Whatever is happening in America, whether a blockbuster movie or the latest threat to democracy, will remind theatergoers of a show, past or present. This past week: The Odyssey the musical (from 2015) and How to Steal An Election (from 1968)
This connection to what’s happening now is embodied in The Whoopi Monologues, though the monologues go back 40 years, and to The Potluck, about a mass killing in 1979 (reviews below.) It’s also something Tracey Ellis Ross , making her Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing,” talks about on MsNow — one of three conversations about Broadway in the videos below (The others are Chrissy Metz and Stephanie Hsu)
The Week in New York Theater Review
The Whoopi Monologues
There is an edge to watching five actresses portray characters that Whoopi Goldberg wrote and performed by herself, in her 1984 solo show on Broadway…The edge is in the comedy itself, the humor pointedly illuminating serious issues…But there is also an edge in realizing how sharp and original Whoopi’s homegrown comedy remains, and how she largely abandoned this particular gift of hers for a career as a movie star and talk show host. Full review.
Shifters
The love story between Des (short for Destiny) and Dre (Dream) begins in high school, but we first meet them years later after their love has long passed – or has it?…Playwright Benedict Lombe clearly wants “Shifters” to be something deeper and more distinctive than a typical romcom. She attempts this in various ways, some more successful than others. Full review.
The Potluck
The Potluck” is a musical inspired by the Greensboro Massacre of 1979, in which the Ku Klux Klan shot and killed five young activists at an anti-Klan rally in South Carolina. César James Alvarez, the writer of the musical, was born in Greensboro a year after the murders, and is named for two of those killed, one of whom was the best friend of Alvarez’s father….It’s not wrong to call “The Potluck” a mess. But I found “The Potluck” extraordinary, and devastating. The journey that César takes is also the journey César Alvarez takes us on, from intellectual ambivalence to visceral understanding. Full review.
The Week in New York Theater News
Cats The Jellicle Ball is closing on August 8, after only four months. Why?
Proof closed Sunday. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone will close next Sunday, as will Moulin Rouge after seven years.
Broadway Shows Currently Running
A revival of Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” starring Sam Rockwell, Marin Ireland and Alfred Molina, Nov 27-Feb 27, opens Dec 13, at La MaMa
Atlantic Theater 2026-2027 Season:
I Became We by Mona Pirnot
October 16 – November 15, 2026
Too Bad for Her by Clare Barron
January 9 – February 14, 2027
Old Actress by Lucas Hnath
featuring Deirdre O’Connell
March 18 – April 25, 2027
Push by Jackie Sibblies Drury
Choreographed by Patricia Delgado & Justin Peck
May 27 – July 3, 2027
Honor Roll, an advocacy group for women+ playwrights over 40 years old, has put together a list of 50 Plays by Women+ Over 50
The War on Culture
Trump Is Bending History to His Will. He Will Fail, a guest essay by David W. Blight, past president of the Organization of American Historians.
“The Trump White House and its history police want us all to live in their chosen bubble, immune from instability or perceived disorder in their take on American greatness. They have a right to their bubble as individual citizens, but to impose it on the rest of us as policy egregiously breaks the public trust.”
In Memoriam
Wai Ching Ho, 82, a movie actress (Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defender) who also worked extensively Off-Broadway, with such companies as Ma-Yi and NAATCO.
This Week’s Theater Video
Chrissy Metz on her Broadway debut in & Juliet
Stephanie Hsu talks about starring in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway, and why she quit basketball to pursue theater in high school.
Tracey Ellis Ross on her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing
