Ken mandelbaum- Page 2

[me2]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 8:58pm

Count me in the miss category. I really learned a lot from his columns.
Broadway Blog: Miss Saigon, Sixteen Years Later (and 50 Amazing Broadway Performers)

[Piercemn]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 9:02pm

It's my understanding that, after years of people asking him to do so, he's writing the sequel to Not Since Carrie.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 9:30pm

I certainly hope that's true. Mandelbaum is--even above Frank Rich--my most respected and admired theater scholar. His columns were just a gift to read and his reviews were always reliable. I always enjoyed that he wasn't afraid to recognize good new talent (his thoughts on Sherie Rene Scott's admirable acting were always on-spot as well as his reviews of new show--at the time of his column--like GREY GARDENS and DESSA ROSE).
His inside knowledge never read like tabloid gossip like Riedel's juicy but trashy column, and unlike most other critics or scholars, his information and comment was infallible. I look forward to reading his next book if he is indeed working on one.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 11:50pm

Piercemn, I would love if this were true! Where did you hear that?

[JMVR]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 11:04am

"obviously has no musical training, and in my opinion, no one without musical training can be qualified to talk, much less write about MUSICAL theater"

Fenchurch I could not disagree with you more.

Many, many people who write and post about the musical theater have no musical training. And yet, having seen all kinds of shows for many, many years, reading a lot about the genre's history and evolution, knowing many backstage trivia tidbits and having extensive knowledge of the theater all would qualify someone to provide interesting insights, whether in casual conversation or in writing.

Do you have any training in world economics, domestic and international politics, health policy, law, or gastronomy? And yet I am sure you have talked about politics, current events, health and food with your friends or colleagues.

Finally, I don't recall Ken Mandelbaum ever trying to pass himself off as an expert in music.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 11:10am

COME ON, NOT THIS AGAIN.

[missthemountains]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 4:57am

Does anyone know what happened to him? I heard a rumor recently that he is AuroraSpiderwoman. A google search shows someone working in corporate America but I doubt it's him. I have to assume that he operates under a different name now. I wonder if there is any truth to the rumor that his career was cut short for getting caught bootlegging shows.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 8:30am

missthemountains said: "Does anyone know what happened to him? I heard a rumor recently that he is AuroraSpiderwoman. A google search shows someone working in corporate America but I doubt it's him. I have to assume that he operates under a different name now. I wonder if there is any truth to the rumor that his career was cut short for getting caught bootlegging shows."

Aurora is Ken, and yes the videography did have an impact on his work for theatre news outlets. He was not welcome at theatres (on Broadway and at Papermill, at least), and I suppose the outlets stopped engaging him as well. One of the prolific posters here knows Ken well. Perhaps we’ll hear from them but perhaps not. Either way, Ken’s reach continues to this day and we (and the box office, no question) are richer for it. 

I know theatre books don’t sell all that well, but I’m not sure why he didn’t keep writing them. Of course ideally you’d be commissioned before you write it, but as a creative person it may have been a way to still express himself and then shop a manuscript around even if no one had asked you to write it. Maybe there’s another on the way that we don’t know about.

What’s interesting is that he did it internationally. You couldn’t accuse him of being risk averse. The kids filming Heathers should gather round him like he’s Old Deuteronomy, and the producers who are now ‘allowing’ bootlegs for marketing purposes should shout an off-the-record Mea Culpa, especially if they were among those who exiled him 20 years ago. “Come back Ken, all is forgiven”.

Updated On: 7/28/25 at 08:30 AM

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 9:29am

He is very active on another social platform, posting content about once or twice a month. His most recent post was in June of the 2019 Regent’s Park production of Evita. I don’t know if he is AS, but I would hope people don’t spoil the fun for the rest of us. They both have some real treasures that I would hate to see go away. 

 

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 9:32am

There’s a second Aurora Spiderwoman type account too, isn’t there? With a very similar name, but instead of curated clips they post full archival/bootlegs like an eighties Evita.

I forget what that one is called, and I’d been trying to find it for a while.