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Today on Broadway: Tuesday, July 1, 2025
00:20:30
‘Masquarade’ sells out initial run, Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer to lead ‘Joe Turner’ revival, ‘Heathers’ extends Off-Broadway Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines ...
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- [00:02]
Matt Tamanini
Welcome to Today on Broadway for July 1, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tamanini and I'm.
- [00:08]
Grace Aki
Tell me on a Sunday podcast. Grace Ake.
- [00:11]
Matt Tamanini
I can't believe that we are into July already. We are in H2, as they say in the business world. We're in the second half of 2025, which means that we're in Q3.
- [00:21]
Grace Aki
Well, this is Q3 and H2. Q3, baby.
- [00:25]
Matt Tamanini
H2. Yeah, we are very much all of my day job stuff looking at iOS and stuff for Q3, very busy part of the of the year. But what that means, Grace, is we're going to have to start really focusing on what's happening in the fall of the Broadway season with lots of moving parts starting to kind of fall into place, some things opening up a little bit. We'll get into that a little bit more here in just a minute. But I want to remind you that coming up later this week, I am going to have this is something Grace, you and I should probably talk about at some point. I'm going to kind of release a little bit of a new Patreon plan, plan and schedule. So if you want to hear all about that, it'll go up on the Patreon feed sometime this week before the holiday, maybe even on Friday on July 4th. So head over to patreon.com broadwayradiobrotheradio.com Patreon if you want to hear all of that. But before we dive into the news, news of everything happening in the theater world on Monday, Grace, just a little bit of reminder. On Monday we had the tickets go on sale for this six week preview period for Masquerade, this immersive Phantom of the Opera spin off thing that seems be, I don't know, going bass ackwards into a production off Broadway. Well, not only do we get a little bit more information, it is going to be set up in a five story building in New York City that has been completely retrofitted to appear to be something similar to the Paris Opera House where the original story is set. But tickets went on sale. We learned everything about Diane Paulus, the incredible cast last week. Well, they went on sale on Monday and they sold out on Monday. There are apparently no tickets left as of now for the six week run. We are all assuming that eventually there will be more tickets made available, whether that is for an extension or more flights during the actual current six week run, we don't know, perhaps both. But considering that the tickets were like I saw people paying 250 plus dollars a ticket. And considering they were that expensive, Grace, this obviously shows that whether it was the social media focused scavenger hunt, focused marketing of it all, or if it's just phantom crazies, there's an audience for this and it's a very excited audience willing to spend money on a show that we really don't know a whole lot about even yet.
- [02:48]
Grace Aki
And, and this is like no comment on the production team and, or this cast. I hope it's everything these fans want. Like how many times do we have to see, quote, immersive or you know, a new configured production of blank and like the worst version of this is the Wonka Experience in Glasgow. The best experience or close, close to, you know, like the, the most recent like good experience that I would argue is like Cabaret on Broadway where they were im, There was a different level of experience tied to this theatrical endeavor. I just want that price point. Even though it's actually not crazy, that is an average premium ticket price. It's actually not even average. It's below average premium ticket price for a Broadway show nowadays. I want it to be everything everyone thinks it could be and more. Like it should be excellent and it should feel luxury and it should feel exciting. And I just, I want that to be true. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, I don't wish any ill will on anybody associated or anyone buying. Like, if this is your thing, I hope it's everything you want it to be. If and when I go to like my favorite show and then they've decided to change it up and make it, quote, this immersive thing and they, they charge a high ticket for like entry. Everyone pays the same amount. You get something out of it. Like, I want it to be good. Damn, you know, so I'm hopeful for all of that. I am eager to see how those first performances feel. Even though obviously those are previews. I feel like we'll learn a lot about everything once some of those, you know, there's an unmasking, if you will, in, in some kind of production sense because we don't have any photography, we don't have any visuals, we don't have even like, here's, here's what we're imagining. Pencil to paper. We don't have anything. We've got a face card and names and a red piece of paper with a very specific ink font. That's all we've got.
