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Welcome to Last Week on Broadway for Tuesday, January 20, 2026 on Broadway Radio's Matt Cmenini. I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday weekend and spent a little bit of time on Monday remembering the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And perhaps assessing where we are in achieving the dreams that he spoke of so eloquently of during the Civil Rights era and maybe seeing what we can be doing in our own worlds to try to make those dreams reality. Now you'll remember that last week we had a special episode of Today on Broadway because we had some news that kind of reshaped the way that this spring season looks a little bit on Broadway. We had the announcement that the Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson starring play fear of 13 will be coming to Broadway this spring. And we also found out that somewhat surprisingly, Hell's Kitchen will be closing in February, meaning that the James Earl Jones Theater, where The fear of 13 is going to play, is now accounted for. But the Shubert Theater is surprisingly now going to be available if a show wants to slip in again performances in March ahead of the Tony eligibility deadline. I've heard lots of rumors about what could be in contention there, but I have not heard anything concrete about that. So I don't want to give any false ideas that I know what's going to be happening. But as I said on that previous episode of Today on Broadway, if you want to hear all of those details, you can go back into the feed and hear it. The one that I'm hearing most often is Galileo, which is a musical that Raul Esparza starred in during the out of town tryout. I had heard that it had had other things theaters that announced shows late in the cycle offered to it, but it turned it down because it was too big. Their houses were too big for what they were hoping to do with Galileo. So the Schubert is smaller than those two houses. And I'll just go ahead and say it. It was the Majestic where Beaches is going and the St. James where Titanique is going. So the Shubert is smaller by about 300 seats than those theaters. I don't know if that's small enough for what Galileo was trying to do, but it is smaller. But it is big enough for a musical to try to maximize the profitability of that show. So we will see what happens with that. But in addition to those kind of season shaking moves, we also had a ton of really interesting show and casting things that I want to dive in today. Also remember at the end of the episode, as I do Every week I will run through this week's theatrical schedule, and it's pretty thin. We're still in this January where there's not a lot going on. But I will let you know about what to look out for over the next six days. But we are going to start over at the Lena Horn Theater because we got the announcement that I have been waiting for because I am always excited about this announcement every year. But we now know who is going to be the cast of six. 5.0, I think, is probably how we're going to define this. This is the fifth cast that is coming in as a. As a whole line change, so to speak. But they will begin performances on February 16th. And as of now, we know who five of the stars are going to be. And that's a little interesting because we'll. We'll talk about that here in a second. And what's interesting about this cast is that it is the first time that I think we're doing any kind of stunt slash star casting, but also the first time that we're really bringing back former queens from previous iterations of six. So let's go in queen order, starting with Catherine of Aragon. Original cast member Adrianna Hicks is going to reprise that role, which she originated not only on Broadway, but in the North American out of town tryouts. Then queen number two, Anne Boleyn is going to be played by TikTok star and activist as well as actress Dylan Mulvaney. And while this is kind of the one that has gotten so much attention, not only because she has become a very influential social media influencer, but depending on which side of the aisle and decency you are on, somebody who has generated a decent amount of controversy just because she appeared in a beer commercial. But people do often forget that she has appeared in the national tour of Book of Mormon as well. So even though most people know her as a social media influencer, she does have extensive musical theater roots. And considering how controversial Anne Boleyn was in real life and as she is somewhat in the play, if you're going to have somebody play that role, having somebody who is, quote, the least problematic woman in the world is kind of funny considering the name of her solo show is a bit tongue in cheek. So I think that is really interesting and inspired casting. Then the next queen on the list is Anna of Cleaves, and that will actually be played by Olivia Donaldson, who had previously done the role in, I guess that was cast 3.0. She also did it on tour as well. So she's going to return to play Anna of Cleaves. Then of course we have Jane Seymour. And this is where it gets interesting because nobody has been announced to be playing this role as of now. They didn't even really mention it in the press release of like Jane Seymour will be announced at a later date. Here's what I have heard. I have heard that current Jane Seymour, Kelsey Watts, who I've interviewed here multiple times on Broadway radio, is going to be staying with the production. But the press release did say that all of the current on stage queens will be taking their final bows on February 15th. So I'm not sure what to make of this. I don't know if maybe Kelsey is going to stay for a couple weeks or an extra month until a new Jane comes in to kind of join and make the full 5.0 cast complete or if Kelsey, because she is also a very well known social media influencer over I think like one and a quarter million followers on TikTok, over 1.1 million followers on Instagram. So maybe she is staying the whole time. But I did feel like if that was the case they would have just said it in the press release. So I'm not exactly sure what that's all about. Especially because they did specifically say that the current queens would all be leaving in mid February. So keep an