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Tony Nominees 2023

Recommended for 12 + Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.

Some Like It Hot on Broadway - NYC

7 Some Like It Hot Credit Marc J Franklin

Some Like It Hot on Broadway

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“What are you thirsty for?” teases Sweet Sue, a brassy Prohibition-era bandleader, in the opening moment in [*Some Like It Hot*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/24262-some-like-it-hot-tickets). Well, since she asked, I’d like a new Broadway musical comedy that’s a bracing, fizzy cocktail garnished with a winning cast.

Happily, this lavish show based on the Oscar-winning 1959 Billy Wilder classic rom-com mostly delivers that. Screen-to-stage adaptations are always tricky endeavors, and this one scores points for not just tracing the source but turning up some fresh ideas of its own. 

If only director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw wasn’t so bent on selling nearly every song and tap dance number so relentlessly and formulaically hard. A mob hit sets the plot in motion, and the operative word in his staging is overkill. Some like it hot, sure, but not constantly. The production needs more room to breathe.

Despite that reservation, there’s still a lot to like. There’s a batch of buoyant songs by Marc Shaiman (music and lyrics) and Scott Wittman (lyrics), pros at matching showtunes to a particular period. In *Hairspray*, the team welcomed us to the ’60s. Their latest jazzy, horn-happy score whisks us back to 1933. Not every song leaves such a lasting impression as the juicy title number, but they all set the scene and flesh out characters.

Bookwriters Matthew Lopez (*The Inheritance*) and Amber Ruffin (*A Black Lady Sketch Show*) have packed the story with laughs as we follow saxophonist Joe ([Christian Borle](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/christian-borle)) and stand-up bassist Jerry (J. Harrison Ghee). The lifelong pals find themselves in mortal danger after witnessing a gangland execution in Chicago. 

The friends hatch a do-or-die plan to dress in drag and reinvent themselves — Joe becomes Josephine, Jerry morphs into Daphne. They hustle their way into a women’s touring band led by Sweet Sue (NaTasha Yvette Williams) that’s headed to the West Coast.

Once they get to San Diego, they’ll make a break for Mexico. But obstacles arise — namely Sugar (Adrianna Hicks), the band’s lead singer who catches Joe’s eye; Osgood (Kevin del Aguila), a soda pop titan crushing on Daphne; and Spats (Mark Lotito), the mob boss out to off the witnesses.

To his credit, Nicholaw sees to it that each scene is composed like a movie still, and the design team lends invaluable support. Scott Pask’s sets are picture-perfect, Gregg Barnes’ costumes reek period chic, and Natasha Katz’s shifting lighting sets the mood.

One gorgeous moment begins on a train and cleverly dissolves into a club in near-cinematic fashion, all while Sugar belts a torchy tune. A baggage car scene where Sugar reveals her big-screen dreams to Josephine becomes improbably beautiful.

Borle is a hoot in the role made famous onscreen by Tony Curtis. Bespectacled Josephine’s growing exasperation about repeatedly being told she’s no spring chicken is a joke that just doesn’t get old. Borle seems to be channeling Mira Sorvino’s speaking style from *Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion* — it’s an odd choice that works.

In the Jack Lemmon part, Ghee endears and delights. Jerry’s discovery and self-embrace of Daphne recalls Lopez’s play, *The Legend of Georgia McBride*. Like that work, this musical regards themes of identity and transformation with smarts and sensitivity.

Hicks brings the right notes of vulnerability and yearning to Sugar, played in the film by Marilyn Monroe. Kevin Del Aguila is a rubber-limbed riot as the over-the-top and open-minded Osgood. Angie Schworer pops up periodically with a running gag that never failed to produce chuckles.

Following a climactic dance production recalling a slapstick-y highlight of the musical *High Button Shoes*, everybody naturally gets what – and who – they want in *Some Like It Hot*. No one leaves thirsty.

[*Some Like It Hot* is at the Shubert Theatre. Get *Some Like It Hot* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/24262-some-like-it-hot-tickets)

*Photo credit: Christian Borle and J. Harrison Ghee in Some Like It Hot. (Photo by Marc J. Franklin)*

'Some Like It Hot' review — Broadway adaptation of the hit film turns up the comedy and the fun

Designed by Henry Beaumont Herts, The Shubert Theatre was built at the same time as the adjoining [Booth Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/booth-theatre). The Shubert Theatre officially opened on October 21, 1913 with *Caesar and Cleopatra* by George Bernard Shaw.

The theatre was named after Sam S. Shubert, one of the founding brothers of the Shubert Organization, which operates 17 Broadway venues. The Shubert Theatre building still houses the organization's offices on the top floor. The Shubert Theatre is a designated New York City landmark.

## How to get to the Shubert Theatre on Broadway

The Shubert Theatre is closest to the 42nd Street subway stop on the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines. The closest bus stops are 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines; 7th Ave/W. 44th St. on the M104 line; and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS line.


Shubert Theatre - NY

Shubert Theatre

Shucked on Broadway - NYC

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Shucked on Broadway

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Storytellers have long looked to cornfields for ideas. *Field of Dreams* turned them into heaven. Evil lurked amid the rows in *Children of the Corn*. Now, in the deliriously dopey [countrified musical comedy](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/a-history-of-country-musicals-on-broadway-from-oklahoma-to-shucked) [*Shucked*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26987-shucked-tickets), corn is cause for nonstop funny business — and some terrifically catchy tunes.

Credit the creative team for recognizing there’s more than a kernel of truth in the adage about knowing oneself. They are fully aware their show is wall-to-wall silliness, and they embrace that concept whole-hog. Even when the goings turn sappy, another pun, punchline, or double entendre awaits.

Do the jokes yield diminishing returns over the show’s two hours? Yep, they do. But are you apt to have such a good time that you won’t mind? Yep, you will.

Tag-team narrators, played with know-how by Ashley D. Kelley and *Mean Girls* Tony-nominee Grey Henson, pop in and out to set the scene. The show is a fable – “a farm to fable” – set in Cob County, a community tucked inside cornfield walls. Sure, residents know of the outside world; they just want no part of it.

Things change. Lovebirds Maizy (Caroline Innerbichler, like butter in her Broadway debut) and her farmer fiance Beau (an adorable Andrew Durand) are exchanging "I do"s at a ceremony officiated by his brother Peanut (Kevin Cahoon, who’s a kick) — but disaster strikes. The corn suddenly turns moldy. 

Despite naysayers, including Beau, Maizy leaves town to find help, singing the tune “Woman of the World.” In a goofy twist, she meets Gordy (John Behlmann), a con man posing as a podiatrist – a "corn doctor," get it? – who captures Maizy’s fancy. He’s drawn to her stone bracelet. He accompanies her to Cob County, ostensibly to save the crops, but he’s out to swipe the precious gems found there.

An old-school musical like this is bound to have a romantic subplot or two. Hence, Maizy is torn between Beau and Gordy. But her whiskey-brewing cousin and BFF Lulu (Alex Newell, a powerhouse singer) reconfigures the geometry of the romantic triangle. One guess how it all works out.

The show is buoyed along on easy-to-like songs by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, who are new to Broadway but stars in country music. They’re adept at novelty numbers – like the opener, “Corn” – and songs that run a tad deeper, including the tender “Maybe Love” and the optimistic “Somebody Will.” “That’s How You Say 'I Do,'” shared by three couples, is a bouncy winner. 

At one point during *Shucked*'s development, it was set to riff on the vintage TV variety show *Hee Haw*. About a decade later, “hee haw” is just a passing song lyric. 

The songwriters have an ace collaborator in author Robert Horn, who won a Tony for his book for *Tootsie*. For *Shucked*, he’s crafted an LOL mashup of new side-splitters and oldies but goodies. Toying sexily with Gordy, Lulu says, “I may not have my virginity, but I still have the box it came in.” Zing! Who doesn’t like corn with a pinch of salt?

A sense of fun runs throughout director Jack O’Brien’s production – from set designer Scott Pask’s rough-hewn barn backed by a bright pink sky to choreographer Sarah O’Gleby’s high-spirited dance number using whiskey barrels and planks. 

*Shucked* could never be condemned as theatrical spinach. It’s all about laughs, and it delivers – honest to cob.

[*Shucked* is at the Nederlander Theatre. Get *Shucked* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26987-shucked-tickets)

*Photo credit: The cast of Shucked. (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)*

'Shucked' review — the countrified, comedic cream of the crop

Read our four-star review of the new Broadway musical comedy *Shucked*, which features a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn and plays the Nederlander Theatre.

Built by Walter C. Jordan, the Nederlander Theatre building was originally constructed as a carpenter's shop in 1920 and was converted into a theatre the following year. The venue officially opened as the National Theatre on September 1, 1921. Ownership of the theatre has changed hands several times over the years — the Shubert Organization originally owned the building until 1956, and Harry Fomkes and Billy Rose (who renamed the theatre after himself) took over in 1959.

The Nederlander Organization purchased the property in 1979 and briefly renamed it the Trafalgar Theatre, until it was renamed after the organization's founder, David T. Nederlander, in 1980.

The Nederlander Theatre, located on 41st Street, is the southernmost Broadway house.

## How to get to the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway

The closest subway stop to the Nederlander Theatre is 42nd Street - Times Square on the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines. The closest bus stops are 7th Av/W 41st St. on the M7, M20, or M104 lines and 7th Av/W 42nd St. on the M42, SIM8, SIM8X, SIM22, SIM25, SIM26, and SIM30 lines.

Nederlander Theatre - NY

Nederlander Theatre

Contains some strong language. Recommended for ages 6+. Children age 4 and under will not be admitted into the theatre. Everyone must have a ticket, regardless of age.

& Juliet Rush

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& Juliet on Broadway - NYC 

& Juliet Header

& Juliet on Broadway

& Juliet

& juliet

Anne Hathaway – the wife of William Shakespeare, not the Oscar-winning actress – has a message for her famous husband. In a nutshell: Your star-crossed-lovers tragedy stinks. 

That’s the start of [*& Juliet*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25598-and-juliet-tickets), a slim but cheeky and eager-to-entertain jukebox musical bursting with chart-toppers made famous by Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys, and other pop stars.

