Tony Predictions 2026

Broadway keeps chugging along, and so do we. Yes, awards are silly. Yes, the choice of Pink as the host is bizarre. But predicting winners is fun, and a yearly review of Broadway is always worthwhile.  

As for the famous cliché that it's an honor just to be nominated—that's absolutely true. It's an honor to write, direct, design, and act on Broadway. Hell, it can be an honor just to be in the audience!

Don't forget Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, which frequently offer brilliance and often have  reasonable prices. They can be every bit as magical as Broadway,

But, this is the season of the Tonys, so, hail Broadway! Long may you thrive.

Best Play

The Balusters, David Lindsay-Abaire
Giant, Mark Rosenblatt
Liberation, Bess Wohl
Little Bear Ridge Road, Samuel D. Hunter

Wendy: This is a hearteningly strong category. I predict Liberation will win, partially because I really hope it does.

Liz: Liberation won the Pulitzer and I’m assuming the members of the Tony committee took notice. Then again, women are clearly second-class citizens in this country, and all the other plays are by dudes, so it’s possible that the Tony won’t go to the best of the bunch.

Sandra: I want to say Liberation—I loved the interviews it incorporated and how Wohl managed to create such vivid and disparate characters. It did win the Pulitzer, but as Liz said, these days it’s a man’s world. Mark Roseblatt’s play won the Olivier and I think Giant will also nab the Tony.

 

Best Musical
The Lost Boys
Schmigadoon!
Titaníque
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Wendy: There used to be all sorts of “logic” in predicting best musical. It would be big, fun, and able to tour. I’m not sure how useful that logic ever was, but it’s certainly useless this century, going back to Avenue Q beating Wicked, when Caroline, or Change was the best of the three! So, Schmigadoon! or Two Strangers? Could the Lost Boys take it? The prediction I have the most faith in is that Titanique won’t win. Okay, here goes: Schmigadoon!

Liz: Schmigadoon! Titaníque is a hoot, but it’s too loose and offbeat to win. Schmigadoon was hilarious when I saw it on TV. The Lost Boys was fun when I saw it at the Monroeville Cineplex Odeon in 1987. I haven’t seen the strangers carrying cake, but don't think it will take the award. May the best recycled property in a bum season win.

Sandra: I’m with Liz on this one—Schmigadoon! managed to stay faithful to the Apple TV+ series while streamlining plot points and characters, and swapping in songs that made the show a better vehicle for the stage.

 

Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Becky Shaw, Gina Gionfriddo
Every Brilliant Thing, Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
Fallen Angels, Noël Coward, additional material by Claudia Shear
Oedipus, Robert Icke

Wendy: Another strong category. I’m going with Death of a Salesman, though it wouldn’t surprise me if Oedipus won.

Liz: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Come now, it’s fucking Death of a fucking Salesman–one that all the critics seem to have decided is perfect for this particular moment of hell–oops, history–that we’re moored in. The other productions don’t have a chance.

Sandra: Three for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. It won in 1984, 1999 and 2012 as Best Revival and Best Play in 1949. Five times is a charm.

 

Best Revival of a Musical
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Ragtime
Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show

Wendy: It certainly could go to Cats, but I’m predicting Ragtime.

Liz: Cats: The Jellicle Ball took the tiredest property and gave it depth and soul. This is clearly the work of geniuses who deserve a big prize.

Sandra: In 1996, Ragtime generated mixed feelings for me. The cast of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Mark Jacoby, Judy Kaye, et. al.—well, sublime barely expresses the performances. But I felt lackluster about the overall production. This Ragtime seemed exciting, faster paced and absorbing, so I’m rooting for Ragtime.

Best Direction of a Play
Nicholas Hytner, Giant
Robert Icke, Oedipus
Kenny Leon, The Balusters
Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Whitney White, Liberation

Wendy: Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Most likely, but certainly not a shoo-in.

Liz: Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Liberation was such a triumph that I’m secretly rooting for a major upset, but I doubt that’ll happen.

Sandra: If I was a betting gal, I’d stake my kids' college funds on Joe Mantello, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

 

Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, The Lost Boys
Lear deBessonet, Ragtime
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Tim Jackson, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Wendy: It’s deBessonet versus Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch. I’m predicting Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, but I sure wouldn’t bet on it.

Liz: Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Cats: The Jellicle Ball. See what I said about The Jellicle Ball above. This could go to deBessonet, whose Ragtime is wonderful–if not the bold reimagining Jellicle is.

