James Sims

Broadway

  • 2011 Tony Awards Predictions

    2011 Tony Awards Predictions

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    James Sims

    It’s that time of year again. The Tony Awards are nearly upon the Broadway community, although this time they moved a bit uptown, to the Beacon Theatre. While the ceremony won’t be in the grand Radio City Music Hall, the statuettes hold the same value. I’ve decided to weigh in with my picks for a…

  • ‘No Child…’ is a Dream Deferred Off-Broadway

    ‘No Child…’ is a Dream Deferred Off-Broadway

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    James Sims

    I first published this review on BroadwayWorld.com on March 13, 2008 following a performance of ‘No Child…’ at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.  This production is now running at the Barrow Street Theatre in New York City.

  • Creating the Sound of Catch Me If You Can

    Creating the Sound of Catch Me If You Can

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    James Sims

    During a recent performance of Broadway’s new musical Catch Me If You Can, audiences were treated to a special guest appearance, although it’s likely that nobody watching the show had any idea who was stepping into a role for a one-night stint.

  • Nick Adams Lands Priscilla

    Nick Adams Lands Priscilla

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    James Sims

    As Nick Adams left the stage following a matinee performance of Broadway’s La Cage aux Folles last year, he headed to his dressing room and discovered a voicemail message from his agent. He looked at one of his co-stars and said that he knew exactly what the message said.

  • West Side Story Brings New Flavor On The Road

    West Side Story Brings New Flavor On The Road

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    James Sims

    It started with a Colombian production of a Broadway classic. West Side Story, a beloved musical of both stage and screen, being sung entirely in Spanish. For the location, it was an obvious choice, but for New York City, not as much.

  • Peter Pan Crows Again With Disney Magic, Off-Broadway

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    James Sims

    Red hair. Green tights. Cap and feather. It’s a getup every child could recognize and quickly pick out as belonging to Peter Pan, that mischievous youth that never seems to grow up. He might be an English character, penned by a Scottish writer, but Peter Pan embodies a timeless personality, one that has remained the…

  • Ben Vereen Reflects on His Career Before Playing the Town Hall

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    James Sims

    “I can vividly remember Sammy single-handedly going around to gangs in Chicago asking them to keep the peace,” Vereen recalled of a time when the two were performing together. “He was a key mover, and I admired that about him.”

  • The Future of Playbills Rests in the iPad

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    James Sims

    Should Playbill, or any Broadway publication, be able to move beyond the mantra of “If you build it they will come,” and focus its energy on creating an interactive, visually appealing, and interesting to manipulate iPad publication, future theatergoers will have something to look forward to while attending a show. Not everything Broadway-related has to…

  • Stand-up Comedy is the Reality Television of Broadway

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    James Sims

    Broadway has a long history of staging one-person shows, from the storied Mark Twain Tonight created by Hal Holbrook, 700 Sundays starring Billy Crystal, and Lily Tomlin’s The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.

  • Broadway Gets One ‘Elf’ of a Christmas Present

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    James Sims

    Over the past few seasons Broadway patrons have been indulged with the likes of the musical “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” — it made multiple returns to the New York theatre scene — and last winter a touring production of “White Christmas.”