The 2025 JKTS Awards: Readers' Choice Winners

Readers' Choice Winners!

Even with a record-setting number of votes cast this year, several of the award categories were extremely close. And, interestingly, every nominee in every category received a substantial number of votes. In retrospect, that's not too surprising, though. After all, the quality of shows this season was of very high caliber.

And so, without further ado, here are your 2025 JKTS Readers' Choice Award winners!

Be sure to check out our Editor's Choice Awards, to be announced on June 11th!

Looking Forward to Summer: June - August 2025

Soon enough, we'll be trading in light jackets for shorts and tees, and turning up the A.C. Where did spring go? The last couple of summers were busy, theater-wise, but this year it feels much lighter. It will be the perfect opportunity to catch up on an extremely busy spring!

Looking Forward to Summer:

June - August 2025

As always, before we look ahead, let's review what we got to see this past spring. We started with a re-visit to a favorite, Sunset Boulevard, where we discovered an amazing new talent, Diego Andres Rodriguez (left), who is now in London getting ready to co-star in Evita. Then we had a long weekend of shows, all of which we really enjoyed: the new sensation Dead Outlaw;the gorgeous revival of Floyd Collins with brilliant performances by Jeremy Jordan, Taylor Trensch, Jason Gotay and a thrilling new talent, Lizzie McAlpine; the nostalgic revue Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends with the legendary Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga as we've never seen her before; and, finally, the emotional, visually stunning Redwood with Indina Menzel proving she still has it. We wrapped up our spring just last week with an imperfect but promising world premiere play, John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only, starring a new favorite actor, Ben Ahlers in the title role. It was a good spring all around.

And now, to catch up this summer...

We've Got Tickets:

Buena Vista Social Club (Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre - Broadway) I don't know much about this band, album or even this style of music, but I can't think of a better way to learn about it than with a 10-time Tony nominated musical. Everything I've seen about it looks beautiful. And with Avenue Q's Natalie Venetia Belcon in a triumphant return, we are even more excited to see it.

John Proctor is the Villain (Booth Theatre - Broadway) Ever since it was announced, I've been interested in seeing this one - probably not for the reason many people are. I'd never heard of Sadie Sink until her name appeared above the title (I don't watch Stranger Things). But I have always loved Arthur Miller's The Crucible, and I love works that re-examine classics like this new play does. And no offense to Ms. Sink, but I am really excited to see Gabriel Ebert once again, and to discover what she does have to offer.

Operation Mincemeat (John Golden Theatre - Broadway) Considering what a buff of World War II I am, and how much of an Anglophile I fancy myself to be, it surprises me just how little interest I've had in this one. But 10 Tony Nominations and seeing Jak Malone perform the touching "Dear Bill," convinced me to snag a ticket. Now, I'm actually excited to see what all the fuss is about.

Real Women Have Curves (James Earl Jones - Broadway) I've never seen any other iteration of this property, and I can't believe it, really. I love sassy women and an underdog story. Add one of my favorite actors, Tony-nominee Justina Muchada, and a much-raved about debut from Tatianna Cordoba, and I had to see it! Word-of-mouth on this is nothing but positive, and I look forward to laugh and love it.

On Our Wish List:

Pirates! The Penzance Musical (Todd Haimes Theatre - Broadway) We hope to get to this one for many reasons. The cast - Jinkx, David, Ramin -, the book update by the great Rupert "Drood" Holmes, and the locale change to New Orleans, all combined to make this old chestnut a hopeful addition to our collection of new old favorites.

Heathers (New World Stages - Off-Broadway) Saw this one the first time it was off-Broadway, and really enjoyed it. Fun and subversive, it really is my cup of tea. The song, "Seventeen" is one of my favorite show tunes of the 21st century. But what makes seeing this revival a priority is the great casting - Kerry Butler alone would get my interest, but with two of the biggest up and comers on the theater scene as the leads I have to see this. I mean, how could I miss & Juliet's Lorna Courtney and Almost Famous' Casey Likes?

Regional Review: John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only

Review of the Sunday, May 18, 2025 preview performance at Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland. Starring Ben Ahlers, Jordan Boatman, Sam Huntsman, Ked Merwin, Adrienne C. Moore and Robbie Tann. A new play by Matthew Weiner. Scenic design by Beowulf Boritt. Costume design by Orla Long. Lighting design by Xiangfi Xiao. Projection design by Stefania Bulbarella. Sound design/Composer Taylor J. Williams. Fight and intimacy choreography by Sierra Young. Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb. 110 minutes, with no intermission.  

