Grace Aki (1:26)

I still have a podcast. I want to reevaluate it because we were actually just talking about, like, re upping in the summer and what that would look like. So never say never. But maybe after the summer if I actually don't come out with that. We need to switch gears. I don't know.

Unknown Speaker (1:40)

What. When. When did the last episode come out?

Grace Aki (1:43)

I don't remember. I mean, yeah, I don't remember. I don't know the date. Oh, it was for the heart of Rock and Roll. Yeah. It's been over a year.

Unknown Speaker (1:52)

Yeah. Okay. All right, that's my thought. Oh, yeah. I edited that episode, didn't I?

Grace Aki (1:56)

Yeah. Thank you.

Unknown Speaker (1:59)

I forgot about that. Okay. Yeah. Anyway, thank you for giving us that extra time to kind of get through all of that. And we're back here to dive in to all of the theater news. But because it took that extra day off, we did not get to the reviews of Call Me Izzy, which opened on Broadway to kick off the 20252026 Broadway season over at Studio 54 on on Thursday night. This of course is a one person show. Written by Jamie Wax and directed by Sarna Lapine, starring the legendary Gene Smart, the show is currently scheduled to play through August 17th on Broadway. The plot description for the show reads thusly six time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Jean Smart is back on Broadway for a limited time only in a tour de force portrayal of a writer whose words are her greatest gift, her biggest secret and her only way out. Written by Jamie Wax and directed by Sarna Lapine, Call Me Izzy is a can't miss theatrical event and a moving portrait of one woman's refusal to be silenced through her own sheer tenacity, humor and fiery imagination. Now, because of the nature of this story, there are some spoilers about the plot that aren't really being put out in press materials. I have not seen it, Grace has not seen it, so we're not going to dive into those. So I'm going to keep these reviews fairly short. Especially because I'm assuming by the time you are hearing this episode, if you wanted to get all of the deep dive into all of it, you probably have already. But nonetheless, as of recording time, review aggregator Said Did They like it? Has collected 14 reviews, seven are positive, four are mixed, and three are negative. Let's start with the Gray lady in the New York Times with Jesse Green, who was positive but the show was not a critics pick, he said, quote, Though well paced, Lapine's staging doesn't really fight that tendency, leaning into the pretty merc instead. Interstitial music by T Bone Burnett aptly suggests the Deep south, but might as well be the soundtrack of an arty ghost story. Yet spousal abuse isn't arty as deep as Smart digs into the horror of it, the play in the production keep topping off the hole that's crushing in every sense, although he does say that Gene Smart crushes it in a good way. Also positive was Greg Evans for Deadline who said, quote, the first production of the new Broadway season, Call me Izzy blesses 202526 with a terrific beginning. One only hopes Tony voters have very, very long memories. On the converse side Jackson McHenry was negative writing for Vulture, saying quote Jean Smart, heading back to Broadway after a career revival on television, has plenty of talent. The trouble is, she's stuck in a production that has little idea what to do with it other than subject her character to grim and unenlightening suffering. Romatore, writing for New York Stage Review was mixed, saying quote the play runs about 90 intermissionless minutes, which still seems too long. It starts slowly and feels rather disjointed as Izzy jumps back and forth in time, explaining her unhappy life with occasional dry humor. Smart brings the character to vivid life, but she can only do so much to engage the audience when the writing falls short. Adrienne Horton, writing for the Guardian, was also mixed, saying quote, Smart as ever, imbues her characters with rough edges and idiosyncrasies. World weariness coupled with an enduring naivete. Her plaintive, rueful delivery of a brief description of reconciliation after a beating, how his regret provoked a feeling closeness akin to a drug hint at a more complicated version of the woman than on the page. It's easy to cheer for Smart and, as evidenced by rounds of pitying applause at Studio 54, a little too easy for this show. And we will wrap up with a positive review coming from Naveen Kumar of the Washington Post, who said, quote Smart returning to Broadway after some 25 years brings astonishing clarity and depth to the part. Spinning an enticing yarn from shop worn material. The action is set in 1989 when it may have struck a modern tone. She delivers a performance that feels deceptively feather light while demonstrating total command. As we said, this is a limited run and the show is playing through August 17th at Studio 54. And if you want to make sure that you are a completist and see everything in the Broadway season, you'll have to get this out of the way over the summer before the first wave of new openings starts in the fall. Speaking of things going to be starting in the fall grades, although this one is not going to be on Broadway yesterday the social media posts were confirmed. This is not in a Chorus Line situation, but the 25th annual Platinum Connie Spelling Bee is coming back to New York city for a 14 week limited run Off Broadway at New World Stages. It will begin performances in November. And while this isn't being exactly called a transfer of the Kennedy Center Center Stage production of the show, it is being directed and choreographed by Danny Mefford, who helmed that production as well, and many of the creative team from that show is returning too. However, what we don't know for now is who the cast is going to be. Of course, the Kennedy Center's productions always had big, starry cast, and I'm not sure that I see all of them, half of them, coming back to do this show at New World Stages, but we will see. I would be pleasantly surprised if I was wrong, but that cast included beanie Feldstein, Kevin McHale, Taran Killam, Bonnie Milligan, Noah Galvin, Alex Joseph Grayson, Felipe Arroyo, Nina White, and Liana Ray Concepcion. If we got a handful of those, Grace, I would be very happy because I think they are all fantastic. The show is going to begin performances November 7th and is currently scheduled to run through February 15th. I don't know that I love New World Stages for this, just because this feels like such a scrappy show and I've always felt like New World Stages is a little cold, but I'm excited to see what they make of this. And even if we don't get the cast from dc, Grace, I feel like there's going to be plenty of super fun folks to make this show work for however long it runs. And then obviously, being in New York opens up the opportunity to have some very cool guest spellers as well.

