03/09/2026
New York Theatre 2026
Brenda and I and our great traveling companion, Paula Baldwin, made a quick three-night trip to Manhattan to catch some shows and visit with our Brooklynite daughter, Meryl, who joined us for three of the five shows we caught.
One reason to go this early in March was to catch “Just in Time”—the Bobby Darin musical—with superstar Broadway leading man, Jonathan Groff. He certainly came through with a spectacular performance at the always intriguing space at Circle in the Square (or as they called it in the show, “the basement of Wicked.) The stage design transforms the intimate Broadway house into a stunning nightclub. The show was a delight from beginning to end with Groff leaving it all out there on the stage. Truly, I don’t see how he can do this eight times a week.
That was Day 1. Then Paula and I went to the matinee of Tracy Letts’ horrifying play, “Bug,” starring his wife Carrie C**n. I’d seen her twice before—in Chicago and on Broadway. This time she was even better than I remembered in her previous appearances. This show with its descent into paranoia and its amazing set changes in the dark should be a strong contender for the Tony for Revival of a Drama. My guess is that C**n will be in a race with Leslie Manville (in “Oedipus,” which closed before we could see her celebrated work) for an acting Tony.
As if that wasn’t enough for one day, the whole group went to the off-Broadway reimagining of “Phantom of the Opera,” now called “Masquerade.” For this one we had to dress up for the evening and wear masquerade masks, which was total fun. To enter the old warehouse where the show was staged, we had a password, not a ticket. We then were led up and down through a series of rooms where our small group of 60 theatre-goers was entertained by some very talented performers, (including Northwest School of the Arts graduate, Charles Osbourne), doing the show in our faces, intermixing with us throughout. This show is truly an experiental masterpiece with all of us audience members becoming members of the cast. What a delight. The show is part musical, part masquerade party, part haunted house, and all fun. They keep extending the run so anyone heading to New York in the coming months has a chance to catch this one-of-a-kind show.
Thursday afternoon found us at The Shed—a great new theatre space in Hudson Yards—where we saw a mixed reality one-act play called “An Ark.” For this one we had to take off our shoes, then be led into a carpeted room with a few dozen chairs. We then put on AR glasses, which made it look like there were four non-existent chairs in front of us. When the 50-minute show began, the chairs were occupied by four actors who weren’t actually there. The four told a story of the arc of life in what I would call a tone poem. And one of those computer-generated actors just happened to be arguably the world’s greatest actor, Sir Ian McKellan. Having that superstar talk directly to us, look us in the eye, was a transformative experience. These new computer enhanced approaches to theatre need to be experienced, since it is very difficult to describe the experience in words. Unfortunately, this show is closing, but they are building a new arena space to house “ABBA Voyage,” a stunning recreation of an ABBA concert at the height of the group’s popularity. Brenda and I caught this in London and cannot wait to see it again when the New York venue opens.
After that show it was a quick subway ride up to Lincoln Center to catch the spectacular revival of one of my favorite musicals, “Ragtime.” The Vivian Beaumont Theatre at the Center is an ideal place to stage this amazing musical. The Beaumont is the only Broadway house with a thrust stage (essentially a platform with the audience wrapping around the performance). I had selected first-row seats off to the side of the thrust, which proved to be a perfect spot to watch this near-perfect show. Led by Joshua Henry in the pivotal role of Coalhouse Walker, we were treated to a tuneful, exuberant and unforgettable production.
I’m sure you’ve heard the term “show stopper,” meaning a moment in a play that is so spectacular, so perfect in the moment that the audience can’t contain their enthusiasm and stops the show with shouting, applause, and a standing ovation. Now many of us are used to a standing ovation during the curtain call for even a mediocre show. But that wasn’t the case here. By my count there were at least 5 show-stoppers in this production, including anytime Coalhouse had a solo or a duet. I’ve really only seen one show before where that happened during the act. This marked my 53rd year of attendance at Broadway shows, and I have absolutely never seen anything like this. It was a night to remember.
