Back From Broadway 2002

Los Angeles is never lacking outstanding theatre, whether epic Broadway shows, engrossing dramas or bold fringe offerings. BroadwayWorld is rounding up our top recommended theatre every month. Selections for September 2026 include Beauty and the Beast and more.

Pianist Yoko Miwa and vocalist Mikayla Shirley have released their debut collaborative album, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, featuring the opening track "Alfie" and a live performance planned at Dizzy's Club in New York.

The Actors' Gang in Culver City will present an eight-show season featuring THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE, THE EXONERATED, new works, and family-friendly programming.

Pianist Yoko Miwa and vocalist Mikayla Shirley reworked the Beach Boys classic ahead of their debut album, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, out via Cupcakes & Muffins.

Singer, actress, and author Melissa Errico – who will perform her concert “The Streisand Effect” as her debut at Town Hall in Provincetown on August 23 – says she first became aware of Barbra Streisand when, as a teenager, she saw “Yentl,” the 1983 movie musical co-written, co-produced, and directed by, and starring, the show business icon.

Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro opened the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, offering fans first looks at upcoming film, television, and stage projects at the Anaheim Convention Center and Honda Center.

Canadian-born David D’Lancy Wilson is nearly one year into his run as Mufasa in THE LION KING. Next week, Pride Rock comes roaring into Montreal and Wilson is coming home to Canada. I had the opportunity to chat with Wilson about his life, career, and the experience of wearing the mask of one of musical theatre’s most iconic fathers. For Wilson, however, Mufasa is more than a king, warrior, husband and protector. At his core, he says, “he is just a parent trying to do right and best for their child.” As a father of two young boys himself, that perspective carries particular weight. THE LION KING takes the stage at Salle Wilfred-Pelletier, Places des Arts, 175 Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal, QC H2X 1Y9 from August 19 - September 6, 2026.

Theatre has always intersected with politics, and the presence of American presidents in Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre plays and musicals is a major part of this. Did you know that all of our heads of state have been featured in shows, whether as characters or as plot points that are part of the action? Dramatizing current and former leaders of our nation is a way to examine their affect on society at the time and how political events, even those of many years ago, still impact us all. 

Twenty-five years after the devastating attacks of September 11, Gary Marlon Gere (Taxicab Chronicles) will bring his personal new play, RECOVERY, to the stage with its world premiere at the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival.

The 1990s are alive and well in Washington, D.C., where CrazySexyCool — The TLC Musical is playing its world-premiere engagement at Arena Stage. With its run coming to an end, BroadwayWorld exclusively checks in with writer-director Kwame Kwei-Armah.

Tina Fay’s MEAN GIRLS, with the right level of farce can be a delightful experience.   Beck’s staging, inspite of a talented cast, was pleasant.  It could have been great with the right concept.  Go?, Of course! Most audience members, as displayed by the standing ovation at the end of the performance I attended, displayed their like-level of enjoyment.

Tennessee Performing Arts Center will present eight productions in its Discovery Series, featuring JEREMY JORDAN, RENT IN CONCERT, PARSONS DANCE, URBAN BUSH WOMEN, and CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT, among others.

BroadwayWorld is looking back at what the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys has been up to since the show first opened on Broadway, ahead of its 20th anniversary tour!

It has been over twenty years since Mary Zimmerman directed a show off or on Broadway. In our new interview, she discusses her return off-Broadway, directing Jennifer Nettles’ Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo.

Sarah Uriarte Berry will touch hearts and recall treasured memories during For The Love Of Judy. This will be a lovefest. Uriarte-Berry has starred in five Broadway shows and three Broadway National tours, in the opera house, and concert halls. She received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her performances in the Lincoln Center production of The Light In The Piazza. Music Director and accompanist is the renowned Gerald Sternbach of both Broadway and Hollywood.

Over the years, Broadway has seen a number of family acts sharing the stage. It’s extra special when family members team up to write a Broadway show together. The Great White Way has seen many instances of this historically, in a variety of different situations. 

Since The Lost Boys took Broadway by storm this spring, there has been much chatter about the “vampire curse” on Broadway being lifted. In the early 2000s, Broadway received a string of three vampire musicals, which all closed relatively quickly. Dance of the Vampires (2002), Dracula (2004), and Lestat (2006) each received attention in their own right, but they also received attention as a group, since it was remarkable that they came along in such quick succession. But the early 21st century wasn’t the first time vampires thirsted on Broadway. The play adaptation of Dracula was a hit all the way back in 1927 and an even bigger hit in a 1977 revival. And there have been vampires lurking in the theatre district in all sorts of other projects too…

The Philadelphia Orchestra announced its summer 2026 season, including residencies at Highmark Mann Center, Bravo! Vail, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center, plus Kimmel Center performances featuring THE WIZARD OF OZ live-to-film and a free Pride Concert.

“John Adams is a debut role for me. I love his passion.  He is the central catalytic force in the entire drama. He has dedicated his life to God, country, and family in that order.  He’s been toiling in the Continental Congress for years now, and he just wants to get the job [independence] done and go home to his family.” Actor James Patterson is speaking enthusiastically about the challenge of playing the Founding Father from Massachusetts in Maine State Music Theatre’s new production of 1776, created for America’s 250thanniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, that begins its run at the Pickard Theater in Brunswick, Maine on June 24th.

It's the end of an era on Broadway. As BroadwayWorld reported last month, the curtain has officially come down on Boneau/Bryan-Brown, the iconic Broadway press office founded by ATPAM-members Chris Boneau and Adrian Bryan-Brown, after more than three decades representing theatre on Broadway, Off-Broadway and around the world.

2026 is halfway over, which means that the 2026/27 Broadway season has just begun! All eyes are already on the lineup for the new Broadway season and many Broadway productions have already revealed full details of their upcoming engagements.

Hugh Jackman will play pirate legend Long John Silver in a new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The Tony winner is set to star in the film, which will be penned by playwright and Emmy-winner Jack Thorne.

Overall, according to our Tony Nominations grosses analysis, none of the new musicals this season are in the upper half of the theoretical monthly average across the industry. Last year, there were six new musicals in that upper half, four of which were nominees for Best Musical. Luckily, this weekend’s Tony Awards is set to potentially change all of that! But in an era where even the most viewed Tony Awards are viewed less than they were pre-2020, what effect do they have on the grosses at this point? 

Much has been written about the proliferation of pop singer-songwriters writing new musicals for Broadway and off-Broadway. Less covered is the trend of pop singers performing on Broadway, which has made for a number of memorable appearances in current and recent seasons.