Today on Broadway: Friday, Sept. 26, 2025

Summary

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BroadwayRadio – Today on Broadway: Friday, September 26, 2025

Hosts: Matt Tamanini (B), Grace Aki (C)
Release Date: September 26, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode delivers a roundup of Broadway and Off-Broadway news, including casting updates, new show announcements, industry leadership changes, box office figures, and a few personal recommendations for theater fans. Hosts Matt Tamanini and Grace Aki provide insightful commentary with their trademark banter and sharp industry knowledge, making the episode essential for anyone looking to stay up to date on the Broadway scene.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Casting News: “Oh, Mary!” at the Lyceum

• [00:38–03:05]
  • New casting for the upcoming Broadway run of “Oh, Mary!” starring Jane Krakowski.
  • Cheyenne Jackson (30 Rock, Broadway’s Into the Woods) cast as Mary’s Teacher.
  • John-Andrew Morrison (Tony nominee) cast as Mary’s husband.
  • Jen Harris continues as Mary’s chaperone; Tony Mockt returns as Mary's husband's assistant starting Nov. 18.
  • Matt notes prior speculation about casting from Krakowski’s sitcom past.

    “We didn’t get anybody from [Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]…but we did get Cheyenne Jackson from 30 Rock.” (B, 01:17)

  • Grace jokes about other 30 Rock alumni (Jon Hamm, Alec Baldwin) and praises the casting:

    “I think this is fabulous casting and once again, a knockout of the park.” (C, 02:36)

  • The show runs for eight weeks starting October 14 at the Lyceum Theatre.

2. Off-Broadway Revival: “Gruesome Playground Injuries”

• [03:05–05:45]
  • Kara Young (two-time Tony winner) and Nicholas Braun (Succession) to star in Off-Broadway revival at Lucille Lortel Theater.
  • Directed by Neil Pepe, performances from Nov. 7 to Dec. 28 (dates limited).
  • Synopsis: Follows Kayleen and Doug over 30 years as their lives intersect around literal and figurative scars.
  • Matt describes Kara Young’s awards streak and hints at another big project.
  • Grace enthusiastically endorses the pairing:

    “If you’re going to pair somebody up with Kara Young, you better bring it. And that’s a threat.” (C, 05:39)

3. Broadway Grosses & Audience Attendance

• [05:45–10:42]
  • Delayed reporting explained by Jewish High Holidays (not industry negotiations).
  • Broadway grosses up for the week: $32.2 million (+7%), 249,293 attendees (+4%), average ticket $129.18 (+3%).
  • Top earns:
    • Hamilton ($3.6m despite a weekly dip due to 7 performance week)
    • Wicked (~$2m)
    • Waiting for Godot ($1.8m, with only 7 performances)
    • The Lion King, Mamma Mia, and several others over $1m.
  • 23 of 28 shows played at 90% or better capacity; “Just In Time” leading at 103.7% capacity.
  • Grace and Matt affirm this is a “pretty darn good” week for Broadway.

4. Major Leadership Change: Manhattan Theatre Club

• [10:42–11:17]
  • Nikki Hunter named new Artistic Director, taking over from Lynn Meadow (who becomes Artistic Advisor Dec. 1).
  • Hunter has risen through MTC’s ranks since 2009.
  • Matt highlights the importance of continuity and female leadership:

    “Continuing to have MTC run by a woman is incredibly important, incredibly valuable.” (B, 10:31)

  • Grace notes the significance of widespread, enthusiastic support from artists online:

    “I just love whenever I see other artists…championing when someone like this gets a role like that because that means they have collaborated positively with other artists.” (C, 10:42)

5. Off-Broadway Extensions

• [11:17–12:00]
  • New York Theatre Workshop’s “Saturday Church” extended through Oct. 24.
  • John Leguizamo’s “The Other Americans” at the Public Theater extended to Oct. 26.
  • Show highlights available via episode show notes.

