BroadwayRadio

On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with the writers of the new Off-Broadway musical “The King’s Critique,” Nat Zegree and Eric Holmes. The pair began working on the show about a decade ago and are finally bringing it to the stage beginning on Nov. 3 at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

In the show, King Benjamin (Justin Collette) decrees that women are strictly forbidden from performing onstage. Josephine (Taylor Iman Jones) is determined to change that, and she hatches an elaborate plan with fckboy tenor Sebastian (Sky Lakota-Lynch)… but if you’ve ever seen theater people try to execute any sort of plan, you can guess what happens next. And there’s a fckboy tenor involved — so whatever chaos you’re imagining, double it.

The press materials compare it to if “Bridgerton” and “South Park” had a baby, call it “more infectious than the plague and more fun than a magnificent ship full of gay men and Patti LuPone,” and it draws on the traditions of “Spamalot,” “The Book of Mormon,” and “Something Rotten!”

Learn more about “The King’s Critique” and purchase tickets:
https://kingscritiquemusical.com/

Breaking down the Broadway grosses and major theatre news

Patreon: BroadwayRadio
https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the episode name.

1) Last week’s Broadway grosses:
https://www.broadwayleague.com/research/grosses-broadway-nyc/

2) Broadway revival of ‘Three Days of Rain’ announces house, dates
https://deadline.com/2026/10/three-days-of-rain-broadway-opening-date-1237153700/

3) Reece Weaver extends run in Chicago for final time
https://playbill.com/article/americas-sweethearts-reece-weaver-announces-final-extension-in-broadways-chicago

4) ‘Downstate’ postpones first preview due to illness in cast
https://deadline.com/2026/10/downstate-broadway-opening-date-1237155592/

5) Ovation Rights purchases rights to ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Broadway run, paying investors immediately
https://deadline.com/2026/10/hells-kitchen-alicia-keys-ovation-rights-broadway-1237155626/

On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with two of the stars of the upcoming Off-Broadway play “Aftermath,” Steven Skybell and Jill Stern. Not only do the two play a married couple in the show, but they have been friends for nearly five decades, and it was Jill who got Steven on board the project, as she is not only an actor in the show but also a producer.

“Aftermath” — which begins performances on Monday, Oct. 19, at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres — follows 28-year-old freelance journalist Josh Goldman (played by Danny Kornfeld), who has just survived a Taliban kidnapping in Afghanistan and is now recovering in his childhood home with his parents (Skybell and Stern).

As Josh struggles to reconnect with his family and make sense of what he’s endured, we learn how the young journalist found the courage to take on his most dangerous assignment, and at what cost. This timely drama examines questions of moral responsibility, privilege, and sacrifice in the context of global political conflict and family ties. 

Get more information about “Aftermath” and purchase tickets:
https://aftermaththeplay.com/

‘Chicago’ stars join 30th anniversary, Gugino joins ‘A View From the Bridge,’ busy week in New York

Every week, Matt Tamanini will bring you the biggest news from across the theatrical landscape and will prepare you for what’s ahead over the next seven days.

Any and all feedback is appreciated:
Matt Tamanini: [email protected] | @BroadwayRadio

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the episode name.

1) Neuwirth, Naughton, other alums join ‘Chicago’ 30th anniversary celebration
https://deadline.com/2026/10/chicago-broadway-anniversary-bebe-neuwirth-whitney-leavitt-1237149959/

2) Gugino, Pecinka, more join ‘A View From the Bridge’
https://deadline.com/2026/10/view-from-the-bridge-off-broadway-cast-1237150022/

3) ‘Paranormal Activity’ extends on Broadway
https://deadline.com/2026/10/paranormal-activity-broadway-closing-date-1237150533/

4) Lili Cooper, George Abud join Off-Broadway’s ‘Spring Awakening’
https://playbill.com/article/lilli-cooper-and-george-abud-join-spring-awakening-off-broadway-revival

5) Chilina Kennedy, Max Monnig to join ‘The Great Gatsby’
https://playbill.com/article/chilina-kennedy-sets-return-to-broadways-the-great-gatsby-max-monnig-will-join-cast

6) Intimate Off-Broadway show ‘Slanted Floors’ to return
https://playbill.com/article/slanted-floors-starring-kyle-beltran-and-adam-chanler-berat-sets-off-broadway-run

