T/theater

Martin Benson, Regional Theater Impresario, Dies at 87

South Coast Repertory, which he founded with a partner, was a major force in Southern California theater. He directed more than 100 of its productions.

The ‘Ballad of Keiko’ Music Video

This is the story of the real-life whale from “Free Willy” and his odyssey back to the ocean. In Episode 5 of the “Good Whale” podcast, Keiko disappears in Icelandic waters. For four weeks, nobody knew what had happened to him. So we reimagined th...

Raygun Shuts Down Musical Inspired by Her Jeered Olympic Breaking

The comedian behind the parody about the Australian breaker who became a summer celebrity said she was willing to make some changes to avoid legal drama.

Like a Family Reunion, but With More Tears (and Tonys)

Members of the cast of the 2008 Tony-winning revival of “South Pacific,” including Matthew Morrison and Kelli O’Hara, reunited for a benefit performance. The emotions were the guest of honor.

Adam Lambert Is Finding the Fun, and the Fear, in ‘Cabaret’

Making his Broadway debut as the show’s Emcee, the singer is reveling in what he calls “a thinking piece of musical theater.”

At the Kennedy Center, a Send-Off to Biden and Questions About the Future

A bipartisan crowd honored Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval and the Apollo Theater. Some wondered if Donald J. Trump would attend next year.

9 Best Theater Moments of 2024

“The Outsiders,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “Ragtime” were among the productions with stage moments that stood out this year.

Best Theater of 2024

Broadway roared back, but the kitties were downtown and the prayer service was in Brooklyn.

Marvin Laird, Musical Presence on and Off Broadway, Dies at 85

He conducted Broadway shows and worked with Bernadette Peters. But he was probably best known for writing the music for the darkly comic “Ruthless!”

What I Learned at Shiz University: How ‘Wicked’ Changed the Lives of Its Stars

Only the women who’ve played Elphaba and Glinda in the show’s two decades onstage understand why the roles are so taxing — and so rewarding, too.

How Catherine Russell, of ‘Perfect Crime,’ Spends Her Sundays

Ms. Russell, who hasn’t missed a performance of her Off Broadway show in nearly 30 years, fills her day with pets, church, teaching and two shows.

Is the Real ‘Wicked’ Movie the Press Tour?

A conversation about the musical’s transfer from stage to screen, and the lead actresses who are bringing new narratives to their roles.

Avett Brothers Musical ‘Swept Away’ to Close on Broadway After Short Run

The new musical, about a shipwreck and its aftermath, opened Nov. 19 at the Longacre Theater.

‘Let’s Make a Dance.’ At Nature Theater, the Body Rules.

In “No President,” Nature Theater of Oklahoma creates its version of a story ballet, one burpee at a time.

‘How Did I Get Here?’: 7 Days in the Life of a Busy Arts Programmer

Jay Wegman runs from rehearsals to lunches to shows for his job at N.Y.U. Skirball, then home for a “What We Do in the Shadows” episode or two.

Broadway, Seeking Growth and Facing Challenges, Has a New Representative

The Broadway League, an industry trade organization, named Jason Laks as its new president. “I think our mission has to be more than to make it 2019 again,” Laks said.

Elton John, After Eye Infection, Says He Couldn’t See His Own Musical

After a performance of “The Devil Wears Prada” in London, John told the crowd that the effects of an eye infection were continuing to limit his eyesight.

With ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ One Look Wasn’t Enough

A bare-bones revival of the Broadway musical grew on me with subsequent viewings, and the additional details I noticed bolstered my reporting.

Momma Rose’s Many Faces, From Ethel Merman to Audra McDonald

In her various incarnations, the “Gypsy” character is always loud, always scary, but so different. Ben Brantley reflects on all the onstage Roses he has known.

Auli’i Cravalho es mucho más que Moana

La película de Disney la convirtió en una estrella. Ahora Cravalho, a sus 24 años, vuelve a la secuela, mientras debuta en Broadway y acepta papeles más atrevidos.

Marshall Brickman, Woody Allen’s Co-Writer on Hit Films, Dies at 85

The duo won an Oscar for “Annie Hall.” Mr. Brickman went on to write Broadway shows, including “Jersey Boys,” and make movies of his own.

Auli’i Cravalho Is More Than a Disney Princess

“Moana” made her a breakout star. Now Cravalho, at 24, is back in the sequel, while also making her Broadway debut and embracing edgier parts.

When Stephen Sondheim Transformed Theater, and Theatergoers, Forever

An incisive new book, “How Sondheim Can Change Your Life,” examines the extraordinary career of the master of the musical.

