Looking Forward to Spring: March - May 2026

Daylight is lasting longer. Temperatures are climbing. And the Broadway openings calendar is crowded. That can only mean one thing: spring is here!

Looking Forward to Spring:

March - May 2026

Like we always do, before we look ahead, we take stock of the recent past. The winter was a slow one, theater-wise for us, but that doesn't mean it was necessarily a bad one. We saw just two productions over the past three months, and they really showed the extremes that theater can be. 2025 ended with The Queen of Versailles, a show we really did not like (we weren't alone!), though it wasn't a complete loss. We saw the return of Sherie Rene Scott, which was a great thing. 2026 started with seeing Chess, one of our favorite imperfect shows with a fabulous score and, now, a glorious cast. So winter was a 50-50 for us.

This spring looks much busier, and kind of exciting!

Regional Theater

Next to Normal (Iron Crow Theatre Company - Baltimore, MD)

Long time readers know that any chance I get to see one of my favorite shows, I take it! Add to that, the production is by a local, somewhat new, rapidly growing professional theater company that emphasizes queer inclusion, and they got an easy ticket sale. I'm looking forward to a more diverse cast and an exciting, new (to me) venue! Look for our review very soon!

West Side Story (Washington National Opera - Baltimore, MD)

I am so looking forward to supporting this world class company, displaced by their conviction to not support the Trump regime at the Kennedy Center. How fortunate for us that they found a home at a local Baltimore venue, the Lyric. I've never seen this venerable production done by an opera company, so that's exciting. I'm also looking forward to hearing the WNO orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop, and starring Broadway's Ryan McCartan and Shereen Pimentel (who we missed in the 2020 Broadway revival) as Tony and Maria.

Off-Broadway

The Wild Party (Encores! - New York City Center)

My favorite LaChuisa show, I have longed to see it ever since I got the chance to see it on Broadway 25 years ago! We are looking forward to the all-star cast and the City Center orchestra. I am especially excited to finally get to see Jasmine Amy Rogers, and to see Adrienne Warren, Jordan Donica, Claybourne Elder and the great Tonya Pinkins in a new role! 

Broadway

Beaches (Majestic Theatre)

Whenever I need a good, guaranteed cry, I pop in the movie Beaches. I will bring a couple of tissues with me to the Majestic to be safe. But if I'm honest, what I've seen and heard so far from this stage adaptation I'm feeling kind of meh about it. Still, I'd like to see what Jessica Vosk can bring to the role made iconic by Bette Midler. We shall see.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball (Broadhurst Theatre)

Just when I thought I'd had enough of the junkyard kitties, along comes this so crazy it works version of the 80s mega-musical. We managed to miss it off Broadway, so I'm glad the transfer happened after hearing so much about it. Hard to believe, but I know very little about this genre of entertainment, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing masters of this craft, while being able to concentrate on them and not the plot or score, which I already know like the back of my hand.

Schmigadoon! (Nederlander Theatre)

From everything I've heard about this property, it should be right up my alley. I will be going into this one blind - I haven't seen or heard anything from this show or the TV series upon which it is based. I don't have Apple TV. Still a parody of classic musical theater sounds fun, and the cast is full of people I love, including Ann Harada, Alex Brightman, Ana Gasteyer, Brad Oscar and McKenzie Kurtz. So this is one I'm pretty interested in!

The Lost Boys (Palace Theatre)

I adored the film, and it reminds me of my youth. Who doesn't need a dose of youth these days? What I've heard of the score, I like, and I'm interested in seeing all of the spectacle. I already love Shoshana Bean and Ali Louis Bourguiz, and it has been fun watching Benjamin Pajak grow up live on stage. Will this break the Broadway vampire musical curse? I hope so! After Queen of Versailles, Michael Arden could use a win.

The Rocky Horror Show (Studio 54)

I am not a Rocky Horror cult member, but I did enjoy its last Main Stem outing. I'm most looking forward to seeing what Sam Pinkleton does with it. And that cast? Damn it, Janet, it is aces! Top of my "Excited to See" list are Luke Evans, Rachel Dratch, Juliette Lewis, Stephanie Hsu and Andrew Durand. I'm ready to do The Time Warp!

Titanique (St. James Theatre)

I'm not sure how we missed this off-Broadway! I mean, I love the movie Titanic, I love Celine Dion, and I love a good parody. But here we are. I'm paying Broadway prices to see something everyone else has already seen. At least I'll get to see some terrific heavy-hitters in Jim Parsons, Deborah Cox, John Riddle and co-stars/co-creators Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli. 