7) This week’s theatrical schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 13
Previews: ‘Rope’ Off-Broadway from The New Group
https://thenewgroup.org/events/rope-2026-10-13-700-pm/ 

Previews: ‘The Unbelievers’ Off-Broadway from Manhattan Theatre Club
https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/shows/2026-27-season/the-unbelievers/ 

Wednesday, Oct. 14
Opening: ‘ANON: a tempest at our kitchen table’ Off-Broadway at MCC
https://mcctheater.org/tix/anon/ 

Thursday, Oct. 15
Previews: ‘Wanted’ on Broadway
https://wantedmusical.com/ 

Opening: ‘The Ask’ Off-Broadway at Theater 555
https://theaskplay.com/ 

Opening: ‘Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen’ Off-Broadway at The Culture Club
https://www.memoirsmusical.com/ 

Opening: ‘MIDNIGHT’ Off-Broadway at Daryl Roth Theatre
https://www.midnightoffbway.com/ 

Previews: ‘Ms. Blakk for President’ Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre
https://vineyardtheatre.org/shows/msblackforpresident/ 

Previews: ‘Waiting for Lefty’ Off-Broadway from Classic Stage Company
https://www.classicstage.org/lefty/ 

Friday, Oct. 16
Previews: ‘I Became We’ Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company
https://atlantictheater.org/production/i-became-we/ 

Previews: ‘Sea Wall’ Off-Broadway at Studio Seaview’
https://studioseaview.com/show/sea-wall/ 

Sunday, Oct. 18
Opening: ‘Other Desert Cities’ on Broadway
https://otherdesertcitiesbroadway.com/ 

Opening: ‘Two Girls’ Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre
https://cherrylanetheatre.org/shows/two-girls 

Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Slam Frank @ Orpheum Theatre, A Celebration of Rodgers and Hart @ Carnegie Hall, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, @ Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Out of the Box Theatrics’ production of Soon @ St. Luke’s Theatre, and Apricot Sky Productions’ Kill Goofy @ The Grove Street Theatre.

“This Week on Broadway” has been coming to you every week since 2009. It is the longest-running running Broadway and theatrical podcast with hundreds of shows giving thousands of reviews and interviews.

Subscribe to BroadwayRadio in Apple Podcasts by CLICKING HERE.

Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio

Patreon listeners get This Week on Broadway first, on Sunday afternoon before it is released to the general public on Sunday evening.

Panel:

Peter Filichia | [email protected] | Facebook
PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. Peter’s new day-by-day desk calendar – A SHOW TUNE FOR TODAY – 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year – is available at finer retailers!

Larry, The Big-Time Broadway Producer @ The Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA)
October 9 – 18, 2026

Showtune for Today: Give The Little Lady (A Great Big Hand) from Goldilocks

Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook
MICHAEL PORTANTIERE has been a theater journalist for more than 50 years. The founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other publications. Additionally, Michael is known as a producer and director of shows at the Laurie Beechman Theatre and other venues.

James Marino | [email protected] | Facebook
BroadwayStars

Note: This week we had listeners join us while recording. These listeners are Patreon members who support BroadwayRadio. If you would like to join us in the future, become a supporter at Patreon.com/BroadwayRadio.

Sponsor:

Pre:

All the Drama: “Clybourne Park”, 2011 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The BroadwayRadio App is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Andorid!

Please let us know if you run into any problems or have suggestions.

Reviews:

54 LOVES CAST ALBUMS! THIRD EDITION
Steven Brinberg
Christine Pedi

PF: Slam Frank @ Orpheum Theatre, through November 30, 2026
The Anne-Frank Afro-Latin Hip-Hop Musical
Music and Lyrics by ANDREW FOX
Book by ​ JOEL SINENSKY

Slam Frank imagines what happens when a progressive theater company asks themselves that same question, applying the rules and tropes of progressive theater to The Diary of Anne Frank.
Transcending all taste and decency, they transform Anne Frank’s true story into an intersectional, multi-ethnic, genderqueer, decolonized, anti-capitalist, hyper-empowering Afro-Latin hip-hop musical.
This play-within-a-play is one of the most shocking and talked-about theatrical satires to hit off-Broadway in generations. And you, the audience, have the privilege of witnessing it.