Early on in John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only, Booth admonishes us for not knowing his full, true story - that he's much more than that one bullet. And it is true. I learned quite a bit about one of America's most infamous villains; knowing so little is even more egregious given that he is from my home state of Maryland. To that end, this play by nine-time Emmy Award winner Matthew Weiner (TV's Mad Men and The Sopranos), is a dramatic prequel of sorts to Sondheim's Assassins. Unfortunately, it was in spite of the play rather than because of it that I learned a lot.

Set up as a cabaret one-man show, it has enough meta twists and turns to be clever enough. (Oh, Mary!'s Mary Todd Lincoln would have been thrilled to share the stage with ol' Jack Booth, I'm sure.) But the constant breaking of the fourth wall - things like direct address, an inept prompter, and stopping to repeat "important lines" grows old fast, both because any momentum the play gathers is stopped cold, and because it's a dramatic device that has become trite and here covers no new ground. Instead of adding to it, the conceit only serves to lengthen an already overlong intermission-less event.

Tony nominee Stevie Walker-Webb (Ain't No Mo') directed this mess, though to be fair, we saw an early preview and one hopes he used the rest of the pre-opening time to tighten the piece and work with the playwright to finesse this world premiere script. Beowulf Boritt designed the 19th century stage setting that does everything it needs to, along with a late act surprise that caused a deserved gasp. Lit with an appropriate dramatic flare by Xiangfi Xiao, and costumed with wit by Orla Long, the production is handsome enough to look at. At one point, "Booth" employs a "magic lantern" (a slide show) to supplement his lecture, but, as designed by Stephania Bulbarella, its effectiveness is mixed. One sequence, the re-telling of the execution of John Brown through clever, stylized silhouettes was really cool. The rest, a hodgepodge of images less 18th century and more Google search top picks, was more distracting than anything else.

  

The six cast members do the best they can with the dense, meandering script that calls on them to do 18th century melodrama-style acting, mixed with an inordinate amount of Shakespeare, and finally, a jarring dose of realism. Some are more successful than others. Perhaps it is by design (and that would be a big benefit of the doubt) that the three actors who play generic theatrical types are the least successful. As "Actress," Adrienne C. Moore fails to make her formidable presence work with a series of accents so thick that her lines are nearly all unintelligible. Similarly, Ked Merwin milks his awkward nerdy-ness dry, losing much of his early audience good will with an uneven vocal affectation and a one-note take on a beleaguered prompter. Finally, and it gives me no pleasure to say this, there's "The Boy," a virtually unnecessary character, played by Sam Huntsman, who makes so little impression it is difficult to say who is most at fault, the actor or the playwright.

  

The good news - and it is very good - is that the three main actors are always exciting and offer the strongest argument that this work is worthy of future work and production. First, as Booth's sister Asia Booth Clarke (and other characters) Jordan Boatman is a magnetic presence, with a strength that draws the eye and captivates thoroughly. Next up, as Booth's brother Edwin (and father at one point) Robbie Tann embodies the exact tone and flair I think Weiner is going for. Tann's hairpin switches between self-absorbed "actor" and expert Shakespeare tragedian are truly remarkable. One expects this guy to make it big and soon.

Most importantly, John Wilkes Booth is being played by another actor that seems to fully understand the assignment here. Ben Ahlers, probably most famous for his role in HBO's The Gilded Age, goes all in with the character, managing to be both a chilling sociopath, and, dare I say it, sympathetic. Grand gestures and minute ticks go hand in hand in this portrayal. With a pleasing combination of boyish charm and suave roguishness, he struts and frets about the stage. Until he doesn't. The final moments of the play - Booth in Garrett's barn being smoked out - signal a stark, abrupt change, and Ahlers is perfect at convincingly making that scary shift believable. In lesser hands, this would simply not have worked. It was a pleasure watching him work live in front of me.

A work that has potential, One Night Only suffers under the weight of its own concept. A tighter script, a more focused direction and a few recasts could make this go places. For now though, I'll think of the entire Booth family every time I walk by the Booth Theatre on 45th Street. Edwin (its namesake) and John Wilkes deserve our attention.

📸: Baltimore Center Stage

Broadway Games: Best Musicals By Pic

Vote for your favorites for 

The 2025 JKTS Readers' Choice Awards!

Cast your ballot HERE

With the Tonys just weeks away, and with a new Best Musical soon to be crowned, let's play a little game about previous winners! Good luck!

Broadway Games:

Best Musicals By Pic

DIRECTIONS: Name the show and the year it was named Best Musical. 

