2025 in Review: The Movers and Moments of the Year

We were fortunate to have seen 17 different productions in 2025: 14 on Broadway and 3 off-Broadway. These are the shows we considered in all categories this year: Bat Boy: The Musical. Buena Vista Social Club, Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes Her, Floyd Collins, Gypsy, Heathers, John Proctor is the Villain, Operation Mincemeat, The Queen of Versailles, Ragtime, Real Women Have Curves, Redwood, Romeo + Juliet, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) and Urinetown. There were two productions we paid another visit to: Hadestown and Sunset Boulevard and considered only those elements which were new to us this time around. We made our selections separately, so below you'll see where we agreed, where we differed, and those things we each just had to include. Our selections are arranged in alphabetical order below.

How did we compare to your favorites? Let us know via social media - @jkstheatresecene on all platforms. (X, Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky and Yahoo mail)

2025 in Review:

The Movers and Moments of the Year 

The New Faces of 2025:

Outstanding Performers

As Sondheim wrote in Merrily We Roll Along, "these are the movers, these are the shapers," and here we present ten of those performers who burst onto the theater scene with outstanding Broadway debuts. This year, the list includes leading roles, supporting roles and ensemblists (and even a few who are already stars in other disciplines) who we think will continue to move us with their talents and shape the future of theater.  

Anna Grace Barlow - Ragtime   Kit Connor - Romeo + Juliet

Tatianna Cordoba - Real Women Have Curves

Tommy Dorfman - Romeo + Juliet   Lizzy McAlpine - Floyd Collins

Joanna Riding - Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends

Sam Tutty - Two Strangers   Jack Wolfe - Hadestown

Amalia Yoo - John Proctor is the Villain   Rachel Zegler - Romeo + Juliet

The New Faces of 2025:

Outstanding Creatives

This past season gave us a cornucopia of thrilling theatrical events, stunning revivals and shows that have already established themselves as new classics. Theater, of course, does not exist in a vacuum, and so these "new faces" are not new to their creative endeavors. All of them made significant, career-changing contributions in 2025. We look forward to seeing them all in new, exciting productions in the years to come!

 

Kimberly Belflower - Playwright - John Proctor is the Villain

The Original Buena Vista Social Club

  

Jim Barne & Kit Buchan - Book, Music and Lyrics - Two Strangers

Robert Hastie - Director - Operation Mincemeat

Julia Mattison & Noel Carey - Music and Lyrics - Death Becomes Her

The Movers of 2025

One of the greatest pleasures we get from being regular theatergoers is seeing performers we've admired for years continuing to grow and contribute to the theater scene. This year, there was an abundance of such talent - many in multiple roles. Some have become award-winners, others breaking new ground in their careers. All of them made this past year memorable.

Natalie Venetia Belcon - Buena Vista Social Club   Jeb Brown - Dead Outlaw

Danny Burstein - Gypsy   Kerry Butler - Bat Boy   Andrew Durand - Dead Outlaw

Gabriel Ebert - John Proctor is the Villain   Jason Gotay - Floyd Collins

Joshua Henry - Ragtime  Jeremy Jordan - Floyd Collins 

Julia Knitel - Dead Outlaw

Cassie Levy - Ragtime   Justina Machado - Real Women Have Curves

Diego Andres Rodriguez - Sunset Blvd.   Lea Salonga - Old Friends

Nicole Scherzinger - Sunset Blvd.

Sherie Rene Scott - The Queen of Versailles  

Sadie Sink & Fina Strazza - John Proctor is the Villain

Paulo Szot - Hadestown  Nina White - The Queen of Versailles

Performer of the Year

This year, there were many stunning performing achievements, and I assure you both Mike and I wrestled with what actor to choose. Here are our choices for 2025.

Jeff's Selection:

Taylor Trensch

Floyd Collins/Bat Boy

I've been a fan of Taylor throughout his career, and over the years he has been consistently excellent. This year, his performances - he was in two critically acclaimed productions - were exceptional. On Broadway, he played reporter Skeets Miller in Floyd Collins, showing a dramatic maturity that earned him his first Tony Award nomination. He followed that with the starring role in Encores' Bat Boy: The Musical, a tour de force performance of exciting physicality and surprising depth and emotional range. In both, he was captivating. He made my year.