“What if Juliet didn’t kill herself?” muses Anne (Betsy Wolfe, goofy, gutsy, and serving gale-force vocals), who convinces Will (Stark Sands) to collaborate on a rebooted story. So long, Verona and stifling parents keen on locking her up in a nunnery. Freedom awaits! Juliet (the terrific Lorna Courtney), now 22 in the revised tale, considers life on her own terms.

She makes a beeline for Paris with her nurse (Melanie La Barrie, reprising her role from the show’s London premiere), a new non-binary BFF May (Justin David Sullivan), and another pal, April – who is actually Anne. She and Shakespeare write themselves into the revision; he’s a carriage driver. Along the way, some 30 hits from the Max Martin catalog, including “...Baby One More Time,” “Roar,” and “Since U Been Gone,” knit the narrative together.

This setup happens with surprising speed and economy. The early zippy energy is a big plus. Vibrant visuals are another. Director Luke Sheppard’s staging makes great use of projections, flying set pieces, and a levitating circular platform to showcase dramatic moments and athletic dance moves by choreographer Jennifer Weber. 

There's plenty of drama in France after Juliet and company meet Francois DuBois (Philippe Arroyo), who’s looking for love, and his stern father Lance (Tony winner Paulo Szot, game but frequently upstaged by his codpiece), who shares a secret history with Juliet’s nurse.

Thanks to Will’s desire to stir the plot, dim Romeo (Daniel Maldonado, in for Ben Jackson Walker at a recent performance) pops up. The newly undead guy descends in a superdope (to borrow his term) and glitzy entrance.

The action unfolds in Shakespeare’s era, but its heart and head are all about today. Costume designer Paloma Young pairs corsets, ruffs, and doublets with chunky boots and high-tops. There’s also a shoehorn lurking in the wings. As in any jukebox musical, some tunes are wedged in, but others fit surprisingly well.

“I Want It That Way” becomes a useful all-purpose expression of desire, while “Oops! … I Did It Again” neatly covers romantic missteps. “Stronger” lets Juliet’s defiance toll. Romeo and Juliet’s conflicted feelings churn into a raucous “Problem/Can’t Feel My Face.”

*Schitt’s Creek* writer David West Read penned the story, and it’s a mixed bag. *& Juliet*'s feminist attitude and celebration of gender fluidity make it topical. Mispronunciations of Francois’s surname makes way for (groan) DeBoy band jokes. And even with the youthful exuberance, the momentum sags whenever Anne and Will spar about the narrative — and they do it a lot. 

The script looks to history (or Wikipedia?) to connect the dots between Anne, who Shakespeare disregarded, and suicidal Juliet. Creative license abounds, of course, but the script breezes over the fact that if Romeo is alive, then Juliet is still married. That puts a kink in major plot developments. In the end, the show has no fewer than three separate conclusions.

To see or not to see any or all of that as just nitpicking? Theatregoers out for a silly good time likely won’t care as they hum along with *& Juliet*.

[*& Juliet* is at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Get tickets to *& Juliet* at New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25598-and-juliet-tickets)

*Photo credit: Lorna Courtney (center) and the cast of & Juliet on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)*

'& Juliet' review — the Bard meets 21st-century bops in energetic pop musical

Originally called the Henry Miller's Theatre, the venue opened on April 1, 1918 with *The Fountain of Youth* - a translation of *Flor de la vida* by the Alvarez Quintero brothers.

In 1969, the venue became a cinema and then a nightclub; it reverted back to a theatre in 1998. The theatre closed in 2004 due to the Bank of America Tower construction at One Bryant Park.

The theatre was rebuilt — with the original facade preserved and restored — and reopened in September 2009. The venue was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre at a special ceremony on September 15, 2010 in honor of the award-winning composer's 80th birthday.

When a theatre in London's West End was named for Sondheim in 2019, he became the only then-living person to have eponymous theatres in both New York and London.

## How to get to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway

The subway stops nearest to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre are 42nd Street - Bryant Park on the B, D, F, M, and 7 lines; and 42nd Street - Times Square on the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines.

The nearest bus stops are are 6th Ave/W 44th St. on the M55, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, and QM20 lines; and 6th Ave/West 42nd St. on the M5, M7, and M55 lines.

## Restaurants near the Stephen Sondheim Theatre

Popular restaurants within a block of the Stephen Sondheim Theatre include Charlie Palmer Steak, Tony's di Napoli (Italian), Brooklyn Diner (American), and Cafe Un Deux Trois (French). The American restaurants Junior's, Hard Rock Cafe, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and the family-style Italian restaurant Carmine's, are also located about a block away.

Stephen Sondheim Theatre - NY

Stephen Sondheim Theatre

New York, New York on Broadway - NYC

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New York, New York on Broadway

New York, NY March 2023

There are neon marquee lights from days of old. There are bustling dancers showing off their prowess as they rush to work and back home. There are even a few classics from John Kander and Fred Ebb’s heyday. Unfortunately for [*New York, New York*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26043-new-york-new-york-tickets), now running on Broadway at the [St. James Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/st-james-theatre), there isn’t much else.

Loosely based on Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film, *New York, New York* follows a group of toxically optimistic performers trying to beat the odds and make it big in 1946. Francine Evans (Anna Uzele), a singer from Philly fresh off a USO tour, knows she will have to “work twice as hard to get half as far” in a segregated society.

Her love interest, Jimmy Doyle (a miscast Colton Ryan), believes Francine’s talent will override racial barriers. This idea comes up various times, expressed by white characters and characters of color, with the general conclusion that New York is special and different, a place with no discrimination.

Jimmy rebuffs Francine’s concerns over an interracial musical act with “This isn’t Texas. This is New York!” (The audience cheered.) Toward the end, Francine makes a career decision based on the racism and misogyny she’s experienced, and the characters take this as an offense against New York itself. “Don’t bet against New York,” one implores, as if her actions could possibly be construed that way.

Uzele’s Francine is the only character with a plot, and Uzele is the strongest performer. She carries the show as the self-sabotaging Jimmy grows to resent her success and recognition, leaving us without a reason to root for him. Her searing rendition of “But the World Goes Round” alone — during which projection designers Beowulf Boritt and Christopher Ash strip away the photorealistic backgrounds and leave Francine to bare her soul in a stark spotlight — outshines Ryan. His muffled voice doesn’t suit the broad and brassy Kander and Ebb numbers.

Ryan is done no favors, of course, by his character’s lack of plot or motive beyond landing Francine. We know he’s haunted by his past, but that doesn’t explain why he ambles about aimlessly until trumpet-playing veteran Jesse (John Clay III) and Cuban immigrant Mateo (Angela Sigala) hand him a second-act raison d’être. Characters in search of a plot, indeed.

Haranguing the show feels almost dirty, however, with Ebb long deceased and Kander now 96. (Lin-Manuel Miranda contributed additional lyrics, though his signature style is absent.) Theatregoers will recognize that Susan Stroman’s production, although it feels unfinished, is a love letter to the pair and their achievements in the genre. A revue would perhaps have been more appropriate than sticking half-developed characters with the songbook and hoping for the best.

At one point, a young violinist (Oliver Prose) tells his teacher, Madame Veltri (Emily Skinner, doing her best with little) that his whole family was murdered in Treblinka. She sings “A Simple Thing Like That” in response, a song about life’s randomness that, while pretty, doesn’t match the gravity of the moment.

If it were more cohesive, *New York, New York* could be a great show for tourists (if they can stomach the disparagement of living anywhere else), complete with classic, tap-dancing tunes that employ a large number of dancers, designers, and musicians. But would it not serve both the company and audience more if the musical was a better-crafted tribute to Kander and Ebb and the city that made them?

The show concludes with the long-awaited title number, delivered by Uzele (with a delightful orchestral surprise) in unearned triumph. Perhaps the performance best summarizes the story’s message: to march on against the odds, whether they be societal or a result of misdirected efforts.

[*New York, New York* is at the St. James Theatre. Get *New York, New York* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26043-new-york-new-york-tickets)

*Photo credit: Anna Uzele and Colton Ryan in New York, New York. (Photo by Paul Kolnik)*

'New York, New York' review — Kander and Ebb musical is still searching for the very heart of it

Read our review of *New York, New York* on Broadway, which is directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and features new lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the St. James Theatre was built by producer Abraham L. Erlanger on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant (which is now located down the block). The theatre opened in 1927 as The Erlanger with the inaugural production *Merry Malones*.

The Astor family took over the venue in 1930 after Erlanger's death and renamed it the St. James Theatre in 1932.

The Shubert Organization took control in 1941 before relinquishing the building to William L. McKnight in 1957. In 1970, he passed it on to his daughter Virginia and her husband James H. Binger, the founders of theatre-ownership company Jujamcyn Theaters. The organization still operates the St. James today.

## How to get to the St. James Theatre on Broadway

The St. James Theatre is nearest to the 42nd Street - Port Authority subway stop on the A, C, and E lines. The nearest bus stops are 7th Ave/W 44th St. on the M4, M20, and M014 line; and W 43rd St./8th Ave on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS line.

## Restaurants near the St. James Theatre

Popular restaurants that share a block with the St. James Theatre include Sardi's (American), John's (pizza/Italian), and Carmine's (Italian). Other nearby American diners and restaurants include Peachy Keen, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and Hard Rock Cafe.

St. James Theatre - NY

St. James Theatre

Children under 4 are not permitted in the theatre.

Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway - NYC

KimberlyAkimbo1176r (2)

Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway

Kimberly Akimbo

In the opening moment of <a href="/show/kimberly-akimbo">Kimberly Akimbo</a>, a misfit New Jersey teenager waiting for a ride home stretches her candy choker into her mouth and chomps down on it. Such a kid thing to do.It's a perfect start to this funny-sad musical treat by composer Jeanine Tesori and writer and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his play. Like the nibbled necklace, the show gives you something to chew on as it looks at life, death, and what comes in-between."Dad? Are you okay to drive?" Kim asks her father when he finally arrives at the skating rink. Even though she's the kid, Kim, who's aging four times faster than normal because of a rare disease and is played by an actress in her 60s, is the family elder.What's that like? That's what Lindsay-Abaire was chasing in his 2003 off-kilter comedy and now revisits. It predated his award-winning dramas, Rabbit Hole and Good People, as well as Shrek, the musical he wrote with Tesori about another sort of outcast.For the lonely Kimberly Levaco (Victoria Clark), life expectancy is 16 years. And —&nbsp;tick tock —&nbsp;she has just hit that mile marker. Her family scarcely notices. Dad (Steven Boyer) drinks to distraction. Mom (Alli Mauzey) is focused on her pregnancy —&nbsp;and for good reason. Shady Aunt Debra (Bonnie Milligan) is cooking up another reckless illegal scheme.&nbsp;The lone, unexpected bright spot is Seth Brett Weetis (Justin Cooley), a nerdy student who's deep into anagrams, and it turns out, Kim. Her crush was called Jeff in the play, and the tweak enables his name to be scrambled into an anagram that captures the musical's bittersweetness.Lindsay-Abaire has stuffed the story with wacky laughs, but doesn't avoid painful streaks. When her dad frets about her having a boyfriend, she says (as she did in the play): "What are you worried about? I went through menopause four years ago." Oof.David Zinn's sets shift the story from rink to home to school, while Sarah Laux's costumes —&nbsp;jeans and jumpers for Kim —&nbsp;seem plucked from a teen's closet. The plot does get almost too outlandish for its own good. That's the case when Debra drags her niece, Seth and four more teens (played by Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan II, Nina White, and Michael Iskander) into a truly unlikely check-laundering scheme. It's best not to overthink it.Tesori (Fun Home, Caroline, or Change) and Lindsay-Abaire have created a score of emotionally rich songs that glows like a musical mood ring. Kim's yearning shines in "Make a Wish," while the Levato family dynamic comes through in "The Inevitable Turn." "Anagram" cheerfully relates the value of a shift in perspective. "How to Wash a Check" speaks for itself.Director Jessica Stone has assembled an ensemble that's uniformly terrific in this the <a href="/theatres/linda-gross-theater">Atlantic Theater Company</a> presentation. Newcomer Cooley has charm to spare. Milligan is a mighty belter and criminally deft scene-stealer.&nbsp;Clark, a Tony Award winner for The Light in the Piazza, gives a lived-in performance that's playful and poignant and very affecting.&nbsp;Watching a new show that satisfies and surprises never gets old.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/kimberly-akimbo" target="_blank">Kimberly Akimbo is at the Linda Gross Theater to January 2. Get Kimberly Akimbo tickets on New York Theatre Guide.</a>Photo credit: Kimberly Akimbo cast (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Akimbo)

'Kimberly Akimbo' review — a bittersweet musical packed with surprises

The Booth Theatre opened on October 16, 1913, as an adjoining venue with the [Shubert Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/shubert-theatre). The building was designed by Henry B. Herts, and the first production there was Arnold Bennett's play *The Great Adventure*.

Named after the actor Edwin Booth, brother to the infamous John Wilkes Booth, the venue was actually the second New York theatre to bear his name. The first was built in 1869 on 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue, but it was demolished in 1965.

The facade and parts of the current Booth's interior have been designated New York City landmarks.

## How to get to the Booth Theatre on Broadway

The Booth Theatre is located on 45th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. It is closest to the 42nd Street stations on the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, or S lines. The theatre is also accessible by bus, with the closest stops being 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines; 7th Ave/W. 44th St. on the M104 line; and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS lines.

## Where is *Kimberly Akimbo* playing?

The critically acclaimed musical *Kimberly Akimbo* plays the Booth Theatre on Broadway. The show has performed there since October 2022.

Booth Theatre - NY

Booth Theatre

Sweeney Todd on Broadway - NYC

Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Josh Groban, Nathan Salstone and the company of the 2023 Broadway production of SWEENEY TODD, Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Sweeney Todd on Broadway

Sweeney Todd on Broadway Poster

[*Sweeney Todd*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26216-sweeney-todd-on-broadway-tickets) is back on Broadway, and there’s much to savor in this musical revival starring [Josh Groban](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/josh-groban) and [Annaleigh Ashford](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/annaleigh-ashford). Stephen Sondheim’s sublime score sounds deliciously lush as played by the 26-piece orchestra, the singing is uniformly excellent, and Hugh Wheeler’s morbidly gripping story unfolds in crisp fashion. 

However, there’s an ingredient missing in [*Hamilton*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/384-hamilton-tickets) director Thomas Kail’s star-studded but standard take on the 1979 musical: its essential dark edge. Subtitled *The Demon Barber of Fleet Street*, the show motors on Sweeney’s monstrous dimensions. Absent that, or even a faint whiff of borderline madness from what he’s been dealt, the production comes off as a bit too tame. 

Gorgeous music threads throughout this grisly thriller. Sweeney (Groban) returns to London after being wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years. Mourning the loss of his family because of a corrupt judge and his henchman, the barber swears revenge on the duo. He’ll use his straight razors for payback. Pie shop proprietor Mrs. Lovett (Ashford), who has a thing for Sweeney, becomes his accomplice. When Sweeney’s throat-slitting escalates, she grinds his victims into makings for meat pies. Business booms. But there’s no way this tale can have a happy ending. 

Mimi Lien’s two-tiered set makes use of the stage and a bridge above it. A counter pushed into place is the pie shop, and a crane contraption doubles as a madhouse. The bridge is used in a striking moment for a silhouetted dance. Elsewhere, Steven Hoggett’s choreography recalls awkward aerobics, particularly when all hell breaks loose near the end. Natasha Katz’s dramatic lighting is the star of the physical production.

Both leads deliver exactly what they’re best at. Groban, a Tony nominee for *Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812*, has a nice-guy persona and lacks the sinister side to convince as a man "even rats fear," according to the title song. He also blends into the crowd in group scenes. But when he sings, Groban commands focus 100 percent. He taps directly into the mournful tones of “The Barber and His Wife,” in which he recalls his past, and the despair of “Epiphany,” as he faces his future.

Last seen on Broadway as Dot in Sondheim’s *Sunday in the Park With George*, Ashford is a very fine singer, but her comic chops set her apart. She won a Tony for *You Can’t Take It With You*, a play in which she bounced off the walls. She is clearly in her comfort zone here. 

Sporting a messy hairdo a la Angela Lansbury, the original Mrs. Lovett, Ashford throws herself into the part – and onto the stage. She bump-bump-bumps down a staircase on her fanny. She channels the Three Stooges and spins while on her side on the floor. She’s a riot, and she also oozes vulnerability. As funny as she is, Mrs. Lovett is a villain because she keeps a life-and-death secret from Sweeney.

Gaten Matarazzo of *Stranger Things* plays Tobias, who becomes Mrs. Lovett’s helper. He makes the most of the famous song “Not While I’m Around.” Jordan Fisher and Maria Bilbao ably fill out the romantic subplot as the thwarted young lovebirds Anthony and Johanna. 

The beggar woman, played by Ruthie Ann Miles, looms extra large in this version. In a provocative stroke, when she enters the barber shop, she points here and there as if remembering something. Is her mind really gone? That question makes her fate all the more tragic – and Sweeney’s words more resonant.

“We all deserve to die,” Sweeney sings. He means himself and Mrs. Lovett. In this revival, the barber and the baker go hand in hand to hell.

[*Sweeney Todd* is at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Get *Sweeney Todd* tickets on New York Theatre Guide. ](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26216-sweeney-todd-on-broadway-tickets)

*Photo credit: Annaleigh Ashford and Josh Groban in Sweeney Todd on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)*

'Sweeney Todd' review — Josh Groban-led revival doesn't frighten, but still thrills

Read our four-star review of Stephen Sondheim's *Sweeney Todd* on Broadway, starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre opened on January 10, 1910 and was originally named the Globe Theatre. The venue was named after the famous Shakespearean theatre in London.

The first production at the venue was the musical *The Old Town*, which opened in 1919. In the 1930s, the space became a cinema operated by the Brandt chain until it was purchased by City Playhouses Inc. in 1957. The venue reopened as a theatre on May 5, 1958, and it was renamed in honor of theatrical couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The pair starred in the first production under the new ownership: Friedrich Dürrenmatt's *The Visit*. 

Producers Cy Feuer and Ernest H. Martin bought the theatre in 1960 and sold it to developer Stanley Stahl in 1965. The Nederlander Organization currently co-owns the venue with the Stahl estate.

## How to get to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, located on 46th Street and Broadway, is nearly equidistant from the 42nd Street - Times Square subway stop on the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines, and the 50th Street stop on the 1 line.

The nearest bus stop is 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines.

## Restaurants near the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is one block directly east of Restaurant Row, a hub for all types of restaurants located on 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Some popular restaurants there include Le Rivage (French), Becco (Italian), Lattanzi (Italian), Joe Allen (American), and Frankie and Johnnie's Steakhouse.

[Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre - NY

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Parade on Broadway Starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond - NYC

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Parade on Broadway Starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond

TodayTix PAR 480x720

It’s a rare and thrilling gift when a musical presents a song that stirs up a legitimate lump in your throat. [*Parade*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26500-parade), back in a banner revival, sees its stars [Ben Platt](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ben-platt) and Micaela Diamond work that special magic twice with a pair of duets, one hopeful and one crushing. Memo: Bring tissues.

First (and last) seen on Broadway in 1998, this unflinchingly dark show by composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown and writer Alfred Uhry – who each won a Tony for their toils – was sparked by infamous true events. The late Harold Prince, who directed the premiere, is credited here as a co-conceiver.

In 1913 Marietta, Georgia, Leo Frank (Platt), a 29-year-old Jewish factory supervisor from Brooklyn, was wrongfully arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for allegedly killing Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old employee of his. After years of appeals, Frank’s sentence was commuted to life in prison, but he was lynched by a vigilante mob.

That might not strike you as a story that sings. But *Parade* reminds us that musicals have unlimited capacity for stories; it’s all in the telling. Despite the cumbersome first act, Brown and Uhry tell a gripping story wrapped in a beautiful and richly varied score. 