1. What show? What Year?

2. What show? What Year?

3. What show? What Year?

4. What show? What Year?

5. What show? What Year?

The 2025 JKTS Readers' Choice Awards: The Final Ballot

Well, readers, your nominations have been tabulated! Thank you for your participation. 

Now it's the most important part of the process - TIME TO VOTE! Now is the time to show your favorite shows some love! Check out the details below, then fill out the ballot. It is 100% secure, but make sure you hit the submit button at the end of the ballot or your vote won't count. (More than 2 dozen nominations were not counted because that submit button was not tapped!)

Readers' Choice Awards:

The Final Ballot

• The final voting is open now through 5 PM (Eastern) on Tuesday, May 27th.
• Please vote for the number of nominees allowed by each question. 
• There are 14 categories - KEEP SCROLLING & TAPPING! ALL CATEGORIES ARE REQUIRED,
• WE ARE NOT COLLECTING YOUR DATA. (We can't even see it!)
• IMPORTANT: Your vote won't count until you tap the "SUBMIT" button.

The results will be revealed on Friday, May 30th!

Friday 5: 5 Favorite Charles Strouse Songs

Yesterday brought the sad news that Broadway composer Charles Strouse passed away at age 96. Chances are that even though you may not know his name, you've heard his music. Three of his shows were Tony Award winning Best Musicals. You might have heard of them: Annie, Bye Bye Birdie and Applause.  As great as his biggest hits were, his flops were just as accomplished. As musical theater lovers, we are all that much better for his contributions.

Thank you, Mr. Strouse. RIP

5 Favorite Charles Strouse Songs

"We'd Like to Thank You" from Annie (Lyrics by Martin Charnin)

This choice probably surprises you, but "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard-Knock Life" are just too obvious. Instead, I love the cynical meaning of the song wrapped up in that catchy, big show sound. The juxtaposition of the Hooverville-ites and the music is just delicious. Family-friendly to the ear, biting social commentary for the brain. Love it!!

"One Hallowe'en" from Applause (Lyrics by Lee Adams)

The second of three shows he composed that won Best Musical, this score is a no skips for me. Sure, it's a bitchy, mod take on the classic film All About Eve, and Bacall's vocals are iffy at times, but it's the consistently catchy, moody music that really sells it. So why this short solo number? Because it is a perfect character piece - defiant, slow-building, and packs a wallop even when the music takes a halting pause.

"Normal American Boy" from Bye Bye Birdie (Lyrics by Lee Adams)

Here is the classic show that put Strouse and Adams on the map. A score full of tuneful toe-tappers, on any given day I could put any one of those songs on this list. Like his later score for Annie, his music is sweet Americana, but with a great undercurrent of seriousness and a healthy cynicism. I chose this one for exactly that combination.

"Busy Night At Lorraine's" from Nick and Nora (Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr.)

I didn't see this show - not many did - but the score is one of my favorites. In this number, Strouse (with stunning orcheatrations by Jonathan Tunick) gives us appropriate Thin Man 30s film noir undercurrents with Broadway brassiness, and uses pizzicato strings to highlight the wordy delivery of Maltby's lyrics and oboes to add urgency. The whole thing is catchy, and if you close your eyes, you can just picture what is going on. It may have only lasted for 9 performances, but it earned its Best Score Tony nomination. 

"Greenhorns" from Rags (Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz)

This is the show that walked so that Ragtime could run. This epic number brings together classic European styles and American ragtime. Strouse goes all in with the tune that utilizes all sections of an orchestra, gorgeous horns and woodwinds, driving rhythms and an ominous use of time and key changes. This whole score is a winner.

Review: PBS Great Performances: Next to Normal

Review of the PBS Great Performances presentation which aired on Friday, May 9, 2025. Filmed at Wyndham's Theatre in September 2024. Originally produced by Donmar Warehouse. Starring Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Jack Wolfe, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Trevor Dion Nicholas and Jack Ofrecio. Book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. Music by Tom Kitt. Set and costume design by Chloe Lamford. Lighting design by Lee Curran. Video design by Tal Rosner. Sound design by Tony Gayle. Musical supervision by Nigel Lilley. Movement, choreography and additional direction by Ann Yee. Directed by Michael Longhurst. 2 hours 10 minutes. NOTE: This is streaming on PBS's site through 6/30/25.

Like many of you reading this, I was glued to my television, captivated by the acclaimed West End production of Next to Normal, which aired on PBS' Great Performances. Full disclosure, I guess, this musical is one of my all time all-time favorites. I've seen it more than a dozen times, on Broadway and in regional theaters around the East Coast. Having done that, I was accustomed to seeing the piece staged differently from its iconic New York production, and so it wasn't a shock that this version didn't look like Broadway. What was a shock - at least initially - was just how amazing this was. I wasn't prepared for the emotional ride this brilliant company took me on. Looking back, it shouldn't have been such a shock; the cast is made up of some of the modern theater's most amazing performers.

