True Stories - 2021 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 2

WinterWorks, Centaur Theatre's festival dedicated to adventurous, experimental, and cutting-edge performance, will return this winter. WinterWorks has evolved into a dynamic showcase of what's next in Canadian performance.

If “& Juliet” works at all, it’s because it commits to the premise without apology: a Shakespearean remix told through the lens of pop music, meta-theatre, and a general belief that stories never really die, they just get re-written. This touring production of the still-running Broadway musical leaned into this ethos with a cast that understood the assignment – treating the material with enough sincerity to make it land, but enough wryness to make it feel like commentary.

In January of 2026, 54 Below will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, Matthew Morrison and many more. 

Actor and beloved drag icon Charles Busch reflects on his long career in cabaret as he prepares for his upcoming New Year’s Eve cabaret on 12/31, 7 pm at 54 Below.

The Jewish Museum and Film at Lincoln Center have announced the full lineup for the 35th annual New York Jewish Film Festival, returning to the Walter Reade Theater in Manhattan.

This new approach to the storytelling of Hadestown helped make me appreciate some of the compromises on the tour. And to further appreciate what they still maintained from the first tour and Broadway production. The set’s slightly modified (Hades’ door is more centered, for one), but we get to keep the band onstage. We get that dingy café feeling through the layout. We hold on to the iconic props – the rose, the candle, the guitar, the lamps – as well as the steampunk design of the costumes. The Workers are still a core five that inhabit both worlds and create their own, unspoken storylines through their movement and couplings. And the characters themselves are still the same, timeless figures that make Hadestown always feel like a new experience every time.

Premiere Stages at Kean University has revealed that three playwrights will have new plays developed as part of the 2025 and 2026 seasons: Mala Aria by Gloria Majule, Lia Del Mar by Dacyl Acevedo, and Effa Loves Baseball by Pia Wilson.  

The days when old fashioned musical comedies were drawn  from classic  love stories, silly high school antics and farces will always be tried and true. But more heady topics like mental illness, Alzheimers, race relations, big business, and corrupt governments also have found a place into the uniquely American canon of musicals. A ridiculously named musical, URINETOWN, is now playing at Shea's Smith Theatre, and the fine production by Second Generation Theatre not only entertains but provides much food for thought in this time of government unrest.

Coming Out, the Musical will make its Off-Broadway debut at The Incubator Festival 2025! Join us at The Theater Center Off-Broadway for an evening filled with heartwarming ballads and queer joy!

As the fight for women to have equal rights and opportunities has evolved, so has the presence of plays telling these stories. When I wrote my book, Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy that the History Books Left Out, the first-ever book about female musical theatre writers, I researched many musicals that are in this genre as well.

Performances are now underway for Beetlejuice the Musical’s third Broadway engagement at the Palace Theatre for a limited 13-week run through January 3, 2026. Meet the new cast of Beetlejuice here!

Bated Breath Theatre Company will present the World Premiere of DIRTY BOOKS, an immersive look at censorship and book banning. Learn more about the production here.

David Archuleta brought his EARTHLY DELIGHTS TOUR to Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre on Monday September 22, delivering a set that balanced new material with familiar favourites. Supported by opening act, Alexandra John, the performance marked his first time in Vancouver, BC and his return to touring across North America after more than five years away.

Are you trying to plan your entertainment for the week or looking for a fun show to see this weekend? We have you covered with jazz, cabaret, comedy, and more! NYC has so many incredible events, but here are a few top picks to consider this week

Nicolas King knows the American songbook inside and out. His love to these tunes is infectious. His easy singing style belies a prodigious technique and a large emotional range.

A robust talk back series will follow select performances of The Whole of Time by celebrated Argentinian playwright Romina Paula in a translation by Jean Graham-Jones.

The National Theatre will bring a new, free exhibition to the Wolfson Gallery, The Greeks: Radical Reinvention from 9 September, journeying through past reimaginings of Greek tragedies produced on its stages.

Syracuse Stage has announced a special performance of the 25/26 season opener “The Hello Girls” (music and lyrics by Peter Mills, book by Mills and Cara Reichel, directed by Reichel) for veterans, military members and their families.

At its heart, Sister Act: The Musical is a celebration of sisterhood and the unexpected bonds formed in the most unlikely places. While Deloris Van Cartier begins her journey chasing fame, her time with the nuns reveals a deeper calling: not spiritual in the traditional sense, but rooted in connection, community, and self-worth.

The full company for the first-ever stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s internationally acclaimed book The Hunger Games and Lionsgate’s hit motion picture of the same name has been revealed.

The once and future idol has come of age in the most delightful ways, all of them on display in his recent releases, current concerts, and fabulous fashions. David talks his new music, moves, and memoir with BroadwayWorld Cabaret.

GRAMMY®-winning composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey has premiered a new song, “Snow White,' alongside the official music video, which was completely shot in her native Iceland. Check it out here.

Spider-Man: No Way Home, one of the most successful Super Hero films of all time, will be presented live in concert for a world premiere performance at London's Royal Albert Hall this year, in what will be the ultimate experience for Spider-Man fans.

New Village Arts (NVA) kicks off their 24th season with the delightfully quirky and self-referential musical [title of show]. This one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell, is a love letter to musical theatre and the creative process itself.

Graeae, in association with Live Theatre, Newcastle have announced the cast for the world premiere of Bad Lads by Mike Kenny this autumn. Learn more here!