MP: A Celebration of Rodgers and Hart @ Carnegie Hall, Presented by singforyoursupper LLC, Monday, October 5, 2026

PF: School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, @ Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, through November 15, 2026
written by Tony Award nominee Jocelyn Bioh, and directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Whitney White

PF: Out of the Box Theatrics’ production of Soon @ St. Luke’s Theatre, through November 8, 2026
A New Musical by Nick Blaemire
Presented by Out of the Box Theatrics in association with Bella Vita Entertainment, Dru Margolis, and Red Horse LLC
Directed by Will Blum
Music Supervision by Wiley DeWeese
Music Direction by Andy Collopy

PF: Apricot Sky Productions’ Kill Goofy @ The Grove Street Theatre in Montclair, NJ, Through October 25, 2026

Kill Goofy is a full-length play by playwright Eric Alter and directed by David C. Neal, premiering at The Grove Street Theatre in Montclair, New Jersey

Freddy is forty-three, unemployed, and living in the same bedroom he grew up in, surrounded by the same Disney posters. His mother has met someone in Florida and is trying to work out whether she’s allowed to have a life. Barney, his best friend from childhood, is a psychologist in Ohio with a wife, a daughter, and a practice full of people who think he has the answers.

When they were thirteen, both boys were sexually abused by the same teacher. It became the biggest scandal the town had ever had. Barney’s family moved away. Freddy stayed.

Thirty years later Barney is back, and the two men finally have to face the strangest part of it: they were best friends the whole time, and they never told each other.

Discussion:

Future Episodes:

Peter’s Brainteaser:

What Frank Loesser song could apply to Audra McDonald and Heidi Blickenstaff?

Michael’s Musical Moments

54 LOVES CAST ALBUMS! THIRD EDITION – GUYS AND DOLLS, featuring Ben Jones and Josie de Guzman

Music Opener: “My Time of Day,” Ben Jones

Music Closer: “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” Ben Jones and Josie de Guzman

Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio

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All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, “Clybourne Park” by Bruce Norris

Credit: Nathan Johnson Photography

Clybourne Park Wikipedia page
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Clybourne_Park

Bruce Norris Wikipedia page:
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Norris_(playwright)

Clybourne Park script
https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/13190/clybourne-park

“A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry
https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2794/a-raisin-in-the-sun

Beneatha’s Place by Kwame Kwei-Armah
https://a.co/d/0d7SzIRx

“In Chicago’s ‘Clybourne Park,’ everything and nothing seem to change,” original Chicago production review by Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/09/19/in-chicagos-clybourne-park-everything-and-nothing-seem-to-change-2/

“Good Defenses Make Good Neighbors” original off-Broadway review by Ben Brantley, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/theater/reviews/22clybourne.html

“Slashing the Tires on the Welcome Wagon,” review by Ben Brantley, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/theater/reviews/clybourne-park-by-bruce-norris-at-walter-kerr-theater.html

Bruce Norris wins Pulitzer for set-in-Chicago ‘Clybourne Park’, Chicago Tribune
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/04/18/bruce-norris-wins-pulitzer-for-set-in-chicago-clybourne-park/

“Everybody Loves Bruce Norris” by Tony Adler, Chicago Magazine
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/06/19/everybody-loves-bruce-norris/

“Bruce Norris in the Danger Zone” by Beatrice Basso and Dan Rubin, American Theatre
https://www.americantheatre.org/2011/10/01/bruce-norris-in-the-danger-zone/

“In the Form of an Argument: The Plays of Bruce Norris” by Chad Dexter Kinsman
https://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/play-detail/2024-2025/downstate/the-plays-of-bruce-norris

“Hansberry’s long shadow in ‘Raisin Cycle’” by Nelson Pressley, The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/hansberrys-long-shadow-in-raisin-cycle/2013/04/04/4ffaf0ae-9baa-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html

Guthrie Theater’s smug and offensive “Clybourne Park” perpetuates the illusion of a “post-Civil-Rights” society” by Peter Rachleff, Twin Cities Daily Planet
https://spokesman-recorder.com/2013/07/02/guthrie-theaters-smug-and-offensive-clybourne-park-perpetuates-the-illusion-of-a-post-civil-rights-society/

“The Wrath of Run” by Michael Riedel, The New York Post
https://nypost.com/2012/02/01/the-wrath-of-rudin/

Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park, Kurt Andersen, Studio 360
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/studio/segments/213445-bruce-norris-clybourne-park

Conversation: Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer-winning Play ‘Clybourne Park’, PBS NewsHour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43MBAwD34A

CLYBOURNE PARK, Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre production video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AIQWuul6gs

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the episode name.