From the outset, it was apparent that meticulous care was taken to present this as theatrically as possible within the parameters of a film medium. Broad shots felt like you were seated right in the theater; close-ups and unique angles made it feel like a very personal experience. All of the credit for that goes to director Michael Longhurst, who takes us on a seamless ride through suburban home life and the crazy journey inside the mind of a woman suffering on many levels, not the least of which is crippling bipolar disorder. The result is breathless/breathtaking storytelling that is highly entertaining and riveting. The design team (Chloe Lamford, sets/costumes; Lee Curran, lighting; Tal Resnor, video; Tony Gayle, sound) has created a contemporary home that evolves as the story does, with multiple playing levels and a sharp use of a turntable and a center island that functions as a kitchen, sanctuary and a barrier for all who need it. The upper level, which houses the terrific band, serves a multitude of purposes (most notably as a trap of sorts for the ethereal son). Together, the production team has created the perfect space for this rock musical to thrive while remaining grounded.

Top to bottom, this ensemble cast is perfection, and dare I say it, the very best company I've seen perform it. I mean no disrespect to the original and subsequent Broadway companies, and I never thought I'd say it, but there it is.

Jack Ofrecio, with his boyish face and rugby lad physique, brings a simultaneously teddy bear sweetness and pillar of strength feeling to the role of Henry. As Natalie's new boyfriend, he is the outsider that we are. He sees what we see: a pretty wholesome looking family who suffers from a chaos only seen from inside the house. His performance offers it all - humor, concern, and a palpable need to help. The other outsiders see the situation from inside the mental health aspects, in the form of two doctors, cleverly named Dr. Fine and Dr. Madden, and both played by Trevor Dion Nicholas, whose gorgeous voice is full of calm and frustration (sometimes at the same time). He really is a presence - I felt like I had never really seen either of these characters before until now.

In that same vein, I really have been underestimating just how central the character of the nearly forgotten daughter, Natalie, is to driving this story. Again, no disrespect to the original (an amazing Jennifer Damiano), but Eleanor Worthington-Cox is simply next level. She wrings every bit of angst, fear, self-loathing and survivalist emotion out of the role, but always in an organic, natural feeling way. Every tear she sheds (and there are many) is both earned and justified. And her voice is magnificent. I get chills just thinking of her tearing into "Superboy and the Invisible Girl." Just as different from the original (Aaron Tveit) and just as brilliant is award-winner Jack Wolfe's enigmatic portrayal of Gabe. Here he is both victim and villain, cloaked behind a facade of boyish charm, which he uses to manipulate and survive. He is, indeed the embodiment of the perfect 2020s mother's ideal son. Both Worthington-Cox and Wolfe are such brilliant performers, one can only see continued massive success to already striking careers. (Please come stateside!) 

Though I'm not at all surprised at Jamie Parker's acting - He was terrific in Cursed Child and The History Boys - I wasn't prepared for his singing voice, which is really quite good, with the perfect balance of finesse and characterization. As Dan, the beleaguered and terrified husband, it is heartbreaking to watch him navigate the impossibility of taking care of his wife, his family, and as an afterthought, himself. As an actor, he is a great match for his co-star; he holds his own in a fascinating battle for survival. 

That co-star is the always captivating Caissie Levy who continues her never broken, always climbing streak of brilliant performances. Can this really be the woman I discovered in Hair? Her Diana is an unflinching character study, and there are no dark corners she seems to avoid. How she did this 8 times a week must be studied. In a way, I'm glad I got to see this as a filmed performance, as I am pretty sure had I seen this live, I'd have missed almost everything else for not being able to take my eyes off of her. I've always been a fan of everything she does, so maybe I'm biased. But it takes a lot for me to say that I think she was better than my two previous favorites in the role, Alice Ripley and Marin Mazzie. Brava!

Following the main feature, there was a mini-documentary called "Behind the Curtain," in which director Longhurst discusses the genesis of this production. He made two resonating points: one, he hadn't seen the original and was given full freedom to make it what he felt it needed to be some 15 years after the original, and two, he stressed the importance of getting this right so that it honored the experience in the theater while bringing the very best of it to audiences that couldn't get there to see it. He makes a very compelling case for pro-shots and delivering them to the masses. With this kind of result, how could anyone argue with that? I'm so thankful.

📸: M. Brenner