Grace Aki (8:00)

I agree with you, except for the fact that I actually think this is the perfect New World Stages show. I think that.

Unknown Speaker (8:06)

Do you?

Grace Aki (8:06)

Okay, yeah. Because New World Stages, I think, has so much opportunity and possibility, and I've seen tons of really great shows there that I have always thought, like, what a great venue that it is in the heart of Midtown. Not all shows need, to, quote, come to Broadway. And I think that because it's such an intimate, small cast, it does not need the flair of, you know, 20 green screens and 50 cameramen running alongside the cast. Like, they don't need all that, you know? And I just think that this is actually the perfect show to put in there. I felt the same way about Heather's announcing, so I'm. I'm excited for the next resurgence of New World. I feel like we've had a little bit of a dip in terms of what was able to be in there and for programming and some shows that I felt like that should go into New World Stages, it would kill. And then it came to Broadway and then closed within two months or what have you. It's like, okay, but this is why we have great opportunities like this particular venue. So I feel very strongly that this is going to be a great opportunity for this show. I'm really sad that Bill Finn is not with us any longer to see this happen because that was so recent. But I think this is super smart. I think that it's a genius move on their end and hopefully opens the door, continues to open the door for other fun, engaging shows that are more intimate, like Spelling Bee, that you don't need to put up at the Winter Garden Theater. But there is a potential for other opportunities for other shows as well.

Unknown Speaker (9:33)

Yeah. My problem is not that it's Off Broadway, it's New World Stages itself. I think shows that could find cult followings. I mean, think of Teeth just last season, which I thought if it had found a really cool Off Broadway place where it could just live for a while, could have run for a long time. And I just worry that because it's, you know, it's in the basement and the signage isn't great and everything. Like, I just wonder if that's a place that really, you're able to run things for a long time. So I don't know. I mean, this is a limited run, but I'm certainly excited that we're getting it in New York City. I just was kind of hoping it would find a place that it could be like its own thing and live for a while. But we'll have to wait and see. But I certainly hear and echo your thoughts about it being in an Off Broadway theater. All right, let's take a quick break here to talk about our sponsors for this week. And let's start with our friends from Cash App. As you know, I was traveling last week. I took my sister and my nephew on both of their very first cruises over the weekend. It was a Christmas present to both of them. They were actually scheduled to go on one five years ago in 2020. And then surprised, couldn't go. So as I started to fall in love with Cruising, I took them on a cruise. I paid for everything up front. But my sister, because that's how we are, she refused to let me pay for everything on the ship. So rather than having to pass cash back and forth because there's no ATMs on a cruise ship, we just paid for everything like you do when you get off the cruise. And then my sister this morning when we got off the cruise ship, sent me money via Cash App. And it was absolutely perfect. We didn't have to worry about making change and giving cash or forgetting about it and going to the ATM on the way home. It was super easy for her to just send me the money that she felt like she needed to give me for the stuff that we paid for. And we took care of it just like that, plain and simple. It is easy, it is fast, and it's such a breeze to set up Grace that it really is the answer to a lot of financial arguments that people get into unnecessarily.