Sandra: Hmmm… I’m with my blog colleagues; this is a toss-up between deBessonet and Levingston and Rauch. I dispute their Jellicle favoritism and choose Ragtime.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Rose Byrne, Fallen Angels
Carrie Coon, Bug
Susannah Flood, Liberation
Lesley Manville, Oedipus
Kelli O’Hara, Fallen Angels

Wendy: In the Times, Helen Shaw makes a good case for giving this award to the wonderful Kelli O’Hara. But this is one I would bet on: Lesley Manville, Oedipus.

Liz: Lesley Manville, Oedipus. Tough one, especially since I can’t afford to see Fallen Angels. Coon was terrific in Bug, as was Flood in Liberation. But Manville was such a self-actualized, sane, take-no-shit Jocasta that I was fully convinced she’d breeze right past the big reveal. Oops.

Sandra: Lesley Manville, Oedipus. How about that? Three in agreement.

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Will Harrison, Punch
Nathan Lane, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
John Lithgow, Giant
Daniel Radcliffe, Every Brilliant Thing
Mark Strong, Oedipus

Wendy: Yet another strong category. I think Nathan Lane could win. I think John Lithgow will win. But if I had a vote, it would go to the extraordinary Will Harrison, whose performance in Punch was one of the best I’ve seen in decades of theatre-going.

Liz: Nathan Lane, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. I wouldn’t mind seeing Lithgow take this for his slippery, manipulative, smugly bigoted Dahl. But attention must be paid, so I suspect this is Lane’s.

Sandra: John Lithgow, Giant. In some ways, I think Lane has the edge—after all, he’s playing the revered Willy Loman everyman character. That has natural cache. Still, Lithgow makes Roald Dahl charismatic and playful amid his abrasive combativeness and prejudices.

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sara Chase, Schmigadoon!
Stephanie Hsu, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Caissie Levy, Ragtime
Marla Mindelle, Titaníque
Christiani Pitts, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Wendy: I’m happy for Caissie Levy to win, but it makes me so sad that the late, fabulous, terribly missed Marin Mazzie did not win for the same role in the original production.

Liz: Caissie Levy, Ragtime Much love to Mindelle, whose hilariously loopy version of Celine Dion is one for the ages. But Levy has never looked or sounded as mature or grounded as she does here.

Sandra: Caissie Levy, Ragtime. I remember her in 2009’s Hair, singing “Good Morning Starshine.” It was my favorite song in the show. I’ll be happy to see her win the Tony.

   

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Nicholas Christopher, Chess
Luke Evans, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Joshua Henry, Ragtime
Sam Tutty, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brandon Uranowitz, Ragtime

Wendy: Joshua Henry, of course.

Liz: Joshua Henry, Ragtime. Nicholas Christopher is the best thing about Chess, but no actor seems as deeply connected to his role as Joshua Henry is to Coalhouse Walker. Henry’s always phenomenal–but he’s especially sublime in Ragtime.

Sandra: I should bet on this one. Joshua Henry becomes Coalhouse Walker. While Sam Tutty charmed and Nicholas Christopher’s voice is spectacular, Henry embodied every emotion in Ragtime, from joy to despair to rage.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Betsy Aidem, Liberation
Marylouise Burke, The Balusters
Aya Cash, Giant
Laurie Metcalf, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
June Squibb, Marjorie Prime

Wendy: It’s highly likely that this is Laurie Metcalf’s Tony. I do wish that Betsy Aidem would win instead, but, oh, well.

Liz: Marylouise Burke, The Balusters. If I had my way, Aidem–whose Marge made a mean cheese ball–would win. I can see Squibb, the oldest Tony nominee in history, winning. Metcalf too. But I’m hoping this goes to Burke, not just for this terrific role but for her decades of stage work.

Sandra: C’mon Tony voters, go for June Squibb. She’s 96, did eight shows a week AND brought a moving combination of mischievousness and heartbreak to her dual role as a woman losing her memory and the AI companion that replaced her.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Christopher Abbott, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Danny Burstein, Marjorie Prime
Brandon J. Dirden, Waiting for Godot
Alden Ehrenreich, Becky Shaw
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Richard Thomas, The Balusters

Wendy: Alden Ehrenreich seems to be the likely winner, which I regret. I found his performance one-note and uninteresting. Perhaps Christopher Abbott will slip in and win instead?

Liz: Brandon J. Dirden, Waiting for Godot. Truly, not a damn clue about this very strong category, even as I understand Ehrenreich is favored. But Dirden was dazzlingly unsettling in an otherwise largely missable Godot.

