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Welcome to Last Week on Broadway for Monday, February 9, 2026 on Broadway Radio's Matt Tammanini. We have a ton of Broadway show and casting news to bring to you this week. It has been a very busy week in terms of shows getting ready for the spring. But the first thing we have to talk about is not actually on Broadway or even Off Broadway. Instead, it is a concert version of one of the most iconic musicals of this century and one that was on Broadway just about a year ago. And that is the fact that two of the hottest stars in musical theater, Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler, will be performing a concert staging of Jason Robert Brown's the Last Five Years for three shows at Radio City Music hall and at the Hollywood bowl in Los Angeles. The concert celebrates the 25th anniversary of the show and it has already been announced to be happening at the London Palladium, which we've talked about previously on Today on Broadway later on in March. Brown will direct and conduct all of the shows in all of the runs of this concert staging. The US Performances will happen in one week in April. They will start in Los Angeles at the Hollywood bowl on Friday, April 3, and then will be followed by the Radio City Music hall performances on April 6th and 7th. The tickets are on sale for all US shows. They happened this past Friday. If you want tickets, good luck. We'll see what happens. I think this is interesting because obviously, as we talked about when this was announced, Rachel Zegler has a fairly tumultuous history with the Platt family, first with Ben's father, producer Mark, and then with his son Jonah, based off of some political things that she has said specifically about the war between Israel and Palestine. And then that bubbled over into issues with Rachel and Mark Platt, who produced the live action Snow White that she starred in for Disney. And then his son Jonah decided to make some comments on a podcast that he had and it just was kind of ugly. So this is a very interesting thing to have Rachel and Ben performing this show together. She's also accompanied him at some of his his concert performances as well as a special as a special guest. So I think this is great. I mean, I was not a huge fan of the last five years Broadway revival. I thought it was an actively bad and lazy production of that show, which is a show that adore. And I'm not sure how I feel about the like casting of this in a, like a traditional theatrical production sense. But if we're doing a concert of this show, these two are going to sing it incredibly well. So I won't probably get to see it because they're not going to invite press for any of these, obviously, at least not me. So I will have to live for all of the videos that are put out from the production. But this seems amazing. Sounds great. Do it and do an album. I think it'd be fine to do an album of this too, but we'll have to wait and see. And if any of you end up going to either the bowl or Radio City, let me know what you think. All right, now let's dive into some show and casting news for shows happening on Broadway. And let's start first with one Tony Award winner replacing another Tony Award winner. And that is going to happen at the upcoming Broadway premiere of the new play by David Lindsay Abair called the Ballisters. This is coming to us from the Manhattan Theater Club. It'll be in performances at Samuel J. Friedman Theater on March 34. First previously, the great Renee Elise Goldsberry had been announced to be one of the stars of the show, along with the likes of Mary Louise Burke, Carl Clements Hopkins, Margaret Collin, Michael Esper, Richard Thomas and more. But she has to leave the production due to a scheduling conflict. Perhaps she is filming something. I think she might have booked a TV show that might be getting in the way, but she's being replaced by Tony Award winner and Disney legend Anika Noni Rose. Look, I love Renee Elise Goldsberry. As I've talked about many times. I have been a fan since she was on One Life to Live and played a lawyer who went blind while she was dating John McBain. But we don't get to see Anika Noni Rose nearly enough. I think one of the best performances that I've ever seen was her doing Carmen Jones at Classic Stage Company and I will never forget that show. So the more Anika Noni Rose the better. So going from one not for profit theater company on Broadway to another, this one is coming to us from Second Stage and over at the Helen Hayes Theater. Beginning performances on March 18th will be the Broadway premiere of Becky Shaw, which is a previous Pulitzer Prize finalist From back in 2009, written by Gina Gianfredo and directed by Tripp Coleman. We already knew that Patrick Ball, Alden Ayenreich and Linda Ahmad will be leading that production, but they are going to be joined by Emmy nominee and recent Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. Off Broadway, Madeline Brewer and Tony Award winner Lauren Patton. Brewer