reasonably affordable prices. BIG thanks to Tom and Michael D’Angora for rescuing it.

How the Roxies are made: Behind the iconic role in Broadway's megahit 'Chicago' The Broadway revival of “Chicago” has lasted for decades, in part thanks to casting celebrities in the top spots of a show about the venality of celebrity.

This fun piece almost makes me want to see CHICAGO yet again:
apnews.com/behind-the-i...

Stunned and saddened by the news of this coming Sunday’s abrupt closing of THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA

When my friend canceled at the last minute to see MCC’s SHIT. MEET. FAN. the person at the box office gave me a little slip of paper saying “Life Happens” that explained the company's policy of honoring the ticket at another performance if they have room. So thoughtful!

Old school here: Gypsy, 1776, Cabaret; and the newbie of Fun Home

Really enjoyed talking to playwright Jessica Goldberg about her play “Babe,” which the New Group is currently doing at the Signature Center: bit.ly/babeinterview

The American Songbook is back:
James Monroe Iglehart is Louis Armstrong in A WONDERFUL WORLD
Fictional crooner Gil Brentley serenades in MAYBE HAPPY ENDING
Jonathan Groff will be Bobby Darin for JUST IN TIME in April
Matt Doyle is doing a reading of SINATRA THE MUSICAL at the Apollo on Thursday