Sandra: I’m with Liz on this one: Brandon J. Dirden, Waiting for Godot. The moments he appeared on stage added swagger and energy to the time-is-passing-even-more-slower-than-usual version of Beckett’s play.

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Shoshana Bean, The Lost Boys
Hannah Cruz, Chess
Rachel Dratch, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon!
Nichelle Lewis, Ragtime

Wendy: I’m predicting Shoshana Bean here, partially for this performance and partially for all of her past performances as well.

Liz: Ana Gasteyer, Schmigadoon! I’m going with my gut here, even as Rachel Dratch needs simply to step onto a stage to reduce me to giggles. Maybe we can hope for an SNL alumna-themed tie?

Sandra: Wendy says it all in her prediction: Shoshana Bean.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Ali Louis Bourzgui, The Lost Boys
André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Bryce Pinkham, Chess
Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime
Layton Williams, Titaníque

Wendy: I know that Ben Levi Ross does not have a lock on this award, but I think he can edge out André De Shields and win it.

Liz: Ben Levi Ross, Ragtime. No clue at all, except that there’s no way this will go to Pinkham.

Sandra: André De Shields, Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Who else can rock a lion's mane wig and purple suit with such elan. I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!

 

Best Book of a Musical
The Lost Boys, David Hornsby and Chris Hoch
Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul
Titaníque; Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Tye Blue
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Jim Barne and Kit Buchan

Wendy: I predict Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, but I won’t be at all surprised if I’m wrong.

Liz: Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul. Spoofing musicals successfully without punching down is contingent on knowing and honoring the material. Cinco Paul nails the landing with a score that skewers golden age Broadway from a place of deep knowledge and love.

Sandra: Titaníque. I want this to win on the creation story alone. Three friends drinking martinis in 2016 create a parody musical about James Cameron’s Titanic, weaving in Celine Dion’s catalog. It’s workshopped, runs off-Broadway and transfers to Broadway. Sounds like the storyline for another show—someone should get on this.

 

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Caroline Shaw
August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Steve Bargonetti
The Lost Boys, The Rescues
Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Jim Barne and Kit Buchan

Wendy: I predict Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul, but I won’t be at all surprised if I’m wrong.

Liz: Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul. See what I said above. Love Shaw as I do, the Salesman sound design buried her contributions.

Sandra: Schmigadoon!, Cinco Paul. The Broadway crowd cannot resist all the IYKYK theatrical Easter eggs in the score and libretto.

 

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Hildegard Bechtler, Oedipus
Takeshi Kata, Bug
Chloe Lamford, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
David Korins, Dog Day Afternoon
David Rockwell, Fallen Angels

Wendy: Scenic design is always challenging to predict. There are so many different criteria that Tony voters may or may not be using. Here goes: Chloe Lamford, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

Liz: Takeshi Kata, Bug. Bug is best suited for a tinier, grubbier venue than the sumptuous Friedman, but Kata’s set–ever more crowded, disorderly, and reflective of the characters’ descent into drug-addled psychosis–was still enough to make a person up in the mezzanine itch.

Sandra: You had me at the red Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu. Chloe Lamford, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

 

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
dots, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Soutra Gilmour, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Rachel Hauck, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys
Scott Pask, Schmigadoon!

Wendy: Once again, design is tough to predict. I’m going with Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys.

Liz: Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys. I understand that there’s flying, many shadows, and much spookiness in this production.

Sandra: Dane Laffrey, The Lost Boys. To quote NYT reviewer Helen Shaw: “I watched this first scene with my hand pressed to my mouth, as if I were swooning in a Bram Stoker novel. If I hadn’t made it, my last words would have been, faintly, set design …”

 

Best Costume Design of a Play
Brenda Abbandandolo, Dog Day Afternoon
Qween Jean, Liberation
Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels
Emilio Sosa, The Balusters
Paul Tazewell, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Wendy: This prediction is pretty random, though I can say that I personally loved the costumes: Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels.

Liz: Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels. It’s Noel Coward, people. He dressed to the nines; his revivals should, too.

Sandra: Yep, it’s Jeff Mahshie, Fallen Angels.

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Linda Cho, Ragtime
Linda Cho, Schmigadoon!
Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Ryan Park, The Lost Boys
David I. Reynoso, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show

Wendy: I’m going with Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball.

Liz: Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Sumptuous, beautiful, life-affirming, eye-popping costumes that the incredibly physical, hard-dancing cast can comfortably Ballroom in? No contest.