will play the title role of Becky Shaw and Lauren Patton will play Susanna. Now moving to another play On Broadway, we already knew that Jon Bernthal and Eben Moss Bacharach would be leading the Broadway premiere of Stephen Adley Girgis adaptation of Dog Day Afternoon. We then learned that John Ortiz, Jessica Hecht and Spencer Garrett would be joining them. We now know the rest of the cast that will be a part of this show. Joining the company will be Michael Kostroff, Elizabeth Canavan, Esteban Andres Cruz, Danny Johnson, Paolo Lazaro, Wilhelmina, Olivia Garcia, Christopher Sears, who I think is awesome, Michael Cheyenne, Jeff still, and former Broadway radio guest Andrea Siglowski, as well as a number of ensemble members as well. Many people in this cast have previously worked on Stephen Alighergis shows, whether those were on Broadway or off. So people who are certainly familiar with the Pulitzer Prize winners work. All right, going from plays now over to a musical. This is not a new show, but one that is certainly one of the most successful on Broadway in recent years. And Anne Juliet has announced a new star joining the cast. But much like they did with social media sensation Charli d', Amelio, it is not somebody who is going to be one of the leads. Instead, joining the ensemble in the featured dance role of Charmian will be Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez. Now, I have followed Laurie Hernandez on social media for a few years because she's delightful. But after her gymnastics career was over, and remember, she's only 25 years old because that's, you know, they start so young in gymnastics. But after she finished her gymnastics career, she went to school to be a theater major. So she has been studying theater for the past four years. And she is now going to make her Broadway debut at the Stephen Sondheim Theater on March 17. She is currently scheduled to play the part for just about three months. But like we saw with Charli d', Amelio, I would not be surprised if she ended up doing this for a lot longer and kind of got into the groove of things on Broadway. All right, moving from Broadway to off Broadway, look, they've done it again over the west side Theater because Little Shop of Horace has again knocked it out of the park with their casting. We have a new trio of stars that will be beginning performances within a few days of each other in an early to mid March. Taking over the role of Seymour Krelbourne will be Jordan Fisher, who is just, you know, I have to be honest with you, like when he kind of came in due Hamilton and then dear Evan Hansen, I was like, okay, he's doing these little short runs and he's going to go back and do some like TV and movies and maybe some Hallmark movies or stuff like that. But no, he is a consistent Broadway and now Off Broadway performer with his long run in Hadestown as well as Sweeney Todd. He is going to be starring opposite Tony Award winner and one of my absolute favorites, Nikki M. James, who has been playing Audrey. And they will begin performances on March 6th and then three time Tony nominee Andy Carl will take over the role of Dr. Oren Scravello, DDS just a few days later on March 10th. They will succeed the trio of Joshua Bassett and Joy woods who will wrap up their runs as Seymour and Audrey on March 1st respectively, and then Andrew Durand who ends his run as Dr. Demento there on March 8th. Sticking with some Off Broadway show and casting news, it was announced last week that the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee that is currently playing at New World Stages has extended again. The show is now going to run through September 6th. That puts it at about a 10 month run because it began performances in November of 2025. Very excited about this one. I am going to absolutely have to see it when I'm in town later this spring and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get in to see it. But it began performances when I was there in November and so that was obviously too early for me to get in as a critic and a voter. But I'm very excited to have the opportunity to check out this incredible cast of a show that I really love. Now if you listen to this week's upcoming episode of Some like it pop, Jennifer McHugh talks about the TV series Heated Rivalry. Now there's going to be an unauthorized musical parody of that hit TV show that'll be coming to New York City. It is just going to be a staged reading, but it did so well in its first announced dates that were going to be March 14th and 16th at the Lurie Beachman Theater. That's already been announced, but it's already sold out. So the musical will now run through through March 14th through the 18th at the Lurie Beachman, but they've also added dates on March 23rd and 24th at the bell House in Brooklyn. Here's the thing that very well might have sold out by the time you hear this as well, but starring in the show as Ilya will be Jay Armstrong Johnson and as Shane will be Zachary Noah Peyser. Also in the company will be Ryan