What Goes Up…!

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is May 14, 2026 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.

Paris Clayton III’s world premiere production is a compelling, historically-grounded drama that unfortunately finds itself hindered by the 'unintended insularity' of its writer-director. While the staging often feels as stuck as the characters it depicts, a standout second act offers flashes of brilliance that suggest a much deeper potential waiting to be unearthed.

What did our critic think of YOUNG JOHN LEWIS: PRODIGY OF PROTEST at Mosaic Theater Company?

There’s something wonderfully nuts about The Town Players of New Canaan taking on One Man, Two Guvnors, Richard Bean’s 2011 hit based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni. The original, written in 1743, is a classic commedia dell’arte comedy built on disguises, twins, and glorious chaos.

There’s something wonderfully nuts about The Town Players of New Canaan taking on One Man, Two Guvnors, Richard Bean’s 2011 hit based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni.

Ingrid Bjørnov's 'Bjørnov Tar Det Piano' is that rare theatrical experience where simplicity becomes profundity, where childlike melodies carry the weight of a lifetime.

The weather outside might be frightful for a while, but what better time to stay in and snuggle up with a great Broadway read? This season, Broadway's best have put pen to paper to turn out theatre page-turners of every kind. From theatre biographies to theatre fiction; theatre books for kids to theatre history; check out our collection of 20 new Broadway books for every theatre lover's winter reading list.

Early in my arts management training, I read former Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser’s book, The Cycle. This arts manifesto is a practical guide on creating and sustaining the arts, and I do recommend it for anyone seeking a career in the field. But I digress.

PURLIE VICTORIOUS: A NON-CONFEDERATE ROMP THROUGH THE COTTON PATCH is certainly a curiosity, a satire of Jim Crow life written during the throes of the equal rights movement of the early sixties. I feel like it should seem more creaky, more antiquated, and backwards. Unfortunately for us, it is not.

BroadwayWorld chats with pioneering lesbian playwright and performer Terry Baum about her latest show 'Lesbo Solo: My Gay History Play' running at The Marsh Berkeley through October 12th. Her hilarious and deeply moving piece won 'Best of Fringe' at the San Francisco Fringe Festival.

Seattle Rep opens its 2025/26 season with the Broadway comedy The Play That Goes Wrong and Larissa FastHorse’s world premiere play Fancy Dancer. Running August through November 2025, both shows celebrate storytelling, identity, and theatrical mayhem.

Brian Wilson, musical genius and founder of the Beach Boys, died today (Wednesday, June 11, 2025), so in honor of him, here is an article of the 40 greatest Beach Boys songs that I wrote for Broadway World two years ago.  Love & Mercy, Brian!

By allowing Churchill’s reflections – his triumphs and regrets alike - to take center stage, David Payne delivers a performance that is complex, compelling, and deeply human. CHURCHILL - at The Phoenix Theatre Company - is a theatrical experience that lingers long after the final applause.

Some of the shows that the Orpheum has been best known for are Stomp, which ran there for an astounding 29 years, from 1994 to 2023, and the original production of Little Shop of Horrors which spent over five years at the theater from 1982 to 1987. 

This week, we explore whether congestion pricing is reshaping Manhattan travel habits and examine a labor strike disrupting productions at Atlantic Theater Company. On the regional stage, we reflect on the loss of Theatre Palisades to Los Angeles wildfires and the struggles facing Bay Area theatres. Internationally, the launch of Welsh National Theatre and ATG’s acquisition of SOM Produce bring new opportunities, while changes at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School underscore ongoing financial pressures. Each story highlights resilience amid transformation in the global arts community.

Coinciding with the new film, Julien's Auctions is hosting an auction event with Bob Dylan items previously preserved in the Al Aronowitz Archive. Highlights from the collection include typewritten drafts of the lyrics to “Mr. Tambourine Man,' an early Dylan oil painting, early vintage photographs, and more.

What did our critic think of JERSEY BOYS at Garden Theater?

A tour de force by Martha Lott as Miss Docker.

How is Patti LuPone now, in 2024, starring in a Broadway show without her Equity card? Has she rejoined Actors' Equity Association? We're breaking it down and explaining how.

After a dozen years of sold-out engagements at the Art House, and a Covid-necessitated poolside show at the Crown & Anchor in 2020, Maye is back this year to give a Broadway-themed concert at Town Hall on August 25, with Tedd Firth on piano, Steve Doyle on bass, and Daniel Glass on drums.

Tacoma Little Theatre opens its 106th Season with the hilarious British comedy, One Man, Two Guvnors, directed by Brett Carr. 

What did our critic think of BYE BYE BIRDIE at Palm Canyon Theatre?

Mercury Theater Chicago has staged a “homegrown” production of JERSEY BOYS full of Chicago heart. The bio jukebox musical has graced Chicago tour stages over the years (in fact, I had a chuckle looking back at the review of the first national tour I wrote for my high school newspaper), but this is the first staging to showcase Chicago talent — and it definitely accomplishes that goal.

The first Nutcracker appear at the Kennedy Center this year is from Ballet West, based in Salt Lake City. And as brisk and fresh as it feels, it comes as something of a surprise that its lineage goes back to the very first U.S. performance of what’s become the most popular ballet in the country by far. 

Explore the exciting lineup of Babes With Blades' 2024 season, featuring powerful stories and empowered women on stage. Discover the dates and themes of the upcoming productions that promise to captivate audiences with their unique narratives. Don't miss out on the opportunity to witness theater that challenges and inspires.