What Would You See on Broadway 50 Years Ago?

Fifty years ago, the U.S. was celebrating its bicentennial. Times Square was a viper's nest of porn, prostitution and crime. The lights were bright, but dirty. Broadway was, as usual, "dying." Of course.

And yet, the theaters were open and serving a theater-going crowd the escape they craved. Inside those hallowed palaces was a refuge of elegance, glamour and vibrant art. Oases each and every one of them.

What might we have seen this week in 1976?

Broadway 

Time Machine:

What to See in September 1976

First-nighters had quite the week half a century ago! FIVE opening nights in a row!!

  

BROADHURST THEATRE:

Opening Night: September 21, 1976

A Texas Trilogy: Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander 

2 previews, 21 performances

Starring Diane Ladd and Everett McGill

Opening Night: September 22, 1976

A Texas Trilogy: The Last Meeting of the Knights of White Magnolia 

2 previews, 22 performances

Starring Fred Gwynne and Henderson Forscythe

Opening Night: September 23, 1976

A Texas Trilogy: The Oldest Living Graduate 

2 previews, 20 performances

Starring Fred Gwynne, Henderson Forscythe, Ralph Roberts and Patricia Roe

All three plays by Preston Jones and directed by Alan Schneider were performed in repertory.

EDISON THEATRE:

Opening Night: September 24, 1976

Oh! Calcutta!

5,959 performances

Until Chicago, this was the longest-running musical revival in Broadway history. 8 performers famously bared all in this musical revue that stuck around until 1989!

URIS THEATRE:

Opening Night: September 25, 1976

Porgy and Bess

5 previews, 122 performances

This production presented by the Houston Grand Opera was originally a limited run stop on a national tour. It went on to be nominated for 6 1977 Tony Awards, including for co-stars Larry Marshall and Clamma Dale, as well as director Jack O'Brien. It won for Most Innovative Production of a Revival.

BILTMORE THEATRE:

The Robber Bridegroom

12 previews, 145 performances

Fans of early previews had a chance to catch the first glimpse of eventual Best Actor in a Musical Tony winner Barry Bostwick.

Established hits to choose from included:

SHUBERT THEATRE: 

A Chorus Line 

Now in its 2nd smash year, the one singular sensation was the toughest, most coveted ticket in town.

ANTA PLAYHOUSE: 

Bubbling Brown Sugar 

A very popular musical revue of the African-American songbook.

46TH STREET THEATRE: 

Chicago 

The original production of the now classic Kander and Ebb was doing brisk business. The Bob Fosse helmed production started the legendary Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart, Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn, and Lenora Nemetz as Velma Kelly.

BOOTH THEATRE: 

for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf 

The original, ground-breaking play has just opened last week to considerable acclaim. Good luck getting a ticket!

ROYALE THEATRE: 

Grease 

The original Broadway production continued its record-breaking run - at this point, nearly the longest-running musical in Broadway history, a record it would set before finally closing in 1980. You may have seen Richard Gere, John Travolta, Marilu Henner and Judy Kaye!

BROADWAY THEATRE: 

Guys and Dolls 

This all-Black revival of the Frank Loesser classic was taking Broadway by storm with Tony nominees Robert Guillaume and Ernestine Jackson leading the cast as Nathan Detroit and Sarah Brown, respectively.

ST. JAMES THEATRE: 

My Fair Lady 

This 20th Anniversary production starred Christine Andreas as Eliza Doolittle, Ian Richardson as Henry Higgins, Robert Coote as Col. Pickering and Tony winner George Rose as Alfred P. Doolittle.

MAJESTIC THEATRE:

The Wiz

Ease on down the road - 44th Street, that is - to catch the newly crowned Tony Award Best Musical (and 6 more Tonys!) soulful retelling of The Wizard of Oz. 

Which shows would you have picked to see back in the day?

