Fixings and pairings will be on the table later this week, and were on stage this past week, with the revival of a couple of old musicals that needed to be fixed (were they?), and some starry pairings, and re-pairings.
Cynthia Erivo will open the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, part of a tradition of Broadway at the Parade. In the meantime, Broadway itself will be especially busy (before and after Thursday)
Broadway Thanksgiving Week Schedule 2025
The Week in New York Theater Reviews
Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)
What I found most surprising about this modest, appealing two-person musical, whose title more or less sums up what happens, was the reaction to it on the night I attended – the ecstatic cheers at the start; the mobbed stage door afterwards…I might be doing the musical a disservice by mentioning the audience enthusiasm, because it could set up misleading expectations.., “Two Strangers (Carrying A Cake Across New York)” is a low-key, tuneful, predictable if not entirely formulaic production that relies on the talent and charm of its two youthful performers, neither of whom are well-known..
Tom Hanks co-wrote this quaint, unremarkable time-traveling play adapted from his book of short stories, and stars as Bert Allenberry, a tech entrepreneur from the year 2089, who travels back to the 1939 New York World’s Fair, where he spots Carmen Perry (Kelli O’Hara) and becomes besotted with her, returning again and again to June 8, 1939 to spend time with her.
Before the play begins, the ushers handed each of us a button that says “I Have Seen The Future,” which is what visitors received after attending Futurama, a diorama and ride at the General Motors Pavilion in the 1939 Fair that imagined what America would be like in the year 1960. This is of course meant to be ironic, but it winds up doubly so. “This World of Tomorrow,” which opened tonight at The Shed, is as old-fashioned as they come…
Chess” is not a serious musical. That’s the key to appreciating this show, which is supposed to be about an American and a Russian grandmaster battling over both the game of chess and a woman. Not knowing English might help even more, since too many of the lines and lyrics detract from what’s enjoyable about the show, which is the catchy rock score and the performances by the exciting Broadway pros Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher.
The Week in New York Theater News
Wicked Movie vs. Stage, Part 2? When the first “Wicked” movie came out a year ago, I wrote about how the movie differs from the stage musical. I recently saw the stage musical again (my new Wicked Broadway review) and I caught a screening of “Wicked: For Good” last week. (There was a panel discussion after the screening with Jon Chu + 8 members of the film crew talking about what went into building the world of the movie.)
I did like the opening scene in “Wicked: For Good” of Elphaba as a one-woman Resistance swooping down to free from their yolks the mammoth-like beasts being driven to work on the construction of the yellow brick road — a scene that was completely invented for the movie. Unlike the first movie, “Wicked: For Good” also features two new songs by composer Stephen Schwartz. Elphaba sings “No Place Like Home,” Glinda:”The Girl in the Bubble.”
But the best thing I can say about either the two Wicked movies is that they will encourage people to see the stage musical — some of whom might now appreciate its relative brevity.
Wicked:For Good opens to $150 million in U.S. , $226 globally, “the biggest start ever for a Broadway musical adaptation after besting last year’s Wicked ($112.5 million) and the third-biggest of all time among any musical behind 2019’s The Lion King and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, not adjusted for inflation.”(The Hollywood Reporter)
Jonathan Groff will play his final performance as Bobby Darin in the 2025 Grammy Award-nominated new musical JUST IN TIME on Sunday, March 29, 2026. His replacement will be announced at a later date.
Romy & Michele: The Musical, which officially opened at Stage 42 October 27, will play its final performance Off-Broadway November 30. As of closing, the world premiere will have played 15 previews and 40 regular performances.
The 2026 International Fringe Encore Series will feature 15 shows in all (eight of them from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe) running Off-Broadway January 3 – March 29 at SoHo Playhouse
The Reading Series at LCT3.In this intimate new series, six celebrated playwrights pair with new voice for one-night-only event staged reading after a conversation between storytellers:
Three Weeks in Paris by Christina Anderson, selected by Lynn Nottage, on Monday, December 1, 2025 at 6:30PM
Ten Grand by Kate Cortesi, selected by J.T. Rogers, on Monday, January 5, 2026 at 6:30PM.
Work of Devotion by Miranda Rose Hall, selected by Sarah Ruhl on Monday, March 9, 2026 at 6:30PM.
Sycamore by Nick Kaidoo, selected by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Monday, March 16, 2026 at 6:30PM.
creation stories and all the important importants by Mfoniso Udofia, selected by Ayad Akhtar on Monday, March 23, 2026 at 6:30PM.
Trip Around the Sun by Jake Brasch, selected by TimesMarco Ramirez, on Monday, June 15, 2026 at 6:30PM.
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Musicals (NY Times)
13 theater artists and Times writers and editors pick one song each to talk about. eg. Andrew Lloyd Webber picks ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ from ‘South Pacific’. Sara Bareilles picks ‘Will You?,’ from ‘Grey Gardens’
