Thoughts on Broadway’s biggest night, plus reviews of Beetlejuice, The Rocky Horror Show, Giant, Proof, Dog Day Afternoon, and more.
OHMYGOD HEY!
Welcome back to my weekly collation of the various reviews, opinion pieces and theatre news updates I’ve shared across multiple social media platforms.
There comes a time, each year, when the arrival of heatwave temperatures turn theatregoing into an extreme sport – the otherwise sedentary activity of sitting in a dark room alongside strangers is transformed into a battle of thermoregulation and the decision to dress either for furnace-like heat or arctic air conditioning (I have, in the last week, experienced both). With uncanny timing, the new musical Hot Mess recently launched its imminent, upgraded London return.
This time of year coincides with the summit of the New York theatrical calendar, the Tony Awards, an annual celebration of Broadway’s biggest artistic achievements. As has become customary, Aeron and I have predicted this year’s winners (our many thoughts can be found linked below), but it also provides the chance to reflect on why we are so fascinated by these awards and a hierarchical, individualised approach to creative recognition.
Points can be made on either side – categories such as this year’s for ‘Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical’ see entirely first-time nominees alongside each other, their status in the industry newly upgraded and their relative years of work saluted. The shows brave enough to be solely artistically driven in this prohibitive commercial landscape also rely on the endorsement of a Tony win to assure prospective audience members of their quality. There’s also the investors, whose vital funds are, to some extent, motivated by the possibility of securing a spinning statuette.
And yet, the notion of a winner among disparate performances which are needlessly framed as rivals for these few months flies so utterly in the face of everything we say about subjective art. This year’s candidates for the coveted prize of ‘Best Musical’ prove the lunacy of comparison, with each succeeding brilliantly in its own objectives and offering audiences strikingly different theatrical flavours. The composition of the Tony Award itself would seem to defy a Mean Girls-esque snapping and sharing, but today I’m feeling sentimental.
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This Week’s Videos
Can we predict the 2026 Tony Awards? Which Broadway actors, plays and musicals will win this year?
This weekend, the 2026 Tony Awards will be held at Radio City Music Hall, celebrating the best of another year of Broadway theatre.
This year’s nominated plays and musicals include The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Cats: the Jellicle Ball, Ragtime, Death of a Salesman, Giant, Oedipus, Liberation, The Balusters, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Titaníque, and more.
Check out this video to find out who and what my stagey fiancé @AeronJames and I think will win at this year’s ceremony…
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Why Kim Kardashian is a Broadway Producer now: the reasons behind theatre’s new celebrity producers…
An emerging trend on Broadway over the last few years has been the substantial arrival of celebrity co-producers – influential figures, entertainment stars and beloved personalities who use their platforms, connections and reputation to help bolster a newly opened show’s credibility.
This is under particular scrutiny this season, with the likes of Michelle and Barrack Obama, Neil Patrick Harris, Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, and Cynthia Erivo being joined as producers of new shows by Kim Kardashian.
Kardashian has joined the producing team of The Fear of 13 in her capacity as a criminal justice reform advocate, and in doing so has sparked the conversation I’m eager to have today – why are there so many celebrities producing on Broadway, what do they actually have to do, what are the benefits of this to the shows, and do I foresee any problems as this practice gains popularity?
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Why CHESS is closing early on Broadway: the reason the revival will end when Lea Michele leaves…
In breaking Broadway news, it was just announced that the current revival of Chess at the Imperial Theatre will end its run earlier than planned, on June 21st.
The musical, first seen on stage in the 1980s, depicts a chess-centred love triangle in the midst of cold war tensions, written by Benny Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Sir Tim Rice. This new production, with a rewritten book by Danny Strong, stars Lea Michele (Funny Girl), Nicholas Christopher (Sweeney Todd), and Aaron Tveit (Moulin Rouge! the Musical) as well as Bryce Pinkham and Hannah Cruz.
The show will now end with the departure of leading lady Lea Michele, but that’s just one of the factors to consider when we answer the question: why is Chess closing early…?
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
I met the AVENUE Q puppets! Interview with Emily Benjamin, Charlie McCullagh, and Noah Harrison
The fan-favourite, award winning comedy musical Avenue Q is back in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and I recently had the bucket-list-worthy opportunity to meet some of its cast and iconic characters.
I headed to the theatre to sit down with Emily Benjamin, Charlie McCullagh, and Noah Harrison plus Avenue Q residents Trekkie Monster, Lucy the Slut, and Rod to ask them about puppetry secrets, onstage mishaps, musical theatre dream roles, and more.
Check out this fun and completely unique interview, and don’t forget to book tickets to see Avenue Q in the West End!
Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
This Week’s Reviews
The Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54, Broadway, New York City
★★★★ Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Beetlejuice at Prince Edward Theatre, West End, London
★★★ Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse Borough, London
★★★★ Review available YouTube / Instagram / TikTok
Proof at Booth Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Giant at Music Box Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Barrymore Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
Dog Day Afternoon at August Wilson Theatre, Broadway, New York City
Review available YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcasts
We went on a theatre road trip to Manchester! Theatre vlog ft Bank of Dave, The Karate Kid, & more
Check out another week in our life of seeing theatre almost every day!
This vlog begins with a stagey road trip away from London, to Manchester, for which we were joined by Kate Reinking (aka @theatreislife ) to see two shows: Bank of Dave the Musical and the Karate Kid the Musical.
After that marathon theatre trip, we were back in London where we divided for visits to the press night of Equus at the Menier Chocolate Factory and a return trip to Into the Woods at the Bridge. Finally, we saw our first show at Soho Theatre Walthamstow: End of the Rainbow.
Join us vicariously in this brand new vlog to find out what a week in our lives looks like!
What’s coming up this week?
I’m currently a few hours away from a visit to the National Theatre for the press night performance of War Horse’s return engagement at the venue, one of the most accomplished British productions of a play this century and one which I’ve only ever seen on tour (and some years ago!). Subsequently, I’m hugely looking forward to an expansive reworking of Cole Porter’s High Society at the Barbican and, contrastingly, a minimised actor-musician production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the uniquely magical Watermill Theatre in Newbury.
Stay tuned for thoughts on two productions I saw at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon over the weekend, as well as a little coverage perhaps of The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year Awards this coming weekend (which you can attend, as I shall be for the first time!).
Until next week, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey… week! – Mickey-Jo
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