There are several plays that we hope to catch up on this summer. More to look forward to!

Broadway Quiz: Pop Goes To Broadway!

Broadway Quiz:

Pop Goes to Broadway!

You might call this a "Pop Quiz!" 

DIRECTIONS: Answer these questions about pop stars appearing on Broadway or Broadway stars appearing as pop stars.

1. All of the following actresses played Carole King in Beautiful on Broadway EXCEPT:

    A. Jesse Mueller

    B. Abby Mueller

    C. Melissa Benoist

    D. Ingrid Michaelson

    E. Vanessa Carlton

2. Ingrid Michaelson appeared in which Broadway show?

    A. Beautiful

    B. A Beautiful Noise

    C. The Notebook

    D. & Juliet

    E. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

3. Which of these pop stars did NOT appear in Blood Brothers?

    A. Shirley Jones

    B. David Cassidy

    C. Shaun Cassidy

    D. Carole King

    E. Helen Reddy

4. Madonna appeared in which Broadway play?

    A. Sweet Sue

    B. Boeing, Boeing

    C. Speed-the-Plow

    D. Lend Me a Tenor

    E. The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

5. TRUE or FALSE: Gloria Estefan played her own mother in On Your Feet!

6. Sara Bareilles was involved in one way or another with each of these productions EXCEPT:

    A. Redwood

    B. Waitress

    C. The Band's Visit

    D. Into the Woods

Match the pop star with the actor that played them:

7. Donna Summer                        a. Adrienne Warren

8. Neil Diamond                            b. Michaela Diamond

9. Tina Turner                                c. Jonathan Groff

10. Bobby Darin                            d. LaChanze

11. Cher                                         e. Will Swensen

12. TRUE or FALSE: Olivia Newton-John briefly appeared in Xanadu the musical.

13. Nick Jonas has appeared on Broadway in all of these Broadway shows EXCEPT:

    A. Moulin Rouge!

    B. How to Succeed...

    C. Beauty and the Beast

    D. Annie Get Your Gun

    E. Les Miserables

14. Ricky Martin, star of Broadway's Les Miserables and Evita, was part of which pop group?

    A. One Direction

    B. The 5th Dimension

    C. Menudo

    D. Erasure

    E. Club Nouveau

15. Which of these pop stars has starred in Moulin Rouge!?

    A. Sabrina Carpenter

    B. Jo Jo

    C. Olivia Rodrigo

    D. Brandy

    E. Renee Rapp

EXTRA CREDIT:

Which 3 Broadway shows has 'N Sync boy bander Joey Fatone appeared in?

The JKTS Fan Playlist 22-23 Season: Round 1: Into the Woods, 1776, Parade

We haven't done a fun survey in a long time! This series is based on frequent questions we get about our favorite songs each Broadway season. Well, we will tell you ours after you tell us yours!

The JKTS Fan Playlist 22-23 Season:

Round 1: Into the Woods, 1776, Parade

So, here's what we thought we would do. We are asking you, our biggest fans, to create a playlist of your favorite songs from the past three Broadway seasons, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. Here's how it'll work:

Each week, we'll create a survey of all the songs from 3 or 4 shows, and you'll select your 3 favorites from each show (only 3, please!). At the end of the week, we'll tally your choices and the top three from each show will go on to the next round, and so on until we've created a Fan Favorite "Playlist" of one song from each show.

Up first is the 2022-2023 season, which had 6 musical revivals and 9 new musicals. The first 3 revivals that opened that season, Into the Woods, 1776 and Parade are on this week's survey.

• Complete the survey by selecting up to three songs from each show. When you are done, you must tap the SUBMIT button for it to count.
• PLEASE NOTE: It may ask you for an email address to verify you are a real person, but it is NOT collecting your data.

Have fun and thank you for playing!

At This Theatre: The St. James: 2012-2025

  At This Theatre:

The St. James: 2012-2025

Opening 99 years ago as Erlanger's Theatre, the house played host to the George M. Cohan show, The Merry Malones, and then played host to the popular style of the day, the operetta. All of the big ones played there, including The Chocolate Soldier, The Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta and the entire Gilbert and Sullivan catalog.  

In 1932, the venue was renamed the St. James Theatre, and has since played host to some of Broadway's biggest plays and musicals. Among the more famous titles that have run at this 44th Street theater are the original productions of Pal Joey, Oklahoma!, The King and I, The Pajama Game, Flower Drum Song, Hello, Dolly!, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and On the Twentieth Century.