- [04:54]
Matt Tamanini
Yeah. And I think that is the thing that has me a little still up in the air. About it is because, like, we just don't know. They they have been so heavy on all of the theatrics of the unveiling of information that they haven't actually given us a ton of legitimate details about what this show is. And that's the thing that is is keeps holding me back. But again, as we said last week, like the fact that they are finally starting to announce some incredible people to be involved, that certainly makes me more excited about what this could be. All right, let's go on Broadway and start talking about a new show that will presumably be a part of this year's Broadway season, and it is going to star two pretty big names as Taraji P. Henson will make her Broadway debut alongside Cedric the Entertainer, who coming back to Broadway for the first time since 2008 in August, Wilson's iconic play Joe Turner's Come and Gone. This is the second show in Wilson's American Century cycle. The play will come to Broadway next spring, it was announced on Monday from producer Brian Anthony Moreland. This is a Show set in 1911 in Pittsburgh at a boarding house run by Seth and Bertha Holly, who will be played by Cedric and Taraji, and they welcome in a number of black travelers who are navigating the upheaval of the Great Migration. No further casting has been announced for this as of yet, but we do know that Debbie Allen is going to be directing. She has been in the news quite a bit lately. Not only because of this, she is going to be honored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences with an honorary Oscar at the Governor's Awards later this year. And we previously talked about the fact that she was working on an adaptation of the the TV movie Paulie for a potential Broadway musical. So lots of Debbie Allen news here lately. Obviously her sister Felicia Rashad's show Purpose won the Tony Award for Best play. So lots of very exciting things happening around this one. I will say the last time Joe Turner's Come and Gone was on Broadway was in 2009. It was directed by Bartlet Shearer and had some awesome people in it. So I'm just kind of thinking about who else could be joining Taraji and Cedric, but it had Anou Ellis, Danai Gurira, Andre Holland, Arlis Howard, Ernie Hudson, Latonya Richardson Jackson and more. So like, if we're going to get, you know, names to kick us off Grace, like Taraji and Cedric the Entertainer and then other people joining the company, even approaching the level of that last 2009 revival, like this could be A pretty massive star studded show on the boards in the spring.
- [07:36]
Grace Aki
Yeah, I mean, like this is, you know, we've had so many like really excellent revivals of August Wilson plays. Most notably, I think from the similar team of the Piano Lesson. I think this is like a continuation of that. But it's very cool. It's very exciting. Yeah, I, I love that we are getting to Raji P. On Broadway. Like I'm obsessed with her, have been for a long, long time. So yeah, I think this is going to be excellent. And also Cedric the Entertainer, like I am, I'm looking for. Listen, that man knows the stage better than anybody. So this is going to be great. I'm excited about it.
- [08:10]
Matt Tamanini
So this is slated to come to Broadway in the spring. We don't know where obviously, and it's too early to even try to make predictions. But I did look at my schedule today just to kind of like see where we're at in terms of houses and availability currently. Obviously things can change. We don't know when things are going to close or be announced, but currently for the fall we have six theaters that are open ironically, I guess the August Wilson is the first one alphabetically because Cabaret is going to close on October 19th. So technically something could come in at the end of the fall season. But you've also got the Booth, the Broadhurst, the Barrymore, the James Earl Jones and the Longacre. And then as of now, in the spring, there's like 13 theaters that are currently available that could have something else come in and when we'll presumably have something that come in and then, you know, who else, who knows what other theaters might be available because of things closing after the new year. But lots of things have already announced. We've also got shows like Sugar Daddy, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Dog Day Afternoon, all out comedy about life, Wanted, castagelica, Ball, Kowalski, Dolly, all of these shows that are like circling for this season and obviously many more that we don't even know about at this point. So hopefully we start to get some names to be able to slot into spreadsheets and stuff like this. But you know, I love all of this stuff. Grayson and trying to figure out what's going where and see how these things are going to overlap. But I'm really hoping that like last season while, you know, it's always a glut in the March and April times, but I'm really hoping that we get all or at least 39 of the 41 theaters filled during the spring season because that just brings so many more opportunities, not only for people to be working to have jobs, but in for people to see things, but just more opportunities for things to find audiences. So I'm really kind of looking forward to seeing what this next season brings. All right, let's take a break from these and talk about our sponsor for this week, surfshark. Every time you go online, your data is being tracked. What you click, what you search, what you stream. It's all a bit scary. It's all up for grabs for whatever ne' er do. Well, person on the Internet figures out how to steal your information unless you do something about it. And now you can with Surfshark vpn. Surfshark encrypts your traffic and hides your IP address so you can scroll, search and stream in peace, even on public WI fi. But it also unlocks content from around the world, Grace. Things like your beloved Love Islands, but also movies and TV shows. So what have you been dipping into that maybe might not be available on streaming services normally aimed at the United States?