Moreover, nearly 25 years after the show’s debut, the themes it covers – anti-Semitism, media sensationalism, judicial corruption, and mob violence among them – throb with up-to-the-second resonance. It’s a musical in which powerful people advance a narrative and manipulate others — and facts — to fit it. Like yesterday’s headlines, no?

Director Michael Arden’s excellent revival arrives on Broadway fresh from a New York City Center run in November. The cast is mostly intact, and the physical production remains essentially the same. Susan Hilferty’s costumes are buttoned up in period detail, while lighting designer Heather Gilbert bathes the stage in a moody glow.

Dane Laffrey’s set features a raised platform with chairs on two sides. Scenes move seamlessly from the Frank residence to factory to courtroom to jail cell to Confederate Memorial Day parade and beyond. Exposed theatre walls become the blank canvas for projection designer Sven Ortel’s images that define interior and exterior locations.

Photographs also appear to identify the real-life characters connected to the Frank case. Besides lending a docudrama vibe, the pictures lend clarity to the sprawling who’s who. There’s a parade of scheming politicians, bigoted journalists, corrupt prosecutors, witnesses who lie through their teeth, and others. It takes a village to railroad a scapegoat.

The photo IDs are smart moves by Arden, although not every choice is quite as well-judged. A courtroom section that shifts into slow motion is a head-scratcher. The specter of Mary Phagan perched on a swing in midair is an odd and heavy-handed idea that reaps no payoff. 

Fortunately, the uniformly terrific cast makes up for small-scale quibbles. Standout supporting work comes from Sean Allan Krill as the honorable Governor Slaton; Alex Joseph Grayson as Jim Conley, whose testimony nails Leo; Paul Alexander Nolan as the rabid prosecutor; and Jake Pedersen as Mary’s boyfriend.

Leo and Lucille’s evolving relationship forms the heart of the show, and both stars deliver in performances that are authentically life-size — no larger — and that is key to this story. Watching Diamond (*The Cher Show*) go from timid Jewish wife to take-charge partner is exhilarating. As a displaced New Yorker who’s not so likable, *Dear Evan Hansen* Tony winner Platt notches another Broadway triumph.

Both leads shine brightest in those aforementioned two songs. The optimistic “This Is Not Over Yet” marks the reopening of Leo’s case. “All the Wasted Time,” in which they express their love, is an 11 o’clock heartbreaker — all the more so since we know from the start where this *Parade* inexorably ends.

[*Parade* is at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre through August 6. Get *Parade* tickets on New York Theatre Guide. ](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26500-parade)

*Photo credit: Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt in Parade. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Parade' review — Ben Platt leads a first-rate cast in this dark, gripping revival

Read our five-star review of *Parade* on Broadway, starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, now playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre through August 6.

The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre opened on January 11, 1927. The venue was originally named the Royale by real-estate magnates, the Chanin Brothers, as part of a three-theatre complex.

In 1930, the Chanins transferred ownership of all three houses to the Shubert Organization. During the Great Depression, control of the Jacobs passed to John Golden, who renamed the theatre after himself and ran it from 1934 to 1936. (This venue is not to be confused with the current John Golden Theatre, which is right next door.)

The Shuberts regained control in 1936 and restored the theatre's name to the Royale. It was renamed the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on May 9, 2005 after the longtime Shubert Organization president.

## How to get to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway

The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is accessible by subway; it is nearest to the 42nd Street - Port Authority Bus Terminal on the A, C, or E line. The theatre is also located near various bus stops: 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines; 7th Ave/W. 44th St. on the M104 line; and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS lines.

## Restaurants near the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is located one block southeast of Restaurant Row, the stretch of 46th St. between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Popular restaurants on this block include Hold Fast (American), Joe Allen (American), and Becco (Italian), in addition to various other types of cuisines.

[Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre - NY

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

A Doll's House - Rush

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A Doll's House on Broadway Starring Jessica Chastain - NYC

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A Doll's House on Broadway Starring Jessica Chastain

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A dolls house

The new Broadway production of Henrik Ibsen’s [*A Doll’s House*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26989-a-dolls-house-tickets) starring [Jessica Chastain](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/jessica-chastain) is laser-focused, laid bare, and simply stunning. As always, the play tells the story of Nora Helmer, a wife and mother who finally summons the power to stand tall on her own two feet. 

British director Jamie Lloyd ingeniously runs full tilt with that image. For nearly all of the play’s unbroken two hours, Nora remains rooted in a chair (vaguely Norwegian, a nod to Ibsen’s background) situated downstage, close to the audience.

Even when Nora practices a dance she’s performing at a holiday party, she doesn’t get up – it’s as if she’s doing chair yoga. Only in the final few moments does Nora rise on her own, stand erect, risk everything, and walk out. To go where? That’s the question.

The hallmark of Lloyd's vision — he directed [*Betrayal* with Tom Hiddleston](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/review-of-betrayal-starring-tom-hiddleston-charlie-cox-zawe-ashton-on-broadway) on Broadway and [*Cyrano de Bergerac* with James McAvoy](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/cyrano-de-bergerac-off-broadway-review-james-mcavoy) at BAM — is absolute certainty. That extends from the first time we see Nora to the last and everything in between. Chastain appears in her chair about 15 minutes before showtime. Arms and legs crossed, she gazes into the audience as she repeatedly rotates on a turntable. 

It’s a brilliant and economical visual – and not just because Chastain’s so great she’ll make your head spin. Nora is a woman whose life goes in circles, and in this revival, everything orbits around her. Whenever characters talk, they stand near Nora, slide up a seat by her, or – what nerve! – share her chair without even asking. 

The story takes place at Christmas, and celebratory spirits are doubly high. Nora’s husband Torvald (Arian Moayed) is being promoted at his bank. He’s a big deal. In his mind, Nora, aka “Birdie,” as he calls her, is childish – like their three kids cared for by Anne-Marie (Tasha Lawrence). 

Torvald is wrong. When he was ill, Nora singlehandedly risked everything to save him, bending the law to secure a loan from Krogstad (Okieriete Onaodowan). It’d be a catastrophe if that came out. Nora knows that. So does her friend and confidante, Kristine (Jesmille Darbouze). But Nora is on the brink of being exposed. Not even her dear friend Dr. Rank (Michael Patrick Thornton) can help.

Written in 1879, Ibsen’s play packs sticks of dramatic dynamite as it takes on marriage, money, secrets, reputation, and power. It assumes up-to-the-moment urgency and accessibility thanks to the crisp translation by Amy Herzog (*Mary Jane*, *4000 Miles*).

She’s a playwright with perfect pitch when it comes to dialogue. Upon discovering his wife’s deception, Torvald damns her in 2023-speak: “You stupid bitch!” That exclamation – and Nora’s response – enables the play to draw blood.

Absent of scenery, props, or period costumes (the cast all wear dark street clothes), the revival is about the words. When Nora plays with her three children, they’re unseen. When a cigar is lit, there’s no miming. Lloyd trusts the audience to fill in the blanks. Beyond smart physical choices, Lloyd cast the play extremely well. Supporting actors all deliver.

Since making her Broadway debut in 2012 in a low-lit performance in *The Heiress*, Chastain has won an Oscar for *The Eyes of Tammy Faye* and a SAG Award for *George & Tammy*. She’s in total command as Nora, letting her voice do much of the heavy lifting.

In the end, Torvald’s pet name of Birdie is apt. This real housewife is an eagle when she takes flight.

[*A Doll’s House* is at the Hudson Theatre until June 10. Get *A Doll’s House* tickets on New York Theatre Guide. ](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26989-a-dolls-house-tickets)

*Photo credit: Jessica Chastain and Okieriete Onaodowan in A Doll’s House. (Photo by Emilio Madrid)*

'A Doll's House' review — Jessica Chastain takes flight in Ibsen revival

Read our five-star review of Jessica Chastain in *A Doll's House* on Broadway, directed by Jamie Lloyd, which plays at the Hudson Theatre through June 4.

The Hudson Theatre first opened on October 19, 1903, with *Cousin Kate* starring Ethel Barrymore. Although the firm of J. B. McElfatrick & Son first drew up the architectural design of the theatre in 1902, the firm of Israels & Harder ultimately took over and completed the project. The venue was built for theatrical producer Henry B. Harris, who managed the theatre until his death as a passenger on the RMS Titanic in 1912. 

During the 1930s and 1940s, the building was also used as for CBS Radio broadcasts when it wasn't being used for theatrical productions. NBC purchased the property in 1950, converting it into a permanent television studio. The venue housed *The Tonight Show* from 1954 to 1959.

Over the next few decades, under the ownership of developer Abraham Hirschfeld, the building was used for theatrical productions (1960 to 1968), as an adult movie house (from 1974), and as the Savoy rock club (from 1980). The Hudson Theatre was awarded New York landmark status in 1987.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels purchased the Hudson in 1995 as a part of the surrounding luxury hotel known as the Millennium Broadway and used as a business conference center and auditorium. During this time, it was additionally used as a stand-up comedy venue for Comedy Central broadcasts.

In 2015, Ambassador Theatre Group purchased the venue as its second official Broadway venue, following the [Lyric Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/lyric-theatre). After fully shutting down and undergoing a major renovation, the Hudson reopened in 2017 with a revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical *Sunday in the Park with George,* starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Since the theatre first opened in 1903 and reopened from scratch in 2017, the Hudson is simultaneously Broadway's oldest and newest theatre.

## How to get to the Hudson Theatre on Broadway

The closest subway stop to the Hudson Theatre is 42nd Street - Times Square on the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines. The 42nd Street - Bryant Park stop on the B, D, F, M, and 7 lines is also nearby.

There are two bus stops nearest to the theatre: 6th Ave/W 44th St. on the M55, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, and QM20 lines; and 6th Ave/West 45th St. on the QM1, QM5, QM6, M5, and M7 lines.

## Restaurants near the Hudson Theatre

Popular restaurants near the Hudson Theatre in NYC include Carmine's (Italian), Tony's Di Napoli (Italian), Hunt & Fish Club (steakhouse), Junior's (American), Connolly's Irish pub, and the Hard Rock Cafe (American).

[Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

Hudson Theatre - NY

Hudson Theatre

Recommended for 10 +. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.

Leopoldstadt on Broadway - NYC

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Leopoldstadt on Broadway

Leopoldstadt poster

In the opening tableau of Tom Stoppard's [*Leopoldstadt*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26003-leopoldstadt-tickets), a Jewish family, nearly 30 strong, assembles in a lavish sitting room and looks forward as if posing for a family portrait. A camera flashes. Haunting piano music plays. This moment dares us to remember — to sear these people, their multitude, their grandeur into our minds — before it's too late to salvage them from history.

It is, indeed, a deeply personal dare from Stoppard himself, who never knew of his own Jewishness until his 50s, when a previously unknown relative made contact. With *Leopoldstadt*, the playwright declares his own heritage in first-rate, epic, and urgent fashion, seemingly atoning for lost time. Forgetting one's ancestors, he suggests, is its own tragedy: "It's like a second death," one character says, "to lose your name in a family album."

*Leopoldstadt* spans 1899 to 1955, so another tragedy looms large: the Holocaust. The extended Merz-Jacobowitz family are well-off Viennese citizens who largely believe themselves Austrian above all else — that is, assimilated, and therefore immune from any anti-Semitism worse than being denied admission into a jockey club. As they inch closer to the onset of World War II with each scene, their home gets shabbier, their numbers smaller, and their Jewishness inescapable.

Smartly, Stoppard did not write *Leopoldstadt* as a Holocaust play. Impending doom lurks in Adam Cork's chilling score, but otherwise, the show is a lively, rich family drama. We're invited into the Merz-Jacobowitzes' commonplace gatherings, debates, trysts, squabbles, and playtimes as though we, too, are kin. There's a healthy helping of intellectual talk — Stoppard's specialty — but it's not esoteric, and in the hands of a superb Brandon Uranowitz, who gets to philosophize the most as the mathematician Ludwig, it's endlessly captivating. Plus, subjects like math are just as often the butt of jokes, of which there are plenty. Stoppard also warms us up to the characters with his trademark witty humor; a misunderstanding between a circumciser and a cigar cutter even provides a full-blown laugh-out-loud moment.

Elevating Stoppard's smart writing is Patrick Marber's equally smart direction. He paces *Leopoldstadt* perfectly, such that its intermissionless two-plus hours fly, and ensures that none of the 30-plus characters get lost, despite only a few having a consistently large presence. Together, they allow us to know the Merz-Jacobowitzes as full people and not just as victims, so by the play's climax — a harrowing repossession of the family home by Nazis, the beginning of the end — we're shaken and shocked, even though history has already dictated what will happen.

In other words, true to its goal, *Leopoldstadt* presents stories one won't easily forget, and won't want to. But lest we might, the play's final scene urges us even more explicitly to remember, finishing the work that opening portrait started. Uranowitz appears again, this time as Nathan, one of the family's few survivors who is now grown. He's visiting his now-derelict family home once more, this time with Rosa, his aunt who had escaped to New York, and Leo, a cousin from England with almost no recollection of that fateful repossession, and no connection to his Jewish heritage. (Yes, the character is a stand-in for Stoppard.)

As Nathan chastises Leo for forgetting, he also succeeds in sparking one memory. And suddenly, the family comes flooding back on stage as a bygone era comes to life once more. Again, they look out at the audience, but now they have names. Journeys. Causes of death. Stories of life. Like Stoppard and the masterwork that is *Leopoldstadt* itself, they will be immortalized in history.

[*Leopoldstadt* is at the Longacre Theatre. Get *Leopoldstadt* tickets now.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26003-leopoldstadt-tickets)

*Photo credit: Brandon Uranowitz, Caissie Levy, Faye Castelow, and David Krumholtz in Leopoldstadt. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Leopoldstadt' review — Tom Stoppard paints a masterful, memorable family portrait

The Longacre Theatre was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts and named after Longacre Square (now Times Square). The theatre was built by producer/manager H.H. Frazee — best known as the Boston Red Sox owner who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees — and officially opened on May 1, 1913 with the William Hurlbut-Frances Whitehouse comedy *Are You a Crook?*

After Frazee fell into financial trouble, the theatre changed hands many times before being sold to Astor Theatre Incorporated, a Shubert Organization subsidiary, in 1919. The Shuberts continue to own the building. During the 1940s and 1950s, the building also served as a radio and television studio.

The facade and interior of the Longacre are designated New York City landmarks.

## How to get to the Longacre Theatre on Broadway

The Longacre Theatre is closest to the 50th Street subway stops on either the C, E, or 1 line. The 49th Street stop on the N, R, and W line is also nearby.

The nearest bus stops are 7th Ave/W 50th St. stop on the M7, M20, and M104 lines; the 8th Ave./W 49th St. stop on the M20 and M104 lines; and the 7th Ave/W 49th St. stop on the M50 line.

## Restaurants near the Longacre Theatre

Popular restaurants near the Longacre Theatre include La Masseria (Italian), P.S. Kitchen (vegan), Junior's (American), and Lillie's Victorian Establishment (British/pub food). [Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

Longacre Theatre - NY

Longacre Theatre

Camelot on Broadway - NYC

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Camelot on Broadway

Camelot Header

The optimistic notion that greatness is within reach if only for “one brief, shining moment” is indelibly ingrained in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s 1960 musical [*Camelot*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25210-camelot-tickets). Director Bartlett Sher’s gray and forbidding revival of the classic show could definitely use a bit more shine. It’s dark a lot in this *Camelot*. 

Running 3 hours at Lincoln Center's [Vivian Beaumont Theater](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/vivian-beaumont-theater), the production is stately and beautifully sung, yet it’s seldom exciting or joyful. That's a long sit for, essentially, a relatively straightforward story. 

England’s King Arthur (Andrew Burnap) marries French Princess Guenevere (Phillipa Soo) in a political setup to ensure peace and prosperity. The young and idealistic Arthur strives to make his realm, Camelot, a utopian place of chivalry and justice for all.

But it all curdles when Guenevere and Lancelot (Jordan Donica), a countryman from France and one of Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, give in to their passions. Chalk that up to personal chemistry and outside enablers. The inevitable ensues: war.

Lerner and Loewe’s songs tend to be light, whether it’s Arthur’s whimsical “I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight,” Guenevere's lively “The Lusty Month of May,” or Lance’s self-celebratory “C’est Moi.” Here, the songs and the production are a bit of a mismatch.

Beyond the physical elements that bend into shadows, the new book by Aaron Sorkin (*To Kill a Mockingbird*) is a mixed bag. Guenevere plays a big role in shaping Camelot and its lofty “might for right” ideals, while the story points out that a marriage as a business deal is a shaky proposition. These modern ideas fit naturally enough in this period tale. 

As [widely reported](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/how-the-camelot-broadway-revival-is-reinventing-the-roundtable), Sorkin has stripped the plot of magic and supernatural references in Lerner’s original book based on T.H. White’s *The Once and Future King*. Merlyn (Dakin Matthews) can no longer turn someone into a bird. But he knows that when a powerful ruler determines to do good, danger will come knocking. It’s another contemporary talking point that spans eras.

But the book also stupefies. In the original version, Morgan Le Fey was a sorceress who casts a spell that traps Arthur within invisible walls. As played by Marilee Talkington in a strange scene, Morgan is a confident scientist, so she says, who fiddles around doing something in her lair situated in a spooky, knotty forest. She can’t do magic. But she’s great with numbers, which matters because… it's unclear.

Arthur’s all-important absence from the castle, enabling lusty Guenevere and Lancelot to be alone, is engineered by Morgan and Arthur’s bastard son, Mordred (Taylor Trensch). The manipulative teen knows how to push his sensitive father's buttons. He’s a creep right out of *The Social Network*. 

Sorkin can’t resist having Morgan spit out a winking, on-the-nose zinger about bad leadership, or, better, one unnamed man. “Oh,” she says, “you’d be amazed at who people will follow.” Just how *Camelot* is an exemplary source of justice for all doesn’t quite come through. Knights keep grousing that “equality is a myth made by the less-than-equal.” So where, exactly, is that one brief, shining moment?

In the end, the songs, the 30-piece orchestra, and the principals are bright spots. Burnap, a Tony winner for *The Inheritance*, beams a genuine earnestness that fits Arthur. Donica, who played Freddy in Sher’s *My Fair Lady*, makes the famous song "If Ever I Would Leave You" a highlight. Soo, a very fine actor and a gorgeous singer, further establishes herself as a star who shines no matter what.

[*Camelot* is at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Get *Camelot* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25210-camelot-tickets)

*Photo credit: Phillipa Soo, Andrew Burnap, Dakin Matthews, Jordan Donica, and company in Lincoln Center Theater's production of Camelot. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Camelot' review — this shining kingdom's revival has bright and dull spots

Read our review of the latest *Camelot* Broadway revival, with songs by Lerner and Loewe and a new book by Aaron Sorkin, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Designed by Eero Saarinen with the collaboration of Jo Mielziner, the Vivian Beaumont Theater opened on October 21, 1965, with a revival of *Georg Büchner's Danton's Death* starring James Earl Jones and Stacy Keach.

The venue was named after heiress Vivian Beaumont Allen, who donated $3 million for its construction but died in 1962 before its completion. The theatre shares a building with the Off-Broadway venue the [Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/lincoln-center-mitzi-e-newhouse-theater). Lincoln Center Theater has operated both since 1985. LCT's intimate [Clare Tow Theater](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/lincoln-center-claire-tow-theater), situated on the roof of the Vivian Beaumont, was added in 2012.

The Vivian Beaumont Theater is the only Broadway theatre not in the theatre district around Times Square. Located within Lincoln Center near 65th Street and 10th Avenue, it is the northernmost and westernmost Broadway house. The venue is also one of five Broadway theatres named for a woman.

## How to get to the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway

The Vivian Beaumont Theater is nearest to the 66th St. - Lincoln Center subway stop on the 1 line. The nearest bus stop is W 66th St./Columbus Avenue on the M66 line.