Grace Aki (11:38)

I couldn't agree more. It's become so difficult to, like, have a fun night out without having to also figure out the logistics of payment. And that's why I love Cash App so much, is that you're able to send a quick personalized invoice while you're there at the venue if you want. If you don't want to have an uncomfortable conversation with somebody to say, are we splitting this or not? It goes right to you. You don't even have to set up your bank account. It's excellent. Things like this make it easier and more fun and exciting and affordable to have group hangouts.

Unknown Speaker (12:08)

And for a limited time only, new Cash App users can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash. For real. There's no catch. Just download Cash App and sign up. Use our exclusive referral code, Broadway in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App. Now, our other sponsor this week is surfshark. Now, Grace, with all of the social media and online stuff that you do, do you often use a vpn?

Grace Aki (12:47)

Yeah, so a lot of times, especially when it comes to content and taking in other countries, content like it's super important to be able to have some type of access. And I think that VPNs are absolutely the way to go.

Unknown Speaker (12:57)

Yeah. There are so many different reasons why VPNs can be helpful in today's modern online world. One of them is to be able to check out content that's online, but is geo restricted to specific countries or regions, whether those are in the United States or around the world. And surfshark is an absolutely a fantastic way to make sure that you can see whatever it is that you want to see. As many of you know, my day job is covering streaming services, so I have run into many different interesting shows and movies that just aren't available to stream in the United States. So if there is something that I specifically want to see, I just fire up my surfshark vpn, go to the website and watch it from there. Now, geo restrictions are a thing of the past. With surfshark, you can break through online barriers and access content from other from all over the world, whether it's your streaming favorite shows or accessing blocked websites. Surfshark ensures you stay connected wherever you are. 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 to b@surfshark.com the URL and code can be found in our show notes all right, Grace, I got the press release for this next show and I absolutely almost did a spit take at every new person that was announced in this cast. And this one comes from the New York Theater Workshop where they announced an incredible new adaptation of Moliere's Tartuffe, penned by Lucas Nath and starring basically everybody who's famous from every different world. It's going to be led by by both Matthew Broderick and David Cross and will also feature Obie Award winner Emily Davis from Is this a room, RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio, Tony nominee and Hadestown icon Amber Gray, Obie Award winner Ryan J. Haddad, Tony winner Francis Zhu, Tony Award winner Lisa Crone and Emmy nominee Aike Ufumadu. This is just an unbelievable cast. It's going to be directed by Sarah Benson. I mentioned Teeth earlier. She directed Teeth Off Broadway. We don't exactly know when it's going to run other than it is going to open in late fall of this year, but with Lucas Nath's adaptation of Moyer I was already in, but with that cast absolutely will be making this a part of whatever trip I'm in town for when the show is running.

Grace Aki (15:26)

Yeah, I mean, I actually think I bring up that like Vineyard Broadway double header play season, especially Lucas's work on a weekly basis. At this point I've missed Lucas's work very, very much so I'm very excited to see this happening.

Unknown Speaker (15:45)

