Broadway Breakdown – Episode Summary

Podcast: Broadway Breakdown
Host: Matt Koplik
Episode: Ranking All 42 Broadway Shows This Season (42-23)
Date: May 15, 2025

Episode Overview

Matt Koplik, self-proclaimed Broadway’s "most opinionated" and "foul-mouthed" podcast host, embarks on the ultimate personal ranking of every Broadway production from the 2024-2025 season. With 42 shows to discuss, Matt analyzes each one with his trademark blend of passion, sarcasm, and deep theatrical knowledge—moving from his least favorite up to Number 23. Along the way, he offers thoughtful critiques, comedic asides, and the occasional scathing rant, all peppered with memorable quotes that distill his sometimes-controversial opinions.

The episode bypasses all non-content sections (ads, intros/outros) and jumps right into Matt reading some positive reviews, defending the value of criticism, and then launching into the show-by-show breakdown.

Episode Highlights & Key Discussion Points

Matt Reads Listener Reviews (00:05–08:30)

• Celebrates Two Glowing Podcast Reviews
  • Expresses gratitude for the listeners who write thoughtful, positive feedback.
  • Notable quote:

    "Thank you guys so much for those wonderful words. Really balances out when someone says that an episode is 'awful' or that I’m a 'condescending ass.'" — Matt (07:10)

• On Criticism & Being Opinionated
  • Affirms value of critical voices and honest opinions in theater discussion.
  • Memorable reflection (on reading harsh Spotify comments):

    "If you really really want me to know how much you either hate my opinion, hate my voice, hate me, found an episode infuriating, then I apologize to you for that. But also—I am just doing this, right?" — Matt (01:40)

Ranking 42–23: Broadway Season Breakdown

Matt works his way up from what he considers the worst to his 23rd favorite show of the 2024-2025 season. Each section below includes his main points, occasionally cited quotes, and timestamp highlights for especially memorable moments.

#42: Left on 10th (08:40)

• Based on Delia Ephron’s memoir; deals with late-in-life romance, cancer, and loss.
• Performance issues:
  • Praises only Kate McCluggage and Peter Francis James ("...the best work in the show. They create distinct characters each time.").
  • Criticizes Julianna Margulies' stage acting:

    "I just don’t think she gets stage work. Her body language is awkward. The way she recites the text is awkward. She has no chemistry with anyone on stage." — Matt (10:25)

  • Feels design is ugly and the direction by Susan Stroman uncommitted/lazy.
  • Cites a scene involving Margulies and a dead dog as "one of the worst lines [he’s] ever heard on Broadway."
• Verdict: "Truly one of the worst things I’ve ever seen on Broadway anywhere."
• Timestamp for most savage critique:

  "This isn't even hysterical bad. This isn't train-wreck bad. It's just insulting bad, which is the worst kind of bad." — Matt (14:08)

#41: McNeal (15:15)

• Bart Sher-directed play, starring Robert Downey Jr., Andre Martin, Ruthie Ann Miles.
• Lampoons the “event” status it received due to star power.
• On the play itself:

  "I was forgetting that play while I was watching it." — Matt (15:50)

• Praises design elements but says the writing and acting are forgettable and disappointing from such high-profile talent.
• Philosophy on flops (16:49):

  "You can be a brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and still write a bad play."

• Quick anecdote about family disagreements on the show (19:30).

#40: Tammy Faye (20:15)

• Elton John/Jake Shears/James Graham musical about Tammy Faye Bakker.
• Explains that stage musicals have unique demands, and this mostly British team didn’t really "get it."
• Matt’s thesis:

  "Elton John is...not a good musical theater composer." (22:05)

• Weak overall, not funny or insightful — wants to be both satire and warm-hearted, fails at both.
• Takes issue with Katy Brabin’s performance:

  "Gave absolutely no inkling that she was Tammy Faye Bakker. And that is a very imitation-heavy woman." (25:24)

