Ken Mandelbaum is an American

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

, and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

by his parents and grandparents at an early age. He initially pursued an acting career, studying with

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. A member of Yiddish Theater's Adler dynasty, Adler began acting at a young age. She shifted to producing, directing, and teaching, founding the ...

and performing at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, within the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The current Broadway theater, completed in 1972, i ...

and the

Provincetown Playhouse The Provincetown Playhouse is a historic theatre at 133 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and 4th streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for the Provincetown Players, who converted the forme ...

. In 1986, he began writing for ''Show Music'' magazine and the '' New York Native'', and the following year he joined the staff of '' TheaterWeek''. He was a frequent contributor to ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

'' and wrote a regular column for Broadway.com until 2006. Before his career as a theatre writer, he was a teacher in New York public schools. He is the author of ''A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett'' (

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

, 1989, ) and ''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'' (St. Martin's Press, 1992, ). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called ''Not Since Carrie'' a "must read", saying, "Mr. Mandelbaum hits all the highlights, everything from ''Breakfast at Tiffany'''s,' starring

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

as Holly Golightly, to last season's ''Shogun: The Musical''. Mr. Mandelbaum also takes a good swipe at ''Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge''."

References

External links

Interview, December 29, 2003
American male journalists American columnists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Writers from Brooklyn {{US-journalist-20thC-stub