First Down - 2022 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 8

The 2025/26 Broadway season has officially come to a close, and what a season it has been! Audiences have enjoyed a ton of exciting performances over the past twelve months, and with awards season now upon us, we're looking back at how this year's productions add up and compare to seasons past.

A line-up of almost 20 bands and artists have been revealed as part of Warrington’s biggest annual showcase of emerging music talent, including Winachi who will headline.

Out of the knights, I knew the least about Monty Python, so I had a lot of catching up to do. I was building the plane as I was flying it, but they were so gracious in helping me learn about the style of comedy that it is.

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!

Starring Buffalo will produce the Pulitzer prize winning musical RENT as it’s spring production. For the first time in the company’s history, the show will be performed on the mainstage of Shea’s Buffalo Theatre for one performance only on Saturday May 9, 2026 at 2pm. 

Nottingham Playhouse has announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of Jane Upton's Scenes from a Friendship, which due to popular demand, has already been extended by one week.

Trinity St Kilda announced a $2 million renovation that will introduce all-season weatherproofing, late-night music, and capacity for 450 guests, marking a full takeover of the former church site.

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

Tony Award-winning sound designer Mikhail Fiksel discusses his work on Mexodus and how live looping functions as the foundation of the production. In this interview, Fiksel explains how sound design informs staging, timing, and performance throughout the piece. The conversation offers insight into the collaboration and technical system behind the show’s structure.

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.

& Juliet is a jukebox musical that premiered in Manchester in 2019 before opening in London’s West End later that year. Created by writer David West Read, with a score made up of pop hits by Max Martin, it reimagines Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet through a modern, feminist lens. The show later transferred to Broadway in 2022.

Stand-up comedian Steve Treviño, known for Netflix and Showtime specials, will perform at Patchogue Theatre on October 17 as part of his Family Man Tour.

Dissecting how local paranoia is manufactured and the intoxicating pull of conspiracy culture, triple Fringe First Award winners Xhloe and Natasha's new show delves into the dark side of American mythos and the theatre of mass distraction.

The Finnish National Opera and Ballet has announced its 2026–2027 season, featuring a mix of new productions and returning repertoire across opera and ballet.

Pioneer Winter Collective has announced the eight artists selected for its 2026 Creative Connections artist accelerator program, aimed at supporting Miami-area creatives across various disciplines.

The OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival has unveiled its full film lineup for this year’s Spring Edition running April 23 – May 3, 2026 in South Florida. This year’s festival will feature more than 20 international, North American and East Coast premieres from 20 countries.

The biggest change from prior years is at The New York Times, where Helen Shaw became the first female chief theater critic at the paper of record earlier this year. Previously, The Times has had plenty of female second-string critics, but the top seat was always held by a man.

1776 tells the true story of how the United States of America was born. We follow John Adams as he attempts to convince members of the Second Continental Congress to vote for American independence from the shackles of the British monarchy.

As part of the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of Andrew Lloyd Webber (Music and Book)), Charles Hart (Lyrics) and Richard Stilgoe’s (Lyrics and Book) famous musical, Opera Australia has revived its production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA for the 2026 Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour season.

Performances are now underway for August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone on Broadway! The show recently extended, and will now play through Sunday, July 19. Meet the cast here!

The San Francisco Symphony has revealed details of the Orchestra’s 115th season. The 2026–27 season features 26 guest conductors, including five making their Orchestral Series debuts, alongside a lineup of returning and debuting guest artists.

In Scena! Italian Theater Festival will present THE RULE OF THIRDS, directed by Montgomery Sutton, at The Tank from April 22 to May 15. The play explores themes of war and civilian experiences.

On May 8, rock ‘n’ roll musician Neil Diamond will unveil Wild At Heart, his third and final entry in his collaboration with producer Rick Rubin. Recorded initially at sessions for Diamond’s Home Before Dark, the ten-song collection is now available to preorder.

For me, the message of this play is that family is the most important thing. Having, keeping, and surviving those family ties and those memories.

What’s more satisfying than watching six wronged women reclaim their power? Watching them do it in rhinestone corsets, backed by a thunderous girl band and enough LED lighting to short-circuit Times Square. SIX, the British import that’s barreled from university revue to Broadway headliner like a sugar-rushed Spice Girls revival, is a history class... if the lessons were taught in stilettos and unapologetic girl-group glory.