Michael Riedel (born December 24, 1966) is an American theatre critic, conservative broadcaster, and columnist. He is the co-host of "

Len Berman Leonard Berman (born June 14, 1947) is an American television sportscaster and journalist who is based in New York City. He is currently hosting the morning show on WOR-AM along with Michael Riedel. Berman is widely known for his television ...

and Michael Riedel in the Morning" on 710 WOR in New York City, weekdays 6-10am. Riedel has been a controversial and influential Broadway columnist of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' for over 20 years. Riedel's book ''Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway'' won the 2015 Marfield Prize for arts writing and is widely considered to be the successor to ''The Season'',

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...

's classic 1967 book about Broadway. His second book, ''Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway'', was published by

Avid Reader Press Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, a division of

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, on November 10, 2020. Riedel's skewering of Broadway shows and personalities in his column have made him a controversial and often feared figure on the New York theater scene. He has been called "the terrible infant of the New York press".

Early life and education

Riedel was born on December 24, 1966, and grew up in

Geneseo, New York Geneseo is a town in Livingston County in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. It is at the south end of the five-county Rochester Metropolitan Area. The population of the town was 10,483 at the 2010 census. The English name ...

. His father was the athletic director for

SUNY Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The colle ...

and his mother was a grade-school librarian. He has been described as a "smart, sarcastic kid" who joined the

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

at 12 and originally planned to become a lawyer and politician. He initially enrolled at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, but transferred after a year to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. While at Columbia, he acted in plays and regularly appeared on a radio show devoted to musical theater. The summer after his sophomore year, he interned for Liz McCann while she was producing the Broadway production of ''

Les liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...

''. In 1989, he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

with a BA in History.

Career

After graduating from Columbia, Riedel served as Managing Editor of the now-defunct '' TheaterWeek'' magazine, which he attempted to make more literary by hiring highly respected theater figures such as critic

Eric Bentley Eric Russell Bentley (September 14, 1916 – August 5, 2020) was a British-born American theater critic, playwright, singer, editor, and translator. In 1998, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the New ...

to write articles. He stayed friends with Bentley until the latter's death in 2020. In 1993, he was hired as a gossip columnist for ''The Daily News'' and subsequently launched his now-famous column reporting the latest news and speculation about the Broadway theater scene. In 1998, he moved his column to the ''New York Post'', where he remains today. In September 2015, the Post announced that it was cutting the column from two columns a week to one. Riedel said of the change: "I'm happy about the changes. It's all part of a redesign of the features pages. If there's any 'breaking news,' I'll get it on the website and in the paper the next day."Viagas, Robert
"Controversial Columnist Michael Riedel Says He's "Happy" With Changes at NY Post"
Playbill, September 30, 2015 Riedel's Wednesday column was reinstated in the paper in 2016 after advertisers complained of its absence.

David Leveaux controversy

In 2005, Riedel was the subject of considerable press himself when he was in an altercation with English director

David Leveaux David Leveaux (born 13 December 1957)this source shows 195filmreference.com. Retrieved 9 May 2009 is a British theatre director who has been nominated for five Tony Awards as director of both plays and musicals. He directs in the UK, working at ...

at the Manhattan theater hangout Angus McIndoe. Riedel, who later admitted to being "tipsy," insulted Leveaux by claiming that English directors often ruin classic American musicals. While rumors circulated that Leveaux hit Riedel so hard that the columnist had to go to the emergency room, the truth is that Riedel was merely shoved to the floor and was not injured.

Cultural references

Riedel also appeared regularly on the "

Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octobe ...

" program, "The Mark Simone Show", " The Mike Gallagher Show" and

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

', " Red Eye". Riedel played a version of himself in several episodes of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

musical drama ''Smash''. In view of his notorious reputation as a theater columnist, Riedel was referred to as a "Napoleonic little Nazi" in the premiere episode of the on February 6, 2012. He later made cameo appearances in three episodes: *" Hell on Earth" *" The Fallout" *"The Nominations" In 2016, Riedel appeared on

John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He first rose to prominence for his work as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2013, where he contributed to numerous ...

and

Nick Kroll Nicholas Kroll (born June 5, 1978) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for creating and starring in the Comedy Central series '' Kroll Show'', ''The Oh, Hello Show'', the FX comedy series ''The L ...

's comedy show '' Oh, Hello on Broadway''. Riedel was mentioned in the opening song at the

71st Tony Awards The 71st Annual Tony Awards were held on June 11, 2017, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2016–17 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS.Viagas, Robert"Bre ...

performed by host

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

References

External links