Throughout the night we would occasionally blast the organ music and gather everyone around me as I announced we had a letter from the Phantom. An attendee would then be called up at random to "perform" for the Opera Ghost. The first challenge was "Sing for me! Sing your favorite pop song as an opera singer." Later, a guest was summoned because they disobeyed the Phantom by sitting in Box 5 (the couch). Those who performed received extra votes in the costume contest.

We also scattered individual letters throughout the night where guests were prompted to take amusing photos (e.g. Take a photo of one of you proposing to the mannequin of Christine). They would then text the photo to the Phantom for additional costume contest points.

The night culminated in a "chandelier crash" with us announcing the contest winners!

It’s a Jamie Lloyd pop-up store! Posted on Instagram.

I had high hopes for Slam Frank, and it fell below my lowest expectations. Most of the show is an uneven satire of PC culture. However, underneath this satire, the show is animated by a dark anti-anti-Zionism which has gone underanalyzed.

Slam Frank is a play-within-a-play where a progressive theater company presents a multi-racial queer hip hop musical reimagining of The Diary of Anne Frank. Anita Frank (née Anne Frank) is a Latina refugee; Anne Frank’s mother is Black; her dad is autistic and gay, so on and so forth. Slam Frank’s creators, Andrew Fox and Joel Sinensky, cite a 2022 viral tweet (“Did Anne Frank ever acknowledge her white privilege?”) as the inspiration for their show. Slam Frank’s humor is largely a satire of liberals’ love of identity politics with each character portraying the most extreme version of their respective identity.

But, the show often occupies an ugly middle ground. Is the audience laughing at the satire of a progressive theater company casting a Black actress in a role where she exclusively speaks in an AAVE-infused slam poetry dialect? Or, is the audience laughing at the presentation of those stereotypes? At best, Slam Frank offers genuinely funny moments with some surprisingly catchy songs. At worst, Slam Frank coats ugly stereotypes with a veneer of irony and creates a permission structure for a wealthy New York audience to laugh at them (a running gag eventually becomes a pretext to use the word “retarded”). I believe if the exact same play were presented with a clear conservative signifier (e.g., “Produced by Ben Shapiro” on the playbill), the New York set would have a very different reaction.

If Slam Frank were just an ineffective satire of PC culture, then I would find it unremarkable (and not worth writing about). The true impetus for this review is the show’s underdiscussed bleak anti-anti-Zionist politics, which many reviewers have only discussed in oblique detail (The New York Times’ only mention is that the show “confrontationally claims a side in a highly charged contemporary dispute”). Slam Frank’s underlying ideology, to the extent said ideology is parseable, is closer to the nihilistic underbelly of 4chan than the show’s clearest inspiration, South Park.

During the last twenty minutes of the play, Anita Frank’s sister heretofore-mute announces her support for the founding of Israel and the dispossession of Palestinians. The full cast then dons oversized noses and hasidic suits as they sing about world domination. Afterwards, Anita Frank decides that she must turn her family in to the Nazis, so that the Jews can be killed in order to prevent the founding of Israel and the accompanying displacement of Palestinians.

If you extend Slam Frank’s underlying premise (a progressive theater company’s overzealous performance) to this finale, the authors’ textual point becomes clear. Progressives are antisemites who earnestly believe that Jews are evil. The long depiction of Jews controlling the world reflects Fox and Sinensky’s view on how progressives perceive Israel. As with the rest of Slam Frank, the performance is sloppy and outrageous so as to obfuscate the authors’ position.

As a general rule, I prefer to avoid bringing creators’ personal politics into an evaluation of their work. Fox and Sinensky have declined to comment about their views on Israel or Palestine. But, their posts promoting the show have sometimes shifted from silly but stale jokes about protecting Italianx culture to ghoulish satire where they use actual terrorist attacks on Jewish people and institutions to promote the show.

These posts are generally intended to spoof anti-Zionist social media posts justifying the October 7th attacks. Perhaps I have become the PC SJW I once derided, but I don’t find using the deaths of Jews and arson of temples to be particularly funny. I also have serious questions about the intentions and worldview of people who are fixated on anti-Zionist social media posts from 2023 rather than the over 20,000 Palestinian children killed by Israeli military forces. Satire of leftist social media posts rings hollow after three years of war crimes. Morevoer, this mode of anti-anti-Zionist politics is particularly frustrating because of how Trump administration has co-opted its adherents (see the ADL and Bari Weiss).

Slam Frank’s finale includes a montage that rapidly oscillates between stock photos of racially diverse groups (familiar to anyone who has ever glanced at college admissions materials) and videos of the October 7th attacks and assaults on Jews in New York City. I think that the authors are trying to make a Big Statement, but they are either too weak or too cowardly to articulate the Big Statement clearly. I can speculate on the authors’ “point,” but any efforts would be as half-baked as the finale.