## Restaurants near the Vivian Beaumont Theater

Popular restaurants near the Vivian Beaumont Theater include P.J. Clark's (American), The Smith (American), Boulud Sud (Mediterranean), Cafe Fiorello (Italian), Joanne Trattoria (Italian), and La Boite en Bois (French).

Vivian Beaumont Theater - Lincoln Center Theater - NY

Vivian Beaumont Theater - Lincoln Center Theater

Life of Pi on Broadway - NYC

LIFE OF PI - Hiran Abeysekera, Richard Parker (Fred, Davis, Scarlet Wildernik, Andrew Wilson) - by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for Murphy Made

Life of Pi on Broadway

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Life of Pi

How does an Indian teenager adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a tiny lifeboat – with a ferocious Bengal tiger, no less! – live to tell the tale after 227 harrowing days? That question is at the core of [*Life of Pi*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26712-life-of-pi-tickets), a fantastical fable about survival, faith, and how stories help us make sense of our lives.

Visually, the play is a deeply wondrous spectacle that teems with beauty and brutality. Narratively, the script does less to impress, as if written at times in magic marker, and supporting performances could use some shading. Bottom line for this work on Broadway following runs in London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: The display’s the thing. 

Based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel that spawned an Oscar-winning movie, Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage version begins in 1978 in a hospital room in Mexico. Pi Patel (Hiran Abeysekera, captivating) is questioned by representatives of the Canadian Embassy (Kirstin Louie) and Japanese Ministry of Transport (Daisuke Tsuji). They’re after facts on how the Tsimtsum, a cargo ship bound for Canada, sank eight months earlier – and how Pi defied death. He tells them.

The action moves between the infirmary, Pi’s home, and the middle of the ocean. In 1976 Pondicherry, India, happy-go-lucky Pi’s life in a zoo comes into focus through a series of bite-sized scenes. Butterflies dance in the air, and a giraffe cranes its graceful neck. We meet his zookeeper parents (Rajesh Bose and Mahira Kakkar) and sister (Sonya Venugopal), as well as a zebra, orangutans, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, [brought to life by puppets](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/how-the-life-of-pi-broadway-puppets-make-animals-come-alive) and multiple puppeteers.

Each beast is dangerous, a point Pi’s father makes by sacrificing a goat to the tiger. (Note: This is not a kids' show.) The scene shifts to a bustling marketplace, where spiritually inquisitive Pi looks to leaders at a local church, mosque, and temple for answers to his big questions. “If God is good and kind, why is there so much violence in the world?” he asks.

Political unrest compels Pi’s family to leave India with their animals for Canada aboard the Tsimtsum. About 40 minutes into the play, there’s a cry of “Storm coming!” and everything changes. The ship sinks, and from the bare stage, a small lifeboat magically surfaces like a sea creature. Pi climbs into the craft, and he’s not alone. An orangutan, hyena, injured zebra, and Richard Parker have busted out of containers and taken refuge there. 

Eventually, only Pi and the tiger remain. To outlast the maneater, he tames the beast and reconciles with its killer instinct – and his own, after going against his beliefs and eating a sea turtle to avoid starvation. When the government investigators in Mexico doubt his tale, Pi spins a parallel yarn – minus animals but with human predators instead.

What’s the takeaway? Maybe it’s as simple as to never give up – and everything that conveys. While lost at sea, Pi talks with the ghost of his sister, who can’t believe he still has faith. “Look at where you are,” she says. “But I’m alive,” Pi responds. 

In the end, there’s no question that director Max Webster’s staging is a technical marvel that makes the most of its moving parts. Those include amazing puppetry; evocative scenic, lighting, and sound design; and transporting video and animation effects that conjure the ocean and the sky above. 

“My story will make you believe in God,” Pi insists. Whether or not that’s true, it’s impossible to doubt such powerful theatrical stagecraft.

[*Life of Pi* is at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Get *Life of Pi* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26712-life-of-pi-tickets)

*Photo credit: Hiran Abeysekera and Richard Parker (Fred Davis, Scarlet Wilderink, and Andrew Wilson) in Life of Pi on Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)*

'Life of Pi' review — a marvel of theatrical design

Read our four-star review of *Life of Pi* on Broadway, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti from Yann Martel's bestselling novel, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

Designed by Herbert J. Krapp and built by the Shuberts in 1917, the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre originally opened as the Plymouth Theatre in 1918. The theatre was leased to producer Arthur Hopkins, whose first production at the venue was the comedy *A Successful Calamity*, starring William Gillette and Estelle Winwood.

The Shuberts regained control of the theatre in 1948 after Hopkins passed away. The building became a designated New York landmark in 1987 and received its current name in 2005 to honor the late chairman of the Shubert Organization.

The theatre's architectural style is similar that of the Broadhurst Theatre on 44th Street, which directly abuts the Schoenfeld. Krapp designed both theatres, and they were built at the same time.

## How to get to the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway

The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is closest to the 42nd Street - Port Authority subway stop on the A, C, and E subway lines. The closest bus stops are 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines; 7th Ave/W. 44th St. on the M104 line; and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS line.

## Restaurants near the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is located one block southeast of Restaurant Row, the stretch of 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues lined with eateries serving various cuisines. Popular examples include Becco (Italian), Joe Allen (American), Le Rivage (French), and Jasmine's Caribbean Cuisine.

[Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre - NY

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre 

Fat Ham on Broadway Rush

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Fat Ham on Broadway - NYC

fat ham

Fat Ham on Broadway

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If Hamlet were to partake in karaoke, the troubled prince might perform Radiohead’s “Creep.” In James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning tragicomedy [*Fat Ham*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27141-fat-ham-tickets), the character Juicy, loosely based on Shakespeare’s forlorn prince, does just that. The rock song’s moody lyrics about searching for masculinity and self-worth are fitting for Hamlet — and his Black, gay derivative.

This riff on the Bard’s tragedy takes place at a backyard barbecue in the South. Juicy (Marcel Spears) and his family are celebrating the nuptials of his mother Tedra (Nikki Crawford) to his Uncle Rev (Billy Eugene Jones), just one week after the murder of his father Pap (also Jones). Sound familiar?

*Fat Ham* [isn’t a scene-for-scene adaptation of the tragedy](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-differences-and-similarities-between-fat-ham-and-shakespeares-hamlet), though. The 95-minute play begins with Tio (played with hilarity by Chris Herbie Holland) casually watching porn on his cell phone as Juicy resentfully decorates the backyard. The smoking barbecue grill, colorful globe lights, and bunches of balloons look like harbingers of a happy celebration — but Pap’s ghost has other plans. 

Pap, dressed in a white suit and covered in a red-checkered tablecloth, appears to Juicy to exhort vengeance. He was shanked in the neck in prison, and Rev orchestrated the murder to gain control of the family barbecue business. Juicy, who is pursuing a degree in human resources, prefers working with people over pigs. And he isn’t sure he’s capable — or willing — to exact bloody revenge.

Juicy sports a bedazzled “Mama’s Boy” shirt, but Tedra, wearing bedazzled booty shorts, is unable to give Juicy the love and support he needs. She makes matters worse when she tells him she spent his college tuition fund on a bathroom renovation.

Under Saheem Ali’s direction, all the characters move between tenderness and toughness with ease. The back and forth is thrilling, and the audience even becomes part of this energy with occasional fourth-wall breaks.

The strongest performances are from the young characters, who have more self-awareness than their Shakespearean counterparts. Spears plays Juicy with a gentle, exacting power that might make the audience think he is capable of butchering his uncle — or maybe he just wants to change the family legacy. Opal (Adrianna Mitchell) is a headstrong Ophelia that moves to the beat of her own drum. Holland gets a scene-stealing soliloquy, in which a stoned Tio recalls receiving fellatio from a gingerbread man while playing a VR game.

The play’s brilliance is in its ability to tie Shakespeare into this contemporary family’s experience, even if the characters don’t see it. When Juicy quotes a line from *Romeo & Juliet*, Tedra accuses him of watching too much PBS. “If you bring up that dead old white man one mo time…” she warns. There are plenty more references to *Hamlet*, including the perfectly delivered line “there’s the rub” (pulled from the famous "to be or not to be" monologue) and a brief aside in verse to set up a game of charades. And when Tio tells Juicy their former classmate Yorick overdosed, Juicy cradles a smiley-face balloon instead of a skull.

Throughout the play, others repeatedly call Juicy “tender” and “soft.” “You was powerful when you were a baby,” Rev says. “And you got soft. And you was nothing like your daddy or like me. You was soft. And the men in our family ain’t soft.” 

But maybe tender is good. (Tender pork ribs sure are.) Ijames takes Hamlet’s political and social themes and marinates them for a modern audience. There’s no crown to transfer here, just generations of toxic masculinity to pass down and homophobia to unpack.

*Fat Ham* is less about seeking revenge and more about Juicy winning justice. Spoiler alert: instead of a bloodbath, the play ends with a raucous disco and butterfly-shaped confetti. Now that’s how I like to see Shakespeare.

[*Fat Ham* is at the American Airlines Theatre through June 25. Get *Fat Ham* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/27141-fat-ham-tickets)

*Photo credit: Marcel Spears (center) and the cast of Fat Ham on Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Fat Ham' review — a smart, savory sendup of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'

Read our four-star review of *Fat Ham*, the Pulitzer Prize-winning *Hamlet* adaptation by James Ijames, now at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre through June 25.

The American Airlines Theatre was originally designed by George Keister as an Italian Renaissance-style theatre. The venue opened in 1918 as the Selwyn Theatre, named for its developers, Edgar and Archibald Selwyn. The first show to play there was Jane Cowl's *Information Please*.

Over the course of its history, the building has been used as a theatre, a cinema, and a visitor center until it fell into a derelict state of disrepair. Roundabout Theatre Company took ownership of the venue in 1997, but the building collapsed, so the company rebuilt the Selwyn as part of the New 42nd Street Building in 1999. The theatre was renamed for American Airlines on June 30, 2000; the company donated $8.5 million to help cover renovation costs.

## How to get to the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway

The American Airlines Theatre is situated on 42nd Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway. By subway, it is accessible by the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S lines to 42nd Street.