Sandra: Qween Jean, Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Leopard and tiger stripes? Fake fur and mesh? Athletic wear and sparkles? Just spectacular.

 

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Isabella Byrd, Dog Day Afternoon
Natasha Chivers, Oedipus
Stacey Derosier, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Heather Gilbert, Bug
Heather Gilbert, The Fear of 13
Jack Knowles, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Wendy: Jack Knowles, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Liz: Stacey Derosier, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Throwing a dart for this one.

Sandra: Jack Knowles, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Light acted as another character in the play: the piercing headlights of Willy’s car, how incandescent the young Biff always looked, the foreboding darkness that shrouded the stage.  I could go on and on.

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Kevin Adams, Chess
Jane Cox, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Donald Holder, Schmigadoon!
Adam Honoré, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Adam Honoré and Donald Holder (Lighting Design) and 59 Studio (Projection Design), Ragtime
Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys

Wendy: Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys

Liz: Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys. I understand that there’s flying, many shadows, and much spookiness in this production.

Sandra: Jen Schriever and Michael Arden, The Lost Boys. Yeah, what Liz said.

 

Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington, August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Tom Gibbons, Oedipus
Lee Kinney, The Fear of 13
Josh Schmidt, Bug
Mikaal Sulaiman, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Wendy: Mikaal Sulaiman, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Liz: Josh Schmidt, Bug. Another dart, but oof, that ringing phone…

Sandra: Mikaal Sulaiman, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Kai Harada, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Kai Harada, Ragtime
Adam Fisher, The Lost Boys
Brian Ronan, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Walter Trarbach, Schmigadoon!

Wendy: Kai Harada, Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Liz: Kai Harada, Ragtime. And a third dart.

Sandra: Kai Harada, Cats: The Jellicle Ball

 

Best Choreography
Christopher Gattelli, Schmigadoon!
Ellenore Scott, Ragtime
Ani Taj, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant, The Lost Boys

Wendy: Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Liz: Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball. All the moves! All the grace! All the high heels! All the jumping up and landing in splits!

Sandra: Is this even a contest? Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, Cats: The Jellicle Ball.

 

Best Orchestrations
Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, Schmigadoon!
Ethan Popp, Kyler England, Adrianne “AG” Gonzalez, and Gabriel Mann; The Lost Boys
Lux Pyramid, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Brian Usifer, Chess
Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson, Trevor Holder, and Doug Schadt; Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Wendy: Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson, Trevor Holder, and Doug Schadt; Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Liz: Doug Besterman and Mike Morris, Schmigadoon! One can never know, but no spoof of the golden age could reasonably succeed without solid orchestrations.

Sandra: Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson, Trevor Holder, and Doug Schadt; Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Let Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber get his eighth Tony.

 

by Wendy Caster, Sandra Mardenfeld, and Elizabeth Wollman

How My Grandparents Fell In Love

We all already know the plot of How My Grandparents Fell In Love from the title. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl isn't interested. Boy plies charm to win over girl. Girl starts to fall in love with boy, but obstacles occur. Since the couple are Jews in 1933 Poland, we also know that the obstacles will be serious and the denouement will be bittersweet or flat-out heart-breaking.

Becca Suskauer, Harris Milgrim
Photo: Carol Rosegg

There's nothing wrong with being predictable. There are a limited number of plots and tropes in theatre, and repeating plot points is often a necessity. However, for a show to work, it has to make us believe in this girl and boy and this set of circumstances. That's how a predictable plot earns its individuality and emotional heft.

The musical How My Grandparents Fell in Love does well in terms of the characters. They are well-drawn, and their wants and needs are clear. Unfortunately, in the recent production of the show at 59e59, presented by the New Jersey Repertory Company and directed by Suzanne Barabas, Charlie (Harris Milgrim) and Chava (Becca Suskauer) fail to manifest the necessary chemistry until the second act, leaving much of the first act without drive and dimension.

Becca Suskauer, Harris Milgrim
Photo: Carol Rosegg

The book (Cary Gitter), music (Neil Berg), and lyrics (Neil Berg and Cary Gitter) are often good but never great. Too many songs rely on tired rhymes, although the writers do compensate with the creative rhymes in a song about Hoboken. The book has trouble balancing its conflicting emotions. In one case, after Chava reports something so horrible that most of the people in the audience actually gasped, her next line is, "We got a larger apartment."

I did not much like this show while watching it, but it has grown on me. Its flaws are serious, but its creators gave it their hearts and souls. There is something there. 

Wendy Caster

Miracle on South Division Street

Miracle on South Division Street, by Tom Dudzick, will be at the Sheen Center on Bleecker Street from April 14 to May 10. I have had the pleasure of seeing Miracle a number of times, including this production when it was at Penguin Rep last year.

Miracle is the story of the Nowaks, a Polish Catholic family in Buffalo, long known for the miracle that occurred Grandpa’s barbershop in 1942. But, what did that miracle really mean? Was it really a miracle? Being forced to confront these questions makes the Nowaks reconsider their lives and their beliefs.

Dudzick's play tells this story with a combination of humor, warmth, and insight. It's a comedy that leaves you thinking.

Here's my full disclosure: Tom Dudzick is my brother-in-law. So you might want to take my opinion with a grain of salt. But here's a fact: every time I've seen Miracle, the audience has laughed their way from start to finish. In the New York Theatre Guide, critic Peter Danish wrote, “Miracle on South Division Street is a quietly powerful gem."

Tom's other plays include Over the Tavern, Don't Talk to the Actors, Greetings, and Hail Mary. His plays have had hundreds of productions, all over the country and in Ireland, Israel, and India.

This production, smoothly directed by Joe Brancato, has an excellent cast, led by Liz McCartney (Clara), whose Broadway credits include Mamma Mia, The Phantom of the Opera, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Les Misérables. She is perhaps best known for her celebrated turn in Boy George's Taboo. And she's appeared on The Gilded Age!

Grace Experience (Ruth) has performed at the Lyric Stage of Boston, Capital Rep, 59E59, George Street, and Berkshire Theatre; she also tours with an ABBA Tribute band and is an award winning audiobook narrator for Penguin Random House and Audible. Joey Pittorino (Jimmy) recently appeared in Macbeth with The Curtain. His TV/film work includes Law and Order SVU, Evil Lives Here, Over the Hill, and Truth. BFA in Acting from Pace University. And Coryn Carson (Beverly) has performed and trained in improv and comedy at UCB and The PIT, and can be seen performing throughout the city, most recently at Brooklyn Comedy Collective.

I hope you visit the Nowaks at the Sheen Center and have a great time!

Wendy Caster

Sins and Grace

On March 23 and 24th, MasterVoices presented yet another fabulous musical evening.

Actually, make that a particularly fabulous musical evening. 

Musical Director Ted Sperling juxtaposed Faure's gorgeous requiem with the seven deadly sins, as written by nine theatre and concert composers/lyricists. 

Photo: Erin Baiano

The evening started with the requiem, gloriously rendered by a small orchestra, two soloists (Mikaela Bennett and Justin Austin), and the terrific 125-strong MasterVoices. Bennett's gorgeous "Pie Jesu" was the best I've ever heard, in person or recorded. I don't have official music vocabulary, but her voice was full, smooth, round, meaningful, and kinda perfect. (If you'd like to read a review by someone more musically knowledgeable, I recommend this one by David Wright.)

 

Mikaela Bennett
Photo: Erin Baiano

The writers of the sins were tasked with using the somewhat unusual orchestra (eg, no winds, only one violin), both soloists, and the MasterVoices. Some extra percussion was added.

All seven sins were well-served. My two favorites were on opposite ends of complexity. 

Lust, by Michael Abels, used a simple palette of noises, rather than lyrics. MasterVoices's performance of moans and other sounds was both sexy and quite funny. A real treat. (It's fun to imagine the rehearsals!)

Justin Austin 
Photo: Erin Baiano

Heather Christian's Wrath was so intricate that Sperling took time to explain that it really deserved an extended rehearsal period, which it hadn't had. With MasterVoices split into multiple choruses, and the orchestra--particularly the percussion--blasting away, the piece was noisy and angry and thrilling. 

I never understand why there are empty seats at MasterVoices performances. Their batting average is amazing, and tickets go for as little as $38. 

Wendy Caster

American Symphony Orchestra: Forging an American Musical Identity

In 1962, when the New York Philharmonic moved from Carnegie Hall to the brand-new Lincoln Center, famed Conductor Leopold Stokowski founded the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) to play at Carnegie. The ASO had, and has, multiple goals: affordable prices; concerts of less-known pieces, particularly from the Americas; and the presentation of new music. The orchestra also has an educational component, including in-person conductor's Q&As preceding performances; concerts at the Metropolitan Museum keyed into current exhibitions; detailed and often fascinating notes in the Playbills: and free videos and recordings on the website (americansymphony.org/). Music Director Leon Botstein, part of the ASO since 1992, honors the music with excellent presentations and is a clear and charming speaker. 