6. Recommendation: “Bull Durham” Musical at Paper Mill Playhouse

• [12:00–12:50]
  • “Bull Durham” musical (based on the beloved baseball film) gets a new production with Carmen Cusack and Nick Walker.
  • Matt shares excitement over baseball and Broadway crossing over, expressing hope for the show's success given its long development history.
  • Grace is eager to attend:

    “I want to. I want to really badly. So I hope so.” (C, 12:50)

7. Personal Rec: Jeremy Jordan’s Band “Age of Madness”

• [12:55–14:07]
  • Matt previews his plans to see Jeremy Jordan and his band in Orlando.
  • He’s curious to see a Broadway star transition to an alternative band sound.
  • Suggests listeners check out Age of Madness if they tour near them.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the “Oh, Mary!” casting speculation:

  “In the next phase of 30 Rock, do we get Jon Hamm? Of course…Alec Baldwin, what’s he doing? But no, I think this is fabulous.” (C, 02:36)

• On Kara Young’s consistency:

  “I imagine she will be nominated and very well could win again this year for a show that has been announced but she hasn't been announced in it yet.” (B, 05:45)

• On Broadway’s business health:

  “Every show on Broadway saw a week to week increase except for one that doesn’t really matter…” (B, 05:57)

• Industry change praise:

  “To have somebody who understands the organization, but also continuing to have MTC run by a woman is incredibly important, incredibly valuable.” (B, 10:31)

• Artist endorsement on new leadership:

  “It’s very telling...when you see an announcement like this and you don’t see a lot of collaborative artists reposting it in support, I think it speaks volumes. So this is the adverse.” (C, 10:42)

• On the romance of baseball and theater:

  “There is just something so romantic about baseball that I absolutely love. And I love this movie. So…hoping that this is good because I love the idea of doing this, even if it’s not like a natural fit.” (B, 12:40)

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Important Segments with Timestamps

• Oh, Mary! casting and speculation: [00:38–03:05]
• Gruesome Playground Injuries casting & Kara Young’s career: [03:05–05:45]
• Broadway grosses and attendance data: [05:45–10:42]
• MTC leadership change: [10:42–11:17]
• Off-Broadway extensions: [11:17–12:00]
• Bull Durham musical discussion: [12:00–12:50]
• Jeremy Jordan’s Age of Madness: [12:55–14:07]

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Conclusion

This episode is a comprehensive Broadway news briefing, mixing dry industry analysis, playful speculation, and plenty of genuine fandom. Matt and Grace break down casting coups, leadership changes, business indicators, and highlight promising shows both on and off Broadway—making it a vital listen (or read) for theater lovers who want the latest and smartest insights, industry context, and recommendations for what to see next.

Transcript

[A]

From the Cascades to PDX to your kitchen, we recycle like we live here. That's why governments, brands and recycling companies are all joining together to bring change to make recycling better. As in trusting that your recyclables end up in the right places to be made into new things and having brands help fund the cost of recycling. You can find the Latest [e-mail] Oregon. From Mount Hood to the bin under your desk, together we can do this.

[B]

Welcome to Today on Broadway for Friday, September 26, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tammanini and I'm.

[C]

Tell Me on a Sunday Podcast.

[B]

Grace Aki Grace, we are going to be back with a Patreon episode that we'll be recording this weekend. So if people have questions, we've already gotten a handful of them. If you want to send in yours, or even if it's not a specific question, just something you want us to talk about or want to hear our opinions on, send an email to patreonrodwayradio.com and we will get them there. If you want to hear that episode, you can head over to patreon.com broadwayradio and broadwayradio.com patreon and sign up at the mezzanine tier and above and you will get all of our exclusive episodes there. Now let's dive into the news. Grayson Coming out of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, we are starting to get a little bit more in terms of announcements and this one I feel like we kind of got right. We didn't get 100% correct, but we close, I feel like. And that is because we got new casting announcements for oh Mary and the folks that will be joining Jane Krakowski when she takes to the Lyceum stage beginning on October 14th. We had kind of been batting around some ideas from the unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt days. Didn't get anybody from that show, but we did get somebody from another iconic Jane Krakowski sitcom, and that is 30 rock because regular recurring guest star Cheyenne Jackson will be taking on the role of Mary's teacher and Tony nominee John Andrew Morrison will be playing Mary's husband. There will be further casting announced coming up, but we also did learn that Jen Harris is going to be sticking in the role of Mary's chaperone through Jane's run. And then starting on November 18th, Tony Mockt, who was the original Mary's husband's assistant, will be rejoining the production. So that's very cool, but obviously, Grace, the highlights Here are Cheyenne and John Andrew joining for Jane's run starting on October 14th.

[C]

This is pretty good. I'm not gonna lie to you. I was kind of thinking, like, listen in. In the next phase of 30 Rock, do we get Jon Hamm? Of course. But, like, I think that this is really, really fabulous. I think it's a great idea. I also thought, frankly, Alec Baldwin, what's he doing? You know, Like, I know Eladia is on TV right now, but, like, wouldn't that be something? But no, I think this is fabulous casting and once again, a knockout of the park.