American Airlines Theatre - NY

American Airlines Theatre

Prima Facie on Broadway starring Jodie Comer - NYC

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Prima Facie on Broadway starring Jodie Comer

Prima Facie Poster

On the face of it and, frankly, on stage at the [Golden Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/golden-theatre), the one-woman drama [*Prima Facie*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25983-prima-facie-tickets) starring [Jodie Comer](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/jodie-comer) is too slick and tidily constructed for its own good. In it, Tessa, a British barrister known for defending men accused of sexual assault, gets date raped herself. The parallels are plain.

Suzie Miller’s play offers a reckoning with the before and after. Only in the wake of her assault does Tessa fully wrap her brain around a terrible inequity. The symbol for justice is a woman, and in rape cases, her scales tip toward men. Unfortunately, that’s not exactly headline news.

Running 100 unbroken minutes, the production is Exhibit A of how a focused and fierce performance can elevate a work. Comer’s breathless star turn in her Broadway debut does that. Comer, who speaks for several minor characters, has won various awards for her portrait, including an [Olivier](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/2023-olivier-awards-full-list-of-winners). She is riveting, even in a late section where Tessa spouts statistics and the play teeters into movie-of-the-week territory. 

Director Justin Martin keeps Tessa in near-nonstop motion on Miriam Buether’s set lined with soaring floor-to-ceiling case files. Tessa periodically climbs atop a heavy wooden table to make a point. It’s a stagy trick, but it gets attention. 

Like Tessa, the production is alive. There’s a subtle heartbeat-like throb underscoring the action, incidental music, and bright flashes punctuating scenes thanks to sound designers Ben and Max Ringham, composer Rebecca Lucy Taylor, and lighting designer Natasha Chivers, respectively. 

When we meet Tessa, she’s in court and at the top of her game. All smirks and smug self-satisfaction, she’s a shameless showboater in a robe and horsehair wig. She gleefully likens taking down a witness to a fight to the death. Armed with her legal cunning and killer instinct, she fires off questions that are aimed to slay, not just wound — bang-bang-bang! She shapes her fingers into a pistol as she revels. 

When it comes to blasting holes in the testimony of an anguished woman alleging sexual assault, she is just as merciless. Tessa says she is in the business of legal truth — what’s provable beyond a doubt. It’s easy to connect the dots between Tessa and Villanelle, the *Killing Eve* assassin that made Comer a star — and accounts for raucous entrance applause.

Tessa is in her element in court, but she’s far less so when she’s back home in hardscrabble Liverpool. A brief, fitful visit with her mother and brothers shows she’s left this world behind. Since landing a spot in law school at Cambridge, she’s moved on. 

In London, she’s a star on the rise, whether in court drag or a flirty green dress for a date with Julian, a colleague she shags on a sofa at work. A week later, after drinks and sex earlier in the evening, Julian rapes Tessa in her home. The details spill out of her in a harrowing torrent echoed by an onstage rainstorm.

Tessa knows the law. Her case is iffy, but she decides to press charges. Some 782 days later, she has her day in court, where she knows she’ll be subjected to the same kind of attack she uses against witnesses. The outcome of the trial is fairly predictable. Tessa — who, by the way, is still a defense lawyer — seizes the opportunity to make a statement about the need for change.

In the end, Miller, an Australian writer with a law background, makes *Prima Facie* a message play. What it’s saying isn’t revelatory, but it is worthwhile. And Comer is a first-class messenger. 

[*Prima Facie* is at the Golden Theatre through June 18. Get *Prima Facie* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25983-prima-facie-tickets)

*Photo credit: Jodie Comer in Prima Facie. (Photo by Bronwen Sharp, retouch by Caz Lock)*

'Prima Facie' review — Jodie Comer makes a riveting Broadway debut in this legal drama

Read our four-star review of Suzie Miller's *Prima Facie* on Broadway, which stars Emmy Award winner Jodie Comer, at the Golden Theatre through June 18.

Designed by Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, the John Golden Theatre officially opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24, 1927 with the play *Puppets of Passion*. The Golden Theatre was purchased by impresario John Golden in 1937, who renamed the theatre after himself.

The building was used as a cinema in the late 1940s and 1950s before the Shubert Organization purchased and restored it to traditional theatre usage. The exterior of the Golden Theatre was used in the film adaptation of *A Chorus Line*.

## How to get to the Golden Theatre on Broadway

The Golden Theatre, on 45th Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, is closest to the 42nd Street - Port Authority subway stop on the A, C, or E line. The theatre is also accessible by bus, with the closest stops being 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines; 7th Ave/W. 44th St. on the M104 line; and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS line.

Golden Theatre - NY

Golden Theatre

Good Night, Oscar on Broadway starring Sean Hayes - NYC

Good Night Oscar 0104r

Good Night, Oscar on Broadway starring Sean Hayes

Goodnight Oscar Poster

The star of Douglas Wright’s play [*Good Night, Oscar*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26390-good-night-oscar-tickets), now running on Broadway at the [Belasco Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/belasco-theatre), is [Sean Hayes](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/sean-hayes), who receives above-the-title billing and will no doubt receive numerous accolades. But the second star is Jacqueline E. Lawton, the production’s dramaturg on Broadway and at the Goodman Theatre, where it premiered last year. Lawton ensures that the show balances its dips into the fantastical with historical truths, a difficult tone deftly achieved in Lisa Peterson’s adroit production. If only Broadway would embrace the lobby display to immerse audiences even more in Oscar Levant’s world.

Set on one turbulent night of Levant’s life, *Good Night, Oscar* sees Hayes not at the heyday of Levant’s career as a composer, pianist, and radio star, but as an ailing man struggling to control his addiction to the drugs his doctors have prescribed. The play tries to tackle the whole of Levant’s life in a few short scenes; a one-man show, like Wright’s Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning *I Am My Own Wife*, may have better suited the veneration of Levant’s talents and idiosyncrasies, channeling his alleged schizophrenia into different characters contained in one body.

But Hayes works best sparring with other actors, even if their characters aren’t fully developed. At one point, NBC president Bob Sarnoff (Peter Grosz) tries to cool Levant down: “The network feels —” to which Levant immediately interrupts, in a perfect distillation of the contemporary politics of corporate brands, “The network *feels*?”

Many characters exist only as devices: Fast-talking TV host Jack Paar (Ben Rappaport) upholds the play’s frame of *The Tonight Show* and delineates entertainment and exploitation. June (Emily Bergl), Levant’s wife, though granted no interiority, grounds the piece in historicity, as she had Levant committed to psychiatric institutions multiple times over their marriage. Sarnoff is stiff and corny, mostly speaking in platitudes and warnings and dwarfed by Levant’s boisterousness.

Alvin Finney (Marchánt Davis), an orderly from the hospital where Levant is staying (and from which June has concocted an ill-advised escape so he may appear on TV), serves only as a reminder of Levant’s condition; his note that Levant’s old pal George Gershwin (John Zdrojeski) stole musical inspiration from Black New Yorkers is a too-brief insight that, absent any other political or social commentary, feels out of place in the script. Only Alex Wyse delights as the nervous Max Weinbaum, a nepotism-hire page desperate to win the approval of those in charge and move up the movie-making ladder.

Gershwin himself appears as a figment of Levant’s imagination, the boldest choice in the play that suffers from a lack of direction. He enters in smoke effects, whipping his coattails behind him like Dracula, a haunting manifestation of Levant's survivor’s guilt (over Gershwin’s early death at 38) and supreme performance anxiety. He would rather discuss Levant’s psychoses than modern music, which makes sense only because of his boxed existence in Levant’s mind, a reminder of all Levant has yet to achieve. The character could be a game-changer in *Good Night, Oscar*, more a guide than a ghost, but Zdrojeski plays him like a haunted house attraction.

With a less compelling performance from its lead, *Good Night, Oscar* would fall flat. Its first half suffers from a lack of urgency; its second is burdened by hacky late-night antics. Almost everyone but Hayes’s Levant is forgettable in both performance and characterizations. Hayes is a marvel, embodying Levant in voice, spirit, physicality, and, eventually, music. He shakes like he’s davening prayer, fidgets like he's inebriated, and yells like his mind has left him without a choice.

Carolina Ortiz Herrera and Ben Stanton’s lighting design closes in on Levant as he hallucinates, fantasizes, and opines; these shifts, some subtle and some overt, call to mind the Brian Wilson biopic *Love & Mercy*, another exploration of both songwriting and schizophrenia. Rachel Hauck’s set serves as both recording studio and padded cell, further insulating Levant. Though the supporting personae fall flat, these design elements fuse with Hayes’s performance for a powerful and cohesive character study.

[*Good Night, Oscar* is at the Belasco Theatre through August 27. Get *Good Night, Oscar* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26390-good-night-oscar-tickets)

*Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly named Neena Arndt as dramaturg of Good Night, Oscar at the Goodman Theatre, not Jacqueline E. Lawton.*

*Photo credit: Sean Hayes in Good Night, Oscar. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Good Night, Oscar' review — Sean Hayes delivers a virtuosic character study

Read our review of *Good Night, Oscar*, a new Broadway play written by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright and starring Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes.

The Belasco Theatre originally opened as the Stuyvesant Theatre on October 16, 1907 with a production of *A Grand Army Man*. The Belasco Theatre was designed by George Keister for impresario David Belasco, who renamed the theatre for himself in 1910.

The first production to be staged under the theatre's new name was *The Lily*, an adaptation by Belasco of Leroux's *Le Lys*. In 1931, the theatre was leased to Katherine Cornell, and the Shubert Organization purchased it in 1948. From 1949 to 1953, the building was leased to NBC for broadcasting, before it was once again used as a traditional theatre.

The Belasco, located on 44th St. near the corner of Sixth Avenue, is the easternmost Broadway theatre.

## How to get to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway

The Belasco Theatre is nearest to the 42nd Street - Bryant Park subway stop on the B, D, F, M, and 7 lines. There are also two bus stops near the theatre, accessible by multiple bus lines: 6th Ave/W 44th St. on the M55, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM15, QM16, QM17, QM18, and QM20 lines; and 6th Ave/West 45th St. on the QM1, QM5, QM6, M5, and M7 lines.