- [10:56]
Grace Aki
States, I love, you know, engulfing myself in pop culture and seeing what's on television not only here, but also internationally. And some of those great streaming services that we all know and love don't always stream all of the content that I possibly want to ingest. Not only Love island uk, but other things, Netflix, you know, in France or somewhere like that. And that's why I love being able to utilize Surfshark VPN is because I am able to access so many other bits of content because let's face it, I'm chronically online. I've probably seen it already. There are things that I haven't seen and the only way to do so is to utilize a vpn.
- [11:32]
Matt Tamanini
And one surfshark account covers all of your gadgets. So whether you're watching on your phone or on your tv, like trying to watch a movie or something, Grace, you don't need to choose which device to protect. One surfshark account covers them all. So it's time to take control of your online security. Try Surfshark risk free today and enjoy their 30 day money back guarantee. Go to surfshark.com tob for four extra months of Surfshark. That's code T O B surfshark.com the URL and code can be found in our show notes. All right, Grace. Unfortunately, we do have to talk about the sad passings of two major figures in the theater world. The first we'll talk about is prolific Broadway Off Broadway regional director Mark Brokaw. Who died at the age of 66. He lost a battle with K cancer on Sunday. He is known for being the director that helped cultivate the work of so many influential playwrights over the years. He directed the original productions of Kenneth Lonergan's this Is Our Youth, Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, Douglas Carter, Beans as Bees and Honey Drown. He did all of these, all of this work off Broadway and then on Broadway as well. He had a long relationship with Second Stage. He also directed the Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella on Broadway. In total, he had eight Broadway credits. Reckless, the Constant Wife, Crybaby, the Musical After Miss Julie, the Lions, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cinderella, Heisenberg, and most recently, just a couple seasons ago, the return of How I Learned to Drive with Mary Louise Parker and David Morse, who he originally did the show with 25 years in the past. So lots of incredible work that he did over the years and really helped cultivate some of the greatest playwrights that we've ever seen. Grace.
- [13:32]
Grace Aki
Yeah, I was really moved by the amount of social media posts that I was seeing over the weekend, just about all of those different collaborations and obviously, like our hearts go to everyone, family, etc. And involved. But I think it's obviously a very, it's a beautiful testimony to someone's work, the amount of people that really loved and admired their collaborations with these people. And I think that, that, for what it's worth, I think is a beautiful sentiment.
- [13:55]
Matt Tamanini
The other passing that we have to note is of, I mean, really one of the most influential people in the theatrical world whose name you might not be familiar with. That is Paul Libbon. Not only was he a prolific artistic director, but also one of the most pioneering philanthropists in the theater world and the entertainment world and just the world in general. He passed away at the age of 94. He produced more than 250 Broadway, Off Broadway and touring. He spent 62 years as one of the leaders of Circle in the Square Theater. He was also the executive vice president and producing director for Jude Jamson for 28 years. And while all of those shows that he helped foster and bring to life, including things like Angels in America, the Producers, Fela, Love, Valor, Compassion. While all of those things are incredible and he has dozens upon dozens of Tony Awards, but what really, perhaps might be his biggest contribution to the theatrical landscape and to the world in general is as serving as president of Broadway Cares, Equity fights aids for 24 years. He was one of the people who helped merge the two organizations, Broadway Cares and Equity Fights aids into one in the 1990s, as it looked to really focus on combating the AIDS epidemic at that time. In addition to all of the stuff that he has done throughout the years on stage and all the productions that he oversaw, he was also honored with a special award for Lifetime achievement from the Tonys in 2013. And obviously we talk about BCEFA all the time, Grace, and it really could not be the organization that it is today without Paul Livitt. All right, Grace, let's talk about some show and casting news. And if you listen in Patreon, this is the reason why this episode is coming out an hour later than normal. Because we just got information that the Off Broadway return engagement of Heather's the Musical, which officially opened on Monday night, has now extended. The show had only been slated to play into September, but it will now run off Broadway through January 25th of 2026 at New World Stages. So I cannot wait to hear all of these reviews. This is something I'm going to have to come up and see post haste. There's actually a lot of things happening in August that, you know that are going to be open and running and maybe even early September. Then I'm going to try to come up and see Make a make a short week out of it, but this is one of them. But already excited by the opportunity for it to extend because I love Heather's the Musical and the fact that it is selling well enough for it extend all the way into January seems like a really good sign, Grace.
