MAY 20, 2026

Hello, Stage Whisperers, 

The past week has been an especially lively time for theater news, partially attributable to the fact that we’re in the midst of the Spring Road Conference, when presenters from around the country descend on New York to plan out their bookings, which is why you’ve been reading every producer and their cousin’s plans for a tour (I would love to know how they’re going to make those lost boys fly in Cleveland). 

Since many road producers are Tony voters, this is also prime time for campaigning, with parties, swag tote bags, open bars galore. Everyone wants to look like a winner, because people like to vote for winners — especially people who are imagining how having “Tony-winning” on their marquees will help move tickets. (Plays power-pose in the press, too; it’s a good time to announce your recoupment, or that you’re planning to head across the pond.) In the midst of that optimism circus, however, we’re seeing other productions face familiar financial headwinds. Beaches has, after tough reviews and worse sales, announced plans to close, and Death Becomes Her, a year and a half into its run, also faces its own mortality. Do you feel creeping dread about the viability of big-budget musicals on Broadway? Or is that just the rain rolling in to put an end to our brief weekend of summer in the city?

If you’re looking for something to read while dodging the rain, a reminder that the theater issue of New York is out this week, featuring my colleague Rebecca Alter’s cover profile of Giant’s John Lithgow, Zak Cheney-Rice’s interview with Taraji P. Henson, and more. Stay tuned for a few bonus Stage Whisperer missives as we head toward the Tonys. 

Jackson McHenry
Critic, Vulture

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The latest grosses are here! This week,  Jason P. Frank, Jackson McHenry, Julia Edelstein, Zach Schiffman and Ray Rahman discuss.

JACKSON MCHENRY: Comps before opening must be skewing the data, but yes, Celebrity Autobiography is reporting three performances at a $15.22 average ticket price.

JASON P. FRANK: That is insane.

JACKSON: Meanwhile, the precipitous $1.3 million drop in Cursed Child grosses is, I believe, Tom Felton's run wrapping up. People like Harry Potter less when it's not directly catering to their personal nostalgia.

JASON: Hey, at least they have an entirely new group of performers ready to come through when the TV show comes out.  

RAY RAHMAN: I was going to say, Harry Potter will benefit from the HBO show, right?

JACKSON: I assume everyone involved wants it to? But that's not till Christmas, so they must soldier on for half a year somehow.

JULIA EDELSTEIN: Elsewhere, Maybe Happy Ending had its final week with Darren Criss — not quite the Groff effect, but strong.

ZACH SCHIFFMAN: OMG, Beaches at 44 percent.

RAY: We almost can't print anything more about Beaches grosses in the newsletter until it closes. It’s very “Stop it, he's already dead” Simpsons meme at this point. [Editor’s note: The show announced its closure one hour after this conversation.]

JASON: I assumed it stayed open because the Spring Road Conference was this week — a big Broadway business week. 

JACKSON: Death Becomes Her's closing was announced though. And last week's sales indicate why — 66 percent capacity, $87.55 average ticket. A grim state of affairs for a show that we all wish had longer legs in this moment.

JASON: Joe Turner's Come and Gone sitting comfortably above $1 million. The night I saw it, Cedric the Entertainer was out, but my audience was perfectly pleased with just Taraji in star mode. 

JACKSON: Well, as Taraji herself told New York Magazine, audiences "know if Taraji P. Henson’s name is on it, they are going to get some feels. That’s my frustration with the business side of Hollywood. They like to jump on what’s hot. Bitch, I’ve been hot! I stay hot!"

RAY: I also wonder if Joe Turner will also get a nice bump if Ruben Santiago-Hudson wins the Tony.

JACKSON: I was thinking either Alden Ehrenreich or Chris Abbott is winning that Tony. Though Ruben is really good! If they adapt it into a film like they have with other August Wilsons in recent years, they should bring him back. 

RAY: Our two anonymous Tonys voters think Ruben has a good chance [see below], but of course that’s an imperfect sample size. 

JASON: If they do adapt it, the other person I'd want them to bring back is Nimene Sierra Wureh, who plays Mattie. She's completely fabulous and underrated. She secretly should have been nommed, but then I think my personal Supporting Actress in a Play nominations would look very different than the actual category ... 

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