Jonathan Mandell on  the intersection of not-for-profit and commercial  theatre, and how to  affordably see  Broadway's best  of 2015. 

Jonathan Mandell asks artists at the Drama Desk Awards if theatre can change the world, and compiles their answers into a video.

Jonathan Mandell on Belarus Free Theatre's Trash Cuisine, playing through May 17 at La Mama ETC in New York City.

The author on three musicals that have opened on Broadway this season, all descended from movie musicals that the MGM movie studio made in the Technicolor era. 

Frequent contributor Jonathan Mandell considers the current condition of theatre criticism and theatre critics.

The question from TEDxBroadway 2015: What ideas about theatre can we learn from people who may never have been inside one?

There is a sense that this piece somehow transcends theatre even as it embodies it—or, as Hamilton puts it: “This is not a moment, it’s a movement.”

"Audience participation" is a vague term, like much of theatrical terminology; it has come to mean different things to different people... What happens when the audience participates by becoming performers—without volunteering to do so?

Some could argue that a play like Burq Off is not the right place to begin to understand the world of the Muslim Diaspora in Europe... But Manzoor herself provides some of that context, throwing statistics into her monologues almost as if her drama were a form of journalism.

Jonathan Mandell looks at the questions raised by stage-to-screen adaptations, and wonders what theatre can learn from these successes.

Could the theater offer to both theater artists and theatergoers a kind of substitute for the awe they felt as children towards a religion that they no longer can as readily accept intellectually or morally?

Are we free to gawk again? That’s what Broadway audiences are doing during the revival of The Elephant Man, one of several stage shows and television series that are bringing attention back to the freak show.

Jonathan Mandell takes a look at Broadway revivals about the theatre, contrasting them with a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author.

1.) Never wait for permission to practice your art. You cannot wait to get a job to be an artist. 2.) Study your art. Never stop studying. 3.) Find a spiritual practice that works for you.

Jonathan Mandell writes about the intimacy of Scenes From A Marriage, Love Letters, This is Our Youth, and I Am Me

Jonathan Mandell writes about the second Theater: Village Festival in NYC.

Jonathan Mandell covers the beginnings and career of playwright A.R. Gurney, as serveral of his plays are presented in New York's 2014-15 season. Mandell includes quotes from Gurney about Broadway, making old scripts work in new ways, and advice for young playwrights.

Jonathan Mandell writes about seven tropes of the NY Fringe Festival, highlighting productions which fit into the reoccuring genres.

Jonathan Mandell offers his opinions on dviersity in theatre. 

Jonathan Mandell looks at the 2013-2014 Broadway season and the six productions which featured men cross-dressing

Jonathan Mandell writes about the life of prolific costume designer Carrie Robbins, and her new ambitions as adaptor and playwright.

Jonathan Mandell looks at the phenomenon of "snubs" in theatre awards today and throughout history, touching on the complexities of nominating committees.

Jonathan Mandell overviews five eclectic works by Texas playwright Kirk Lynn.

Jonathan Mandell looks at reocurring devices and techniques of spectacle in Broadway productions.