Redmond, Cherry Torres and Ryan Duncan. And then finally in our news section here, sticking off Broadway. We now have information on what shows we'll be participating in this year's Off Broadway Week. Again, Off Broadway Week is not exactly great or accurate nomenclature because it will run from February 16th through March 12th. This, like Broadway Week, gives the opportunity for theater goers to buy two for one ticket packages across a ton of shows. Let's run through the shows that are going to be available. The shows participating are 11 to Midnight, Bigfoot, Burnout Paradise, Chinese Republicans, Dida El Cojito in El Tiempo de las Mariposas, Friends the Musical Parody Gazillion Bubble Show Going Baccarok, Heather's the Musical, Jamie Allen's Amaze La Breve e Maravilosa Vira di Oscar Wow La Gringa Mexico Nightside Songs, Perfect Crime, Silver Manhattan Singfeld An Unauthorized Musical Parody About Nothing, spare parts, the 25th annual Putnamicani spelling Bee, the Little Mermaid, the A Sibling Love Story, the Office of Musical Parody, the Play that Goes Wrong and what We Did Before Our Moth Days. If you want more information on all of that, links will be in the show notes alright, before we dive into this week's theatrical schedule, let's take a second real quick to talk about our sponsor for this week, Squarespace. 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They offer you all kinds of services, functions, features from consultations and events to incredibly customizable website design features that allow me to put together everything that I need to make myself stand out online in a very, very competitive field. And for those people who are looking to sell things on their websites, they make it so that you can not only attract customers and customers clients and grow your business, but they also allow you to get paid on time by helping you integrate all of your invoices and online payments into everything that you do online. And for those of us who are not exactly technologically or artistically advanced. They have great design features as well that let you use all these incredible different cutting edge tools, whether that is to build your website to not only look good but function efficiently, but also to set up email campaigns, to take donations, to save sell your content, and to look at everything that you need from an analytics standpoint to understand why your business is or is not working. So in terms of an online presence, if you need something that brings you everything into one nice package, Squarespace is the way to go. So go to squarespace.com broadway for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code Broadway to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Again, that is squarespace.com broadway and use offer code broadway. All right, let's dive into this week's theatrical schedule and there's really only one thing happening on the Broadway and it is a closing. So we'll talk about that when we get to Sunday. But let's start on Wednesday over at the Orpheum Theater, where the new dance musical 11 to Midnight will officially open. This is the show that not only stars, but was created and choreographed by the online husband and wife choreography team of Cost and Mayer. Along with Hideaway Circus, they brought together a cast of talented dancers to tell a story that takes place during one unforgettable hour at a New Year's Eve apartment party somewhere in the city where the music's loud, the lights are soft, and time feels like it's had a glass of champagne too. Resolutions are made and some forgotten feelings pop up out of nowhere. And the future? Well, let's see what happens this time next year. Also opening up on Wednesday night, this one will be back in midtown over at the New York City center for Manhattan Theater Club. And this is the new play written and directed by Ngozi and Yanwu, called the Monsters. The show stars Anje Mizel and Okarite Inadequan as siblings Lil and Big. Lil has been obsessed with fighting and one fighter in particular, her older brother Big, an aging but successful figure in the local mixed martial arts circuit. But she's doing it all from afar until one day when she decides to show up on his doorstep. The show is currently scheduled to play through March 15. But that is not the only Manhattan Theater Club show having a big event on Wednesday night, because also at the Manhattan Theatre Club will be the first performance of the Off Broadway musical Bigfoot, a new musical. This one is written by Amber Ruffin, David A. Schmoll and Kevin Scoretta, and Directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford, it is set in the town of Mud Dirt, a glow in the dark oasis that exists somewhere between a chemical dump site and a nuclear power plant. Bigfoot is a larger than life musical tale of corrupt politicians, small town paranoia and misunderstood youth. The show is currently scheduled to play through April 5, but would not be surprised if that extends a little bit. In the cast we have Gray Hansen, Jade