## Restaurants near the Belasco Theatre

Popular restaurants near the Belasco Theatre include Junior's (American), Carmine's (Italian), Havana Central (Cuban), and Connolly's Irish pub. [Learn more about popular pre- and post-show restaurants in the Theatre District.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/where-to-eat-before-and-after-a-broadway-show)

Belasco Theatre - NY

Belasco Theatre

Sign Rush

Unlock Rush for a chance to purchase $30 tickets at 9:00 am.

$30 Rush tickets

I unlocked $30 Rush tickets for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window on @TodayTix! https://www.todaytix.com/nyc/shows/26553?share=unlock

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window on Broadway Starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan - NYC

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The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window on Broadway Starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan

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Lorraine Hansberry’s 1964 drama [*The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26553-the-sign-in-sidney-brusteins-window-tickets) hasn't had a major New York revival in 50 years. That fact alone would make this play, which premiered on Broadway five years after *A Raisin in the Sun*, an event. Add Oscar Isaac as Sidney and Rachel Brosnahan as his wife, Iris, and the magnetism intensifies. 

Despite the rarity factor and the pair of marquee stars, director Anne Kauffman’s revival at the [Brooklyn Academy of Music](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/harvey-theater-at-bam-strong) is a modestly engaging production of a meandering story about a marriage and a moment in time.

*Window* looks out on Greenwich Village in the early 1960s. The scenic design collective dots has conjured the Brustein apartment in time-capsule detail. Like in *Seinfeld*, decades later, Sidney’s door never seems to be locked, enabling others to enter and exit freely for drama’s sake.

Sidney is an idealist and an intellectual, prone to quoting great writers and, oddly, using affectations like “my boy” when talking to David (Glenn Fitzgerald), a gay playwright and upstairs neighbor. Iris is a wannabe actress who waits tables and has saved her tip money to see a shrink. She’s had plenty to discuss during two years of psychoanalysis, including that the story she’s told her husband about her Oklahoma upbringing is largely fiction. Her finest acting gig: Mrs. Brustein.

Five years into the marriage, cracks are showing. That Sidney sneers at Iris’s acting skills and derides her plans to do a TV commercial doesn’t help. Nor does the fact Sidney is a dreamer who does what he wants when he wants it. 

Immediately after the failure of his last enterprise — “a place just to listen to good folk records” — he has somehow bought the Village Crier. “My little artsy-craftsy newspaper is going to stay out of politics,” he says.

Sidney admits he’s done trying to save the world, a retreat from human affairs a friend slyly calls “ostrich-cism.” But there’s an election going on, and Alton (Julian De Niro), a friend who’s involved with Iris’s sister Gloria (Gus Birney), a fashion model, so she claims, persuades Sidney to support the reform candidate Wally O’Hara (Andy Grotelueschen). 

Sidney reluctantly agrees and then goes even further. He hangs a campaign poster boosting Wally in his apartment window. For Sidney, Wally’s fate – and his role in securing it –  is brutal when he wakes up to the politician’s true colors. By this time, the Brustein marriage looks like a goner.

Clocking in at 3 hours, which includes an intermission, Hansberry’s play has plenty of sweep – maybe too much. It takes on racism, anti-Semitism, political corruption, suicide, homosexuality, and social activism. Performances are all over the map. At one point, three characters inexplicably sit below the elevated set to watch what’s happening.

Isaac (*Star Wars*) goes big in his star turn. He postures, pounces on furniture, wriggles on his back across the floor, and strums a banjo Llewyn Davis-style. Brosnahan (*The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*) dances in her underwear and strikes chords of defiance and despair, yet she is a bit underpowered. 

The indelible performance comes from Miriam Silverman as Iris’s married sister Mavis, whose life uptown is assumed to be square compared to the boho zone. “Everybody is his own hipster,” she tells Sidney in an outstanding scene.

In the end, the play is all about Sidney, Iris, and where their lives are going. Hansberry leaves room for a sign of hope.

[*The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window* is at the Harvey Theater at BAM Strong through March 24.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26553-the-sign-in-sidney-brusteins-window-tickets)

*Photo credit: Rachel Brosnahan and Oscar Isaac in The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. (Photo by Julieta Cervantes)*

'The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window' review — Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan lead a rare revival

The James Earl Jones Theatre, formerly called the Cort Theatre, officially opened on December 20, 1912, with *Peg o' My Heart* starring Laurette Taylor. The venue was originally named after John Cort, founder of the Northwestern Theatrical Association. He commissioned Thomas W. Lamb to design the theatre, which would mirror the Petit Trianon in Versailles. 

The Shubert Organization acquired the theatre in 1927, two years before Cort’s death. It has always been used as a traditional theatre except for the years from 1969 to 1972, when it became a television studio with the broadcast of *The Merv Griffin Show*.

Renovation work began at the Cort Theatre in 2021, and the venue reopened in 2022 under its new name. The building is now named for James Earl Jones, the Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning actor known for voice roles in *The Lion King* and *Star Wars* films and stage performances in shows including *The Great White Hope* and *Fences*, which both earned him Tony Awards. He also earned a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2017.

## How to get to the James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway

The James Earl Jones Theatre is closest to the 47-50 Sts - Rockefeller Center stop on the B, D, F, and M lines. The closest bus stops are 6th Ave/W 49th St. on the M50 line and 6th Ave/W 47th St. on the M5 and M7 lines.


James Earl Jones Theatre - NY

James Earl Jones Theatre

MTC Friedman

Summer 1976 Rush

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$43 Rush tickets

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Summer, 1976 on Broadway Starring Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht - NYC

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Summer, 1976 on Broadway Starring Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht

P00007153 SUMR TodayTixAssets TempArt 480x720 2.2.23 FINAL (1)

Opposites attract – and not only when it comes to romance, but friendships as well. That’s the thesis of [*Summer, 1976*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25993-summer-1976-tickets), a pleasant wisp of a play with an A-list pedigree that has all the dramatic heft of catching a few rays.

Written by David Auburn and directed by Daniel Sullivan, who collaborated on the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning *Proof*, this new work provides a not-so-surprising reminder about a simple fact of life. People come into our lives and then they go, but they leave a mark – whether we want to acknowledge that or not.

At its best, this Manhattan Theatre Club presentation offers a chance to observe [Laura Linney](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/laura-linney) and [Jessica Hecht](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/jessica-hecht), a pair of seasoned stage animals, together in their natural habitat. They’re a joy to watch in action – or, well, sitting. They’re both in chairs for practically the entirety of the show. 

Seated at either end of a long rectangular table, the Ohio moms they play are a study in contrast. Diana (Linney) sports a black tee and pants, stylish loafers, and a strict curling-ironed coif. Alice (Hecht) is slightly slouchier and sports a patterned peasant dress, suede boots, and a loose, laid-back hairstyle.

Over the course of 100 intermissionless minutes, they flash back to America’s bicentennial – a time of independence and, it turns out, interdependence. Diana, an uptight single mom, made and taught art then. Alice, a free-spirited housewife, was married with a daughter. The women met through their kids. During a few months, their initial chilly mutual dislike melted into a warm and solid friendship. 

Save for a surprise here and there, it’s pretty straightforward stuff. This show is all talk – but the women rarely speak to each other thanks to Auburn’s story structure. Diana and Alice recall their brief history in direct addresses to the audience. It’s as if they’re giving reality show testimonials. The nagging questions: Who are they supposed to be talking to, and why are these two telling this story now? We never really know.

The construction can’t help but have a distancing effect. But on the plus side, Auburn packs his script with humor, vivid and lived-in details, and lines that sometimes nail the way people talk. That includes Diana's tangy observation about Alice: “She just thought she was unconventional because her house was messy.”

Over the summer, the bond between the women sneaks up on them amid ups and downs, laughs and arguments. They’re tugged closer together by everyday things like childcare and the subject of art, plus a major twist in Alice’s marriage to Doug, an Ohio State professor. When Doug comes into the picture, Diana speaks on his behalf.

Like summertime and lemonade, the two actresses are a great pair. Linney radiates smarts and her no-nonsense frankness is an ideal fit for Diana. Hecht, who never gives an ordinary stage performance, makes Alice likable and quirky.

Sullivan gives the actresses room to do what they do best while injecting an occasional direction to “stand up” and “sit back down.” Costumes by Linda Cho define characters, lighting Japhy Weideman suggests shifts in time, and an abstract backdrop of miniature squares by John Lee Beatty seems to seize inspiration from artist Paul Klee, who figures prominently in the story.

In the end, Diana and Alice reunite by chance at a New York museum decades after their initial meeting. Time goes on. Lives change. There’s an undeniable sweetness and melancholy in that simple reality. That said, it’s not quite enough to make Auburn’s play a *Summer* to remember.

[*Summer, 1976* is at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre until June 10. Get *Summer, 1976* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25993-summer-1976-tickets)

*Photo credit: Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht in Summer, 1976. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)*

'Summer, 1976' review — Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht share a breezy summer friendship

Read our review of *Summer, 1976* on Broadway, the new play starring Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht and written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn.

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre originally opened on December 7, 1925 as the Biltmore Theatre. Herbert J. Krapp designed the building for impresario Irwin Chanin. Its inaugural production was *Easy Come Easy Go*. 

From 1952 to 1962, CBS used the theatre for television and radio broadcasting purposes. In 1963, it reopened as a traditional theatre with Neil Simon's *Barefoot in the Park*.

In 1987, the theatre closed following an arson attack and sat vacant for 14 years. In 2001, Manhattan Theatre Club took over the venue and reopened the performance space in 2003 after renovations. MTC renamed it the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 4, 2008, to honor the Broadway publicist.

## How to get to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is closest to the 50th Street subway stop on the C and E line. The closest bus stops are 8 Av/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M34A-SBS line.

## Restaurants near the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is located across the street from three popular pre- and post-show restaurants: Trattoria Trecolori (Italian), Glass House Tavern (American), and Friedman's (American). Also nearby are the Irish pubs Mean Fiddler and Playwrights Celtic Pub, as well as Restaurant Row, the stretch of 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues lined with eateries.

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre - Manhattan Theatre Club - NY

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

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