Talkin' Broadway

Talkin' Broadway
Name	Talkin' Broadway
Type	Theatre criticism and news website
Language	English
Founded	1995
Founder	David L. Cummings
Country	United States
Current status	Active

Talkin' Broadway is an online magazine devoted to musical theatre and plays, offering reviews, interviews, features, and archival material. Launched in 1995, it has published criticism and reporting on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, and touring productions, engaging readers interested in the work of playwrights, composers, directors, and performers. The site has served as a resource for scholars, critics, and fans tracking productions from development through awards seasons.

History

Talkin' Broadway was founded amid the rise of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, during a period marked by the emergence of online arts journalism alongside print outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Variety (magazine). Its inception coincided with major Broadway seasons featuring works by Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kander and Ebb, and Stephen Schwartz (composer), and with revivals of plays by Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Eugene O'Neill. The site expanded coverage as digital distribution evolved with organizations like Internet Archive and platforms such as AOL and Yahoo!. Over time it documented award cycles including the Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the Drama Desk Awards, and tracked productions associated with institutions such as the Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and National Theatre (London).

Content and Features

Talkin' Broadway provides reviews, feature articles, interviews, production listings, and archival reviews of premieres, revivals, and tours, frequently discussing productions involving figures like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, Julie Taymor, and Tom Stoppard. The site publishes critical responses to performances by actors such as Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, and Bernadette Peters and examines design work by designers including Julie Taymor and Santo Loquasto. Features address music by Jonathan Larson, Jason Robert Brown, Alan Menken, and Maury Yeston (composer), and directorial approaches from artists like Michael Greif and Oskar Eustis. The archives include coverage of festivals and institutions including New York Theatre Workshop, Public Theater (New York City), Royal Shakespeare Company, and regional venues such as Arena Stage and Yale Repertory Theatre. The site also follows touring productions from companies such as 2nd Stage Theater and commercial operators like Nederlander Organization and Shubert Organization.

Contributors and Editorial Staff

The editorial operation has involved critics, editors, and correspondents who have written about playwrights including August Wilson, Tony Kushner, David Mamet, and Edward Albee and composers like George Gershwin and Cole Porter. Contributors have reported on productions starring performers such as Liza Minnelli, Zero Mostel, Alison Fraser, and Chita Rivera and on creative teams featuring choreographers like Bob Fosse and Susan Stroman. Editorial processes reference standards familiar to journalists at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and critics associated with outlets including Time Out New York, The Guardian, and The New Yorker. The site has included freelance reviewers, staff editors, and volunteer archivists who coordinate coverage of premieres at venues such as Gershwin Theatre, Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and festivals like Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Influence and Reception

Talkin' Broadway has been cited by scholars, journalists, and theatre practitioners in discussions of production history, critical reception, and the contemporary American musical, alongside scholarship from institutions such as Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, and New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Critics and historians referencing the site have compared its coverage with that of publications like Playbill, American Theatre (magazine), and Backstage (magazine). Its reviews have intersected with award season discourse involving the Tony Awards, Olivier Awards, and Drama Desk Awards, and its archives have been used in research on figures from Ethel Merman to Merrily We Roll Along collaborators. Reception among readers has ranged from professional critics to theatre audiences tracking transfers to the West End and national tours.

Business Model and Distribution

Originally operated on low-overhead web hosting with charitable and volunteer support, the site adapted to changing online revenue models including banner advertising, subscription and donation appeals, and partnerships with theatre organizations and ticketing services such as Telecharge and Ticketmaster. Distribution relies on search engines, social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, email newsletters, and syndication or citation by aggregators alongside portals such as Playbill and BroadwayWorld. The editorial independence of contributors has been foregrounded to distinguish critical commentary from promotional content associated with producers like Disney Theatrical Group and commercial producers represented by the League of American Theatres and Producers.

Notable Coverage and Archives

The site's archives preserve contemporaneous reviews and features on landmark productions including early coverage of shows by Lin-Manuel Miranda and longform pieces on revivals of works by Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Kern. It maintains historical reviews of premieres and revivals at theaters such as Guthrie Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia), and the Goodman Theatre. The archives have cataloged runs starring artists from Al Pacino to Dame Judi Dench and documented transfers between Off-Broadway venues and commercial houses like Circle in the Square. Scholars and enthusiasts consult the collection for timelines of productions, cast lists, and contemporaneous critical reaction to works tied to awards like the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and commercial successes on the West End and Broadway.

Category:Theatre websites