eye out for that. Maybe what I've heard is not true, but we'll, we'll keep an eye on it from there. Then stepping into the role of Katherine Howard will be Abigail Barlow. While this will be her Broadway debut and as far as I know, you know, New York musical theater debut, she is somebody who has made a fairly big impact on musical theater over the past few years on her own. She is the co writer and co creator of the Unofficial Bridgerton musical which won her and her co writer Emily Baer a Grammy Award. If you'll remember, they won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater album. They also wrote the score for the Blockbuster animated film Moana 2. So she is coming in from that side of the musical theater world into Broadway to take over the role of Katherine Howard. And interestingly enough, her sister Anna Grace Barlow is currently playing Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime on Broadway over at Lincoln Center. So very cool thing for both of those sisters to be on Broadway at the same time and then wrapping up with the sixth queen, Catherine Parr, original star of the show, Anna Uzeli will be returning to that role as well. I think this is a really interesting cast. I think we are kind of starting to see that the grosses for six have slipped a little. So they are going to not only hit some of the nostalgia of previous casts, especially bringing in Adriana and Anna who have not been in the show for years at this point, and then also reaching different demographics that also probably would also fit into the normal fandoms of six by bringing in social media stars like Dylan and and Abigail. So they will all begin performances again on February 16th. Keep an eye and ear out for who is going to be playing Jane Seymour. The current alternates will all remain with the show as well, so congratulations to them. In other casting news, this one is very interesting because fresh off of doing Hadestown together in London and then doing Cabaret together in London, Eva Noble Zada and real life husband Reeve Carney are going to be joining the Broadway production of the Great Gatsby on Broadway, but they are not joining it at the same time. Eva will return to the role of Daisy Buchanan, which she of course originated at the Paper Mill Playhouse and then on Broadway on Thursday, February 5th will she will reunite with her Jay Gatsby Jeremy Jordan, who is going to play his final performance a month later on March 7th. I also have teased perhaps maybe that he is going to be moving down a couple blocks and heading into the basement of Wicked for a run in a currently running show. Then after Jeremy wraps up on March 7, there will be a couple weeks before Reeve takes over the role of Jay Gatsby beginning on Monday, March 30. Ryan McCartan, who originally replaced Jeremy Jordan, is going to do so again just for the three weeks between March 8 and March 29. In between Jeremy and Reeves runs in the show. Of course I mentioned the original Hadestown stars Eva and Reeve. We now have the next cast of Hadestown that is going to be heading over into the Walter Kerr later this winter. Beginning performances on March 3rd. We have a new cast of five principals and they will be led by Tony and Grammy Award winner J. Harrison G taking over the role of Hermes, followed by Disney Channel and Broadway star Joshua Colley as Orpheus. And then one of my up and coming favorites, the star of both the Notebook and Gypsy on Broadway, Jordan Tyson. Hi. You weren't sure where I was going? You thought I might be saying Joy Woods? No, but it's the other alley from the Notebook. Jordan Tyson will be playing Eurydice. Then this one kind of threw me for a loop because I didn't know he was a singer at all and I only really recognize him because he was on csi, but TV and film Star Gary Durden is going to be taking over the role of Hades. And then somebody who I also have never heard of, but one of my best friends who I think I've seen Hadestown on Broadway with at one point who is from Puerto Rico, she texted me as soon as this, this announcement was made and she's like, I'm going back to see the show because Grammy and Latin Grammy winner Gabby Moreno will be making her Broadway debut as Persephone. So that cast will begin performances on March 3, which means that Morgan Dudley, Kurt Elling, Alison Russell, Paulo Jot and Jack Wolf will end their runs on March 1st. I will say I thought Kurt Elling was honestly probably my favorite Hermes, I think Paulo Jot is probably my favorite non Patrick Hades that I've seen on Broadway. Alison Russell is my favorite non Amber Persephone and Jack Wolfe I think is probably the best sung Orpheus that I've seen. And Morgan Dudley is also very good as Eurydice. So this cast, don't miss out on them because I think that they are. So head over to the Walter Kerr Theater before, before March if you want to check them out. In other casting news, we got the final dates that Darren Criss and Helen J. Shin will be in the Broadway production of maybe Happy Ending. Helen will end their run on Sunday, February 15, and then Darren Criss will play his final performance on Sunday, May 17. There will be replacements for both of them beginning in May. But. But in the stead of when Helen leaves and when Darren leaves, we will have the current standby Hannah Kevitt playing the role from February 17 through April 2. And then the current other standby, Claire Kwan will be in the role from April 3rd through May 17th. And now you might be thinking, well, why is Helen leaving so much earlier than Darren? I don't know. It very well could be that Helen has another project, but you'll remember that Darren did step away for a couple more months in the fall to I don't know if it was for to, you know, to be with his family or if he had a TV or film project that he was working on. So their contracts don't exactly line up because Darren was out and Helen's real life partner, Andrew Barth Feldman came in for a few weeks. Also this week you found out who the new witches will be that'll be stepping into the roles of Elphaba and Glinda full time on Broadway. And that will be current Elphaba standby Carrie Renee film Fuller. She will be taking over the role of the Green girl beginning on March 3rd. Joining her will be Emma Flynn who even though