• Only highlights: "Talented cast" and "beautiful Palace theater renovation."
• Timestamp for sharpest summation:

  "It just sits there like uncooked fish and chips, telling you it’s a hot dog with ketchup." — Matt (28:54)

#39: Redwood (29:00)

• Idina Menzel starrer. Compared to the film Wild but with a tree and a dead son instead of hiking and a dead mom.
• Lampoons the premise:

  "It’s called Redwood, Liz. I play a lesbian business owner who falls in love with a giant redwood after her son overdoses." (30:19)

• Critiques the heavy-handed diversity and the lack of understanding of musical theater structure.
• Praises Zachary Noah Peyser’s number "Still" and the set projections (though not entirely sold on them).
• Quick praise for Kayla Wilcoxson’s performance but dismisses the role as "the ultimate diversity scavenger hunt."
• Takeaway: "Redwood is deadwood as far as I’m concerned."

#38: The Last Five Years (36:35)

• Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren; Matt explores the challenge of subjective/objective rankings.
• Nick Jonas: “Not without talent” but lacks the vocal and stage presence for Jamie.
• Adrienne Warren: A strong presence, but too bold for Cathy’s shades of vulnerability.
• Production tries to rethink the formula but reveals the characters are “kind of locked in,” so no room for reinvention.
• Best part: expanded orchestration and Adrianne Warren’s sheer skill.
• Summing up revival issues:

  "When your best thing in it is the orchestra and your second best thing is Adrienne Warren... that's ultimately not a great perk of your show."

#37: Romeo & Juliet (41:30)

• Sam Gold's modern, Gen-Z take starring Kit Connor (lauded) and Rachel Zegler (not so much).
• Praises Kit Connor’s Romeo:

  "Really understood the character. Had a fully developed performance... Both poetry and organic." (42:25)

• Criticizes ensemble; says Rachel Zegler has "an incredible voice," but little connection to the text.
• Production style: too “Euphoria”-esque, with shallow attempts at Gen-Z vibes.
• Main positives: Kit Connor and the lighting design.

#36: Home (46:27)

• Kenny Leon-directed revival of Sam Art Williams' play.
• Matt admits he can “barely remember this show,” finding it "so dull."
• Likes supporting performances from Brittany Inge and Story Ayers:

  "They're both being dropped in, but big enough to fill this theater..." (47:30)

• Suggests the play would have worked better in a black box venue.
• Conclusion: "Very, very unmemorable, which is ultimately why it is so low."

#35: Smash ("Smoosh") (50:02)

• Broadway adaptation of the cult TV series.
• Matt lampoons it as “Smoosh,” claiming,

  "I really want to get this going, us just calling the show Smoosh."

• Praises Robin Herter’s efforts and the "fantastic" music/arrangements by Stephen Oremus & Doug Besterman.
• Sharply critical of the book and Susan Stroman’s direction:

  "I do fully blame...the book, as well as, honestly, Strowman as director for not having full control of the tone." (53:40)

• On gender politics in the book:

  "It's all like, when the show is doing equilibrium of gender, it's not actual equilibrium. It's gaslight, gay, cute girl boss..."

• Verdict: Some fun performances save it from being absolute bottom, but "every day since I have seen Smoosh, I have gotten angrier and angrier the more I think about it."

#34: Oh, All In Comedy About Love (59:00)

• Sketch-style evening based on Simon Rich’s short stories, with rotating stars like John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Richard Kind.
• Matt points out criminal under-use of Goldsberry and Armisen.
• Praises Mulaney’s stage command.
• Critiques the exorbitant ticket price for what he deems "just a collection of short stories... only semi-funny."
• "Not worth it. Highway robbery completely."

#33: Othello (1:02:05)

• Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal with Kenny Leon directing.
• Gyllenhaal “commendable” as Iago, but Denzel "making such weird choices."
• Best performance: Andrew Burnap as Cassio.
• Design choices aim for the future, but production “mostly rudderless.”
• Overpriced event, destined to only be remembered for its ticket price.