Ultimately, I’m left to wonder: Why this play? Why now? The play’s broader cultural moment has long passed. The woke snowflake left lost. Trump is president! The federal government is systematically dismantling DEI programs nationwide. Columbia University, the site of the most raucous pro-Palestine protests, is paying a $200M settlement to the Trump administration and has adopted the IHRA’s controversial definition of antisemitism. Israel continues to receive absolute support from the federal government. Absent an institutional left, the satire is toothless. Slam Frank is shadowboxing a strawman.

—

Plenty of media which does what Slam Frank is trying to do much better. Recommendations below

• If you’re interested in great satire of liberalism, I would recommend American Fiction and Eddington.
• If you’re interested in intra-Jewish discussions, Scenes from the Divide is wonderfully elucidating.
• If you’re interested in South Park-like gonzo humor, South Park is having a renaissance!

😂 This was a fun scene! Improv skills are underrated.

Source: @malcs_creative

This isn't any hate towards him, but just some concern. I've noticed how Taye Diggs has had a pattern of seriously flubbing up lines whenever he's doing a live performance.

• This was a massive problem during his stint as Hedwig, which is made more egregious because it's a two-person show, so it has to hinge around a strong Hedwig. It persisted throughout his run and didn't seem to improve Someone who attended the closing night of that production said that he messed up "I gave him the name Tommy Gnosis, which means knowledge" which is an incredibly important line if you're familiar to the show.
• For his Moulin Rouge stint, he had a whole article talked about how "petrifying" (his words, not mine) it was for him to return to Broadway, and sure enough, there were STILL complaints about him struggling to remember his lines with very little signs of improvement. And the Duke, while a major role, isn't super highly demanding.
• And even at the 30th Anniversary performance of Rent last night, which was a one-time thing, it really looked as if he didn't have a clue when to spit out his lines and felt completely lost. It felt like he didn't want to be there and was pressured to do it.
• I wasn't there, but according to this comment from someone who attended Broadway Fest this year, he made co-stars he was performing with stop and restart songs so he could keep up with them and they could be on his time. Weird. He also sat reading a script during one performance.

Obviously, it's normal to make some mistakes when performing, but for Taye, it seems to happen constantly for him, EVEN AT ONE-NIGHT PRODUCTIONS. Like, seriously, what's going on with this? Does he refuse to properly rehearse himself? Is he too used to on-screen work where lines are fed to him? I've never seen something like this be a continuing problem with an actor all throughout their career. This isn't any hate towards him otherwise, just curious about this.

Edit: Wow, can we lower it down on the discourse here?

With Cynthia Erivo guest judging! I can’t wait to see what all the song selections are.

The entertainment players for the 2027 bananaball season have been announced. Derek Klena is staying in the team.

Looks like it will be another year without him on the stage

As the title suggests, eliminating and ranking all Broadway theaters best to worst based on how good there sightlines are. Each day I will eliminate the two most upvoted or common picks, until there we determine the best one. Judge based off of your overall experience! We figure out the 2 worst by EOD tommorow!

I organized an AMA/Q&A with Oscar-nominated and Tony-award winning actress Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda, Hellboy, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Death on the Nile, Aeon Flux, The Secret Life of Bees, Clarissa) and actress Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Ghostlight) for anyone interested. Their new film, Mouse, is out in theaters next week.

The AMA post is live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1xhnt6j/hi_reddit_we_are_actresses_sophie_okonedo_hotel/

They will be back at around 5 PM ET today to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Their new film, Mouse, premiered to wide critical acclaim at Berlin earlier this year and is out in theaters next week from IFC (currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 87/100 on Metacritic).

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfvh4VZsFuY

Synopsis: When a teen's life is suddenly upended at the start of summer, she forms unexpected bonds while navigating the fraught, fragile and often funny stages of grief.

Thank you :)

Super curious to hear reports, especially about any book/lyric changes and standout performances.

Just curious, what has been the rarest show some people have seen? Shows that came and went really quickly.

For me, it's Tammy Faye, which had 24 previews and 29 performances.

For my partner, it's either Tuck Everlasting which ran for a month or Wonderland (which may have also run for a month)

Hi! This is your Broadway Rush Self Report for Wednesday 10/28/26. It’s a 2 show day for some. Check the schedule here: https://playbill.com/article/weekly-schedule-of-current-broadway-shows

If you are in line at a particular show or happen to be in the area and can find out:

1. How many people are in line and
2. When they arrived

Please contribute what you can so that people are informed. Thank you!

Rush & Lotto Policy List:

https://bwayrush.com

Really strong week last time out for Broadway for many shows. Few shows had significant decreases. If a show can mostly hold steady week to week, absent a holiday week, that's always a good sign. Shows are ramping up, we're approaching opening nights for shows like Wanted and Downstate and A Few Good Men, and we still have shows like Galileo on their way, not to mention the holiday specials. It's an exciting time!