[B]

Yeah. And I feel like, you know, Cheyenne is one of those people who is, like, came up on Broadway, clearly, you know, everything that he's done. He was most recently seen on Broadway in Into the woods. But, like, he really has carved out a niche for himself on tv. He did that show with Mayim Bialik. He's done the Descendants series. He was, you know, like I said, a regular on 30 Rock. So he really does feel like he's coming back home, even though it hasn't been that long since he popped in and out of into the Woods. So this is very cool. Again, they're going to be doing the show for eight weeks over the Lyceum Theater starting on October 14th. Next up, Grace, we got some news. And the Kara Young hive that you and I both belong to is getting fed yet again. The first time of what I believe is going to be two major times this theatrical season. Because yesterday it was announced that Carrie Young and Succession star Nicholas Braun, who you're gonna have to tell me about here in a second, are going to be starring in the upcoming Off Broadway revival of Rajeev Joseph's Pulitzer Prize finalist play, Gruesome Playground Injuries. It is going to take place at the Lucille Lortel Theater in the west village starting on November 7th. It's going to be a very limited run just playing through Sunday, December 28th. The full creative team and official opening day opening night will be announced later. The play takes place over the course of 30 years and follows the lives of Kayleen, which is Carrie Young, and Doug, which is Bron, as they intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together. This show originally premiered off Broadway in 2011 at second stage and starred Pablo Schreiber and Jennifer Carpenter. Obviously Carol Young, one of our favorites, two time reigning and defending Tony Award winner. But Grace Braun played cousin Greg on Succession. I don't know what that means. So for people who didn't watch that show, give us the rundown on Nicholas Braun.

[C]

Nicholas Braun was last seen at the heart of Rock and Roll at the James Earl Jones Theater on Broadway. He really loved the show, I guess. But also, Nicholas Braun is iconic. He's also been Zola, the film that Jeremy O. Harris, I believe, spearheaded as well. So they're, they're buddies. I think this is really cool. I think he's a good, good, good actor. I can't wait to see him on a stage because I haven't yet. And I think that if you're going to pair somebody up with Kara Young, you better bring it. And that's a threat.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Neil Pepe is going to direct. And as I said, I teased another Carrie Young project when it was first originally announced. She's not going to be the star, but she will be probably in that same featured actress in a play category that she has won two years in a row and has been nominated for four times in a row. I imagine she will be nominated and very well could win again this year for a show that has been announced, but she hasn't been announced in it yet. So keep your eyes and ears open for that. All right, Grace. There has been some social media rumors around this very thing that we're gonna talk about next. I think anybody who probably listens to this show knew that it wasn't accurate. But we did get the Broadway grosses from last week. Yesterday, there had been some people who were tying the lack of a grosses announcement to the ongoing negotiations between the Broadway League and Actors Equity as well as musicians 802. I would not put anything past the Broadway League in terms of those negotiations. But if you follow us regularly, they don't put out grosses during holidays and that includes the Jewish High holidays. So the reason we didn't get grosses earlier in the week was because of Rosh Hashanah. But we do have them now and they are pretty darn good. Every show on Broadway saw a week to week increase except for one that doesn't really matter at all in a second. That doesn't count. We will get to those here in a second. But in total still 28 shows on Broadway, the grosses rose 7% coming at $32,203,241. Attendance picked up by 4% to 249,293 and the average ticket price jumped up 3% to $129.18. Leading all of the grocers was one of the shows that saw a week to week decline and that was Hamilton and I don't really care because they still made $3.6 million last week. Wicked was in second at about 5,500 over $2 million. Then in third place we had Waiting for Godot at 1.8 million, but it only did seven performances. So when it gets into an eight show week, obviously they're going to be pushing or eclipsing $2 million. In fourth place we had the Lion King. And in fifth place was Mamma Mia. The rest of the show's north of seven figures included death becomes her Just in time. Oh Mary, M.J. maybe happy ending, Buena Vista Social Club, the Outsiders, Aladdin, Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Hell's Kitchen. The other show that I said that declined week to week and it didn't really count was art. It fell by 1,039,140 doll. That's because it only did three shows last week. Heading up to its opening night, there was already a pre planned break after opening because the cast had to go off and shoot some things. So between that and HAMILTON still grossing $3.6 million, I don't really count either of those as being week to week declines. In total there were 23 of the 28 shows playing to 90% capacity or better. Wicked, Gadot, oh Mary and Art were all at 100%. Maybe happy ending was a little bit over 100%. Mamma mia, buena Vista Social Club and Hamilton were a bit over 101 and then Justin time, I mean a good 1.5% above everybody else was came in at 103.7. So just in time continues to lead the way in that regard. All right, let's get to some some other very different type of business news here. Grace and the Manhattan Theater Club is one of the first four not for profit organizations that produce shows on Broadway. And basically for the past five decades, Lynn Meadow has been the Artistic director at mtc. She's already announced that she would be stepping down and moving over to an artistic advisor role beginning on December 1st. Well, yesterday we found out who would be taking over for her as the Artistic director of Manhattan Theatre Club and that is longtime MTC producer and colleague Nikki hunter. She joined MT back in 2009 as an intern and in the 16 years since, she has been everything from an artistic associate to a line producer to an artistic producer and she most recently has served as the associate artistic director working side by side with Lynn Meadow. So obviously this ascension really came Pretty naturally, since it seemed like she was probably being groomed for that role since being appointed to associate artistic director. But I do think this is good. Grace. MTC has an unbelievable track record. I think it was a year or two ago in the Tony Aw when like four of the five best play nominees were all MTC shows or something like that. So have somebody who understands the organization, but also continuing to have MTC run by a woman is incredibly important, incredibly valuable. So I don't know much about Nikki Hunter, but I think this is probably a really good move for everybody involved.

