T/theater

The Broadway Best of Charles Strouse

The composer’s musicals, including “Annie” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” captured essential elements of American culture. Here are five of his most memorable songs.

‘Is Betty Buckley Still Alive?’ Trump Asked. She Certainly Is.

“What’s happening these days,” the singer said at the start of a Joe’s Pub residency, “is weird, and not cool.”

Theater to Stream: ‘Yellow Face,’ Joaquina Kalukango and More

Watch the Tony nominee Daniel Dae Kim in David Henry Hwang’s comedy, and take in cabaret at 54 Below, all from your living room.

Darren Criss Does the Robot

He trained as a movement actor. Now he’s leaning into physical theater as a Helperbot in the Tony-nominated “Maybe Happy Ending.”

Tonys 2025 Predictions: Who Will Win? And Who Should?

Our chief theater critic looks at this year’s nominees and weighs in on the plays, musicals and artists he thinks will — and should — take home trophies on June 8.

Charles Strouse, Composer of ‘Annie’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ Dies at 96

He wrote some of the most enduring musical theater numbers of his era and earned three Tony Awards, a Grammy and an Emmy.

Clooney Brought Edward R. Murrow to Broadway. Next Stop: CNN.

In June, the news organization is planning a live broadcast of one of the final Broadway performances of “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

At Theatertreffen Festival, Bodies Do the Talking

Choreographer-led works at the annual German theater event range from the transgressive to the melancholic.

BAM Announces a Women-Led Next Wave and Fall Season

The arts institution, which has shrunk its programming in recent years, unveiled its fall lineup.

Broadway, Backstage

We go behind the curtain at “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “John Proctor Is the Villain” and “Oh, Mary!”

‘The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse’ Review: Down the Y2K Clickhole

In Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley’s fizzy new musical, an internet sleuth searches for a pop star wannabe who went missing along with her low-rise jeans.

In ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ Tom Francis Writes His Own Story

The Tony-nominated leading man is charming audiences — and Times Square tourists — with a brooding performance that has him singing outdoors.

George Clooney and Denzel Washington Power Broadway to Prepandemic Heights

Elphaba helped too. But the good news comes with caveats.

Nothing on Broadway Hits Harder Than Audra McDonald’s ‘Rose’s Turn’

Near the end of “Gypsy,” the Tony-nominated actress sings a song that makes you rethink the show you’ve been watching. I talked to her about it.

To Play Betty Boop, Jasmine Amy Rogers Had to Transform

The Broadway rookie has a Tony nomination and star power, but inside she’s still this “weird little girl.”

In ‘Irishtown’ and ‘The Black Wolfe Tone,’ Where Are the Rolling Hills?

Two plays at Irish Repertory Theater, one featuring a “Derry Girls” star, explore the real and the mythical in cultural identity.

‘Dead Outlaw’ Cancels Library of Congress Concert to Protest Firing

The Broadway musical, which earned seven Tony nominations, scrapped a performance after the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla D. Hayden, was fired by the Trump administration.

George Lee, Trailblazing Chinese Ballet Dancer, Dies at 90

He is believed to have been the first Asian to dance with New York City Ballet when he was cast in George Balanchine’s production of “The Nutcracker.”

The First Play Knocked Her Unconscious. The Second Is Even Tougher.

Carolina Bianchi created a storm by drugging herself onstage at the beginning of a trilogy about sexual assault. Her latest play, “The Brotherhood,” asks what happens next.

Hugh Jackman in a Twisty Tale of ‘Sexual Misconduct’

A new play about a middle-age professor and his teenage student forces you to ask: Who’s grooming whom?

In ‘Hamlet Hail to the Thief,’ Radiohead Riffs on Shakespeare

The band’s frontman, Thom Yorke, created a show with the Royal Shakespeare Company that is both admirably ambitious and a little foolish.

Will ‘The Death of Rasputin’ Have a Cult Following?

The immersive production on Governors Island is an attempt to fill the void left by “Sleep No More” and “Life and Trust.”

13 Off Broadway Shows to See in May

Hugh Jackman in “Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes” and Maya Hawke in the title role of “Eurydice” — here’s what’s on New York stages this month.

‘Five Models in Ruins, 1981’ Review: Disastrous Dress-Up

Caitlin Saylor Stephens’s new play imagines a fashion shoot with the gowns Princess Diana rejected for her recent wedding. The models are not amused.