This ‘Importance of Being Earnest’ Is a Fabulous Romp

A new production in London, starring Ncuti Gatwa, releases Oscar Wilde’s 1895 comedy from period convention and brings it stunningly into the 21st century.

Artists, Then (as in the 17th Century) and Now

“The Light and the Dark” dramatizes the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, while “300 Paintings” was born during the fever dreams of Covid.

Helen Gallagher, Winner of Two Tonys and Three Emmys, Dies at 98

She was honored on Broadway for roles in “Pal Joey” and “No, No, Nanette” and then turned to TV, where she won three Daytime Emmys for her work on “Ryan’s Hope.”

Theater to See in N.Y.C. This Holiday Season

“Elf the Musical,” inventive spins on “A Christmas Carol” and classic family fare: Here are some of our favorite shows of the season.

In ‘Yuletide Factory,’ Cirque Mechanics Manufactures a Family Holiday Show

It’s Christmas at the sweatshop, but the mood fluctuates between ho ho ho and ho hum.

‘We Are Your Robots,’ Still Tuning Up

In Ethan Lipton’s musings on A.I., Mozart has a place alongside humpback whales.

Emma Corrin and Maggie Nelson on the Strength in Vulnerability

The “Nosferatu” actor and the writer discuss solitude, self-editing and the playfulness of their work.

‘Wicked’ and the Merchandising Juggernaut That Eclipses ‘Barbie’

The new movie’s tie-ins are the logical endpoint for a Broadway show that always intended to be huge.

I Starred in ‘Cabaret.’ We Need to Heed Its Warning.

Much has changed since the show debuted on Broadway in 1966, but it’s what hasn’t changed that should worry us.

Blue Man Group to End New York Run After Three Decades Off Broadway

The troupe is also closing its Chicago company, but continues to perform in Berlin, Boston, Las Vegas and, soon, Orlando.

Stratford-Upon-Lake-Michigan: Royal Shakespeare Company Plays Chicago

With less touring, it’s been a while since all the world has been its stage, but the troupe is working with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater — where it has family ties.

6 Minutes. 62 People. 1 Epic ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Sequence.

Down the stairs, out the doors and onto the sidewalk, a Broadway show hits the street. Here’s how they pull it off.

‘The Blood Quilt’ Review: An Elaborate Tapestry

Katori Hall’s new play about sisters gathering after their mother’s death features standout performances but an overabundance of themes.

In ‘Death Becomes Her,’ Spiking the Fountain of Youth

Hilarious star turns from Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard make the mostly unfunny 1992 film into an intermittently memorable Broadway musical.

In ‘Music City’ and ‘Babe,’ Existential Battles of the Heart and Soul

Bedlam’s country music show is a rollicking good time. But the New Group’s production of “Babe,” starring Marisa Tomei, is a frustrating one-act lacking cohesion.

Francesca D’Uva Works It All Out Onstage

With a solo show about grief and life, the comedian and composer brings her experimental musical comedy to an Off Broadway audience.

How to Buy Broadway Tickets? Your Questions, Answered

Box-office sales, discount booths, same-day rush: Here’s everything you need to know about nabbing seats to plays and musicals in Manhattan.

Dressing for the Emerald City

To create the costumes for the new “Wicked” movie, the filmmakers turned to a Tony Award winner who already knew his way around Oz.

‘Swept Away’ Review: Lost at Sea, How Far Would You Sink?

A dark musical about a shipwreck and its aftermath, with songs by the Avett Brothers, anchors on Broadway.

‘Tammy Faye’ Musical to Close After Failing to Find Broadway Audience

Well-reviewed in London but poorly received in New York, the musical with an Elton John score will end its run on Dec. 8.

TKTS to Open Booth in Philadelphia, Hoping to Boost Local Theaters

The first domestic TKTS outpost outside New York comes at a time of rising concern about ticket prices and theater economics.

‘Les Misérables’ Returns Home

The most famous French musical has never been popular in Paris. A major new production hopes to change that, reworking it for a contemporary French audience.

Everyone at the Party Sees Your Texts. A New Play Revels in the Chaos.

Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Krakowski, Debra Messing and Constance Wu star in the vulgar and entertaining new work from Robert O’Hara.

Morgan Jenness, 72, Dies; Her Artistic Vision Influenced American Theater

A beloved figure in the theatrical community, she redefined the role of dramaturg, influencing playwrights like David Adjmi and David Henry Hwang.

The ‘Death Becomes Her’ Frenemies Take Their Youth Potion to Broadway

The campy supernatural movie comes to Broadway as a big, bawdy musical starring Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard.

7 Days in the Cultural Life of a Broadway Stage Manager

When he’s not herding performers at “Once Upon a Mattress,” Cody Renard Richard is bowling, catching up with theater friends and, to his surprise, bumping into Beyoncé.

In ‘Elf’ on Broadway, Buddy Lands on the Very, Very Nice List

The musical, starring Grey Henson, has gotten Buddy delightfully, entirely right. But he is trapped inside a creaky adaptation.

Why ‘Tammy Faye’ the Musical Feels Like a Redemption

The televangelist defended gay men during the AIDS crisis. Now she’s getting perhaps the gayest tribute: a Broadway show led by Elton John.

¿Tengo que participar en la ovación de pie si todos lo hacen?

Los espectadores y otros amantes de las artes escénicas se están dando cuenta de que esta práctica parece haberse convertido en la norma, no en la excepción.

Uncovering Gay and Lesbian History in a 1941 ‘Sex Variants’ Study

The Civilians theater group has adapted a study of homosexuality into a work that explores the lives of lesbians and gay men in the early 20th century.

What’s Your ‘Romeo and Juliet’ I.Q.?

Test your knowledge, for never was a quiz of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

Murder as Family Tradition in ‘Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists’

Tiago Rodrigues’s play is intentionally a work of provocation, but it is also stylized to create a helpful distance from events and ideas.

Tammy Faye Was Over-the-Top. This Musical Makes Her Small.

“Tammy Faye,” a bland, tonal mishmash of a show opening on Broadway, seems afraid to lean into what made the televangelist so distinctive.

‘King Lear,’ Faster and Less Furious

Kenneth Branagh’s production of the Shakespeare classic speeds through the material and can’t quite figure out its tone.

In the Slightly Dark ‘Strategic Love Play,’ a Not-Quite-Romance Blooms

In this first-date comedy, Michael Zegen and Heléne Yorke play people who might just be willing to settle for each other.

Broadway Shows Closing Soon: ‘Suffs,’ ‘Stereophonic’ and More

Many Tony Award-winning musicals and starry plays (Robert Downey Jr., anyone?) are wrapping up their runs in January. Catch them while you can.

Big Apple Circus Review: A City Tour, Pizza Rats Included

This year’s show is an underwhelming exercise in nostalgia. But it’s still a joy to be under the big top with acts like the Wheel of Destiny.

Timothy West, Who Portrayed Kings and Prime Ministers, Dies at 90

A staple of British television, he played Churchill three times over a long career. Onstage, he was King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman.

Stand-Up, Drama and Spambots: The Creative World Takes On A.I.

Artificial intelligence has become a subject for people in the art and theater worlds who are worried about being replaced by it.

‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Review: For Robots, Is It Love or Just a Hookup?

A supersmart musical about making a connection arrives on Broadway in a joyful, heartbreaking, cutting-edge production.

‘The Vegetarian’ Review: Putting a Nobel Prize Winner’s Work Onstage

After Han Kang won the Prize in Literature last month, a stage version of her novel “The Vegetarian” sold out its run at a struggling Paris theater.

On Broadway, a Covid Switcheroo: Marsha Mason in for Mia Farrow

Mason, an associate director of “The Roommate,” which opened on Broadway last week, stepped in as Patti LuPone’s counterpart.

Does a Smash Hit Like ‘Lion King’ Deserve a $3 Million Tax Break?

Broadway is still recovering from the pandemic. A state tax-credit program has helped, but watchdogs say it aids some shows that don’t need a boost.

Audience Snapshot: Four Years After Shutdown, a Mixed Recovery

Covid brought live performance to a halt. Now the audience for pop concerts and sporting events has roared back, while attendance on Broadway and at some major museums is still down.

Is Earlier Better for Theater Start Times?

In an effort to entice audiences back after the pandemic, Britain’s National Theater is testing a 6:30 p.m. curtain.

Off Broadway, a Vital Part of New York Theater, Feels the Squeeze

The small theaters that help make the city a theater capital are cutting back as they struggle to recover from the pandemic.

Luring Theater Audiences Back After Covid

Readers discuss the decline in theater subscribers after the pandemic. Also: Northern Ireland; food allergies; a Covid playmate; anti-China bias.

72 Regional Theaters, One Shared Crisis

Michael Paulson spoke with producers and artistic directors at nonprofit theaters across the country about the crisis their industry is facing.

A Crisis in America’s Theaters Leaves Prestigious Stages Dark

As they struggle to recover after the pandemic, regional theaters are staging fewer shows, giving fewer performances, laying off staff and, in some cases, closing.

In ‘Plays for the Plague Year,’ the Soundtrack of Our Lives

Suzan-Lori Parks wrote one play a day for 13 months during the pandemic. Those stories come to life onstage in the form of monologues, dialogues and songs at Joe’s Pub.

As Presenters Cut Back on Streams, Some Disabled Arts Lovers Feel Left Out

When shuttered venues embraced streaming during the pandemic, the arts became more accessible. With live performance back, and streams dwindling, many feel forgotten.

‘Covid Vortex Anxiety Opera’ Review: Gloom, Zoom and a New Bloom

The veteran performance artist Karen Finley leads the audience through the troubles that plagued New York City at the peak of the pandemic.

Obie Awards Honor ‘English’ as Best New Play

A ceremony for the awards, celebrating work Off and Off Off Broadway, will be held Monday, but organizers decided to announce the winners in advance.

Broadway Bounces Back With ‘Best Week Since the Before Times’

Broadway shows grossed $51.9 million during the holiday week, the most since 2019, and “The Lion King” set a record for the most earned by any show in a single week.

‘Broadway Rising’ Review: Surviving the Pandemic

Stakeholders including Patti LuPone and Lynn Nottage share their real-time reactions to New York theater’s shutdown and reopening in Amy Rice’s documentary.

Onstage, It’s Finally Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Again

After one holiday season lost to the pandemic and another curtailed by Omicron, seasonal staples including “The Nutcracker,” “A Christmas Carol” and “Messiah” are back in force.

Lynn Nottage’s ‘Clyde’s’ Is the Most-Staged Play in America

An annual survey, suspended during the pandemic, resumes and finds theaters nationally doing fewer shows and torn between escapism and ambition.

Did Fauci Lead America Astray on Covid?

Responses to an essay that criticized Anthony Fauci’s handling of the pandemic. Also: Migrants as props; abortion rights; David Milch; theater’s lessons.

To Mask, or Not to Mask: Theaters and Concert Halls Face a Dilemma

Some audience members are turned off by mask mandates. Others won’t attend indoor performances without them. Arts presenters are taking different approaches this season.

‘It’s My Tradition Too’: A Town’s Centuries-Old Passion Play Evolves

After a two-year pandemic delay, villagers in the German town of Oberammergau are once again re-enacting the story of Jesus’s life and death, with some changes.

On Broadway, One Show Decides to Keep Masks. No, It’s Not ‘Phantom.’

“American Buffalo,” at Circle in the Square, is sticking with masking till it closes, July 10, citing the “proximity of the audience to the actors” and “the staging in the round.”

You Don’t Want to Wear a Mask? Do It for Hugh Jackman

Beginning in July, Broadway will no longer require audiences to mask up. Actors and theater workers aren’t loving the idea.

You Don’t Want to Wear a Mask? Do It for Hugh Jackman.

Beginning in July, Broadway will no longer require audiences to mask up. Actors and theater workers aren’t loving the idea.

Broadway Will Drop Mask Mandate Beginning July 1

Most theaters stopped requiring proof of vaccination this spring. Now they are going “mask optional.”

‘A Strange Loop’ Wins Best Musical as Tonys Celebrate Broadway’s Return

“The Lehman Trilogy” won best play, “Company” won best musical revival and “Take Me Out” won best revival of a play at the 75th Tony Awards.

‘Come From Away’ to Close, the Latest Broadway Show to End Run

The musical, which opened in 2017, is the third to announce a closing in two days, as many shows struggle in a pandemic-softened marketplace.

Broadway theaters will continue requiring patrons to wear masks at least through June 30.

The decision comes at a time when New York City has declared a “high Covid alert.”

The Twisting Trail to the Tonys: ‘Can You Believe That We’re Here?’

At times it felt like a game of survival. But during a Broadway season unlike any other, productions showed their resourcefulness while learning how to live with Covid.

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ to Close on Broadway, After Reopening

The musical, which shuttered temporarily in January as the Omicron variant spread, has struggled with the slow return of tourists to the theater.

Your Monday Evening Briefing

Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.

Most Broadway theaters have ended vaccination checks as coronavirus cases are rising.

Most of Broadway Ends Vaccine Checks as Cases Rise in New York

While for-profit theater owners and operators agreed to stop checking proof of vaccination this week, several nonprofit Broadway theaters continue to require it.

Manhattan Springs Back to Life

Broadway enthusiasts, art aficionados and food lovers will find new offerings in and around Times Square and in neighborhoods below 42nd Street, heralding the promise of a vibrant recovery.

‘For Colored Girls’ to Close on Broadway, Reflecting Tough Season

The revival, directed by Camille A. Brown, received strong reviews but struggled to attract audiences and overcome challenges posed by Covid.