[C]

I just love whenever I see other artists reposting things and championing when. When someone like this gets a role like that because that means that they have collaborated positively with other artists. I think it's very. I think it's very telling. When you see an announcement like this and you don't see a lot of collaborative artists reposting it in support, I think it speaks volumes. So this is the adverse. Like, I have seen tons of coverage of people saying, yay, go her, blah, blah, blah. And I think that that is a great sign for them.

[B]

Next up, Grace, we have two Off Broadway shows that have announced extensions. The first one comes to us from the New York Theater Workshop, a show that we've talked about quite a bit here recently. Saturday Church, it received its second and final extension. And from the Off Broadway House, it will now play through October 24th. And now closing up two days later than that will be John Leguizamo's the Other Americans at the Public Theater. It is now scheduled to play through October 26th. And as part of that and its opening, they released some highlights from the Other Americans. So if you want to check that out, we will have it in the show notes. And then Grace for a recommendation. Before I talk about what I'm doing on Thursday night, we're going to go out to your neck of the woods because the upcoming Paper Mill Playhouse production of the Bull Durham musical has released some rehearsal footage starring Carmen Cusack singing the song the Church of Baseball. I don't know if the show is any good. It's been beaten around for a long time. But there is just something so romantic about baseball that I absolutely love. And I love this movie. So, I mean, and Carmen Cusack and Nick Walker are leading the cast with some other really great people. So, like, I'm really just kind of hoping that this is good because I love the idea of doing this, even if it's not like a natural fit. I love the movie. I love baseball. I love the music, you know, turning this into a musical. So I'm hoping that it is very, very good. Grace, are you going to have an opportunity to get over and see it?

[C]

I want to. I want to really badly. So I hope so.

[B]

Okay. All right. Well, we will see. If they do or if you do get over there, you'll have to let us know. Now, you might remember back in the spring, a friend of mine from Orlando joined me for a couple days in New York. We saw some shows mainly buil around the fact that she is buddies with one Jeremy Jordan. So she came with me to see Floyd Collins. Well, Jeremy Jordan is now in Orlando with his band Age of Madness. So my friend Taylor and her boyfriend and I are going to go see their band tonight. I have, honestly, Grace, never listened to a single song from Age of Madness. So I feel like I'm going to have to do some cramming before we head over to the venue tonight. But I'm kind of fascinated by Jeremy Jordan, this like crystalline, clear Broadway tenor doing like grungy alternative music. I'm really excited to see what this is all about. So Age of Madness, stay tuned for my review of that. And if Age of Madness and Jeremy Jordan are coming to a town near you, you should check them out. All right, everybody, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Rodriguet. And if you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio Grace, where can people find you?

[C]

You can find me at Grace Hockey.

[B]

All right, everybody, have a wonderful Friday, a wonderful weekend. We'll be back to talk to you on Monday.

[D]

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