Review: Becky Shaw

Review of the Saturday, June 6, 2026 matinee performance at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City. A play by Gina Gionfriddo. Starring Patrick Ball, Madeline Brewer, Alden Ehrenreich, Linda Emond and Lauren Patten. Scenic design by David Zinn. Costume design by Kaye Voyce. Lighting design by Stacey Derosier. Sound design by M.I. Dogg. Directed by Trip Cullman. 2 hours 30 minutes, including one intermission.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's always fun to watch bad people at work in a play or movie (not so much in real life). Such is definitely the case with the viciously biting comedy, Becky Shaw. The people in this relationship drama are alternately mean and well-intentioned, predators and victims, self-serving and open-hearted. Full of secrets and thriving on the ability to use them as weapons, these are simply not nice human beings. But you could never tell them that.

A tricky game of manipulation over money, power and love, the lives of this soon to be less wealthy family are already on edge, when a seemingly innocent, lonely girl gets entangled in their lives. Chaos ensues and no one ends up the way they started. Obviously, there's a lot going on here, and trying to capture it all without giving too much away is a fool's errand, so I'll leave at this: this Pulitzer Prize finalist by Gina Gionfriddo is a harsh reality check for modern society, and it left me thankful not have this be in my life!

Trip Cullman's direction is razor-sharp and fraught with tension, with a blistering pace and a few dramatic flares. Design-wise, the lighting (by Stacey Derosier) is unremarkable, save for some appropriately cold hues in the early scenes, and M. I. Dogg's sound was crystal clear, if at times jarring with that way too common penchant for jump scare music to punctuate the end of each scene. (Can we just stop with that already?) The biggest surprise and also the biggest disappointment was the cheap looking and, well, ugly set and costumes (by David Zinn and Kaye Voyce, respectively). Wow, just wow. Community theater on a thrift shop budget isn't really an appropriate vibe at this level or this piece.

Fortunately, there isn't a weak link in the cast. Linda Emond as the matriarch, controlled the stage every moment she was on, wielding her cane like a wicked sorcerer's staff as she made pronouncements and observations like evil incantations. Meanwhile, Patrick Ball walks a fine line between earnestly good, hopelessly naive and self-righteousness as the people-pleasing husband who nearly loses everything to help a co-worker. He says all the right things about women and how they should be treated, but always leaves some measure of doubt as to just how much he means it. As the titular Becky Shaw, Madeline Brewer makes an impressive debut as a master manipulator with pot stirring skills that are unparalleled. Her slight stature, sweet voice and demure look is the perfect disguise for such a trickster, and Brewer plays it with cunning allure - we are both smitten and repulsed at the same time.

It is with the last two actors that Becky Shaw has its real muscle. Lauren Patten is perfection as the messy and messed up Suzanna, a psychology grad student who seems to understand everyone else's issues while blind to her own. Until she isn't. Patten is intense yet not off-putting, and plays her character in such a way that you can be on her side and appalled by her at the same time. Given Suzanna's family, it's no wonder she is the way she is, and the actress navigates it all with excellence. Finally, there's newly minted Tony-winner Alden Ehrenreich, as financial advisor and almost son to this odd family. He is maddening in his indignant need to stick to his steadfast belief system - he embodies the "stay in your lane" philosophy to the point of near destruction. And yet, somehow, you find yourself thinking he's right to do so. He's a bit of an asshole, who uses his personal credo as an armor, and only later do we come to understand why. The play leaves us at a bit of a cliffhanger where he is concerned, and that makes the whole play that much more unnerving and thought-provoking.

The aesthetics of the production aside, it was a funny and challenging piece. I know I wouldn't want any of these people in my life. Gionfriddo spends a lot of time letting us know about characters outside of the play - a father, his financial advisor/lover, the mother's lover and more. The whole time I kept thinking these are the people I want to see. Is that a good thing?