she's American, she originated the lead role of Cher in the West End production of Clueless the Musical. She is also the person who replaced Julie Benko when she had to bow out a week or so early from the Washington D.C. production of Guys and Dolls as she went to get ready to take over the role of Emma Goldman in Ragtime. So Carrie Nay Fuller, Emma Flynn beginning performances on March 3rd over at the Gershwin Theater. And then we also got some information that coming up on Friday there will be an industry presentation of the Broadway aimed jukebox musical the Wanderer. This is going to happen on Friday, January 23rd and the show features a book by Charles Messina and is being directed by Kenneth Farron. Now this is a show we've talked about a lot over the years. The Wanderer tells the real life story of Rock and Roll hall of famer Dion DiMucci. He is the lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts and also went on to become a solo artist writing a lot of very popular songs from the late 50s and early 60s, including like Run Around Sue, Teenager in Love, I Wonder why, Ruby Baby and the title song the Wanderer. Now this had previously had a production at the Paper Mill playhouse back in 2022 with a almost complete, completely different cast. And what's interesting about this is that it really seems like they are going much younger in the casting than they did at Paper Mill out in Millburn, New Jersey in 2022. The cast was led by Mike Wartella as Dion, Christy Altomare as Susan, and Joey McIntyre as Johnny. Now all of those roles are being played by people in some cases decades younger, especially in the case of Joey McIntyre, one of the new Kids on the Block, if you don't know who he is. But now in this reading, these roles are being played by Joshua Bassett, who is currently Off Broadway leading Little Shop of Horrors. Former Broadway radio guest Olivia Holt is playing Susan and Diego. Andres Rodriguez, who was seen most recently on Broadway and Sunset Boulevard and then as Shay in Evita in London, is playing Johnny. Kingsley Legs is does seem to be returning to the cast having been in the show at Paper Mill. Also in this reading at least will be Tommy Bracco, Morgan Dudley, who I just talked about, currently playing Eurydicea in Hadestown on Broadway, Natalie Gallo, Jess La Prado, Gabby Stapula, Noah Weisberg, Robin Masella, and more. All right, let's dive into what's going on this week in theater. Of course, today, January 20th begins the multi week Broadway week for for this winter. As you know by now, this is an opportunity for people to score two for one tickets to many, many Broadway shows. This opportunity is going to run from January 20th through February 12th. You have to use code NYCBW250 so there are dozens of Broadway shows on the list. I will have a link in the show notes if you want to check out what is available. The next thing that's really going on this week doesn't happen until Friday and it will be the first preview performances for the Manhattan Theater Club's production of the Monsters that will running at New York City Center. The show is written and directed by Ngozi and Wanyu and stars Agner Mazel and Okarite Anodawan Mizel plays Lil and Anodawan plays Big and the plot description reads thusly. For a long time 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 been doing it all from afar until one day when she decides to show up on his doorstep. The show currently is on sale through March 15th. Next on Sunday we actually have three off Broadway shows opening. So let's do these in alphabetical order. The first will happen over at the Lucille Lortel Theater and is the new play Data or Data by Matthew Libyan, directed by Tyne Raffaelli, is currently scheduled to play through March 29. It is a new play that pulls back the curtain on Silicon Valley's darkest ambitions. When a brilliant young person programmer learns his own algorithm is the key to a massive AI surveillance project, he's forced to challenge the tech world he once dreamt of joining. If you remember when I talked about the casting for the new Heather Chandler off Broadway in Heather's Peyton List, Taking over that role, I had said she had starred in the Debby Ryan Kevin Chamberlain Disney Channel show Jesse Debby Ryan played the nanny to a bunch of siblings. One of the brothers in that family was playing, played by Karen Brar who is one of the stars of Data. So lots of Jesse connections off Broadway right now. Then moving from the Lucille Lortel over to the Public Theater, we have the official opening night for the Elevator Repair Services production of James Joyce's Ulysses. It was directed by John Collins and co directed with dramaturgy by Scott Shepard. While it is only 2 hours and 45 minutes, much shorter than a lot of other elevator repair services, this is a New York premiere in which seven performers sit down for a sober reading. But soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast forward tour through Joyce's funhouse of styles. I love the elevator repair service. So if you have any interest in seeing how they do theatre or specifically just seeing James Joyce's text done in a way you will probably never see it again. Definitely check this one out. Then on Sunday, over at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons will be the soho Rep production of the new show by Anne Gridley called Watch Me Walk. It is directed by Eric Ting and features choreography by Asli Bulbul. It is part of the under the Radar Festival. Being disabled always includes an element of chance. Anne has a disease you've probably never heard of and it doesn't have a cure. Her doctor says it shouldn't define her, but she's going to define it for you. And then the last show that I want to mention this week, it will actually be closing on Sunday and that is the star studded production of Tartuffe from the New York Theater Workshop led by Matthew Broderick. Of course, I'll have information in the show notes on all of these shows and all of the news that I talked about as well. All right, everybody, that's all that we have for you today. Thanks for listening to last week on Broadway. If you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio this has been Matt Tamanini. Thanks for listening and we'll see you at the theater.