Jan Simpson | [email protected] | Facebook | Twitter
Broadway & Me
Jan Simpson is a theater journalist who writes the blog Broadway& Me and hosts the BroadwayRadio podcasts Stagecraft and All The Drama. She has twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror.

Breaking down the Broadway grosses and major theatre news

Patreon: BroadwayRadio
https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the episode name.

1) Last week’s Broadway grosses:
https://www.broadwayleague.com/research/grosses-broadway-nyc/

2) Anthony Mackie to lead ‘Macbeth’ on Broadway this spring
https://deadline.com/2026/10/anthony-mackie-macbeth-broadway-avengers-star-1237146358/

3) ‘Dirty Dancing’ tour to stop in Broadway in February
https://deadline.com/2026/10/dirty-dancing-musical-broadway-lionsgate-1237147780/

Matt’s 2016 review of ‘Dirty Dancing’ national tour:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/orlando/article/BWW-Review-DIRTY-DANCING-is-a-Disappointing-Disservice-to-Original-Film-20160330

4) ‘Here There Are Blueberries’ announces Broadway cast
https://deadline.com/2026/10/here-there-are-blueberries-broadway-cast-1237145879/

5) ‘Phantom’ to be filmed in London for cinema release in 2027
https://deadline.com/2026/10/andrew-lloyd-webber-phantom-of-the-opera-live-cinemas-1237148845/

6) Nicholas Christopher to lead ‘Just in Time’ on Broadway
https://playbill.com/article/nicholas-christopher-will-lead-just-in-time-on-broadway

7) Savy Jackson to play Claire full time in ‘Maybe Happy Ending’
https://playbill.com/article/savy-jackson-will-be-maybe-happy-endings-full-time-claire-hannah-kevitt-sets-final-bow

On today’s episode, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with composer and lyricist Timothy L. Michuda. Along with Ben Ward, the pair have written the musical “Turing,” based on the life of legendary mathematician and wartime codebreaker Alan Turing. Not only was Turing instrumental in the Allied Powers’ fight against the Nazis in World War II, but later in life, he was put on trial for being gay during an era when homosexuality was criminalized.

In their conversation, Matt and Timothy discuss why Turing’s complicated life called out to be musicalized and why the writers chose to divide his life into three distinct chapters, but rather than tell them chronologically, to interweave them to bring attention to patterns and puzzles found in his history.

The first three songs from the “Turing” EP are available now wherever you get your music, with three more tracks being released on Friday, Oct. 9.

Listen to the “Turing” tracks here:
https://www.turingmusical.com/

Hilty and Rannells to lead ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ ‘Dolly’ announces leads, Matty Morrison to return to ‘Just in Time’

Every week, Matt Tamanini will bring you the biggest news from across the theatrical landscape and will prepare you for what’s ahead over the next seven days.

Any and all feedback is appreciated:
Matt Tamanini: [email protected] | @BroadwayRadio

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the episode name.

Support our sponsors: factormeals.com/broadway50off and use code broadway50off to get 50% off your first Factor box PLUS free breakfast for one year.

*Offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase.

1) Rannels, Hilty, Burgess to lead ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ on Broadway
https://deadline.com/2026/10/its-a-wonderful-life-a-live-radio-play-broadway-megan-hilty-1237144438/

2) ‘Dolly’ musical announces principal Broadway cast
https://deadline.com/2026/10/dolly-parton-broadway-musical-lead-cast-katie-rose-clarke-1237145459/

3) Show and casting news

Matthew Morrison to return to ‘Just in Time’ for another limited engagement
https://playbill.com/article/matthew-morrison-will-return-to-broadways-just-in-time

Public adds multiple shows to 2026-27 season
https://playbill.com/article/the-public-adds-what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-anne-frank-new-york-premiere-wendell-pierce-led-henry-iv-more-to-upcoming-season