📸: M. Franklin

Review: John Proctor is the Villain

Review of the Saturday, May 31, 2025 evening performance at the Booth Theatre in New York City. Starring Sadie Sink, with Nihar Duvurri, Gabriel Ebert, Molly Griggs, Maggie Kuntz, Hagan Oliveras, Morgan Scott, Fina Strazza and Amalia Yoo. A new play by Kimberly Belflower. Scenography by AMP ft. Teresa L. Williams. Costume Design by Sarah Laux. Lighting Design by Natasha Katz. Sound and Original Composition by Palmer Hefferan. Projection Design by Hannah Wasileski. Directed by Danya Taymor. 1 hour 45 minutes, with no intermission.

The final scene of John Proctor is the Villain is powerful and thrilling, but its final seconds are breathtaking and cathartic. As the title suggests, Kimberly Belflower's new play takes everything we thought we knew the hero of about Arthur Miller's The Crucible and stands it on its ear. Alternately hilarious and horrifying, this intense play is easily the best production of the season past several seasons. 

While this modern play soon exposes itself as an allegory for an allegorical play, it is nevertheless full of twists, turns and revelations that are somehow not surprising at all yet shocking just the same. Other plays have moved me, sure, but none have taken my heart and soul on such an emotional ride since dare I say it, Lost In Yonkers back in the 90s. There are no grand effects, sweeping visuals or puppets to heighten my senses. There is just good, solid dialogue, smart plotting with challenging themes, and a brilliant company of actors leaving it all on the stage.

Danya Taymor, the reigning directorial queen of teen angst, could (should) win her second Tony Award for her masterful staging. The focus ebbs and flows so naturally, (one feels almost like a peeping Tom) watching this honors English class, with its imaginative use of movement so easily could have been a static classroom drama - and dramatic pauses that punctuate each scene. Taymor has amped up the Gen Z anxiety with rapid fire bursts of conversation and tense physical juxtapositions. The effect causes us to share in the students' fears while simultaneously wanting to protect them and shake them for their maddening naivete. Turns out that all of that anxiety is well founded, with accusations of sexual abuse beginning to swirl around this small town, and, soon enough in this classroom. Power, trust and Me Too politics all come into play - a witch hunt comes to a high school and lives are destroyed. It is a lot to juggle, but thankfully this director knows how to handle it. Never hard to follow, the details are carefully doled out and we are collectively on the edge of our seats.

The design team certainly adds to the experience: the "scenography" by AMP featuring Teresa L. Williams is a meticulously detailed small-town Georgia classroom with room to move and different playing areas. It is the perfect crucible. Similarly, Sarah Laux's costumes are both realistic and thematically apt, as is the general lighting by Natasha Katz. Katz beautifully supplements the more theatrical moments with focused spots. The final minutes are made more thrilling by Hannah Wasileski's dizzying floor projections. (I do recommend the mezzanine at the Booth.)

In yet another example of why the Tony Awards need to recognize ensemble casts, these nine actors are, to a person, stunning. There are two adults in the world: a new, caring guidance counselor whose rookie status is both a hindrance and a help, and the experienced but still youthful teacher, whose passion for his subject ignites a fire in his students. The counselor is played with an open heart and, eventually, a shocking clarity by Molly Griggs. Current Tony nominee Gabriel Ebert is the teacher with a knack for gaining the trust of the kids in his care, and this actor continues his streak of wide-ranging portrayals, with this unflinching, frightening turn. His nomination is completely deserved.

The rest of the company is full of young up and comers, each one with the potential for long, storied careers. Hagan Oliveras plays the alpha male out of his depth when he faces a reckoning for his sexist behavior with several of his classmates. He manages to be both a bad guy and mildly sympathetic; his is a tough assignment perfectly executed. As the other male student, Nihar Duvurri plays a kid, who on the surface also seems completely out of his depth. Until he isn't. His arc is a crowd-pleaser.

