Closer - 2022 - West End Articles Page 1

Ukrainian cinema is having an unlikely run on the international festival circuit. Even with the industry hollowed out by full-scale war, Ukrainian directors and producers turned up in force at Cannes this May, and earlier in 2026 Kyiv committed roughly 124 million dollars to a new national cultural fund, the Thousand Spring program, part of it set aside for film, as The Globe and Mail reported. Underneath the numbers sits a stubbornly practical question: how does a small, battered national cinema get its work selected by the most competitive festivals on the planet, and then keep it there?

Inflation is rising and hitting New York City especially hard. In May 2026, inflation reached 4.2%, its highest level in over three years. While national inflation cooled slightly in June, NYC-area consumer prices stayed high, with local prices up 4.1% compared to the year before. So, if your pocketbook is feeling squeezed this summer, the numbers back up your economic instinct. But how does inflation affect Broadway? Across the board, everyone is grappling with the economic impacts, from artists and fans to the Broadway productions themselves.

New York Festival of Song announced its upcoming season, featuring four mainstage concerts at Merkin Hall co-presented by Kaufman Music Center, plus standalone programs including A GOYISHE CHRISTMAS TO YOU! and a Juilliard collaboration.

East West Players will launch its 61st season by centering female, queer, and marginalized voices, both onstage and off. The mainstage season opens with the Southern California premiere of the comedy Wives by Jaclyn Backhaus.

Overture Center for the Arts announced Fortune Feimster's 'Takin' Care of Biscuits' tour and Indigo Girls with special guest Linda Perry will perform in Madison's Overture Hall.

92NY's Harkness Dance Center announced its 2026/27 Harkness Mainstage Series, featuring Trisha Brown Dance Company, Doug Varone and Dancers, and an inaugural Dance on Film Festival.

Written by Fringe First winning playwright Jack MacGregor, directed by John Byrne Award recipient Fraser Scott, and produced by NTS Producing Fellow Leah Byrne; Prophets will premiere at Assembly Roxy.

Second Stage Theater has announced five productions for its upcoming 48th Season, including the Broadway premieres of The Fantasticks and Gloria. Learn more about the full season here!

What did our critic think of MRS. DOUBTFIRE at Fred Kavil Theatre?

Before hitting the road in support of his new music, Tony-winner John Gallagher Jr. spoke to BroadwayWorld about writing and recording 'Almost OK', sharing why he considers it to be a favorite of his own records, and if he has any plans to bring his songwriting to Broadway. 

Broken Box Mime Theater and Dutch Kills Theater Company will present DOUBLE TAKE at Underbelly Bristo Square during Edinburgh Fringe, a wordless two-hander weaving eight short stories through mime, hand puppetry, and physical comedy.

The multi-award winning stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro will extend in the West End for the final time. Learn more about the show here!

As New York prepares for the 2026 Tony Award nominations and honors the recent Lucille Lortel winners, producers are facing tough questions about whether traditional 8 PM curtain times are driving audiences away. The business landscape is shifting heavily behind the scenes, marked by the merger of licensing giants BMG and Concord, looming strike ballots in the West End, and the Kennedy Center's controversial two-year shutdown. Despite these logistical and financial challenges—including a devastating embezzlement case at a Pennsylvania community theatre—there is plenty of positive momentum to report, from the rapid financial recoupment of the Suffs national tour to new initiatives supporting theater education and large-scale playwriting.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform Music of This Place at Bunjil Place in Narre Warren, the first of four low-cost community concerts planned across Greater Melbourne in 2026.

Prospect Musicals announced the full line-up for its 2026 Gala & Muse Awards at The Edison Ballroom, honoring LaChanze, Ken Davenport, Lindsay Mendez, Ryan Scott Oliver, and Jose Antonio Vargas.

From Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater suspending operations and Central Works announcing its closure after 36 years, to Duluth Playhouse navigating a leadership transition, regional companies across the U.S. are grappling with the pressures of rising costs and uncertain funding. Across the Atlantic, the UK theatre sector is meeting similar headwinds head-on, with the government distributing £127.8 million to 130 cultural organizations, Stagetext securing funds to expand captioning access nationwide, and SOLT and UK Theatre sounding the alarm over strains on the touring ecosystem.

We learn that the suburban fantasy is not sustainable, primarily because such a fantasy can only ever be a dream. The reality of suburban living, as told by Kimberly Akimbo, shows there is much more nuance to everyday life than the nuclear family with a white picket fence and a wholesome dinner at eight. If everyone got what they wanted, after all, they wouldn’t want for more.

Tony and Emmy Award-winner Billy Crystal will return to Broadway this fall in a new one-man show, 860, written and performed by Mr. Crystal and directed by Olivier Award-winner Scott Ellis. We have all of the details!

BroadwayWorld chats with Bay Area theater icon Robert Kelley about his production of the Tony and Olivier-Award winning musical 'Come From Away' playing April 15th to May 10th at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in Mountain View

MCC Theater will present the inaugural Judith Champion PlayLabs Reading Series, featuring free public readings of new plays by Justice Hehir, Sam Mueller, and Dhari Noel, running in May.

On April 5, Jackson Wang brought his MAGICMAN 2 World Tour to the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, returning to Vancouver with a show that felt different from his 2023 stop. The setlist leaned heavily on MAGICMAN 2, released last July, carrying its darker themes and reflective tone into the live performance. Instead of fully depending on big production moments, the show focused on atmosphere and pacing, letting each song tell its own story while giving the night a more personal feel.

Jerry Seinfeld, Bert Kreischer, and Seth Meyers will headline the National Comedy Center's annual comedy festival in Jamestown, New York, August 6–9, 2026, alongside Carol Leifer, Gina Brillon, and others.

Kitchen Sink Theatre Company (Katie Royse Ginther, Artistic Director) will soon present a full staged production of  “BRICKGIRL”, in May of 2026. “BRICKGIRL” is written by Ryan Stevens, directed by Mayah Lourdes Burke and stage managed by Ellie McIntyre (The Untitled Lesbian Project).

Rosie's House, one of the nation's largest providers of free music education, is now enrolling students for the 2026–2027 school year, offering expanded opportunities for children and families from infancy through grade 12.

Many fellowship programs help emerging leaders learn the craft and business of theater, in both nonprofit and commercial spaces. For this article, I spoke with several fellows about five things Broadway leaders don’t often say but that we learned as fellows.