In other news, we officially got confirmation of what I'm hoping is one of many things associated with the 50th anniversary of a Chorus Line. There will be a special 50th anniversary celebration taking place next month. It will be part of the Entertainment Community Fund and a number of other presenters. It'll happen at the Shubert Theater on July 27th. It'll be a concert starring original 1975 Broadway cast members Kelly Bishop, Wayne Cilento, Bayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez and Donna McKechnie. Also there to perform will be some fantastic Broadway talents, some of whom have been involved with previous productions of A Chorus Line. Not all of them, but many of them you'll have Charlotte Damboit, Jessica Lee Golden, Robin Herder, Francis Zhu, Christa Rodriguez, Jessica Vosk, Anthony Wayne, Tony Yazbeck, and Lee Zimmerman. With additional casting to be announced at a later date, tickets will go on sale on June 30th at noon. That's also the same day. Keep in mind that the immersive Phantom thing is going to go on sale, so you're going to have to have your laptops ready to get both of those if you want to make it to both. And I will say I had like half a dozen people reach out, including James Marino, who did it like an hour after the episode came out on Patreon. OG is Opera Ghost. I am not a fan PH fan. I've seen Phantom twice and I don't really care for it. So I apologize guys for not getting OG right. That was not ingrained in my memory. One more piece of really cool casting news, Grace the national tour of Kimberly Akimbo is going to continue on a second year, including coming down here to the Dr. Phillips center in Orlando. But leading this second year of the tour, replacing Carolee Carmelo in the title role will be the one and only Anne Morrison. She originated the role of Mary in Merrily Weave Roll along on Broadway. She now lives in Sarasota. I just saw her King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar at Osolo Rep. She was incredible. She's going to be taking over the role on July 29 and I am very, very excited to see her take on this character. And then I've got a couple things I want to talk about to wrap up. Recommendations. First, cast members from Hell's Kitchen performed on Good Morning America last week that included Amanda Reed and Jessica Vosk. I also wanted to mention Jessica Vosk is going to be taking an extended leave from the show. She actually had surger on her back on Monday morning. This is something that she's been dealing with for quite a while. I actually got to go backstage at the show back in April with our friend Jay and it was the same day that she had to get an epidural before the show. So we talked about that for a while. So wishing the best for Jessica and hope that she's able to return to the Shubert Theater sooner rather than later. And then this is the thing that's been talked about all over theater social media over the weekend because performances began at the London Palladium for the Jamie Lloyd directed Rachel Zegler starring production of Evita and lots of people have opinions on it and with good reason. There is a lot of similarities to be had between what we have seen from the very first few previews and Jamie's now Tony winning production of Sunset Boulevard. Not only do we have one of the main characters performing outside of the theater, it appears from social media videos that Rachel is singing Don't Cry for Me Argentina on the balcony of the London Palladium. There are doing it in public, so there's lots of videos of that. And then in terms of what the curtain call looks like, it seems like Diego Andres Rodriguez, who was a. Was a Joe Gillis standby understudy on Broadway, he is now playing Shea. He ends up the show in the exact same underwear basically that that Tom Francis does on Broadway. And it looks like he has been tarred and feathered. I don't know what to say about this. I've not seen the show. All I will say is that I've seen three Jamie Lloyd directed productions. Every single one of them has been brilliant. I know that there were other productions of things that he has done that people did not like. His Romeo Juliet, his Tempest. I did not see those. So I don't really have anything in my mind to say. I don't trust Jamie to figure it out. I certainly recognize that there's a lot of connections between the production of Sunset and this production of Evita. So I hope that it's not just kind of like a hat on a hat and trying to recreate the. The magic that he had with Sunset. I, you know, until I see it or until more people have seen it, I kind of just trust Jamie to figure it out and do it right. Because everything I've seen of his is brilliant. But I feel like I had to mention it, Grace, because it's been all over social media over the weekend. Despite the fact that only a very limited handful of people in London have had an opportunity to see it thus far.

Grace Aki (20:44)

Yeah, normalize. Shutting the hell up. I want to see. I'm serious. Like, I love when people are like teasing stuff, but I'm not joking. I want was literally just like out and about. And within hours of that performance happening, people were talking about like every single element of the show, like online, in person. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't ask for that. Like, I didn't look this up, you know what I mean? And so they were already like kind of spoiling almost every single element of the show. And I'm just like, hey, like there's a difference in like, obviously she's singing at Outside people are going to get videos of that. And I can choose to scroll past that. It's another thing to just blurt out, like, okay, so here's how they do this. And, like, here's the choice that was made here. Direction, white. They're in previews, people. They're in previews. I am being assaulted with information. Please, for the love of God, let people figure show out. Or just, like, just heads up, you know, I'm about to talk about this show. Spoiler warning ahead. Head. And so I can scroll on. But damn, y' all, people are out here. It's like when we talk about reviews, you know what I mean? And in the review of a show that someone might be, like, on the fence of seeing, and then you just tell the whole ass plot in your review, what are we doing? What are we doing? Is no one like, the journalistic integrity of 2025 is killing me. So I feel like I'm being a bit of a curmudgeon and a bit of an old. And I'm sure, sure someone's gonna come for me for this. But I just wanna say in kind lovingness, shut the hell up. Thank you.

Unknown Speaker (22:20)

All right, everybody, that's all we have for today. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and you can get more BroadwayRadio@patreon.com BroadwayRadio Grace, where can people find you?

Grace Aki (22:29)

Be kind. And you can find me scrolling past videos at. It's graceaki.

Unknown Speaker (22:33)

All right, everybody, have a wonderful Tuesday. We'll be back to talk to you. Tom, the truth is, I never. Sam.