Mike's Selection:

Audra McDonald

Gypsy

Audra, playing one of the greatest roles in one of the greatest musicals ever written, is a recipe for musical theater Nirvana. Her Madame Rose offered a fresh and unique perspective while remaining fully respectful to the classic material. We saw some amazing performances in 2025, but for me this was easily the best.

The Moments of 2025

Over the past 12 months, we have had the privilege of seeing some truly great moments. Years of theater going have continued to raise the bar of expectation, and yet every year, the creative teams, writers and performers continue to raise that bar even more. As with everything else, we had to whittle down these moments, and on any given day, this list could be completely different. Here they are, arranged alphabetically by show title:

Buena Vista Social Club - Every time the band played 

Music by Buena Vista Social Club

Musical Direction by Marco Peguia

Literally every single time the Special Tony Award-winning band played the hair on my arms went straight up and I leaned forward in my seat in order to take it in even more. Somehow, the ears just aren't enough to fully experience such bliss. Wow. Just wow.

Gypsy - "Rose's Turn" 

Performed by Audra McDonald

Music by Jule Styne

Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed by Geoge C. Wolfe

One of the top three most electrifying moments I have witnessed live in over four decades of seeing Broadway shows. Everything Mike said above and more. It was a privilege to be in the room to witness it for myself.

John Proctor is the Villain - The Class Project Sequence 

Performed by Sadie Sink, Amalia Yoo and the Company

Song: "Green Light" by Lorde

Playwright Kimberly Belflower

Direction by Danya Taymor

In a play so intense, it was almost hard to believe that the build up to the classic projects finale of the piece didn't really prepare the audience for the actual moment, but when it happened, it was even more intense! A brilliant melding of The Crucible and the realities of the #MeToo movement, I think I held my breath the entire time. The dance, the song, the circumstance of the play... the audience was screaming its approval, and I screamed right along with them. 

Ragtime - The arrival of the Company 

Direction by Lear deBessonet

Choreography by Ellenore Scott

As if the stunning opening number by Ahrens and Flaherty wasn't thrilling enough, the grand entrance of the cast via a center stage elevator was elegant in its simplicity and just so powerful to witness. No wonder the audience erupted in applause the second it started. And to think it was just the first of many such moments created by Ms. deBessonet and Ms.Scott.

Redwood - The aerial choreography 

Performed by Idina Menzel, Michael Park and Khaila Wilcoxon

Vertical Movement/Vertical Choreography by BANDALOOP

It didn't last very long, but Redwood had its strengths. Among them were the moments "way up in the sky" as the cast was tethered to a giant redwood tree. And they sang while they did it! My mouth was agape, and I was glad to see it.

Broadway Quiz: Diva Digs

We love our Leading Ladies, don't we? We know their famous roles. We know their signature songs. We know their awards. But do we know where they had their biggest Broadway moments?

Broadway Quiz:

Diva Digs

DIRECTIONS: Answer each question about where these amazing women have played on Broadway. Good luck!

1. Angela Lansbury opened in Mame in which TWO theaters?

    A. Gershwin Theatre    B. Mark Hellinger Theatre    

    C. Winter Garden Theatre    D. Shubert Theatre

2. Patti LuPone has won three Tony Awards. She gave her award-winning performances in each of these theaters EXCEPT:

    A. The Vivian Beaumont Theater    B. The Broadway Theatre

    C. The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre    D. The St. James Theatre

3. Caissie Levy is best known as a musical actress, but which theater did she open in a play on Broadway?

    A. Al Hirschfeld Theatre    B. St. James Theatre

    C. Longacre Theatre    D. Vivian Beaumont Theater

4. Betty Buckley made her Broadway debut singing "He Plays the Violin: in 1776. Which theater was that in?

    A. Lunt-Fontanne    B. Majestic Theatre

    C. Royale Theatre    D. 46th Street Theatre

5. Judy Kuhn was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical three times. Which three theaters did these musical open in?

