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April 22, 2026

Dear Theater Fans,

The play’s the thing, and on Broadway that’s especially true right now.

As this season’s rush of openings comes to a close this Sunday (that’s the cutoff date for Tony Awards eligibility), our review lineup has consisted of more plays than musicals: In the past week alone, the openings have included “The Balusters,” David Lindsay-Abaire’s barbed neighborhood association comedy; “Fallen Angels,” a riotous revival of an early Noël Coward play starring Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne; “Proof,” a revival of David Auburn’s 2001 drama starring Don Cheadle and Ayo Edebiri as father-daughter math geniuses; and “The Fear of 13,” Lindsey Ferrentino’s death row drama starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson. A revival of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” with Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer and Ruben Santiago-Hudson, opens on Saturday.

But there are still some options for musical theater fans: “Schmigadoon!,” Cinco Paul’s sendup of Golden Age musicals, opened on Monday; the musical adaptation of “Beaches” opens tonight; and then “The Rocky Horror Show” (tomorrow) and “The Lost Boys” (Sunday).

Next season, Michael Paulson reported, Roundabout Theater Company plans to bring two plays to Broadway that couldn’t be more different: A revival of Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid,” and Dominique Morisseau’s latest, “Mix and Master,” starring Santiago-Hudson and Kara Young. Roundabout also plans a revival of the 2000 musical “The Full Monty.”

If the thought of rushing out to see all those shows has your head spinning, Jesse Green has some suggestions for your theater viewing pleasure at home. After watching numerous TV shows from the past 44 years — including “Smash,” “Fame” and “Submissions Only” — Jesse dissected “the five archetypes emerging in mostly unflattering yet sometimes revealing ways” on the screen. And speaking of “Fame,” here’s a connection for you: Debbie Allen, who portrayed the fierce dance teacher Lydia Grant in that ’80s series, returns to Broadway this spring as the director of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” (Watch her in action, dispensing some sage advice to her students — walking stick optional!)

Please reach out to me at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com with suggestions for articles or to offer your thoughts about our coverage. And urge your friends to subscribe to this newsletter.

Have a wonderful week,
Nicole Herrington
Theater editor

Thea Traff for The New York Times This True Story Brought Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson to Broadway “The Fear of 13,” about a man who spent two decades on death row for a murder he didn’t commit, is a story that the playwright says she “couldn’t shake.” By Sarah Lyall and Thea Traff

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THEATER REVIEWS

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Critic’s Pick Review: In ‘The Balusters,’ Neighborly Dysfunction Is on the Agenda David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about a wealthy homeowners association thrown into disarray makes a case for the same social compact it skewers. By Helen Shaw

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Critic’s Pick ‘What Happened Was …’ Review: Alone in New York, Together at Dinner Cecily Strong and Corey Stoll star in this two-hander about connecting over a meal that becomes much deeper than two colleagues socializing out-of-office. By Tim Teeman

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Critic’s Pick ‘Schmigadoon!’ Review: Oh, What a Beautiful Sendup Cinco Paul’s loving spoof of Golden Age musicals, adapted from a TV series, comes to Broadway, where its charming musical numbers can really shine. By Elisabeth Vincentelli and Sara Krulwich

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Critic’s Pick Review: They May Be ‘Fallen Angels,’ but This Comic Duo Is Heavenly Lust is the comic engine driving the action of a riotous revival of one of Noël Coward’s early plays, with Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, at Todd Haimes Theater. By Jason Zinoman

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times ‘Proof’ Review: Ayo Edebiri as a Math Girl, Interrupted The actress stars as a haunted genius opposite Don Cheadle as her father in David Auburn’s 2001 drama. This revival, though, exposes the play’s lack of rigor. By Helen Shaw

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Review: ‘The Fear of 13’ Doesn’t Entirely Add Up Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson make confident Broadway debuts, but the uneven script makes for a narratively slippery prison drama. By Helen Shaw

NEWS AND FEATURES

Patrick Harbron/Hulu How Television Sees Theater Is Quite a Drama As portrayed in shows like “Smash,” “Slings & Arrows” and “American Classic,” life onstage is a grab-bag of archetypes both hilariously wrong and a little bit right. By Jesse Green

Jun Michael Park for The New York Times With A.I. Glasses, Korea’s Theaters Hope for a K-Pop Moment Producers and the cultural authorities hope that technology can overcome a language barrier and take the country’s shows to the world. By Hahna Yoon

Cj Rivera/Invision, via Associated Press, Eduardo Munoz/Reuters, Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Coming to Broadway: Molière, ‘The Full Monty’ and a Play About D.J.s Roundabout Theater Company, one of the four nonprofits with Broadway houses, plans three Broadway shows next season. By Michael Paulson