The five young women are central to the action and point of the play, not unlike their Crucible counterparts. As a unit, they represent their small town society. Individually, they make a strong case for the future. There's the daughter of the town's minister, is forced to reevaluate her upbringing in the face of moving on with her own life, played with a sweet fierceness by Amalia Yoo. The Outsiders' Maggie Kuntz plays the popular girl whose home and family have been central to this friendship group's social life for years. Her idyllic childhood is shattered by accusations of her father's impropriety, and Ms. Kuntz nails that fragility without ever overacting it. And there's the newest student, a big city transplant played with a biting savvy by Morgan Scott, who brilliantly plays the balancing act of a more worldly view and trying to fit in with her new surroundings. 

The other two students do a lot of the comedic and dramatic heavy lifting; having now seen this it is no wonder both are Tony-nominated. Fina Strazza is a wonder as the meticulous brainiac with one eye on college applications the other on pleasing her teacher. Her saccharine delivery is both funny and - amazingly - ingratiating. We are on her side the entire time, even more so as she is forced to acknowledge a life-changing reality. Finally, there's Sadie Sink, who was largely unknown to me before this. Let's just say she earned her above-the-title-billing, as she navigates a labyrinth of emotions. She is a fiery, captivating presence who endears even as she infuriates. Her final scene alone is worth the price of admission.

Thirty plus years between plays that make me feel this much was entirely worth the wait. I cannot recommend this play enough. It is a thrill ride from start to finish, not to be missed.

📸: J. Cervantes

Friday 5: 5 Favorite Classic Plays

5 Favorite Classic Plays

If this was called the Friday 6, Our Town would have made today's list. After purchasing tickets to this season's revival, I got to thinking about older plays that I love. I'm not talking about Shakespeare older, but early to mid 20th century classics. Plays that for me resonate despite (and because of) their age. Each speaks as clearly to us today as they did to audiences decades ago.

All My Sons - Arthur Miller

You might expect that Miller's more famous plays, Death of a Salesman and/or The Crucible, would make this list. They are fine scripts, but the very first Tony Award-winning Best Play (it was awarded to the playwright as "Best Author") is the one that sticks with me. Is there anything more American than greed and corruption wrapped up in patriotism and family values? Timeless.

An Inspector Calls - J.B. Priestley

A chilling suspense play, with a dash of societal criticism, this very British play is exciting from the moment it starts. The revival from the 90s was so great, I saw it three times. The highly stylized production was engrossing and very wet, but for all the spectacle, the play itself shone through. I hung on every word.

Arsenic and Old Lace - Joseph O. Kesselring

When I see a play like this one, that is good whether it is a professional production, a local show, or a high school performance, it speaks to the quality of the writing. A great plot, full of twists and turns, expertly drawn characters, and genuinely funny situations all combine to make a light night of high quality entertainment. It was the perfect antidote to a war-worried and weary audience.

The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams

If I had to name my single favorite play of all time it would be this beautiful play. It is so rich that every time I see it (I've seen it close to two dozen times in a variety of venues) I find something more to marvel at and think about. Of all of those, I think I enjoyed the Cherry Jones-Zachary Quinto revival the most. The dreamlike quality of it leaned into the "memory play" aspect of it.

The Man Who Came to Dinner - George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart

A comedy classic with a cast of thousands (thank you, WPA), this 3-act gem concerns critic and radio personality Sheridan Whiteside, stuck in the suburbs with a middle class family. He lures some of his celeb friends to the small town, and a bunch of craziness involving, among other things, an Egyptian sarcophagus and dozen penguins. With its sharp barbs and commentary on the classes, fame and media influence, I'm surprised this one hasn't been on Broadway in almost a quarter century. The last time, it starred Nathan Lane, Harriet Harris...and Jean Smart. 

REVIEW: Oh, Mary!

Review of the Saturday, July 27, 2024 matinee performance at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City. A new play by Cole Escola. Starring Cole Escola, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Bianca Leigh and Tony Macht. Scenic design by dots. Costume design by Holly Pierson. Lighting design by Cha See. Sound design by Daniel Kluger and Drew Levy. Direction by Sam Pinkleton. 80 minutes no intermission.