    A. Criterion Center Stage Right    B. Circle in the Square Theatre

    C. Broadway Theatre    D. Imperial Theatre

6. Audra McDonald won her first Tony Award for a show that played in which theatre?

    A. John Golden Theatre    B. Vivian Beaumont Theater

    C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts    D. Royale Theatre

7. Bernadette Peters opened in shows that played in all of the theaters EXCEPT:

    A. Samuel Friedman Theatre    B. Palace Theatre

    C. Royale Theatre    D. St. James Theatre

8. Rebecca Luker played Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, which played which Broadway house?

    A. New Amsterdam Theatre    B. The Lyric Theatre

    C. Gershwin Theatre    D. Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

9. Lea Salonga most recently appeared in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends which played which theater?

    A. Circle in the Square Theater    B. Lena Horne Theatre

    C. Eugene O'Neill Theatre    D. Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

10. Sutton Foster has appeared in 14 Broadway shows (not including benefit performances). Which is the only Broadway theater that she played in more than once?

    A. Broadway Theatre    B. Minskoff Theatre

    C. Marquis Theatre    D. Stephen Sondheim Theatre    

STOP HERE

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THE ANSWERS!!

Continue if you are ready

to check your answers.

1. Angela Lansbury opened in Mame in which TWO theaters?

    A. Gershwin Theatre (1983)  C. Winter Garden Theatre (1966)

2. Patti LuPone has won three Tony Awards. She gave her award-winning performances in each of these theaters EXCEPT:

    A. The Vivian Beaumont Theater 

    (She was nominated for her role as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the Beaumont.)

3. Caissie Levy is best known as a musical actress, but which theater did she open in a play on Broadway?

    C. Longacre Theatre

    (She opened there in Leopoldstadt.)

4. Betty Buckley made her Broadway debut singing "He Plays the Violin: in 1776. Which theater was that in?

    D. 46th Street Theatre

5. Judy Kuhn was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical three times. Which three theaters did these musicals open in?

    A. Criterion Center Stage Right (She Loves Me)

    B. Circle in the Square Theatre (Fun Home)

    D. Imperial Theatre (Chess)

6. Audra McDonald won her first Tony Award for a show that played in which theatre?

    B. Vivian Beaumont Theater (Carousel)

7. Bernadette Peters opened in shows that played in all of the theaters EXCEPT:

    D. St. James Theatre

8. Rebecca Luker played Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, which played which Broadway house?

    A. New Amsterdam Theatre

9. Lea Salonga most recently appeared in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends which played which theater?

    D. Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

10. Sutton Foster has appeared in 14 Broadway shows (not including benefit performances). Which is the only Broadway theater that she played in more than once?

    A. Broadway Theatre

    (Les Miserables and Shrek: The Musical)   

Friday 5: 5 Divas of 44th Street

5 Divas of 44th Street

You'll find neon lights on Broadway. And meet those dancin' feet on 42nd Street. But this season, if you want to see divas doing what they do best, you need to get yourself to West 44th Street! All 5 theaters on that block - the St. James, the Hayes, the Shubert, the Broadhurst and the Majestic - are housing some of the year's biggest Leading Lady performances, and they are this week's Friday 5. There are so many great performances on the block, that each show also has diva-level supporting performances, too. We are betting that come Tony time, this street will be home to many nominations and trophies!

• Jasmine Amy Rogers as Betty Boop in Boop! The Musical

Word on the street is this young woman is making her Broadway debut into a star turn for the ages! The iconic character deserves that kind of treatment, and we are sure Betty herself would give her a hearty, "Boop-Oop-a-Doop!"

• Supporting Diva: Faith Prince as Valentina

• Audra McDonald as Rose in Gypsy

Nearly universal acclaim has greeted yet another Audra performance, and we couldn't agree more with all the praise. She's created maybe the quintessential Rose, and a 7th Tony Award for her shelf wouldn't surprise us at all!

• Supporting Divas: Jordan Tyson as June and Joy Woods as Louise

• Maleah Joi Moon as Ali in Hell's Kitchen

Speaking of Tony Awards, this young diva earned one for this very performance! She sure sings the hell out of these Alicia Keys classics. Unfortunately, she will be leaving the show at the end of this month.