In other words, the ASO and Mr Botstein are treasures.

Photo: Matt Dine

At the recent Carnegie Hall concert, the ASO and the Bard Festival Chorale performed an evening titled "Forging an American Musical Identity," starting with Dudley Buck's Festival Overture on the American Air (1879), theme and variations on "The Star-Spangled Banner." I am not a fan of "The Star-Spangled Banner," finding it too martial and not all that pleasant to listen to. But Buck made it as beautiful as I think it ever could be.

Next came three spirituals arranged by Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949), arguably the first Black composer to achieve national fame. They were gloriously sung by mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges.

J'Nai Bridges
Photo: Matt Dine

The first act closed with an American centennial march (1876) by Richard Wagner, which was surprisingly dull.

Photo: Matt Dine

The second act brought Symphony No. 5, Op. 62, "Niagara," composed by George Frederick Bristow (1825-1898), with text by Charles Walker Lord, featuring orchestra, chorale, and four soloists. The work hadn't been performed in full in over a hundred years. As rescued by the ASO, the piece was received rapturously, in a way that made me hope that, if there is an afterlife, Bristow was watching.

Wendy Caster

Show Showdown's Top Theater List of 2025

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" so opens Charles Dickens' novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," and while this blog post has nothing to do with the French Revolution, we would like to celebrate those "best of times" ... our favorite moments of 2025 theater. So, here goes.

Wendy's Top Ten Theatrical Moments

Of course, this is actually the top ten of shows I saw. 

New York theatre is miraculous. It is constantly growing, constantly new. Note that I am not talking about Broadway. I'm talking about all New York theatre, including Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway and completely off the map. Under that larger umbrella, there were dozens of shows worth seeing in 2025, maybe even hundreds. 

A number of times during the year I had to skip seeing shows because I couldn't fit them in. I also missed some due to health challenges, unfortunately. I would have seen over a hundred shows if I could. In actuality I saw 68 shows, and many of them were wonderful and many others were at least worth while. A handful of shows were seriously bad.

An independent reviewer I can choose among shows I'm likely to enjoy or at least find interesting. If I were a full-timer required to see everything that opened on Broadway and much of what opened Off-Broadway, I suspect my overall impression of New York theatre would be considerably less enthusiastic. 

I saw eight Broadway shows, two of them twice, for a total of ten. I saw 36 plays Off Broadway, plus four repeats. I saw five officially Off-Off-Broadway shows, plus a bunch I'm not sure how to categorize: shows at Encores! and the Delacorte; MasterVoices at Jazz at Lincoln Center; a couple of shows out of town; two fabulous readings in town; and so on.

Here are the top ten of the shows I saw, at least according to my opinion at this very minute. They're in alphabetical order. Shows that I reviewed are linked to the review. 

BLIND INJUSTICE

CAROLINE

CYMBELINE: A delightful all-femme, all-Asian-American production of Shakespeare's Cymbeline. Beautifully directed, fabulously acted, well-designed, and extremely funny. Most discussions of alternative casting focus on actors getting more opportunities. But alternative casting is also a gift to the audience. There are hundreds of fabulous non-white/non-male actors out there; how nice to get to see some of them. This cast rocked.

EUREKA DAY 

GLASS. KILL. WHAT IF IF ONLY. IMP. 

PURPOSE: I liked pretty much everything about Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play. My favorite part, however, was Naz's monologue about being asexual; it was beautiful and mind-opening--and very well performed by Jon Michael Hill.

LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA: My friends and I regularly use an out-of-town production as a MacGuffin to have a little vacation together. We always have a great time, and in the best cases, the production turns out to be great. This was one of the best cases. Emily Skinner made a lovely Margaret, and Sarah-Anne Martinez and Joshua Grosso may be my all-time favorite Clara and Fabricio, respectively, which is not meant to in any way denigrate the other wonderful people I've seen in the roles (including the original Broadway cast).

SEAT OF OUR PANTS: This was my favorite show this year. I ended up seeing it four times. I am a big fan of Skin of Our Teeth, and Ethan Lipton musicalized it with love and respect and fabulous songs, and the direction by Leigh Silverman and the amazing cast made it magical. My two favs: Micaela Diamond brought deep humor and pathos to Sabina, and Ally Bonino made a scary and compelling fortune teller.

