James Sims

James Sims

  • U2 Mix It Up For the Fans

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    James Sims

    U2 has never been a band to shy away from spectacle, from the blitzkrieg-like barrage of TV screens during the band’s Zoo TV tour in the early 1990s to the megalomania of the PopMart Tour, complete with a 100-foot-high golden McDonald’s-like arch, in 1997. Since kicking off a now 34-year career as one of the…

  • Recap of Academy Awards Live Tweets

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    James Sims

    The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are over and Hollywood is settling in for another year of blockbusters, indies and box office disasters. While the battle between ‘The Hurt Locker’ and ‘Avatar’ kept things interesting leading up to awards night, there was little drama on Sunday evening. ‘The Hurt Locker’ obliterated that sci-fi gargantuan that was…

  • HBO and its Logo Rule TV, and Space

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    James Sims

    In an age when television programming is scattered across what often seems like thousands of channels, the idea of one channel ruling them all is a joke. There was a time when the three networks, NBC, ABC and CBS commanded the airwaves, but those days are tucked away in the annals of TV history. Viewers…

  • ‘Time Stands Still,’ a Play for All Journalists

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    James Sims

    As if the reality of media layoffs and non-existant newspaper readerships wasn’t enough of a reason for journalists to take up drinking, along comes Broadway’s ‘Time Stands Still,’ a play focusing on the emotional breakdown of a war correspondent. Written by Donald Margulies and directed by Daniel Sullivan, ‘Time Stands Still’ touches on the always…

  • Fond Look Back at Pasadena Playhouse

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    James Sims

    While many New Yorkers stick their noses up at the thought of a “theatre scene” in Los Angeles, there is plenty of live theatre going on in the spread-out city. Some of it is actually worth watching. Having covered the Los Angeles theatre beat for a long while, it was always my hope to highlight…

  • Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to Co-Host Tonight Show?

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    James Sims

    After seemingly endless public fighting and controversy, Conan O’Brien is ready to depart NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show‘ with Friday night’s broadcast marking his final time hosting the legendary late-night program. First hosted by comedian Steve Allen in 1954, ‘The Tonight Show’ has seen many lead the talk show. From Allen and Jack Paar to the…

  • Opera Plays the Hayden Planetarium

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    James Sims

    It’s not often that my work as an entertainment and Broadway reporter crosses paths with my day job as the New Media Specialist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, so when I heard that an opera was going to be staged in the Museum’s Hayden Planetarium, I was excited to…

  • Broadway’s Ragtime Closes Proudly

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    James Sims

    Looking at the current Broadway season, both at shows that have already closed and upcoming productions, the most prevalent trend is star power. And by star, I don’t mean theatrical heavyweights like Ethel Merman, George M. Cohan or Bert Lahr — these names certainly mean little to nothing when it comes to the current theatregoing…

  • Bush Follies Brought Tudors to Broadway

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    James Sims

    With a new season of Showtime’s The Tudors coming up and Barack Obama now bogged down by controversial plans for Afghanistan, it seems appropriate to reflect on a recent trend that graced the Broadway stage over the past couple years. George W. Bush’s reign got Americans riled up, doubting their Commander-in-Chief’s decision-making abilities and crying…