How DO you measure a year? New York theater lovers do so in shows, sure (Top 10 Critics’ Lists (+ 6) of Top 10 NYC Theater),but not in shows alone.
Clockwise from top left: a moment from Masquerade, destruction of (and from) the White House, Tom Stoppard 1937-2025, Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir by Jeffrey Seller
20 Memorable Moments on Stage
They happened in an instant — an image, an action, a remark, a sudden realization, in one case a touch. All were far shorter than a scene or a song or even a monolog
10 Big Theater Stories of 2025
1. The Federal War on Culture and the Arts
2. The Affordability Crisis in Theater
3. Hollywood Stars on Broadway
4. Hollywood Buys (Into) Off-Broadway
5. Theater on Screen
6. The Reinvention of Andrew Lloyd Webber
7. The Year of Stephen Schwartz
8. The Generational Transition Continues
9. The Future of Storytelling is Now
10. A Brighter Way of Dimming
Theater Books of 2025 to Read in 2026
Favorite New York Stage Performances of 2025
In Memoriam: Theater Community Members Who Died in 2025
The Week in Reviews and Previews
Movies in Cinemas Today: Capsule Reviews
New Year’s Eve in NYC Last Minute Guide to Greeting 2026
The Week in Theater News
50 Most Influential American Plays in the last 25 Years (American Theater)
“his is not a “best of” list. What we asked hundreds of theatre folks to do was send us 10 titles they felt had been the most influential on the theatre in the past 25 years.”
1. Hamilton. 2. August: Osage County, 3. Topdog/Underdog, 4. Fun Home, 5. An Octoroon, 6. A Strange Loop, 7. Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, 8. Sweat, 9. What the Constitution Means to Me, 10. Fairview
Broadway 2025 in Review (Broadway World)
Total shows: 37 total productions opened on Broadway in 2025. Comparatively: 44 opened in 2024; 36 opened in 2023; and 44 opened in 2022.
Musicals vs. Plays: 2025 saw 17 Broadway plays, 16 musicals, 2 return engagements, and 2 special events.
New Shows vs. Revivals: In 2025, Broadway welcomed 22 new shows and 11 revivals.
Closed vs. Still Open: 23 of the new productions of 2025 have already closed (many had limited runs). 14 new shows are still running on Broadway. In total, 37 shows closed on Broadway in 2025.
Playwrights Horizons Is Sued Over Discounts to People of Color (NYTimes)
Kristin Marting, the founding co-director of HERE Arts Center who left her position after thirty years, will launch Torches on January 12, a weekly series of video oral histories with leading downtown artists and arts leaders, wrapping up September 14, 2026.
The War on Culture
What the U.S. Could Learn From an Irish Theater: For 100 years, Ireland’s Abbey Theatre has shown that a publicly funded troupe can deliver cultural riches and hard truths. (The Atlantic)
“The question of who has the right to define a country’s character is central to the cultural battles unfolding in the United States under Trump. When it comes to the theater, the president has strong tastes. He loves Les Misérables and the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber—neither, ironically, American products. He staged a takeover of the Kennedy Center early in his second term not because its programming has so much influence over the average American, but because of its elevated status: If it is at the center of Capitol culture, it is at the center of American culture, and therefore, in his estimation, it ought to be directed by the highest power in the land….In Ireland, history unfolded differently. The Plough and the Stars was, in the end, never censored by the government. None of the Abbey’s productions has been …”
American College Theatre Festival Severs Affiliation With Kennedy Center After 58 Years (Deadline)
“Unfortunately, our affiliation with the Kennedy Center is no longer viable. Due to circumstances and decisions that do not align with our organization’s values…”
The Year in Theater Video
10 Most Watched Broadway* Videos† in 2025