Jones, Crystal Lucas Perry, Kyle, Karina McCrimmon, Alex Moffat, Jason Tam and others really excited about this. The fact that Amber Ruffin is finally having an opportunity to co write a show from original source material is very exciting and looking forward to seeing what she does with this. And if you want to hear a little bit about what the show sounds like, we'll have a link to a little bit of a preview in the show notes and then wrapping up things that are happening On Wednesday from Second Stage Off Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature center, we have the first performance of AI Agawe's show Meat Suit or the Shit show of Motherhood? It does say warning, motherhood is not for the faint of heart and neither is this play. It is written, directed by Ogawa, and it is described as a gloriously genre defying theatrical carnival that plunges audiences into a raw, hilarious chaos of being a mother. Moving to Thursday, we have the opening of the new play the Unknown, starring Sean Hayes, Off Broadway at Studio Seaview. The show is only set to run for 10 weeks, of course could extend through April 12th. In the show. Desperate to cure his writer's block, Hayes's character, Elliot, retreats to a remote cabin only to discover he may not be alone. As the boundaries between his work and his life collapse, Elliot begins to question everything he knows. Is he writing a thriller, living one or both? The show is written by one of the great solo show writers of our time, the David Kail, and is directed by Lee Silverman. Also happening on Thursday, February 12, will be the first Off Broadway performance of Claire Barron's yous Got Older. Directed by Anne Kaufman. It not only stars Aaliyah Shawkat, but features Peter Friedman, Misha Brooks, Kayla Eberhardt, Nina White and more. After losing both her job and her boyfriend, an unmoored and unsettled May played by Shawkat returns to her small Washington home hometown to take care of her ailing father. When she meets a mysterious stranger, she has the starting realization that maybe the intimacy she's been craving is easier with the unknown rather than with her own family. The show is currently scheduled to play through March 29th. Then on Friday, February 13th. Friday the 13th. Ooh. Seems appropriate because we have the first Off Broadway performance of the new musical Blood Love. So is that Blood Love? I'm not sure, but it is subtitled a Vampire Vampire pop opera. Step inside the seductive world of Blood Love, New York's new pop opera that transforms the classic vampire tale into an ultra contemporary theatrical extravaganza. Under the sultry lights of a nightclub, the Crimson, the former queen of the underworld searches for an existence beyond eternal bloodshed. But her endless night changes when she meets a mortal soul with his own devilish secret. The show is playing at Theater555 and is currently on sale through March 29th, then moving to Valentine's Day. Very sweet. Saturday, February 14th over the clear Towel Theater at Lincoln Center Theater will be the first Off Broadway performance of the new show by the Lazors called Nightside Songs. Features a great cast including Robbie DeJesus, Brooke Ishibashi, Jonathan Raviv, Chris St. Louis and Mary Testa. The show is about the small human connections that make up the vast tapestry of our lives. It is inspired by Susan and Sontag's insight that, quote, illness is the night side of life. This transformative new musical brings us together to explore how song heals us and empowers our spirits. Also happening on Valentine's Day. Not exactly as appropriate as maybe the night before would have been, but down in Brooklyn at Theater for a New Audience will be the official opening night for their production of the Tragedy of Coriolanus. The show is currently scheduled to play through March 1st. It is directed by Ash K. Tata and follows former Broadway radio guest McKinley Belcher III as Coriolanus and his fearsome mother Volumnia, played by Rosalind Ruff. Then on Sunday, February 15, we do have another Off Broadway opening. This one is the waterfall that comes to us from the WP Theater. It is written by Phoenicia Farrell and directed by Taylor Reynolds. It is currently scheduled to play through March 1st. Returning home to assist her mother after hospitalization, Haitian American Bean soon finds her confidence shaken by her mother's idea of what her life should be. Then we have a number of closings happening on Sunday. The first is on Broadway from Second Stage with Marjorie Prime. Then the City Center Encores production of High Spirits will wrap up as well. And then Off Broadway, the honeytrep by Irish RIP. You can still watch it this week via streaming if you would like. And then Playwrights Horizons show Watch Me Walk will close as well. All right, everybody, that's all that I have for you today. Thanks for listening to last week on Broadway. If you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio thanks for listening. This has been Matt Tamenny and we'll talk to.