The producers of “Hadestown” on Broadway rescinded the casting of Geno Segers as Hades, after OnStageBlog reposted Segers’ (now deleted) videos on social media that belittled transgender people. This is in the same week that Boy George withdrew as King Herod from the West End production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” because of online reaction against the song he released on his social media “We Will Dance Again“, in defense of Israel. (“You say genocide, I say war/When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for.”)
Politicians are routinely accused of performing “theater,” meant pejoratively as empty gestures. (A recent example the Dr. Fauci hearing.) This week, it’s theater that’s practicing politics.
August 2026 New York Theater Openings
The calendar this month features some starry casts: Montego Glover, Robert Sean Leonard, et al in a revival of a political drama by Wendy Wasserstein; Raul Esparza, Lily Rabe et al in Shakespeare in the Park; Sam Underwood in an adaptation of Chekhov. Julio Torres has written a strange-sounding show about a New York City sea wench, which — like a number of shows in August — is being presented outdoors. Michael Jackson (the other one) is giving a concert from his past and future musicals. Two New York City landmarks — one beloved, one…not — have title roles in plays opening this month. And what would be August be without a few festivals — including the return of the International Puppet Fringe Festival…
The Week in New York Theater Reviews
Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway 2026: A new robot couple, and a deeper meaning.
The Saviors
What’s most exciting about “The Saviors,” a play ostensibly about two altar boys, is the feeling that you are witnessing the literal early stages of several major talents: Playwright Bubba Weiler, whose “Well, I’ll Let You Go,” last year was an astonishing debut play; director Jack Serio, Weiler’s collaborator on both plays; and also the two actors, Ivan Howe and Julius Rinzel, who portray the two main characters, and are their exact age – 13 and 14 respectively….It’s this realistic portrait of adolescence that kept me engaged even while I found the story that unfolds in “The Saviors” harder to embrace…
The Week in New York Theater News
New cast for Hadestown, starting September 1: Norbert Leo Butz as Hermes, Amber Iman as Persephone, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Eurydice, Kayko as Orpheus.
As mentioned above, the producers rescinded the casting of Geno Segers as Hades four days after announcing it.
Meanwhile the live capture film Hadestown: The Musical has grossed an accumulated total of $18.2 million domestically so far, beating “Hamilton” to become the highest-grossing live theater capture of a musical in box office history. (My review of the movie, which I saw at the Tribeca Festival..)
A live capture of the Broadway production of “Fallen Angels,” starring Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara will hit cinemas across the US, the UK, Canada, Australia beginning October 22. (My review of the Broadway production.)
CATS: The Jellicle Ball will record a cast album to be released this winter on Atlantic Records. (The show is closing on Broadway August 8)
The Rocky Horror Show has been extended through February 28, 2027
Cast for the revival of Clifford Odets’ 1935 Waiting for Lefty, at Classic Stage Company from October 15 – November 22, 2026, opening November 2: 2 Tony Award nominee Tala Ashe (English), Raffi Barsoumian (CSC’s Macbeth, Les Liaisons Dangereuses), Adam Chanler-Berat (Next to Normal, CSC’s Assassins), Greg Hildreth (CSC’s I Can Get It For You Wholesale, Chicago), Doireann Mac Mahon (The Honey Trap), Zach McNally (West Side Story), Sahar Milani (Hound Dog), Tony Award nominee Conrad Ricamora (Oh, Mary!; Here Lies Love), Cameron Scoggins (The Hills of California), and Thom Sesma (Dead Outlaw, CSC’s Pacific Overtures).
The Week’s Theater Video
Watch Broadway in Bryant Park Week 2: Aladdin, Chicago, Six, Titanique and Wicked, as well as the Off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
