Has a show ever shocked you? Did that make you like it, or dislike it, or was its shock value not the determining factor in your overall reaction? What if a show is deliberately trying to shock? I saw two shows last week – a play I liked in spite of its shocking title and premise, and a musical I disliked because of its depiction of ugly acts – actually, I guess, it was because they weren’t as shocking as I thought they should be.
Was the difference just a matter of personal taste? Or was it a question of genuine artistic vision versus calculated commercial considerations? I’m still thinking about it.
The Week in New York Theater Reviews
So much ugliness takes place at Westerberg High — homicide and homophobia, attempted suicide and sexual assault – that there’s an extensive “content advisory” in front of Stage 1 at New World Stages, where “Heathers the Musical” is opening tonight. Yet the pastel-colored Off-Broadway production could easily pass for a bubbly high school musical comedy, with its pleasantly poppy score, fun and sometimes clever lyrics, and a principal cast full of bright young Broadway talent, led by Lorna Courtney (Tony nominee for originating the title role in “& Juliet”) as Veronica Sawyer and Casey Likes (“Back to the Future the Musical”) as Jason J.D. Dean….It all felt like a startling contrast to the mordant humor of the original 1989 cult movie…
I wasn’t sure I wanted to see this play, which imagines a grownup Prince George of England (currently 11 years old) as an out gay man. I was put off by the offensive title, and by what it seems to promise — a campy exercise in pointless provocation. Now I feel lucky to have gotten in. …“Prince Faggot,” wonderfully acted and artfully staged, turns out to be surprisingly earnest, thoughtful, even respectful. I don’t mean to mislead (or disappoint) anyone: The play…is undeniably meant to shock…But the storytelling feels honest – and even, at times, profound.
They met by Magic. Actually, the section at the Strand bookstore where they first met is labeled Occult, but that’s where the store keeps its books on magic. Kristen and Jenny’s shared interest in magic helps explain why they started dating, and then moved in together for six years – until Jenny winds up in the hospital. “Open,” a one-woman play by Crystal Skillman … uses magic tricks as both method and metaphor for telling the story both of the two women and of the way Kristen processes her grief. But it takes a while to realize that’s what’s going on. Megan Hill, dressed in top hat and gaudy jacket, introduces herself as a magician presenting a magic show, or, rather, a deliberate simulacrum of a magic show. (Fans of actual magic shows, be forewarned.)
It is a glorious gospel concert beneath the darkening skies along the Hudson River, and that’s all one needs to know to thrill at “Gospel at Colonus.” But the experience is deepened by its history – its two histories, one going back millennia, the other decades. In 1983, Lee Breuer, the avant-garde theater artist who co-founded Mabou Mines, collaborated with the brilliantly eclectic composer Bob Telson on this musical retelling of Sophocles’ “Oedipus at Colonus,” transposing the tragedy to an African-American Pentecostal church service. It debuted at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and has been performed somewhere in the world ever since …
The Week in Outdoor Broadway Events
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The Week in New York Theater News
BOOP! The Musical closed on Sunday after 25 previews and 112 regular performances – plus a free performance during Week 1 of the 25th season of Broadway in Bryant Park (linked above)
The next shows to close on Broadway will be Sunset Blvd on July 20 and Pirates: The Penzance Musical on July 27. (Here’s what’s currently running.)
Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock return to Broadway as estranged aunt and nephew in “Little Bear Ridge Road” written by Samuel D. Hunter making his Broadway debut (Finally!). It opens at the Booth Theater Oct. 30. (Details in my Broadway 2025 2026 Season Preview Guide)
The complication? Scott Rudin is the producer. “The once-prolific producer had mostly sat on the sidelines of the Broadway industry since a Hollywood Reporter investigation in 2021 had detailed multiple allegations of abusive behavior in claims from ex-staffers. The story ricocheted within theatrical circles on what had been known or discussed and prompted labor union Actors Equity at the time to call on employees to be released from non-disclosure agreements….” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Theater Blog Roundup: Reaction to Scott Rudin’s return. Summer Reading. An NEA Alternative?
Arts Advocates Head to Capitol Hill to Push for Increased NEA and NEH Funding (Broadway World)
Advocates are urging Congress to appropriate $209 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in FY2026—a modest $2 million increase that empowers state and local arts agencies, arts and culture organizations, and individual artists to build the creative infrastructure our communities need.
