Naveen Kumar News

Around the BroadwayWorld is our monthly snapshot of the biggest stories making waves across the global theatre community. In this February 2026 edition catch headlines about the renaming of the Kennedy Center Honors, layoffs affecting theater coverage at The Washington Post, and artists gathering in Washington, DC for the First Amendment Troop’s ResistDance performance.

BIGFOOT! A NEW MUSICAL opened Off-Broadway at New York City Center Stage, and critics are sharing their reviews of the new musical comedy, running now.

This week’s newsletter brings together stories of accountability, advocacy, and adaptation across the theatre world. We cover artists and organizations responding to public scrutiny, including Lauren Gunderson’s statement following her appearance in the Epstein files and the Washington Post’s elimination of its chief theater critic role. Elsewhere, new initiatives and events push forward, from Broadway Bares gearing up for its next benefit and Katharine Quinn launching a Broadway-focused marketing agency to Broadway showtunes finding new life on the ice. The issue also examines ongoing debates over access, transparency, and infrastructure, from Equity’s dispute with Spotlight in the UK to closed-door discussions about Portland’s Keller Auditorium.

The Washington Post has laid off Chief Theater Critic Naveen Kumar as part of a sweeping staff reduction that has eliminated approximately one-third of the newspaper’s workforce.

As 2025 comes to a close, New York City's top theatre critics have been taking stock of this theatre season- deciding on their personal choices for their favorite productions of the year. The season has been full of so many stellar plays, musicals, revivals and new works, both on Broadway and off.

The world premiere of This World of Tomorrow starring Academy Award winner Tom Hanks and Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara is now running Off-Broadway at The Shed at Hudson Yards. Read reviews for the production!

The Broadway revival of Chess, starring Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher, is now officially open at the Imperial Theatre. Find out what the critics had to say about the show here!

The queen's reign has begun! Tony and Emmy Award Winner Kristin Chenoweth has officially returned to Broadway in The Queen of Versailles, which is now open at the St. James Theatre. Let's see what the New York theatre critics are saying about the new musical...

See what the critics are saying about Liberation, the new play by Tony Award nominee Bess Wohl which got raves Off-Broadway and is now playing on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre. The play examines a meeting between a group of women at the height of the women's liberation movement of the 1970s.

See what the critics are saying about Damn Yankees at Arena Stage! Read the reviews for the production starring Rob McClure, Ana Villafañe and more, and learn more here!

Scenic designer John Lee Beatty will be honored with the Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design bestowed by the Henry Hewes Design Awards .

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee has revealed the 2025 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees who will be recognized at the 61st annual ceremony on October 20 in New York.

Arena Stage's new musical adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time has opened. What did the critics think of the show? Read all the reviews!

The world premiere production of Call Me Izzy has officially opened on Broadway starring six-time Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actress Jean Smart. Performances run through August 17, 2025. Read the reviews here!

Broadway's biggest night has come and gone! What are the critics saying about this year's ceremony? Check out the reviews for this year's Tony Awards here!

Mumbai Star, the newest offering from Aadyam Theatre, an Aditya Birla Group initiative, is a bold and immersive Dance Musical that explores the exhilarating highs and crushing lows of chasing stardom in the city of dreams.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has unveiled its 2025 summer conference lineup as well as a formal expansion of its developmental  programming into the fall and winter seasons. Learn more!

Broadway gets turned upside down in the new high-tech, supernatural thriller STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW, now running at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre! What did the critics think of their theatrical trip to Hawkins, IN? Read the reviews.

Betty's on Broadway! Animation icon Betty Boop leaps off of the screen and takes the stage live in living color in BOOP! The Musical, opening tonight at the Broadhurst Theatre. Read reviews for the production below!

Tony Award winner and two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and Tony Award nominee and Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal go toe-to-toe in Broadway's latest production of Othello, directed by Kenny Leon. Check out what the critics are saying here...