TRIPLICITY

WE DO THE SAME THINGS EVERY WEEK

Shuler Hensley, Micaela Diamond
The Seat of Our Pants
Photo: Joan Marcus

Sandra's Favorite Five Theatrical Moments 

Wow! Wendy always impresses me with her theatrical knowledge and the amount of shows she fits in each year. I, too, would see hundreds if I could. Alas, work, family and other obligations keep me away much more than I'd like. I saw 16 shows last year on Broadway, off (See my review of After Endgame) and way off. In no particular order, here are my five favorite theatrical experiences from 2025.

Dead Outlaw: So much to love here: The frolicking score by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, the off-beat story of bandit Elmer McCurdy - whose mummified body became a sideshow staple for roughly 65 years - and a slight set that amplified the talented cast's musicality (and Andrew Durand's skill with immobility as a second-act corpse). All provided a lively afternoon that reinforced the importance of respecting human dignity.

Photo by Sandra Mardenfeld

Chicago: After seeing this in 1996 with Ann Reinking as Roxie and Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, I possessed no desire to watch it again. But my two theater kids requested tickets during supermodel Ashley Graham's Broadway debut as Roxie, a performance that received mixed reviews. The highlight moment for me came after the bows when my daughter and son begged to visit the stage door to get their programs autographed. Graham spoke so kindly to them - and I appreciated that. She made them feel special and gave us all a sweet memory. 

Chess: I loved this musical's score since college when I'd listen to a boot-legged audiocassette of the 1998 Broadway show on my Walkman. To hear Lea Michelle, Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher sing the hell out of "Nobody's Story," "One Night in Bangkok" and "Where I Want to Be" thrilled me - even if the musical's book still remains lackluster. 

Liberation: The heart-breaking resonance of this play comes not only from Bess Wohl's meticulous research that she weaves into compelling characters, but the fact that so many of their struggles and challenges still impact women today. 

Photo by Matthew Murphy/Provided by DKC O&M

Ragtime: When I first saw Ragtime in 1998, the cast list read like a who's who: Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Mark Jacoby, Judy Kaye and a pre-"Glee" Lea Michele. I figured nothing could surpass that version. Liz had an extra ticket (thanks Liz) and I arrived at the Beaumont Theater without expectations. But, what a show. The grand scale of this revival offers an epic feel with a 28-piece orchestra and more than three dozen cast members. Yet, the storytelling remains intimate - offering insight into the lives of those on stage: a resonance you feel long after the show ends.

Liz's Top Theatrical Moments

Happy new year! I’ve measured out the last 12 months less in coffee spoons than in trips to various venues, where I’ve seen a generous handful of productions ranging from sublime to forgettable. I wish I could say that this was an especially spectacular or consistently thrilling year, whether of theatergoing or anything else, but as we are all well aware, 2025 was about as spectacular and thrilling as your standard-issue sceptic tank, and disconnecting from it with a trip to the theater became all the more expensive. Still, here are some high points in a year that was otherwise filled with a lotta lows.

Floyd Collins at the Beaumont, Lincoln Center: A musical about the Kentucky-born cave explorer who, in 1925, got trapped in the Great Sand Cave, caused a media frenzy, and died of exposure after nearly two weeks of failed rescue attempts may be hella depressing, but that’s why it was just the ticket for these troubled times. Adam Guettel and Tina Landau’s collaboration is famously flawed: the score is gorgeous, its book comparatively thin, and its protagonist is immobile most of the time. The revival didn’t offer any solutions to the last problem: Jeremy Jordan hung out on what looked like a lawn chair that had been spray-painted black and the supporting cast fretted around him. Still, I was grateful to see the show after years of listening to the Off Broadway cast recording. Plus, the new cast recording doesn’t spare the gorgeous harmonies and leans confidently into the score’s thrilling blend of Americana and high modernism.

Liberation at the Roundabout (and again at the Booth): Bess Wohl’s “memory play about things I don’t remember” is so funny, heartbreaking, brilliantly constructed and topical that I saw it twice–and laughed and cried as much the second time as I did the first. The show zigzags between now and the early 1970s, touching on various intersections that include Black, Jewish, white, lesbian, straight, bisexual, and male perspectives about American feminism. Its take on all that American women have gained and lost over the past half-century is as complicated and contradictory as the history it covers. I loved the chance to become acquainted with its interesting, complex, deeply human characters, all of whom struggle to feel liberated on their own terms. Liberation is easily one of the best shows I’ve seen all year; it’s also possibly one of the best I’ve seen in my life. And it’s still running! Get yourselves to the Booth, stat, if you haven’t yet. You and your mother will thank me.