Last week, we talked about the shows we saw there between 1987 and 2011, found HERE. Today, we cover the 11 shows we've seen there since then. Soon, when we see Titanique. it'll be an even dozen, and 22 different productions total!

Number of Shows We Saw There (2012-2025): 11

Leap of Faith, Bring It On, Bullets Over Broadway, Side Show, Something Rotten!, Frozen, Into the Woods, New York, New York, Illinoise, Sunset Blvd., The Queen of Versailles

  

   

   

5 Favorite Shows We Saw There (2012-2025):

Something Rotten! (2015): They had me at the fantastic logo, but I stayed for the satire of Shakespearean excess, social commentary of all things Elizabethan, and the unlikely reverence for the modern Broadway musical. The script was smart, the score was full of fun toe-tappers and a great production number in "A Musical." I'm sure the cast - including Brian D'Arcy James, Christian Borle and my favorite, Heidi Blickenstaff - was having as much fun as the audience!

Frozen (2018): I loved the film version of this piece so much, and even though the stage version wasn't everything I had hoped it would be, I still loved seeing what they did with it. I found the puppetry of both Olaf and Sven to be charming and clever, and I was excited to see a new talent in Jelani Alladin as Kristoff. But it was the inspired casting of Patti Murin as Anna (I've been a fan of hers since Lysistrata Jones) and my beloved Caissie Levy as Elsa, who delivered a goose bump-inducing rendition of "Let It Go." A little more Disney magic would have put this right to the top, but a shirtless Timothy Hughes was a worthy substitute!

Into the Woods (2022): Who knew that a minimalist version of this Sondheim classic could possibly be the best version to date? Tight direction and a truly all-star cast really made this revival something special. Not a weak link in the company, the biggest surprise for me was just how great of an actress Sara Bareilles is. And, of course, what turned out to be a last chance to the singular talents of the late, great Gavin Creel made this an extra valuable experience. Can't forget the udder-ly charming star turn of Milky White, either!

Illinoise (2024): Brilliant. Truly brilliant. Going into it, I had some familiarity with the music Sufjan Stevens thanks to the film Call Me By Your Name, as well as the dance talents of Ricky Ubeda and Ben Cook, both of whom I'd seen in other shows, plus Gaby Diaz from So You Think You Can Dance. Still, nothing prepared me for the emotional thrill ride that Illinoise was. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath for nearly two hours, for fear I'd miss a single second. I wish I could see it again.

Sunset Blvd. (2024): I loved the original production so much, I was kind of dreading this revival. Within seconds of the curtain rising, I was completely lost in the crazy world of a new Norma Desmond, Joe Gillis and a Hollywood of indeterminate time. It was utterly mesmerizing and thrilling in ways that were not even possible with the original. The famous walk of the second act overture/"Sunset Boulevard" sequence is ten minutes of magic I will never forget. And of course, there were the electrifying performances of the entire company, while introducing us the the enormous talents of Nicole Scherzinger, Tom Francis and David Thaxton. And then there were two of the best understudies/future stars I've ever seen, Sydney Jones and new West End star, Diego Andres Rodriguez.

The other productions we saw that didn't make our top five were all noteworthy for several reasons including the opportunity to see new talents and established stars, designers and other creatives. Even shows that we really didn't like had plenty to admire. For example, while I thought the revival of Side Show paled in comparison to the original, I was just grateful to see it back on Broadway at all. And it was nice to see that the authors were still working to make it better. I was a little surprised that Leap of Faith didn't last a little longer, but we were pleased to see Raul Esparza, always a favorite, who hasn't been seen on Broadway since (Galileo will mark his return next season!), but that show also introduced us to a guy named Leslie Odom. Jr.! Easily my least favorite show that I saw there was Bullets Over Broadway, but in retrospect I am so glad I saw it, because I had one last chance to see the late Marin Mazzie and Nick Cordero, bot taken from us far too soon. Bring It On was a ton of fun, with four young actors making their Broadway debuts, and all of whom are among our favorites: Adrienne Warren, Jason Gotay, Taylor Louderman and Ariana DeBose!

Friday 5: 5 Favorite Joshua Henry Performances

Favorite Joshua Henry Performances

From the very first time I saw Joshua Henry on the St. James Theatre stage, I knew he had "it." That intangible-but-you-know-it-when-you-see-it thing that so many strive for but never quite get.My eye was drawn to him, and I've been a huge fan ever since.