Tina Benko, Rebecca Naomi Jones to lead ‘Elektra’ Off-Broadway
https://playbill.com/article/the-public-adds-what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-anne-frank-new-york-premiere-wendell-pierce-led-henry-iv-more-to-upcoming-season

Playwrights Horizons extends ‘Degenerates’ Off-Broadway
https://playbill.com/article/else-wents-incel-themed-degenerates-extends-again-off-broadway-at-playwrights-horizons

4) This week’s theatrical schedule

Monday, Oct. 5
Opening: ‘Soon’ Off-Broadway at St. Luke’s Theatre
https://www.ootbtheatrics.com/soon 

Closes: ‘September L. Davis: The Apology Tour’ at Studio Seaview
https://studioseaview.com/show/september-davis/ 

Tuesday, Oct. 6
Previews: ‘The Ask’ Off-Broadway at Theater 555
https://theaskplay.com/ 

Previews: King of Yees’ Off-Broadway at Signature Center
https://signaturetheatre.org/show/king-of-the-yees/ 

Thursday, Oct. 8
Previews: ‘A Few Good Men’ on Broadway
https://lct.org/shows/a-few-good-men/

Previews: ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ Off-Broadway at the Public Theater
https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2627/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/ 

Previews: ‘The Heart’ Off-Broadway from Roundabout Theatre Company
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/production/2026-2027-season/the-heart/ 

Friday, Oct. 9
Opening: ‘A Ghost in Your Ear’ Off-Broadway at Minetta Lane Theatre
https://audiblexminetta.com/shows/a-ghost-in-your-ear 

Opening: Good Time Charlie Off-Broadway at the Public Theater
https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2627/good-time-charlie/ 

Sunday, Oct. 11
Closing: ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ Off-Broadway at New World Stages
https://spellingbeenyc.com/ 

Closing: ‘Fish’ Off-Broadway at the WP Theater
https://wptheater.org/show/fish/ 

Closing: ‘Garry Starr: Classic Penguins’ Off-Broadway at Studio Seaview
https://studioseaview.com/show/garry-starr-classic-penguins/ 

Closing: ‘Heathers: The Musical’ Off-Broadway at New World Stages
https://heathersthemusical.com/new-york/ 

Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Degenerates @ Playwrights Horizons, Human Things @ The West End Theatre, Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes @ 92Y, Irish Repertory Theatre’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape, New York Philharmonic and Brian Stokes Mitchell, and creation stories and all the important importants @ LCT3

Note: This week there was an audio issue on James’ microphone. We were unable to fix it for this episode.

“This Week on Broadway” has been coming to you every week since 2009. It is the longest-running running Broadway and theatrical podcast with hundreds of shows giving thousands of reviews and interviews.

Subscribe to BroadwayRadio in Apple Podcasts by CLICKING HERE.

Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio

Patreon listeners get This Week on Broadway first, on Sunday afternoon before it is released to the general public on Sunday evening.

Panel:

Peter Filichia | [email protected] | Facebook
PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. Peter’s new day-by-day desk calendar – A SHOW TUNE FOR TODAY – 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year – is available at finer retailers!

Larry, The Big-Time Broadway Producer @ The Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA)
October 9 – 18, 2026

Showtune for Today: Our Time from Merrily We Roll Along

Big!

Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook
MICHAEL PORTANTIERE has been a theater journalist for more than 50 years. The founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other publications. Additionally, Michael is known as a producer and director of shows at 54 Below, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and other venues.

Coming up: 54 Loves Cast Albums! 3rd Edition – October 4, 2026

James Marino | [email protected] | Facebook
BroadwayStars

Note: This week we had listeners join us while recording. These listeners are Patreon members who support BroadwayRadio. If you would like to join us in the future, become a supporter at Patreon.com/BroadwayRadio.

Sponsor:

Pre:

All the Drama: “Clybourne Park”, 2011 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The BroadwayRadio App is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Andorid!

Please let us know if you run into any problems or have suggestions.

Flea Market recap

Reviews:

PF + MP: Degenerates @ Playwrights Horizons, through November 1, 2026
Written by Else Went
Directed by Emma Rosa Went
The boys are fucked. And they know it. In their own obscure corner of the internet, they offer each other proof that the game is rigged against men: it was over before it began, they will never be loved, better just to lay down and rot. When an unexpected relationship begins to form, the consequences of the boys’ fatalism are made painfully clear. Degenerates offers a telescopic, darkly funny view of one insular community, formed on the bedrock of shared and infinite miseries.