NOTE: This is the kind of show best enjoyed spoiler-free, and I will do my best not to give anything away. 

Last season's off-Broadway sensation is this Broadway season's hottest ticket, and with good reason. Somehow, almost impossibly, Oh, Mary! not only lives up to its hype, it exceeds it. 

Playwright Cole Escola gives audiences just what it needs these days: an irreverent skewering of American politics that allows for a cathartic laugh. It is an 80 minute vacation crammed full of laughs, but also a tight plot with enough surprises to keep the sold out crowd leaning forward to catch every delightful morsel and to gasp at each riotous twist and revelation. Here is a pitch-perfect replica of the melodramatic style of theater prevalent in the mid-19th century, but with its heart firmly in the 21st century, and its acerbic tongue just as firmly in cheek.

Considering how much of it gets chewed at each performance, it is amazing that dots' clever period sets survive the onslaught of physical comedy punishment they take. Supplemented by Cha See's equally melodramatic lighting, and Holly Pierson's over-the-top costumes, Oh, Mary! is a visual feast befitting such an epic romp. Director Sam Pinkleton anchors the whole with deft use of the technical elements and a firm hand on the pacing and blocking that allows his cast plenty of wiggle room to play to the crowd while never going too far. It is no small feat to keep something like this in check, and I'm sure it helps that all involved are perfectly on the same page.

In a world where a Republican is in the White House (and its closets), Mary Todd Lincoln is at the center of it all, no matter what anyone else has to say about it. Who cares if the United States is in the midst of the Civil War? Mary is bored and desperate for a drink and a return to her former glory as a cabaret star. So much is she the center of this universe, the other characters are named Mary's Husband (Conrad Ricamora), Mary's Husband's Assistant (Tony Macht), Mary's Teacher (James Scully), and Mary's Chaperone (Bianca Leigh). Ms. Leigh is a delight as the prissy companion, much abused and harboring a delicious secret, while Mr. Macht is sweetly awkward, as he deals with his boss's private demands. The dashing Mr. Scully charms and manipulates as he insinuates himself deeper into Mary's life. He mines pure comic gold with each situation and shocking revelation. Ricamora is sensational as a much-maligned and personally troubled Abe Lincoln. Watching him code-switch between straight politician and queer icon is absolutely hilarious. Bravo to all.

The main attraction here, of course, is the titular Mary. A brilliant hurricane of manic energy with an infinite well of facial expressions and vocal pyrotechnics (and a hooped skirt/wig combination that is practically a character itself), Cole Escola is simply amazing. Like the great physical comediennes before them - Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett spring to mind - they are fearless and have a gift for making each moment seem new and spontaneous. They play the audience like a fiddle and we are grateful for the opportunity, especially during the side-splitting finale!

This could already be the performance of the season. Oh, Mary, you're a star!

📸: E. Madrid

The 2023 - 2024 Season Stand Outs

Last week was the official end of the 2023-2024 Broadway season, and it was remarkable, if for nothing else than the sheer quantity of offerings! We envy all of you that got the chance to see all 39 shows. Our final tally of Main Stem performances was 1 re-visit (Sweeney Todd), 1 new play, 2 play revivals, 11 new musicals and 2 musical revivals. Among them, we saw some really great stuff!

Stand-out Leading Performances:

  

    

• Eden Espinosa as Tamara de Lempicka - Lempicka
• Brody Grant as Ponyboy Curtis - The Outsiders
• Kelli O'Hara as Kirsten Arnesen - Days of Wine and Roses
• Sarah Paulson as Toni - Appropriate
• Maryann Plunkett as Older Allie- The Notebook

These 5 are really stand-outs among stand-outs - I could name twice as many at least. What's nice about these performances is the range of experience between them. All are also notable for the sustained intensity each requires, not to mention that each is on stage for nearly the entirety of their respective productions.

