Dear Theater Fans, Rachel Sherman here, filling in for the vacationing Nicole Herrington today. As we wrap up 2025, we asked our writers to highlight some of their favorite stories from the past year. Jesse Green was especially moved by Andrew Scott’s tour de force as eight different characters in a one-man “Vanya,” calling it one of the year’s greatest performances. He marveled at the circus that was the Williamstown Theater Festival, featuring Pamela Anderson, ice skating and an endless parade of beefcakes. And his sweeping, multimedia timeline of the history of Black Broadway covered 200 years and featured gorgeous archival images to tell a little-known story. Laura Collins-Hughes wanted to know how Tim Curry was doing, so they went to lunch. She talked art and pessimism with the 91-year-old Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, whose 1958 play “The Swamp Dwellers,” received its Off Broadway premiere; and charted the trajectory of Marisha Wallace, who redefined Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” on Broadway. Elisabeth Vincentelli enjoyed reporting on the quirks of regional theater in Wisconsin and Las Vegas. She also interviewed Jinkx Monsoon, who emerged as a theatrical force, first with “Pirates! The Penzance Musical” then as a replacement Mary Todd Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!”, and Natalie Palamides, the clown who nearly failed clown class and had one of the “it” shows of the fall with “Weer.” Alexis Soloski highlighted “Masquerade” and “Viola’s Room” among a slew of immersive new works from the past year. Erik Piepenburg examined the many uses of a homophobic slur — in the title of six theater productions this year. And Maya Phillips found a unique pleasure in seeing others’ devotion to James Baldwin in stage adaptations of “Giovanni’s Room” in Philadelphia and Amsterdam. It was a momentous year across the industry. There were reopenings: After an $85 million makeover, the Delacorte Theater in Central Park welcomed visitors once again. To mark the milestone, I spoke to some of the starry actors who have crossed the fabled stage (and faced down raccoons). The theater showed off its new digs with a celebrity-packed production of “Twelfth Night” that declared, “Shakespeare in the Park is back.” And there were closings: After 17,800 shows and 82,150 gallons of paint, Blue Man Group hung up its bald caps for good at the Astor Place Theater, where it arrived in 1991. Michael Paulson reported on the bleak state of the Broadway musical. Only three new musicals to open since the pandemic have become profitable. He sought to find out why. But there were more than a few bright spots. As regional theaters struggle financially, Michael reported on the ones defying the odds. And in a remarkable turnaround, “Maybe Happy Ending” won the Tony Award for best new musical after a shaky start. George Clooney made his Broadway debut as a saint of sane journalism in “Good Night, and Good Luck.” It was Nicole Scherzinger who took home the Tony Award for best actress in a musical for “Sunset Boulevard,” though Audra McDonald became the most Tony-nominated performer in Broadway history, with her role in “Gypsy.” It’s worth taking a look at Ben Brantley’s close-up on McDonald’s utterly visceral rendition of “Rose’s Turn.” And this year marked some notable anniversaries: 45 years of rock ’n’ roll theater at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn; 50 years since “The Rocky Horror Show” debuted on Broadway, lasting just one month before becoming a cult-film phenomenon; 50 years of Steppenwolf, the Chicago-based company behind “Purpose,” “Little Bear Ridge Road” and “Bug”; 50 years of “Chicago” and “A Chorus Line,” two polar-opposite classics; and 100 years of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Spunk,” all but forgotten for decades, which came to life at Yale Rep. As for me, I enjoyed reporting on the lively behind the scenes of Saheem Ali’s original African musical, “Goddess,” which arrived at the Public after almost 20 years in the making, and getting to visit Jonathan Larson’s old apartment. Oh, to be an artist in New York in the early ’90s! Will 2026 forecast a brighter future for the stage? We’ll be watching. There’s an adage that portends one certainty about this fickle city: The only thing that is constant is change. Please reach out to us 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. Best wishes for a bright 2026,
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