The four shows that opened on Broadway this past week were already familiar to New York theatergoers. Two are revivals; the other two ran Off Broadway. Is this familiarity evidence of producer caution in a challenging economic environment? Even if so, the new productions of “Cats,” one of the longest running musicals on Broadway, and “Death of a Salesman,” make some bold new choices.
The four shows that opened on Broadway this past week were already familiar to New York theatergoers. Two are revivals; the other two ran Off Broadway. Is this familiarity evidence of producer caution in a challenging economic environment? Even if so, the new productions of “Cats,” one of the longest running musicals on Broadway, and “Death of a Salesman,” make some decidedly new choices.
My reviews below, which go both alphabetically, and chronologically by opening night.
The Week in New York Theater Reviews
The audience gasped almost as frequently as it laughed during the performance I attended of “Becky Shaw,” Gina Gionfriddo’s fierce, funny comedy that revolves around a bad blind date. What audibly startled the audience wasn’t what happens to the characters, which is one disaster after another, all skillfully plotted, but what some of the characters say to one another. In the play’s complicated web of relationships, these characters feel free to deliver what they consider the truth; but what they say often sounds more like insult than insight. That theatergoers are unlikely to wind up dismissing any of these blunt-speaking characters as complete boors is a testament to the playwright’s rich, nuanced writing, and the layered portrayals by the stellar five-member cast, three of whom are making impressive Broadway debuts. “Becky Shaw” is opening…at Second Stage’s Hayes Theater on Broadway, one block north and seventeen years after Second Stage’s Off-Broadway production of the play, which has not lost its sting.
There are solid reasons to celebrate the arrival on Broadway of this striking production, which recasts Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical as a Ballroom competition, with a cast of fabulously coiffured and coutured queer characters of color replacing the infamous felines in leotards and whiskers. Politically, their voluminous presence in such a mainstream entertainment feels almost like an act of resistance, given the current federal administration’s official bigotry. Artistically, the fresh interpretation not only offers the possibility of a renewed life and a new audience for this overly familiar 45-year-old show; it suggests how the art form as a whole can be reinvigorated….Its transfer to Broadway from downtown makes it a different experience, given the symbolic importance of the Great White Way. But the new venue also makes it a different experience in more practical ways, for better and for worse.
This sixth Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s towering play is undeniably a Prestige Production, but it’s one that strains for effect, from the casting of Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, who are two of Broadway’s finest actors but are not an ideal fit for their roles, to the steady flow of stage smoke, which constantly reminds us: This is lyrical! The tragedy of Willy Loman is always affecting, never less than relevant, and Joe Mantello, a much-acclaimed director, makes some smart choices amid the strained ones. But this “Death of a Salesman,” opening on Broadway…just three years after the previous Broadway revival, will be most satisfying to those theatergoers who have never seen a first-rate production of the play.
Book: The Arthur Miller Tapes
It’s as good a time as any for the publication of the interviews Charles Bigsby had recorded with the playwright over the three decades of their friendship…”The Arthur Miller Tapes” is not one of his scholarly works (there is no index nor annotations; there is a time line of his life and career as a preface, but few of the interviews are even dated), and the back-and-forth can take on the feel of a casual conversation..But we learn plenty…about his childhood, his politics (and political persecution), his marriages, his aesthetic views, and above all, each one of his produced plays.
This silly, campy show, a mashup of Céline Dion songs with a jokey replay of the movie “Titanic,” has moved to Broadway, virtually unchanged from the anything-for-a-laugh entertainment it was downtown, albeit with a few bigger stars now in the cast — Jim Parsons in the drag role of the evil would-be mother-in-law, and Deborah Cox in the Kathy Bates role of the unsinkable Molly Brown. Begun in 2022, “Titanique” ran for three years Off-Broadway and then worldwide (London, Paris, Sydney, São Paulo) to audiences full of enthusiasts, not all of them gay or intoxicated. That the show is opening.. at Broadway’s St. James Theater marks something of a homecoming for the three Broadway veterans who wrote and co-produce it: Ty Blue, who also directs it, Marla Mindelle who also stars as Céline Dion, and Constantine Rousouli in the Leonardo DiCaprio role of Jack Dawson. If “Titanique” gives off a distinctly amateur vibe, its goofiness is professionally honed.
Theater Online This Weekend: Sondheim, Sean Hayes, Julio Torres etc
The Week in New York Theater News
P!NK will be the host of the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2026.
The singer-songwriter born Alecia Beth Moore is a theater lover but not a theater actress.. “I’ve never been on Broadway, and shouldn’t you have to have been on Broadway in order to host? That seems fair and right. But when I asked my daughter, she was really excited about being able to have a ticket to go to the Tonys,” Pink’s songs have been featured in the jukebox musicals Moulin Rouge! The Musical and & Juliet.
The 80th Theatre World Awards will be held June 2
Check out: New York Theater Awards Calendar and Guide 2026
Rosamund Pike will make her Broadway debut playing a judge in “Inter Alia,” another legal drama (and West End hit) by Suzie Miller (author of Prima Facie) opening on December 1, 2026, at Broadway’s The Music Box Theater.
Speaking of which….
Rosamund Pike won best actress in a play at the 2026 Olivier Awards. Other winners: Rachel Zegler in Evita, revivals of All My Sons and Into The Woods (which is available to watch online), Oh, Mary! (also on Broadway), Punch (on Broadway last year) Kenrex (coming to Off Broadway). Complete list
Moulin Rouge! The Musical, which had been previously announced to close on July 26, 2026, has been extended by popular demand for an additional five weeks through August 30, 2026. Eric Anderson, who originated the role of “Harold Zidler” in early workshops and eventually played the role on Broadway for two years, returns to the production on Tuesday, May 19. As announced, Megan Thee Stallion plays her final performance on Sunday, May 17.
Tony Kushner Does a Cameo on Hacks, portraying (and satirizing) himself
Evan Yionoulis, an Obie-winning director who has been dean and director of The Juilliard School’s drama division since 2018, will become the dean of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale starting July 1. She succeeds James Bundy, who has been in the role for close to 25 years and announced his retirement last year. (Yale News)
The Roundabout is spending $100 million to renovate Studio 54, bringing back a permanent stage and an orchestra pit. (NY Times)
Justice Dept. Resolves Broadway Touring Company Investigation
The Justice Department had been conducting a criminal investigation into Broadway Across America, which operates venues in several dozen markets around North America. (NY Times)
“Because I’m not George Clooney, they’re not charging $900,” Nathan Lane says, referencing the Hollywood star’s turn in Good Night, and Good Luck at that theatre last year. “For $900, I would go to your home and do selections from the play.” — from interview with Nathan Lane in the Guardian