Stand-out Supporting Performances:

      

      

      

• Brent Comer as Darryl Curtis - The Outsiders
• Michael Esper as Franz - Appropriate
• Amber Iman as Rafaela - Lempicka
• Byron Jennings as Arnesen - Days of Wine and Roses
• Danny Kornfeld as Rabbi - Harmony
• Joe Locke as Tobias Ragg - Sweeney Todd
• Sky-Lakota Lynch as Johnny Cade - The Outsiders
• Paul Alexander Nolan as August - Water For Elephants
• Sarah Pidgeon as Diana - Stereophonic
• Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas - Merrily We Roll Along
• Ricky Ubeda as Henry - Illinoise
• Kara Young as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins - Purlie Victorious

Narrowing this down to 12 was very difficult - I originally had 25! But these dozen are really the cream of the crop. Talk about range and variety! Debut and experienced performances, each caught my eye and my heart. 

Stand-out Writing:

  

    

• David Adjmi (Playwright) - Stereophonic
• Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Playwright) - Appropriate
• Jamestown Revival and Justin Levine (Music & Lyrics) - The Outsiders
• Ingrid Michaelson (Music & Lyrics) - The Notebook
• PigPen Theatre Co. (Music & Lyrics) - Water For Elephants

Considering how often I've heard theater folk talk about how unremarkable this plentiful season has been, you'd think we'd have trouble coming up with any "stand-outs." Each category required a great deal of thought and paring down, and none was more difficult than this category. For example, there were more than a few books of musicals that nearly made the list...

Stand-out Direction:

  

    

• Daniel Aukin - Stereophonic
  
• Lila Neugebauer - Appropriate
• Jessica Stone - Water For Elephants
• Danya Taymor - The Outsiders
• Alex Timbers - Here Lies Love

What I like best about this list is that each director elevated the material with which they were working. Some used big ideas, others were more cerebral, but all were impressively creative, creating productions that pushed boundaries and remained innately theatrical.

Stand-out Choreography:

   

    

• Raja Feather Kelly - Lempicka
• Rick and Jeff Kuperman - The Outsiders
• Annie-B Parson - Here Lies Love
• Justin Peck  - Illinoise
• Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll - Water For Elephants

These choreographers each created distinct languages to convey and expand the stories and themes of their pieces. Each of these shows had specific needs - moving art, violent rumbles, political rallies, poignant friendships, spectacular circus routines. As such, these needs were met in creative and integrated ways.

Stand-out Design:

• Back to the Future: Designed by Tom Hatley. Lighting design by Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone. Video design by Finn Ross. Sound design by Gareth Owen. Illusion design by Chris Fisher.

• Here Lies Love: Scenic design by David Korins. Costume design by Clint Ramos. Lighting design by Justin Townsend. Projection design by Peter Nigrini. Sound design by M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer. 

• Lempicka: Scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez. Costume design by Paloma Young. Lighting design by Bradley King. Projection design by Peter Nigrini. Sound design by Peter Hylenski and Justin Stasiw.

• The Outsiders: Scenography by AMP featuring Tatiana Kahvegian. Costume design by Sarafina Bush. Lighting design by Brian MacDevitt. Sound design by Cody Spencer. Projection design by Hana Kim. Special effects design by Jeremy Chernick and Lillis Meeh.

• Water For Elephants: Scenic design by Takeshi Kata. Costume design by David Israel Reynoso. Lighting design by Bradley King. Projection design by David Bengali. Sound design by Walter Trarbach. Puppet design by Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman and Camille Labarre. Circus design by Shana Carroll.

One thing that is true about this season is that a lot of chances were taken to bring a wide variety of shows to life. The public came in expecting their favorite books and films to come to life in front of them. Jaw-dropping special effects, impressionistic creativity, vivid lighting and lavish costumes came together to create some amazing experiences for audiences. Again, I probably could have doubled this list - and two plays were numbers 6 and 7 on my list.