Season-to-date difference from last year:

Gross Gross: -7.8%

Total Attendance: -2.9%

For Award Wins/Nominations, a * demarcates a best musical/best revival nomination/win.

Grosses (chronological order from opening)-

➡ The Great Gatsby - $1.1 million, 92% capacity, $102 atp (Down ~$39k from last week). Began performances March 29, 2024, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $983k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $900k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): ($50k)-$50k

2024 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (2), Drama Desk (1), Tony (1)

Gatsby continues its hot streak, they're holding steady in that $1.1 million/week range these past couple of weeks, even with the slight decrease. Love to see it!

Estimated percentage recouped: 10%-30%

➡Maybe Happy Ending- $753k gross, 90% capacity, $107 atp (Down ~$35k from last week). Began performances October 16, 2024, Open-Ended

Gross Less-Fees: $655k; Weekly Operating Cost: $765k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2025 dAward Wins: New York Drama Critics (1*); Outer Critics Circle (4*); Drama League (2*); Drama Desk (6*); Tony (6*)

Unfortunately, this was probably not the start of Stella Cole's turn as Gil/Jill Brentley that they were looking for. We'll see about the remainder of her run, but this doesn't inspire a lot of confidence for the show comerically.

Estimated percentage recouped: 30%-50%

➡Operation Mincemeat- $803k gross, 96% capacity, $132 atp (Up ~$14k from last week). Began performances February 15, 2025, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $698k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $560k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $0k-$100k

2025 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (1); Drama Desk (1); Tony (1)

For the first time in Operation Mincemeat's history they have had three consecutive weeks of $800k or more at the box office. That level of success coming 18 months after beginning performances, with no real obvious reason (stunt-casting, movie, major awards, etc), is a really strong sign usually reserved only for shows we expect to run for years on end. It is difficult to say enough good things about this shows second year on Broadway at the box office.

Estimated percentage recouped: 20%-40%

➡Buena Vista Social Club- $891k gross, 98% capacity, $108 atp (Up ~$14k from last week). Began performances February 21, 2025, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $775k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $700k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2024 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (1); Drama Desk (1)

2025 Award Wins: Chita Rivera (2); Tonys (5); Grammy (1)

The second of the baseball stunt casts for BVSC continues with Bernie Williams. They also announced a Puerto Rico replica sit-down production, which I absolutely love (and suspect will do very well). I love how willing this show is to find its commercial strengths and play to them.

Estimated percentage recouped: 20%-40%

➡Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)- $590k gross, 75% capacity, $94 atp, (Down ~$50k from last week). Began Performances November 1, 2025, Closing November 29, 2026

Gross Less-Fees: $501k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $480k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (2*); Outer Critics Circle (4*); Drama Desk (3*); Tonys (8*)

2026 Award Wins: Drama Desk (1)

Two Strangers continues their run into closing largely with the same grosses they've had the past couple of months.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡The Rocky Horror Show- $890k gross, 95% capacity, $118 atp, (Down ~$152k from last week), Began Performances March 26, 2026, Limited Through February 28, 2027.

Gross Less-Fees: $762k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $750k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): ($50k)-$50k

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (4*); Outer Critics Circle (2*); Drama Desk (6*); Tonys (9*)

Not a bad week for RHS, probably right around their operating cost. I think they could have a great Halloweekend.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%-20%

➡The Lost Boys- $1.2 million gross, 92% capacity, $115 atp, (Down ~$2k from last week), Began Performances March 27, 2026, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $1.106 million; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $950k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $0-$100k

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (4*); Outer Critics Circle (11*); Drama Desk (5); Tonys (12*)

2026 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (2); Drama Desk (2); Tonys (4)

Lost Boys put up a very similar week to last- though their capacity took a hit while their ticket price increased. No matter, this is a good week for them.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡Schmigadoon- $1.0 million gross, 90% capacity, $125 atp (Up ~$7k from last week), Began Performances April 4, 2026, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $893k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $750k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $0k-$100k

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (2*); Outer Critics Circle (8*); Drama Desk (4*); Tony (12*)

2026 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (5*); Drama Desks (2*); Tonys (4*)

Any week over $1 million is a good one for Schmigadoon, so file this under their "good weeks" category- also a good sign that they increased this week, they were one of only a few.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡Wanted- $624k gross, 93% capacity, $80 atp, (Up ~$173k from last week) Began Performances October 15, 2026, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $533k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $750k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): ($100k+)

First full week of performances, and there's a base here to build on. The capacity figure is good, even though the show is losing money through previews. I've also revised my cost estimate up to $750k/week.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡The Fantasticks- $254k gross, 100% capacity, $109 atp, Began Performances October 22, 2026, Limited Through February 7, 2027.