‘Ragtime’ Is Returning to Broadway

A revival of the sweeping musical will open at Lincoln Center Theater in October, starring Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy and Brandon Uranowitz.

He Produced ‘Rent’ and ‘Hamilton.’ Now He’s Telling His Own Story.

In “Theater Kid,” Jeffrey Seller reflects on his Broadway career.

An Actress of Many Passions, Now Making History in ‘Wicked’

“The place where Elphaba and I meet is empathy and advocacy for justice,” said Lencia Kebede, who is the first Black actress to play the role full time on Broadway.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Winning a Pulitzer for ‘Purpose’

“It’s the most surreal day ever,” the playwright said as he learned the news while getting ready to attend his first Met Gala.

Audra McDonald Caps a History-Making Week With a Gasp-Inducing Gown

The Broadway star, who received a record 11th Tony nomination on Thursday, wore a Harbison look inspired by the 1991 film “Daughters of the Dust.”

Amid Trump Cuts, Officials Resign From the National Endowment for the Arts

Senior officials announced their resignations after the Trump administration withdrew grants from arts organizations around the country.

‘The United States vs Ulysses’ Review: The Case That Won’t Go Away

When James Joyce’s masterpiece faced banning, the American justice system came to the rescue. A new play wonders if it would today.

When the Goddess of Evil Looms Large, Cue the (Goddess of) Music

Saheem Ali’s musical, about the goddess of music finding refuge and love at an Afro-jazz club in Mombasa, Kenya, has been nearly 20 years in the making.

When One Actor Contains Multitudes: An Old Form Finds (Eerie) New Life

Online, onstage and onscreen, performers are playing multiple parts. The effect of watching someone shape-shift can be both thrilling and unnerving.

Pierre Audi, Eminent Force in the Performing Arts, Dies at 67

After turning a derelict lecture hall into the daring Almeida Theater, he had a long career as a director and impresario in Europe and New York.

The National Endowment for the Arts Begins Terminating Grants

The endowment told arts organizations that it was withdrawing or canceling current grants just hours after President Trump proposed eliminating the agency in the next fiscal year.

Stephen Mo Hanan, Who Played Three Roles in ‘Cats,’ Dies at 78

He sang arias on the streets of San Francisco, performed on Broadway and collaborated on a musical about Al Jolson, which he also starred in.

In ‘Wonderful Town,’ a Party for Writers and Weirdos

An awkward Encores! revival of the 1953 musical celebrates the bohemian life of Greenwich Village in the years when oddballs could still afford to live there.

Idina Menzel’s ‘Redwood’ to Close Following Tony Nominations Shutout

The Broadway musical will play its final performance at the Nederlander Theater on May 18.

‘God Is in the Details’: Embracing Boredom in Art and Life

The Netflix show “Adolescence” asks audiences to be OK with slower moments and small talk. Is that possible in 2025?

Tony Nominations Snubs and Surprises: ‘Othello’ Misses, Clooney Scores

Ensemble-driven plays like “Purpose” and “English” received a slew of nominations, while Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal and Idina Menzel were overlooked.

George Clooney, Sarah Snook and Sadie Sink Get Tony Nominations

The new musicals “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Death Becomes Her” and “Maybe Happy Ending” tied for the most Tony nominations, with 10 each.

Tony Awards Nominations 2025: The Complete List

Nominations for the 78th Tony Awards were announced on Thursday. Here’s who made the list.

What to Do in New York City in May

Looking for something to do in New York? Get help from Chloe Troast and her friends, keep “Brat” summer going with Charli XCX, or see Alexei Ratmansky’s take on “Paquita.”

The Tony Nominations Are This Morning. Here’s What to Expect.

Sarah Paulson and Wendell Pierce will announce which performers and which productions from a crowded 2024-25 Broadway season will vie for awards.

‘Ceremonies in Dark Old Men’ Review: A Father in Defeat

Norm Lewis stars as the resigned patriarch of two slippery sons in this revival of Lonne Elder III’s drama from 1969.

A Little-Known Corner of Ireland Beckons

Flanked by the Knockmealdown Mountains to the north and blown by fresh ocean breezes, the Blackwater Valley is rich in history, culture and natural beauty.

Ewan McGregor, Back Onstage, Is the Architect of His Own Folly

“My Master Builder,” a new take on the Ibsen classic, reduces a complex play to a tawdry marital melodrama.