#32: Glengarry Glen Ross (1:06:19)

• Third 21st-century revival by Patrick Barber, starring Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.
• Strong performances from Bill Burr (especially) and Odenkirk, but Culkin is miscast, weakening the core.
• Finds the whole production "respectful," but "a lot of it is very dry."
• Expresses discomfort with Mammot revivals:

  "Do we need to give this man more money? ...He has become an active participant in the community that is trying to tear down so many other members..."

#31: The Roommate (1:10:30)

• Two-hander with Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow as quirky, (eventually) morally ambiguous roommates.
• Skewed for older audiences ("...audience members 50 and older and they were absolutely living for this thing. I myself was not.").
• Admits that Mia Farrow "gave a strong performance," LuPone invested, but roles not especially believable or dynamic.
• Weak overall due to lack of physicality and slick, out-of-place Bob Crowley set.

#30: Our Town (1:16:05)

• Kenny Leon’s revival of the Wilder classic.
• Matt: “Similar to Othello...not a production that really has a point of view.”
• Ensemble described as “clashing”—everyone in a different play.
• Praises specific performances (Donald Webber, Richard Thomas) but otherwise finds it "just there."
• Criticizes use of lanterns as muddled metaphor.
• Evokes Cromer’s past Off-Broadway production as the gold standard:

  "There's a gravitas to Our Town but there's also an urgency... the production that David Cromer directed off-broadway about fifteen years ago really drove home the relatability and its evergreen quality." (1:18:14)

• Sums up: "This is Our Town is pretty low on my list because ultimately everything that the team ‘brought’ or didn’t bring to the material was a miss for me."

#29: A Wonderful World (1:22:34)

• Louis Armstrong jukebox musical, passion project for James Monroe Iglehart.
• Follows typical bio-musical formula; covers Armstrong's four wives more successfully than Armstrong himself.
• Only takes risks with arrangements and choreography (not always integrated well).
• Design cluttered; only musical numbers truly shine.
• Faults the genre: "When the estate of the artist is involved, you can never go too hard on the subject. Ultimately these shows become...not like vanity piece, but they are ultimately they genuflect to the subject."

#28: Swept Away (1:27:00)

• Avett Brothers musical about a doomed whaling voyage; directed by Michael Mayer.
• Got a strong (but brief) cult following, but Matt found the book by John Logan "violently hated."
• Praises design—set, lighting, and music arrangements.
• Finds John Gallagher Jr.'s lead performance deeply odd ("if Gollum played Edna Turnblad").
• On meta-theater and the challenge of enjoying elements when the core material is “actively not good:"

  "When the script is so bad, the good stuff just can’t escape it because it’s all tied together."

• Strong layout of “good in a show, but can’t enjoy it when core is bad.”

#27: Good Night and Good Luck (1:34:22)

• George Clooney brings his TV newsman movie to the stage, adapted for theater by David Cromer.
• Praises DESIGN and use of live cameras as most logical of this season’s screen-based shows. Best sections are Murrow’s on-screen monologues.
• Most of the show is “objectively fine.” Cast competent, Clooney charismatic, but never transcends its material.
• Ends with a montage (including an Elon Musk Nazi salute) — Matt finds it highly relevant for the audience that attended (full of "star fuckers and rich people").
• Sums up: "Dry 80% of the time. Fuck yeah...But the 20% of it that I did like, I liked quite a lot."

#26: Pirates, The Penzance Musical (1:39:40)

• Roundabout’s New Orleans-set “revisal” of Gilbert & Sullivan, with a jazz/blues re-orchestration.
• Concept is interesting in theory, falters in execution: "All sense of zaniness and energy and bubbliness is gone."
• Praises the design—set, moody lighting, costumes—and David Hyde Pierce’s general as a highlight.
• Jinkx Monsoon’s Ruth “very funny,” but keys need adjustment.
• Sours on the new lyrics, rearrangement of numbers, and uneven adaptation for the performers.
• "Overall miss with moments that are fun."

