Selected Articles
The Unsung Woman Behind 'Funny Girl'
June 21, 2022
For Hey Alma:
Before there was Beanie, or even Barbra, there was Isobel.
Isobel Lennart was the unsung woman behind “Funny Girl.” She wrote the original story, the book for the Broadway musical and the screenplay for the film adaptation. She was an ambitious and funny Jewish woman whose best-known work was about an ambitious and funny Jewish woman, but her achievements have been virtually forgotten in musical theatre history.
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A chance meeting between Delia Ephron and Julianna Margulies begat a subtly Jewish Broadway play
January 3, 2025
For NY Jewish Week: The “ER” star plays Ephron in “Left on Tenth,” a Broadway adaptation of the writer’s memoir of surviving cancer and getting a second chance at love.
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With Three Shows in One Season, Whitney White May Be the Busiest Director in NYC
November 5, 2024
For TDF Stages: The Tony nominee talks about helming 'Walden,' 'Liberation' and the Broadway premiere of 'The Last Five Years.'
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Why Lila Neugebauer Said Yes to Directing Three Shows at Once
February 1, 2024
Love, Loss and What Theresa Rebeck Wrote
September 14, 2023
For TDF Stages: The prolific playwright returns to the New York stage with back-to-back shows about trauma and healing
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How 'The Thanksgiving Play' Is a Cautionary Tale About Education
May 3, 2023
For TDF Stages: Playwright Larissa FastHorse and director Rachel Chavkin on why this show hits so hard right now.
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Making History By Making 'KPOP' Bops
November 23, 2022
Music Coordinators on Broadway
June 20, 2022
For Maestra: How are Broadway music coordinators becoming powerful tools for fostering equity instead of perpetuating the status quo?
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Stephanie Hsu on 'Be More Chill' and More
April 23, 2019
For The Interval: I recently spoke with Stephanie Hsu about the similarities and differences between experimental and commercial theatre, what playing Christine in 'Be More Chill' has taught her, and why she enjoys originating roles.
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An Interview with Lauren Ridloff
May 2, 2018
For The Interval: I recently sat down with Children of a Lesser God's Lauren Ridloff, as well as with her interpreter Candace Broecker-Penn, for a conversation on the ways in which Lauren relates to her character Sarah, how the play helps her empower her own children, and the importance of people truly listening to one another.
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Elizabeth Swados: A Legacy
June 27, 2016
For The Interval: Elizabeth Swados left behind an impressive theatrical legacy not only in terms of her shows, but also in how profoundly she impacted young people, and notably, the young women with whom she had worked.
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Jewish Women Left an Indelible Mark on Musical Theater
November 22, 2024
For Hey Alma: Jennifer Ashley Tepper’s new book “Women Writing Musicals" features the first lady of Yiddish theater and a co-writer of "Wicked."
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How One Theatre Company Is Fostering Empathy with Two Shows About Anti-Semitism
September 19, 2024
For TDF Stages: The urgency of Arlekin Players' back-to-back productions of 'Our Class' and 'The Merchant of Venice'
Why 'Harmony' Resonates So Deeply with Star Chip Zien
November 9, 2023
For TDF Stages: The stage veteran returns to Broadway in Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's musical about a real-life vocal ensemble destroyed by the Nazis.
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My Unfair Lady: Why Are Smart Women in Musicals Treated So Poorly By Men?
July 13, 2023
For TDF Stages: A personal essay exploring why intelligent, ambitious women deserve better musical theatre role models.
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She Danced for Fosse, Now She's Updating Him
March 16, 2023
For TDF Stages: After performing in the original production, Kirsten Childs returns to 'Bob Fosse's Dancin' in a new role: writer.
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Jodi Picoult and the Team Behind 'Between the Lines' Reflect on the Power of Female Voices in Theater
August 5, 2022
For TheaterMania: Cast and creative team members discuss what it means to tell stories by women and about women at this moment in time.
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Describing How Art Feels and Checking Bias: My Week at Virtual Critics Camp
July 28, 2020
For American Theatre: If the work of criticism is engaging empathetically with the world, the work is never done, as this year’s Zoom-only National Critics Institute affirmed.
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Kate Baldwin on "Superhero," Developing New Musicals, and More
March 25, 2019
For The Interval: I recently sat down with two time Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin for a conversation about her approach to the character of Charlotte in "Superhero," why working on new musicals is a deep emotional investment, and what ambition means to her.
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From Anatevka to “Rags”: Judy Kuhn and Samantha Massell
November 17, 2017
For The Interval: I recently spoke with former "Fiddler" mother and daughter Judy Kuhn and Samantha Massell about their respective experiences working on the original Broadway production of "Rags" and on the current revisal at the Goodspeed Opera House.
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With Their Broadway Debut, They Finally Got Their Happy Ending
November 13, 2024
For TDF Stages: Will Aronson and Hue Park on the incredible cross-cultural journey of 'Maybe Happy Ending.'
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‘Suffs’ Director Leigh Silverman on Bringing Her Jewish Values and Activism to Broadway
May 6, 2024
For Hey Alma: An Interview with two-time Tony Award nominee and 'Suffs' director Leigh Silverman.
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Why Female Playwrights Are Reimagining Arthur Miller's Work
October 27, 2023
For TDF Stages: How 'Death of a Salesman' and 'The Crucible' are inspiring a slew of new feminist plays.
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How Hal Prince's Spirit Helped Beowulf Boritt with the Set for 'New York, New York'
June 2, 2023
For TDF Stages: The Tony-winning scenic designer talks about how he made it through his busiest Broadway season ever
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Micaela Diamond’s Jewishness Shines Through in ‘Parade’
March 15, 2023
For Hey Alma: In the Broadway musical opening this week, Diamond's Lucille Frank struggles to reconcile her Jewish and Southern identities.
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The Unsung Jewish Woman Behind 'Funny Girl'
June 21, 2022
For Hey Alma: Before Beanie or Babs, there was Isobel Lennart. It's time to reclaim her legacy.
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Why Do We Reduce 'Little Women’s March Sisters to Types?
February 7, 2020
For Women and Hollywood: Ever since 'Little Women' was published in 1868, critics struggled to view the March sisters as fully actualized young women, instead of dolls to typecast.
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Season of the Female Music Director
December 17, 2018
For The Interval: Over the past three months, I’ve interviewed music directors, ranging from well-established to early career. Many spoke of the challenges they’ve faced, but they were also fairly optimistic about the direction in which the industry is headed, and interested in attempts to right the systemic wrongs of gender bias within theatre.
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Lillian Hellman’s Regina Giddens: The Theatre’s Original “Nasty Woman”
June 9, 2017
For The Interval: Nearly 80 years after "Little Foxes" debuted, the play is still fighting to prove its worth. Just as there is no male equivalent for “bitch,” there seems to have historically been no real equivalent critical response to similarly strong, complex female characters in plays by men.
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