In Two New Works, the Power of Generational Connections

Two worlds of promise: “All the World’s a Stage,” a musical by Adam Gwon, and “Rheology,” Shayok Misha Chowdhury’s follow-up to “Public Obscenities.”

Who Should Be a Tony Awards Nominee in 2025?

Our chief theater critic makes his picks.

In ‘Krapp’s Last Tape,’ Gary Oldman Hits Rewind

The star actor returns to the theater where he started almost a half-century ago, with Samuel Beckett’s bleak one-man play.

Broadway’s Debacles Live On at Joe Allen’s ‘Flop Wall’

The posters in the theater-district restaurant document the shows that went wrong.

My Life With Uncle Vanya, the Self-Pitying Sad Sack We Can’t Quit

What is it about Chekhov’s melancholy inaction hero that makes him, and the play he stars in, so meaningful at all ages?

‘Real Women Have Curves’ Review: This American (Immigrant) Life

On Broadway, the musical adaptation is a bouncy crowd pleaser about female empowerment, self-acceptance and chasing one’s dreams.

‘Dead Outlaw’ Review: This Bandit Has Mummy Issues

A truly twisted yarn about a long-lived corpse makes a surprisingly feel-good Broadway musical.

‘Las mujeres de verdad tienen curvas’ es ahora un espectáculo de Broadway

El nuevo musical se basa en la obra original de Josefina López y en la adaptación cinematográfica de 2002 protagonizada por America Ferrera.

‘Just in Time’ Review: Jonathan Groff Channels Bobby Darin

Groff is sensational as the ’60s “nightclub animal” in a Broadway jukebox bio-musical that doesn’t live up to its star.

‘Real Women Have Curves’ Is Now a Broadway Show. Here Are 5 Things to Know.

The new musical is based on Josefina López’s original play and the 2002 film adaptation that starred America Ferrera.

Patrick Adiarte, Actor Seen in Musicals and on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 82

As a young immigrant from the Philippines, he had roles on Broadway in “The King and I” and “Flower Drum Song.” He was later a familiar face on TV.

Moment of Truth for Santos as He Faces Sentencing

The former congressman George Santos could receive a prison term of more than seven years.

How a Kentucky Man Trapped in a Cave Became a Broadway Musical

Floyd Collins was pinned under a rock while exploring a cave in 1925. That history, recounted in song, is now on Broadway.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Pirates,’ Now in Jazzy New Orleans

A Broadway remake of the operetta, starring David Hyde Pierce, moves the plot to the Big Easy, where good times roll, even if some jokes don’t quite land.

¿William Shakespeare fue un mal esposo? Una carta olvidada sugeriría nuevas pistas

Una nueva investigación socava la opinión tradicional de que Shakespeare fue un marido distante y negligente con su mujer, Anne Hathaway.

‘Hold Me in the Water’ Review: Smitten, and Primed to Flirt

Ryan J. Haddad follows up his Obie-winning “Dark Disabled Stories” with a rom-com.

Overlooked Letter Rewrites History of Shakespeare’s Bad Marriage

New research undermines the traditional view that Shakespeare was a distant, neglectful husband to his wife, Anne.

Little Adds Up in the Elusive ‘Grief Camp’

Les Waters’s production for Atlantic Theater Company is marvelously realized, despite the limitations of the play’s often maddening script.

Jeremy Jordan, Searching for Challenges Onstage

In “Floyd Collins,” playing a hardscrabble Kentuckian trapped while exploring a cave, the actor finds inspiration in the claustrophobic restrictions.

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Review: An Origin Story for the Stage

This Broadway production delivers lots of spectacle as it winds back to the teenage years of Henry Creel, an antagonist from the Netflix series.

‘Macbeth in Stride’ Review: A Leap and Stumble Into a Classic

One of the most performed and reimagined works of English literature becomes a fourth-wall-breaking musical revue.

‘Floyd Collins’ Review: Trapped in a Cave and in a Media Circus

One of the wonders of this glorious-sounding new Broadway production is how far from claustrophobic this Kentucky cave saga feels.

There’s No People Like Show People

In a new book, the Broadway photographer Jenny Anderson captures the craft and camaraderie of making theater.

5 Years After Covid Closed the Theaters, Audiences Are Returning

Broadway is almost back, and pop music tours and sports events are booming. But Hollywood, museums and other cultural sectors have yet to bounce back.

Off Broadway, Labor Tension Heats Up

Stagehands and other backstage workers have gone on strike against a prominent theater, and two productions have been canceled.

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.

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.