#25: Once Upon a Mattress (1:46:47)

• Encores! transfer starring Sutton Foster, with Amy Sherman-Palladino’s new book.
• Matt: "At best, I'll say it was perfectly pleasant."
• Praises Michael Urie’s comic energy, thinks Sutton Foster was solid but not remarkable.
• Deems it "perfectly adequate" and more a missed opportunity than a disaster.
• Notes that expectations for a transformative Broadway transfer were deeply misplaced.

#24: Job (1:51:40)

• Transfer of Max Wolf Friedlich’s two-hander (Sidney Lemon, Peter Friedman) about a content moderator wrestling with trauma and a psychiatrist with dark secrets.
• Feels it’s strong in action but less so on the page.
• Praises actors, direction, and design as “very strong,” sees promise in artists’ future work.
• Ultimately: "For that alone, it’s worth seeing. But it doesn’t make the play overall as memorable as I was hoping."

#23: Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends (1:56:49)

• Cameron Mackintosh-produced Sondheim revue from the West End.
• Song selection and arranging odd; tries to be more lavish than past Sondheim tributes.
• Structure is “for Sondheim nerds,” but settings of songs often weird or mis-contextualized.
• Standout for Lea Salonga’s Mrs. Lovett and other casting against type.
• Wishes Bernadette Peters would retire some material:

  "She’s kind of past her sell by date now as a musical theater performer. The isms that used to make her special are now...her personality."

• "We love her and we love Sondheim, but we want it to be a little more interesting, a little better."

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Criticism:

  "It’s important to have discernment, right? That’s part of the reason why we all listen to this podcast, why I even fucking do this podcast." (03:15)

• On Left on 10th:

  "Did Honey take on my cancer?" — Matt, quoting the most earnestly awkward line in the show (12:30)

• On Smash:

  "The drama comes from when your leading lady reads a book because women shouldn’t read books. And you should never let actors have opinions on your show. Thanks, Smoosh." (52:15)

• On A Wonderful World (jukebox musicals):

  "When the estate of the artist is involved, you can never go too hard on the subject... Ultimately these shows become a not like vanity piece, but they are ultimately they genuflect to the subject." (1:24:05)

Themes and Tone

• Tone: Matt’s characteristic blend of sarcasm, expertise, and brutal honesty ("I'm disgusting" is his recurring preface for each new show).
• Recurring Motif: Acknowledgment of the subjectivity of criticism—his ranking is personal, not “official,” and he invites disagreement.
• Audience Engagement: Encourages listeners to think critically about theater, not just accept the mainstream/critical consensus.

Conclusion & What’s Next

• This episode covers ranks 42 through 23 in exhaustive, punchy detail.
• Matt hints at further deep-dives and returning to historical "super long deep dives into shows" during the summer.
• The next episode will likely feature the top 22 shows, as well as Matt’s promised deep-dive recap of his recent London trip.

Useful for listeners who haven’t tuned in:

If you missed the episode, this summary captures Matt's strongest opinions, the flavor of his analysis per show, key quotes, and the order from worst to "approaching middling" on this year's Broadway slate. You'd leave with excellent context for why some shows have flopped with critics—both professional and renegade—and why others endure, even if only "adequately."

Full Rankings So Far

• 42. Left on 10th
• 41. McNeal
• 40. Tammy Faye
• 39. Redwood
• 38. The Last Five Years
• 37. Romeo and Juliet
• 36. Home
• 35. Smash ("Smoosh")
• 34. Oh, All In Comedy About Love
• 33. Othello
• 32. Glengarry Glen Ross
• 31. The Roommate
• 30. Our Town
• 29. A Wonderful World
• 28. Swept Away
• 27. Good Night and Good Luck
• 26. Pirates, The Penzance Musical
• 25. Once Upon a Mattress
• 24. Job
• 23. Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

Stay tuned for Part II as Matt counts down Broadway’s best of the 2024-2025 season.