Long-running Shows I Still Haven't Seen

If you follow this site regularly, you know that like most avid theater fans, I have, over the years, lamented missing certain shows. You can catch all of those I've discussed HERE. But it is rare that at any given time, there are so many longer running shows that I've somehow missed. Right now, there are four!

Long-running Shows I Still Haven't Seen

Three of the four shows below are jukebox musicals, and I am sure that that figures in to why I've so far missed them. But there are other reasons...

Hell's Kitchen

As this show is closing in just a few days, I suppose I could have waited and added it to my "One That Got Away" series, but I don't feel like I missed out on this one as much as others on that list. While I appreciate the work of Alicia Keys and can grasp why she is both popular and acclaimed, I'd never say she's been on the top of my playlist. But here is one show I can exactly pinpoint why I've avoided it. I found their Tony Awards performance to be a complete mess and truly off-putting. (Not to mention misleading to a public that probably thought they'd get to see Ms. Keys at the piano. She was not and never was.) And it wasn't a fluke of an off performance, either. I've felt exactly the same way every time I've seen something from it on other shows. If I regret anything, it's that I missed the debut performance of Tony-winner Maleah Joi Moon, and the other Tony-winning performance of Kecia Lewis, an actress I've long been a fan of for years.

Just In Time

The youngest of the shows here, it is still a possibility that I'll catch it. A big fan of Jeremy Jordan, it is maybe slightly more likely than the others on this list. Anyway, the most surprising thing to me about not seeing this one is that I am a huge Jonathan Groff follower. So why didn't I get to it by now? In this case, its a combination of not being a huge Bobby Darin fan, and economics. There is only so much money in my pocket earmarked for shows, and last season meant having to make hard choices. With a decidedly smaller field of new musicals to see, I might still make a splish splash to the Circle in the Square.

MJ

Of the four shows on this list, this is the one that is most personally surprising to me. As a child of the 80s, Michael Jackson was a giant part of my life. Thriller, Bad and Off the Wall are three albums I had in three formats - vinyl, cassette and CD - and I still listen to them somewhat regularly. I have seen several performances from the show on various programs and they are all consistently well-done and exciting. Yet, somehow, MJ has become the show that I keep putting off, thinking I'll get to it eventually. I hope I do, as I have heard mostly wonderful things about it from people whose opinions I respect, and I also hope this one doesn't make it to my other list!

The Great Gatsby

This show is based on my all-time favorite novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is one piece of literature that I read for pleasure, not intellectual stimulation alone. So you'd think I'd have seen this show several times, right? Except... well, it just looks (and sounds) too Disney-meets-80s-megamusical. The other recent musical version looked (and sounded) like something I'd much prefer - darker, sexier, more willing to hit those darker themes. And now, with Jeremy Jordan (and Eva Noblezada for a short while together) back for a while, it is more tempting. I also missed the national tour, when it debuted here in Baltimore, but that was definitely economic - the tickets here were more expensive than Broadway! I'm guessing I'll regret it, but I probably won't see this version. I'm holding out for Gatsby: An American Myth.

So, readers, am I missing out? If I had to pick one of these, which should I get tickets for? Let me know!  Jeff

Broadway Musical Logos: 2025-2026 Season (So Far) - The New Musicals

As I mentioned last week, I've been asked a lot this season, "why haven't you been reviewing show logos this year, Jeff?" Well, to be honest, it's because I am pretty disappointed in them so far. But, due to popular demand, I will provide my two-cents on each after all. The two new musicals of the season to date, one an abject flop, the other an acclaimed but modest hit, are, like those of the season's first two revivals, less than inspiring. I miss logos that are logos, not just a choice of font and a couple of cast photos, put together like an AI prompt and nothing more. I miss real show art.

Broadway Musical Logos: 2025-2026 Season

The New Musicals

The Queen of Versailles

 Well, I guess one can't argue that this logo sold a lot of tickets. It sure is pink. I suppose that producers thought including a photo of the star was a good idea. And maybe it was, until that star made some unfortunate comments on social media. But the dog is cute and the jumbo soda is something else to look at. At least the background photo hints at the story - a mansion under construction. Unless you know that The Queen of Versailles refers to a documentary about Jackie Siegel (and that you know who she is) there's not much else to go on about what you are seeing. Even the tagline, "The American Dream At Any Cost," isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is. When the most creative thing about it is that the title "Queen" is in royal-ish cursive and the "Versailles" has a crack in it, you know it isn't good.

Grade: D

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Given the crazy title - which is both cute and a ponderous - it's kinda fun that the logo is so literal. Even including pictures of the stars is a clever choice. Heck, unless you are a real Broadway fan, they are literal strangers, too! But they are good-looking and have a fair amount of chemistry. With any luck and any sense of justice, these two will not be strangers for long - they are sensational, and even if this logo doesn't make you want to run out and buy tickets, maybe my word will: this is a funny, tuneful and sweet little show!

Grade: C-

 

Since I wrote this, the advertising has started touting it's stars with scenes from the show itself, revealing even more of the chemistry between Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts, not to mention its status as an New York Times Critic's Pick. I think this is a good evolution for their show art. (B-)

Broadway Games: Openers or Closers...or Both?

Broadway Games:

Openers or Closers...or Both?