Gross Less-Fees: $N/A; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $500k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): N/A

I don't expect this show to make a whole lot of money, but they will be an interesting one to track. Can it drum up enough interest for a commercial transfer in the spring?

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡Play Roundup:

Stranger Things: The First Shadow- Slight drop but could be worse. Closing January 3, 2027

Paranormal Activity- The steady climb continues, how far will it go? Limited Through February 28, 2027.

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play- Slight decrease as we head towards the extension. Limited Through November 15

Imaginary Invalid- I was expecting a steeper decrease with opening night, so not too bad overall. The capacity number concerns me though. Limited Through November 22

Other Desert Cities- Great bounce back in spite of middling reviews. Still, these numbers are great. Limited Through January 17

860- Great slate of reviews, holding over $1 million even with opening night, and an extension to boot. Glad to see this show doing well! Limited Through February 14, 2027

A Few Good Men- Another good week. This is putting up Ragtime numbers at the Beaumont. Opening this week! Limited Through January 10, 2027

Downstate- Another tough start for a Rudin produced play. Hopefully this doesn't suffer the fate of Little Bear Ridge Road. Limited Through January 10, 2027

I'm a contributor for Broadway World! My most recent article can be found here- a look at Off-Broadway theatre and the moment it's currently having. A full archive of my work can be found here!

Discuss below, please remember to keep it kind and civil

Hi friends,

I have a ton of Playbills from shows staged over the past few years. I generally try to get two when I attend a show so that I can give one to my mum (who doesn’t live in New York) but she often gives them back. I’d love to give to anyone who wants them for free—please do not take them just to sell them. I want you to have one (or more) if you want it/them for your collection. I live near Broadway (let’s say a 20 min walk from most theatres) and can meet you to drop off.

Assuming you live near NYC or are visiting sometime soon, feel free to “dibs” any that you want in the comments. They’re generally in very good condition; mostly mint but a few have a bit of sun lightening.

I was thinking about school girls or two strangers carry a cake since they are both closing soon but just want to see something sweet and life-affirming that will make me laugh and cry. What would you lovely people suggest?

EDIT: I got a ticket to 2 Strangers! Thank you so much for all of your kind suggestions. I definitely plan on seeing School Girls before it closes and everything else you've suggested that I've missed. We are so lucky to live in a city where we can go to a last-minute musical because we're feeling sad! Take advantage of it – go see the show!

Hi all! I (F33) will be visiting New York for the first ever next week (I'm so excited!) and due to time and $$ constraints I can only catch one show, and I'd like help on deciding what to watch. This may be an exaggeration, but let's think about this as if it was the only show ever I'd watch on Broadway, or off-Broadway even.

I love musicals so I'm definitely looking into seeing one instead of a play. Now, I love Hadestown but I have seen the proshot multiple times and I'm not sure if I want to see something that I can see at home, even if I'm aware the experience is not the same. Same goes for Hamilton or Chicago, etc.

Would the classics (The Lion King, Wicked, Book of Mormon, Little Shop of Horrors, Chicago) be worth it? I have listened to all of those, just never watched them, so I wonder if maybe something completely new would make for a better experience. Like, I haven't listened to Aladdin, Evita, or Masquerade...

I'm open to any and all recommendations and comments, including off-Broadway shows. Please help me decide what to go see!

For anyone who was there or saw it early on, describe the room, the energy and the feeling. I love the show and can’t imagine how impactful those first few performances must have been. What was the word of mouth like in an early-internet world?

Does anyone have any intel on whether the Six proshot will become available for VOD, streaming or home viewing?

Don't judge me on my age, but for musicals it was Grease (1972). And for drama, I have 2; Lettice and Lovage with the late, great Maggie Smith.

This past Friday/Saturday I did a quick trip to NYC with some friends to see Two Strangers and the Heated Rivalry parody musical. Both were amazing and I ended up getting the Broadway Cares donation poster (pictured poorly above is how it was originally and then after I stagedoored and asked Sam and Christiani to sign it again for fun). I don’t know how, but I accidentally forgot the poster and our programs on the bus ride back. We reached out to the bus company immediately and just heard back last night that they couldn’t find it, but would let us know if it ever pops up.

I’ve been kicking myself about this over the past few days, but now I want to know if there’s a way to get a replacement poster (if that’s even a thing). If anyone has ever experienced something like this before, who do you recommend I reach out to and have you had any success?

I have proof of purchase of the show tickets and poster. I also have an email from Vamoose that they were unable to locate the poster nor the programs.

tl;dr I stupidly forgot my poster on a bus and want to know if I can get a replacement.

Edit: Autocorrect messed up Christiani’s name