Brother Jie, No! at the Taipei Performing Arts Center: What do you do when you find yourself in a country where you don’t speak the language but still want to dip into the local musical theater scene? You go the Cats route, in my case, by choosing a show with a straightforward, jokey plot, and lots of visual appeal, physical humor and references to global pop culture. Bonus points if said show is in a brand-new, absolutely gorgeous performing arts center. Taipei’s is shaped like various foods on offer at the nearby night market; inside are several theaters, a gift shop and a restaurant. Brother Jie, No!, a musical about memes, was inspired by a well-intended PSA about male sexual assault, which was so stiff and ham-fisted that it quickly went viral in east Asia for all the wrong reasons in 2012. Costumes and dance sequences were over-the-top and colorful, and the ample physical comedy made me laugh out loud even when I was unsure what was being said. It helped that I watched the PSA in advance and thus felt more included–like I was in on the joke–than I might’ve had I chosen a more serious or heavily scripted show.

The Gospel at Colonus at Little Island Amphitheater: Oedipus at Colonus has always struck me as the biggest snooze of the Oedipal Cycle: a very old Oedipus journeys home to die; everyone else either helps him get there or just stands around talking about it. Lee Bruer and Bob Telsen’s gospel-steeped adaptation, originally staged at BAM in 1983, allows the performers to emote more deeply than the text alone implies. Performed at dusk by a large cast swathed in blue- and purple-hued tunics and accompanied by a superb band, this revival benefited as well from the amphitheater's proximity to the Hudson River; the stunning views and cool breeze off the water made for comfortable viewing in the stifling July heat. As the sun set on the performance I attended, the cast’s costumes reflected the colors of twilight, adding even more drama to what might otherwise have been a rather plodding treatment of Oedipus's demise.

The Matriarchs at TheaterLab: Liba Vaynberg’s wonderful play opens on six orthodox Jewish tween girls in Teaneck, New Jersey–Miriam, Sara, Tzipporah, Rachel, Leah and Rebecca–who are spending a wintry shabbos afternoon at Miriam’s place, where they giggle, gossip and nosh, despite occasional shouts from the kitchen by Miriam’s mom (“Mrs. H” to everyone else) reminding them to settle down and focus on their shiur (Talmud study). As we watch the girls grow up, their relationships to Judaism, the secular world, and one another change in ways that are fully believable from a contemporary perspective, even as their lives simultaneously reflect those of their Old Testament namesakes. Like Liberation, The Matriarchs is a funny, sad, humane, deeply feminist play that takes its complicated characters seriously, doesn’t condescend to its audience, and makes me wish for more.

Ragtime at the Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center: I’ve seen plenty of productions of Ragtime in my life; at one, my husband and I even got in a snitty little “this is live theater, not the movies, you mofos” tiff with the tourists in front of us, who started tearing into and enthusiastically chewing their crunchy, crinkly, noisy snacks just as the lights went down on act one. But good lord, this is a beautiful, strong, compelling production with a particularly talented cast. While Brandon Uranowitz and Caissie Levy and the rest of the cast are all phenomenal, this is really Joshua Henry’s moment: his Coalhouse Walker is one for the ages; when I saw the show, he brought the house down twice.

Masquerade in an abandoned building: Diane Paulus’s brilliantly imaginative, fully immersive reimagining of Phantom of the Opera, now redubbed Masquerade and set in an old French Renaissance-revival building on west 57th street near Carnegie Hall, is great fun whether you are a fan of Phantom or not (I confess I’ve long been part of the latter category). An incredibly well-choreographed production involving seven different sets of leads who each perform for small groups of spectators who enter in 15-minute intervals, Masquerade is a triumph of organization, even if you don’t much dig the score. Kudos to the whole company for so expertly moving crowds from one place to the next while remaining in character and in good voice. Extra special applause for the performers at the freak show, which serves as the Phantom’s origin story: the firebreather alone was more interesting than any old chandelier, any day.

The Baker’s Wife at CSC: Charming, frequently hilarious, and much deeper than I expected, Stephen Schwartz’s musical, which closed out of town in 1976, finally landed in New York City at the tiny Classic Stage Company, where Scott Bakula and Ariana DeBose led a company that gave warm, cheerful performances. Because CSC did a special matinee for New York City students, my co-instructor and I got to take the 15 undergrads in our seminar about musicals and empathy to see the show; we all ended up in the first or second row, and we all had the best time ever. The world may be particularly rough around the edges these days, but experiences like this at shows like this remind me that I love teaching, that my college-age students are pretty wonderful, and that there’s beauty and joy and hope in the world, after all.