• Supporting Diva: Tony-winner Kecia Lewis as Miss Liza Jane

• LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Claudine Jasper in Purpose

She's an amazing actress, so it really isn't a surprise that she'd be on a list like this one. But credit where credit is due - the critics loved her, praising her command of the stage as matriarch of a troubled family during this 3 hour play.

• Supporting Diva: Kara Young as Aziza Houston

• Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard

Here is a breathtaking performance for the ages - larger than life. A diva playing a diva may be hard to beat during awards season. I can't wait to see her again!

• Guest Star Diva: Mandy Gonzalez as Norma Desmond

Friday 5: 5 Favorite Audra McDonald Performances

5 Favorite Audra McDonald Performances

With only 6 Tony Awards (and a meager 10 nominations), maybe some day Audra McDonald will be a success on the Broadway stage, right? My first memory of her wasn't on Broadway, but on a national tour stop for The Secret Garden, where she played a small, but noticeable role, Ayah. It was the role in which she'd make her Broadway debut - as Audra Ann McDonald. She's been somewhat successful since then... 

Here are our 5 favorite Broadway performances from this incredible actress:

5. Billie Holiday - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Broadway - 2014): 

Boozy Audra is captivating. We hung on her every word. Billie Holiday would have been so honored.

 

4. Bess - The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Broadway - 2012): 

A classic role for a classic singer! Her pair of duets with co-star Norm Lewis ("Bess, You Is My Woman Now" and "I Loves You, Porgy") were lightning in a bottle, so passionate and moving.

 

3. Carrie Pipperidge - Carousel (Broadway - 1994): 

Mike recalls her earthy take on Carrie frequently and with delight. Surely, this was a unique and lively star-making turn, earning her her first Tony Award!

 

2. Sarah - Ragtime (Broadway - 1998): 

I've often said that Ragtime was kind of disappointing to me as a staged production, at least as compared to the glorious cast recording. But the biggest exception to that assessment was the brilliant, epic (and devastating) performance by Ms. McDonald.

 

1. Rose - Gypsy (Broadway - 2025): 

I admit I was one of those "What?? Another Gypsy?" people when this was announced. Of course, with Audra attached, I still had to see it. I've seen many great Roses over the years, but honestly, watching her tear up that Majestic stage was as jaw-dropping as it was refreshing. It was like a whole new show. I shouldn't be surprised, though. I mean, she is pretty much the gold standard in everything she does. What a privilege to be there to see it.

Celebrating Audra McDonald: Great Moments We Missed

Last week, we celebrated some of the great moments that we got to see in the illustrious career of Audra McDonald. We consider ourselves fortunate, indeed, to have witnessed so many (HERE). But when you the giant list of accomplishments Ms. McDonald has, you unfortunately end up missing a lot no matter how big a fan you are! And so, today, we celebrate this wonder with a list of those performances we are still kicking ourselves for missing! 

Celebrating Audra McDonald:

Great Moments We Missed

(in no particular order)

   

Lottie Gee in Shuffle Along... We missed her twice in this show! Of course, we'll forgive her! Her child is definitely worth her missing a few shows. Still it would have been nice to see her as a song and dance gal. In the pictures, she looks like she had the time of her life.

   

Marie Christine L'Adrese in Marie Christine This was a double miss for us, as we are big Michael John LaChiusa fans, almost as much as we are Audra fans. Add to that the challenge of this complex show, and we really missed out!

   

Sharon in Master Class The first of her three appearances in shows written by Terrence McNally, I'm disappointed in myself that I missed her Tony-winning turn. It is entirely my fault that I missed out. At the time, I wasn't very fond of opera and knew nothing of the subject matter, so I didn't bother. Now that I'm more aware and appreciative of the art form, I'm sure I'd love the play.

   

Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun One of my favorite plays, I am shocked that I missed this star-studded arrival. And she won another Tony for it. I bet she was amazing.

   

Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade Here's another of her Tony-nominated turns. I know almost nothing about the score of this show, though I have seen the play on which it is based. But I'd have loved to see Audra act her ass off with the likes of John Cullum and Steve Kazee, not to mention a supporting cast that included Bobby Steggert, Betsy Wolfe and her future husband, Will Swensen.

Thank you, Audra, for sharing all of your gifts!

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