- [16:40]
Grace Aki
Yeah, I mean, listen, this show's a hoot. I can't wait to see it sometime. And good for them.
- [16:46]
Matt Tamanini
Yeah. Speaking of a Hoot, one of the biggest hoots working on stage either in London or in New York is Gavin Lee. And fresh off closing Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends on Sunday, it was announced on Monday that he will move from the Samo J. Friedman Theater over to the Minskoff, where beginning on July 22, he will take over the role of Scar in the Lion King. Which is just it makes me giggle thinking about Gavin Lee playing Scar. That is perfect. This will be his third time doing a Disney musical. Obviously he originated the role of Bert both in the West End production of Mary Poppins and the Broadway production. He also played Lumiere at the London Palladium. Of course, lots of experience in other things. Les Mis playing Squidward in spongebob and I guess not completely dissimilar from from Squidward. Grace, he's going to have a little bit of like excess costume puppetry going on. So someone who knows how to work with those things as well now.
- [17:49]
Grace Aki
I actually got really excited by this. I think he's like such a versatile performer. Yeah. That, like, this is actually really cool. And they don't. It's such an iconically challenging vocal part to play in a show. I remember when I was in high school, I got to do the Disney theatrical High school exchange program where we got to like, sing with the cast and got to meet them and do all these classes. And I remember meeting Gareth Sachs, who was playing Scar at the time, and he was so interesting and he was. He took so much time with us, but, like, getting to see him then embody that role on stage, like, was genuinely life changing. And so that I think I. So I'm. I'm. I think I'm like highly critical of whoever goes into that part because I'm like, no one can be Gareth Sachs. But I. But I love. I love this casting so much. And I just think that he's so. He understands how to move an audience of young people, and that is not something that everyone understands. I do not think that every performer understands how to perform for young people. And I know that sounds like crazy because you should be able to perform for anybody, but I think it's a special skill. I think it's like an extra little charm in the eye that just hits different. And I think that this is going to be excellent for all parties involved.
- [19:01]
Matt Tamanini
I agree. Absolutely fantastic. As we talked about on yesterday's show, there were a number of things on Broadway that closed over the weekend. And I'm going to round up. Currently I have like, the Final Curtain Call and Bows for Real Women have Curves and Dead Outlaw. Maybe there will be more if I can find them here. But if you want to check out that and see the final times that the cast could be together and thank the audience in their theaters, head over to the show. Notes, notes. 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 at Broadway Radio. And if you want more Broadway Radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio Grace. Where can people find you?
- [19:37]
Grace Aki
You can find me at graceaki. On Instagram.
- [19:41]
Matt Tamanini
On Instagram and threads. I. I'm. I'm glad when this happened, we'd originally I. I'd asked like, how many times you were going to stumble over it and no stumble so far. So that's good.
- [19:49]
Grace Aki
I hope I know my name by now. Matt. That would be horrible.
- [19:52]
Matt Tamanini
Yeah, but. Well, you know your name, but like you said, it's Grazaki now. Since five years. Well, but I don't know. At first, didn't you have, like, different names on all the social media platforms when you first started doing Today on Broadway, and you finally, like, put them all together under that name and now they're different again. Oh, well.
- [20:11]
Grace Aki
And now they're different, but that's because we're not using Twitter as much now that it's X. So who knows? But, yeah, we'll try to do something.
- [20:21]
Matt Tamanini
Yeah. All right, everybody, have a wonderful Tuesday. We'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.