A play by Mathilde Dratwa entitled “A Play About David Mamet Writing a Play About Harvey Weinstein” to get a 1-night only reading July 21 to benefit NYCLU, with Abbi Jacobson, Billy Eichner, Heléne Yorke, and Kara Young, (Mamet has written such a play; this is not it)
Following her one week run earlier this month during Audra McDonald’s vacation, Broadway veteran Montego Glover (Tony nominated for Memphis) will return to star as “Rose” in GYPSY during Sunday matinee performances
The Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction is back for 2025! The Theater District transforms into a one-of-a-kind haven for theater lovers – onstage, backstage and in the audience – on Sunday, September 21
The Tony Awards Administration Committee has revealed the Nominating Committee for the 2025-2026 Broadway season. Those with double asterisks are newly appointed. Each member serves a three-year term.
Bob Balaban – Actor / Producer / Director / Writer
Dani Barlow – Theatre Administrator
Mark Bennett – Composer, Sound Designer**
Sarah Benson – Director
Rob Berman – Music Director**
Jocelyn Bioh – Playwright**
Jeremy Blocker – Creative Director / Executive Producer for Audible Theater**
Rick Boynton – Creative Producer, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Brian Harlan Brooks – Director / Choreographer / DEI Director
Dr. Jamie Cacciola-Price – Theatre Educator / Director
Kevin Cahoon – Actor / Director
Jade King Carroll – Director / Producing Artistic Director, Chautauqua Theater Company**
Adam Chanler-Berat – Actor / Playwright
Victoria Clark – Actor / Director / Educator
Jordan E. Cooper – Playwright / Actor / Director / Producer
Will Davis – Choreographer / Director**
Ty Defoe – Interdisciplinary Artists / Writer / Storyteller
Andy Einhorn – Music Supervisor / Conductor
Dan Foster – Actor / Director / Producer
Donald P. Gagnon, Ph.D. –Theatre Arts Professor / Dramaturg
Deeksha Gaur – Executive Director, Theatre Development Fund
Tiffani Gavin – Executive Director, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center**
Daniel Goldstein – Director / Writer**
Linda Goodrich – Director / Choreographer
Joshua Harmon – Playwright**
Miranda Haymon – Director
Ricky Hinds – Associate Director / Choreographer**
Timothy Huang – Composer / Lyricist / Librettist**
James Ijames – Playwright / Director / Educator
Anna K. Jacobs – Composer / Lyricist / Librettist**
Jessica Jahn – Costume Designer**
Christine Toy Johnson – Playwright / Actor / Director
Rosalie Joseph –Casting Director
Rod Kaats – Producer / Director
Peter Kaczorowski – Lighting Designer**
Glen Kelly – Amanuensis / Composer**
Michael Korie – Librettist / Lyricist
L Morgan Lee – Actor**
Peter Marks – Former Chief Theatre Critic, Washington Post
Lisa McNulty – Producing Artistic Director WP Theater
Danny Mefford – Choreographer**
Ira Mont – Production Stage Manager
Jacqueline Diane Moscou – Actor / Director
Helen Park – Composer / Lyricist
Jessica Paz – Sound Designer
Georgina Pazcoguin – Actress / Producer / Diversity Advocate
Karen Perry – Costume Designer
Jill Rafson – Producing Artist Director, Classic Stage Co.
T. Oliver Reid – Actor / Director / Choreographer / Activist / Musical Theater Professor at Rider University
Liam Robinson – Composer / Arranger / Music Supervisor
Carole Rothman – Co-Founder and Former Artistic Director, Second Stage Theater
Rafael Sánchez – Executive Artistic Director, Repertorio Español**
Florie Seery – Associate Dean / Managing Director, David Geffen School of Drama / Yale Repertory Theatre
Walt Spangler – Scenic Designer
Mark Stanley – Lighting Designer
Susan Soon He Stanton – Playwright / Television Writer / Screenwriter
Jeffrey Sweet – Playwright / Librettist**
Jason Tam – Actor
Cori Thomas – Playwright / Actor
Alexandria Wailes – Actor / Director / Choreographer
Charlotte Wilcox – Retired General Manager**
Patricia Wilcox – Choreographer
BD Wong – Actor / Director / Playwright / Author**
David C. Woolard – Costume Designer