PF: Human Things @ The West End Theatre, through October 18, 2026
Two-time Tony Award winner Victoria Clark (Kimberly Akimbo), Rebeca Robles (Fires, Ohio), Ben Rosenfield (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”), and Tony Award nominee Michael Mulheren (Bright Star; Kiss Me, Kate) are set to star in the world premiere of the new play Human Things, written by Joshua Owen and directed by Rory McGregor.

Greg (Rosenfield) and Margaret (Robles) are on the rocks. More specifically – they are on an atoll in the South Pacific where Margaret is studying a dwindling population of migratory birds and Greg is doing… something. He’s not quite sure what he’s doing, actually. He’s doing his best. When Bo (Mulheren) and Darce (Clark) arrive, stranded, having crashed their beloved Hula-Hoop into a nearby coral reef – they bring with them a storm that threatens to reshape the world in ways both big and small.

MP: Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes @ 92Y Geffen Stage at Kaufmann Concert Hall, October 1, 2026
Broadway royalty and triple Tony Award winner Patti Lupone opens the new Tisch Music season with a one-night-only concert of the songs that have been touchstones in her remarkable life on and off the stage. Celebrated for her iconic performances on Broadway in Company, Gypsy, Evita, and more, LuPone dips into a personal songbook blending the musical theater anthems she owns with intimate standards and classic pop in a show that weaves songs and stories together in one unforgettable night.

Conceived by Scott Wittman
Written by Jeffrey Richman
Music direction and arrangements by Joseph Thalken
Strings: Brad Phillips

PF: Irish Repertory Theatre’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape, through November 15, 2026
Directed by Ciarán O’Reilly (Ulster American), The Hairy Ape will begin previews September 25, 2026, with an opening night set for October 4, for a limited run through November 15, 2026, on Irish Rep’s Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage (132 West 22nd Street).

MP: New York Philharmonic and Brian Stokes Mitchell

Classical Music Is in Crisis. Gustavo Dudamel Is Here to Save It.
This week marks the start of the Gustavo Dudamel era in New York.

The superstar conductor was just 28 when he became the musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009. A native of Venezuela and a product of its El Sistema musical training program, Dudamel quickly established himself not just as a great conductor, but also as a cultural force of nature. In his time in Los Angeles, he expanded the Philharmonic’s repertoire, created a successful youth outreach program, won prestigious awards and ingratiated himself with Hollywood elite.

Now, after 17 years in Los Angeles, Dudamel is taking the helm at one of the world’s most famous and storied orchestras: the New York Philharmonic. It’s a job once held by Leonard Bernstein, and Dudamel is hoping to follow in Bernstein’s footsteps to make the Philharmonic and the music that it plays a bigger part of the pop culture landscape.

On today’s episode, Joshua Barone, who covers classical music for The Times, discusses Dudamel, what he’s accomplished and the high hopes for his tenure with the New York Philharmonic.

PF: creation stories and all the important importants @ LCT3 / Claire Tow Theater, through November 15, 2026
A New Play By Mfoniso Udofia
Directed By Tamilla Woodard
Centering on a midlife Black woman pulled between her many selves—child, future daughter, artist, possible mother—the play pulses with longing as its heroine races against the clock and the limits of her own body. Moving across time and space, from ancestor to AI, from dream cycle to IVF cycle, through music and ritual, Udofia weaves her own surprising folktale on the cost of creation and the impossible work of becoming.

Discussion:

Shuffle Along Reunion Concert to Be Broadcast on PBS in 2027 By Margaret Hall
Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Adrienne Warren, Brandon Victor Dixon, and more returned to recreate the 2016 musical.

Future Episodes:

Peter’s Brainteaser:

He is still considered one of the most esteemed playwrights in Broadway history.

His second-longest running Broadway play has had multiple revivals.

It has not one, but two married couples where the wife’s first name has three letters and the husband’s first name has six.

Who’s the playwright? What’s the play? What are the four names of the wives and husbands?

Michael’s Musical Moments

MUSICAL MOMENTS: JUDY GARLAND AT MANHATTAN CENTER, “SOMETHING’S COMING” from WEST SIDE STORY April 26, 1962

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