Often, a Broadway musical's initial impression or closing moments are what stay with audiences. Right out of the gate, first timers at A Chorus Line were invested with "I Hope I Get It," and left the Shubert on a cloud, humming, "One." Today's shows are no different!

DIRECTIONS: For each of today's current musicals, we've listed a song or two. You tell whether it is the opening number, the closing number, or both!

For example, Moulin Rouge!: "Come What May" Answer: Closing Number

1. "Can't Stop the Feeling!" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

2. "Arabian Nights" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

3. "Candela" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

4. "Endgame/Someone Else's Story/You and I" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

5. "Hot Honey Rag" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

6. "The End" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

7. "Road to Hell" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

8. "Alexander Hamilton" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

9. "Empire State of Mind" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

10. "This Could Be the Start of Something New" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

11. "Why Love?" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

12. "Wanna Be Startin' Something/You Just Can't Win" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

13. "Born to Lead" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

14. "Ragtime" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

15. "Ex-wives" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

16. "Hello!" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

17. "Roaring On" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

18. "The Circle of Life" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

19. "Tulsa '67" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

20. "New York" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

21. "No One Mourns the Wicked" 

a.  Opening Number    

b.  Closing Number    

c. Both

Broadway 3-Peats: The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Recently, we started a series of Broadway 3-peats, celebrating artists who we think had three great successes in a row. We will be continuing that series, but today we are starting a similar series aimed at all of you Broadway show and theater lovers (just like us). We will highlight 3 shows in a row that we loved - no skipping - that played the same theater. 

Broadway 3-peats:

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

1. Life of Pi (2023)

All three of the shows on my list today were based on another art form - books, films, a recording - that I was largely unaware of prior to seeing the show on Broadway. Life of Pi was the one I knew least about, so most of it was a complete surprise to me. But what made this first of three in a row so wonderful to me was the sheer theatricality of the piece. The staging, the lighting, the projections were all exciting. But it was the performances - human and puppet - that will always stick with me. Seeing it come to life right in front of me was a thrill I don't think I'll ever forget. That tiger, and that "boy" were absolutely spectacular!

(Review HERE.)

2. The Notebook (2024)

I may have been the only person in the Schoenfeld who had only read the book and had never seen the film. Well, I read the book years ago, and so the events of the show were practically new to me, so it held more than a few surprises for me. I was excited to hear a new score by a new composer and one of my favorite music performers, Ingrid Michaelson, and I was really looking forward to seeing several of my favorite performers, including Ryan Vasquez, Joy Woods, John Cardoza and the always amazing Maryann Plunkett. All of them were thrilling, as was the entire company. Though I loved all three of the shows mentioned today, this was my sentimental favorite. 

(Review HERE.)

3. Buena Vista Social Club (2025)

The newly minted Grammy-winning show was perhaps the biggest surprise of all. Who knew the story behind an album I'd never heard of before - and entirely sung in Spanish - could be so compelling? Led by Tony-winner Natalie Venetia Belcon and the Special Tony-winning band, this show was a non-stop feast for the ears and eyes. And that made it three in a row for the Schoenfeld!

(Review HERE.) 

Broadway Musical Logos: 2025-2026 Season (So Far) - The Revivals

I've been asked a lot this season, "why haven't you been reviewing show logos this year, Jeff?" Well, to be honest, it's because I am pretty disappointed in them so far. But, due to popular demand, I will provide my two-cents on each after all. Up first, the season's two new revivals (I'm not counting the returns of Mamma Mia! or Beetlejuice. Both are recycling the original staging and the original logos.). I will start by saying that the original Broadway logos for both of these are among my all-time favorites. Having said that, I am not going to compare them any more than that.

Broadway Musical Logos: 2025-2026 Season

The Revivals

Chess

This one's a partial head-scratcher. Partial because while I don't find it creative, it does make sense to use a photograph of the show's stars as part of the key art. It is a fair hedge for the advertisers. Chess was a huge flop last time around, and using photos of the stars will certainly draw their fans if the title won't. Using black and white seems to add to the gravity and seriousness of the work, too. If you know the show, it suggests the love-triangle aspect of the plot. But for the uninitiated, since they aren't looking at each other, many people will miss that. 

The rest of the logo, and admittedly there's not much more to it, has me at a loss. Chess as a topic for a show has always been a bit of a stretch, but literally nothing about this even hints at the game - not even the title. With a font as boring as the game's reputation and an absolutely ridiculous choice of color, it is beyond me how this was green-lit. And don't get me started on the teeny-tiny "THE MUSICAL" in red. Finally, why is the title font not the same as the rest - or better, why isn't it more substantially different than the rest? Even a couple of chess pieces and a new font couldn't save this, as these earlier iterations prove:

Grade: D

Ragtime

Why oh why couldn't James McMullen come out of retirement to do something really beautiful for this important production. Bless him, at 91, I get it. But damn, what a missed opportunity. Even more egregious is what they came up with. This reeks of rudimentary clip art and Microsoft word art. While I appreciate that the colors are Old Glory adjacent, the red is pretty unattractive, and is saved only by the blue that is close to the green hue of the Statue of Liberty.

Speaking of that, the saving grace of this lackluster show art is the Lady Liberty torch held up by a variety of multicultural hands, all reaching for it. It really is the perfect metaphor for what happens in the show (and in America generally throughout time). But could the title be any less interesting? Not even the Word Art wave style doesn't help. Is it the flag waving?  Uninspiring.

Grade: C-