American Idiot (Favorite Son - 2010)

Yes, my first time seeing Henry involved seeing him in his skivvies. Intriguing for about 5 seconds, when I found myself watching every movie he made, none of which had to do with his state of dress. Charisma, charm and that effortless star power. Green Day's "Favorite Son" became an instant favorite of mine.

Carousel (Billy Bigelow - 2018)

This was my first brush with Carousel as a whole show. I had, of course, seen and heard bits from the film and the more popular tunes from the score. While others were lamenting script changes, song removals and perceived casting issues, I was swept away and overwhelmed by this masterpiece. And I was thoroughly mesmerized by the powerfully complex portrayal of the conflicted Billy Bigelow of Mr. Henry. Amazing, breathtaking and completely satisfying. Brilliant.

Ragtime (Coalhouse Walker, Jr. - 2025)

I've made no secret of the fact that I was not a huge fan of the original production outside of its cast recording. This new revival was an altogether different story, and a much improved version. Henry has taken full advantage of the more character-focused, less spectacular version by making a grounded, fierce and brutally honest, human performance as Coalhouse Walker, Jr.. As an equally fervent fan of the role's originator, my liking of Henry's performance wasn't a given. Rather, it was fully earned. I don't think he's ever been better... which is no small feat considering the next role on this list.

The Scottsboro Boys (Haywood Patterson - 2010)

Until Ragtime came along, I'd have said that this brave performance was his best ever. Now I'd say it is a close tie. Raw, passionate and utterly heartbreaking, Henry's star turn in this short-lived classic is one I hold as a most cherished privilege to have witnessed. I maintain that this Kander and Ebb musical is nothing less than a masterpiece, and is to date still the greatest new musical of the 21st century, That he was a part of it is icing on the cake, I suppose. But that in no way over states his profound impact on the piece. People often say a performance is breathtaking - this one surely took mine away.

Violet (Flick - 2014)

What I loved about Joshua's performance here was how beautifully he played with his two co-stars. It was never about elevating himself, but rather working in what seemed to be in effortless tandem with them. Again this was no small feat considering how utterly smitten I was with Sutton Foster's performance (her best to date, by far). I loved the show, the actors and him. And what a delicious treat that his co-star here, Colin Donnell, is now his Ragtime co-star!

Broadway Games: Broadway Musicals Without Broadway or Musicals

Broadway Musicals Without

Broadway or Musicals

DIRECTIONS: Name the musicals below that don't include "Broadway." The remaining letters are in order.Blanks represent whole words that are missing.

1. WITESS (1 word)

2. NUM (1 word)

3. HE  VE  HEELS (3 words)

4. THE  MSTE  F  EIN   ______ (5 words)

5. CRET (1 word)

DIRECTIONS: Name the musicals below that don't include "Musical." The remaining letters are in order. Blanks represent whole words that are missing.

6. HGO (1 word)

7. BEN  VT  O  B (4 words)

8. ROE (1 word)

9. HKED (1 word)

10. __  HOR  NE (3 words)

DIRECTIONS: Name the musicals below that don't include "Broadway Musical." The remaining letters are in order. Blanks represent whole words that are missing.

11. THE  N'S  VT (3 words)

12. TW  TNGE _______  ___  KE  ______  NE  K (8 words)

13. THE  TE (2 words)

14. EETEJE (1 word)

15. PETN  NEEAT (2 words)

BONUS: E  E  E (3 words)

STOP SCROLLING NOW!

Unless you are ready for the answers!

DIRECTIONS: Name the musicals below that don't include "Broadway." The remaining letters are in order.Blanks represent whole words that are missing.

1. WAITRESS (1 word)

2. BARNUM (1 word)

3. HEAD  OVER  HEELS (3 words)

4. THE  MYSTERY  OF  EDWIN DROOD (5 words)

5. CABARET (1 word)

DIRECTIONS: Name the musicals below that don't include "Musical." The remaining letters are in order. Blanks represent whole words that are missing.

6. CHICAGO (1 word)

7. BUENA  VISTA  SOCIAL  CLUB (4 words)

8. CAROUSEL (1 word)

9. SHUCKED (1 word)

10. A  CHORUS  LINE (3 words)

DIRECTIONS: Name the musicals below that don't include "Broadway Musical." The remaining letters are in order. Blanks represent whole words that are missing.

11. THE  BAND'S  VISIT (3 words)

12. TWO  STRANGERS CARRY A CAKE  ACROSS  NEW  YORK (8 words)

13. THE  OUTSIDERS (2 words)

14. BEETLEJUICE (1 word)

15. OPERATION  MINCEMEAT (2 words)

BONUS: BYE  BYE  BIRDIE (3 words)