Today on Broadway: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - BroadwayRadio

Summary

Today on Broadway: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 – Detailed Summary

Host: Matt Tamnini
Podcast: BroadwayRadio’s Today on Broadway
Release Date: May 13, 2025

Highlighting Grace's Run of To Free a Mockingbird

Matt Tamnini kicked off the episode by spotlighting Grace’s two-week run of To Free a Mockingbird at the Soho Playhouse. Expressing personal enthusiasm, Matt shared, "I am still hoping to make it back to New York City in the next week or two to be able to check out the show one more time" (00:01). He highly recommended the production, especially for listeners who appreciate Grace’s work both on the podcast and her social media presence. Matt emphasized the affordability of tickets, noting they are "only like 25 bucks" and encouraged listeners to check the show notes for ticket links and additional programming related to Grace’s ongoing activities during the show's run.

**New Musical Wanted Set for Broadway in 2026**

Transitioning to Broadway news, Matt reported that the musical formerly known as Gun and Powder is rebranded as Wanted and is slated to arrive on Broadway in 2026. The show, which has previously graced Washington D.C. and the Paper Mill Playhouse, features book and lyrics by Angelica Cherry—descendant of the Clark sisters central to the narrative—and music by Ross Baum, directed by Stevie Walker Webb. Wanted tells the story of twin sisters Mary and Martha Clark who, in 1893 Texas, navigate racial challenges by passing as white to repay their mother's sharecropper debt and save their home. The latest Paper Mill production starred Lucy LaFontaine and Ciara Renee, with previous versions featuring Emmy Raver Lampman and Soleil Pfeiffer. Matt noted the absence of Broadway casting details but mentioned an upcoming workshop in June might shed light on potential Broadway cast members.

Outer Critics Circle Awards 2025 Highlights

Matt delved into the recent Outer Critics Circle Awards announcements, listing the major winners:

Outstanding New Broadway Musical: Maybe Happy Ending
Outstanding New Broadway Play: John Proctor is the Villain
Outstanding New Off Broadway Musical: Drag the Musical
Outstanding New Off Broadway Play: Liberation

He also highlighted individual achievements, such as Laura Donnelly winning Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play for The Hills of California and Jasmine Amy Rogers securing Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical for Boop the Musical, which Matt described as "certainly an upset given the fact that she was up against some pretty heavy hitters" (transcript segment on awards). Additionally, special recognition was given to Patrick Hoffman, the recently retired Curator of the Theater on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

For a comprehensive list of winners, Matt directed listeners to the show notes and teased a separate Patreon episode detailing his voting choices.

Awards Season Spotlight: Ham4Ham Returns

In an exciting update for Hamilton fans, Matt announced that the beloved Ham4Ham experience is returning for the upcoming awards season. Hosted at February 4 PM outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre, Ham4Ham will showcase new musicals and revivals eligible for Tony Awards. Lin Manuel Miranda highlighted shows such as Pirates, The Penzance Musical, Maybe Happy Ending, and Buena Vista Social Club as featured productions. For those unable to attend in person, Matt assured that the event would be accessible on various social media platforms, urging listeners not to miss out on these performances (Ham4Ham segment).

**NBC's Special Wicked Concert Presentation**

Matt shared exciting news from NBC's recent upfront presentations: a special concert event tied to the upcoming Wicked for Good film release. Scheduled for fall, the concert will feature stars like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who will perform songs from the original Wicked film and preview tracks from the sequel. Filmed at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the event is set to air on NBC, with streaming availability on Peacock the following day. Additionally, the trailer for Wicked for Good premiered during the upfronts, generating buzz for its anticipated Thanksgiving release (Concert announcement).

Show and Casting Updates

1. Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends Extension:
The Manhattan Theater Club has extended the run of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends until June 29th, a two-week extension beyond the previous end date of June 15th.

2. Goodnight and Good Luck Recoups Investment:
Celebrating a financial milestone, Matt revealed that Goodnight and Good Luck has recouped its initial $9.5 million Broadway investment in just seven and a half weeks, grossing over $4 million last week alone.

3. Hadestown Cast Change:
Lana Gordon is set to return to Hadestown as Persephone on June 3, replacing Merle Dandridge who departs on June 1. Gordon, who has been part of both Broadway and the touring productions since February 2022, will transition the role to Off Broadway as Hadestown moves venues.

4. Prosperous Fools Casting:
Taylor Mac's new play, Prosperous Fools, directed by Darko Tresnik and featuring Sierra Boggess as the lead character Hashtag, debuts on June 1st Off Broadway. Matt quipped humorously about the character’s unique name presentation, emphasizing the need to refer to it as "Hashtag" (Casting news segment). Full cast details are available in the show notes.

**London's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Cast Album Release**

London audiences received thrilling news with the announcement that Darren Clark and Jethro Compton’s musical adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will release its cast album on May 16th. Matt expressed his excitement, stating, "I absolutely love it. I hope that you have an opportunity to stream it when it is released," and noted that CDs would be available starting June 20th (London news segment).

Positive Development in Arts Funding

Counteracting recent concerns over arts funding cuts, Matt shared uplifting news regarding the New York State fiscal year 2026 budget. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the budget into law, which includes extended and increased tax credits for Broadway productions. The existing New York City musical and theatrical production tax credit, initially set to expire, is now extended by two years with an increased allocation from $300 million to $400 million. This extension supports Broadway and Off Broadway productions by allowing tax credits up to 25% of qualified expenditures—up to $3 million for Broadway shows and $350,000 for Off Broadway—facilitating the continued growth and sustainability of New York’s vibrant theater scene (Arts funding segment). Matt optimistically noted, "This tax credit will be there to help and hopefully keep Broadway and Off Broadway thriving for the next few years."

**Recommendation: Dead Outlaw on Broadway**

Concluding the episode, Matt recommended checking out Dead Outlaw, a nominated contender for Best Musical. Highlights were recently released, and Matt encouraged listeners to explore them via the show notes, emphasizing its acclaim and the buzz surrounding its nomination (Recommendation segment).

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and updates from the May 13, 2025 episode of Today on Broadway, providing listeners with essential information and insights into the latest Broadway happenings.

Transcript

Matt Tamnini (0:01)

Welcome to Today on Broadway for Tuesday, May 13, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tamnini. As you likely know and are probably annoyed from hearing us talk about last night at the Soho Playhouse, Grace started her two week run of To Free a Mockingbird off Broadway. I am still hoping to make it back to New York City in the next week or two to be able to check out the show one more time. I highly encourage you to do it. If you love Grace here on Today on Broadway, if you love the interviews that she does, if you love her on social media, if you know her in person, I highly, highly, highly recommend that you take the time to head over there. Tickets are very cheap, only like 25 bucks. We will have a link in the show notes if you want to check it out and there will be tons of other announcements about supplemental programming that she is going to be doing throughout the run so you do not want to miss that. But now let's get on to the news and yesterday it was reported that the musical formerly known as Gun and Powder is going to be coming to Broadway in 2026, but it will have new name. The show, which played Washington D.C. and most recently played the Paper Mill Playhouse just about one year ago, was called Gun and Powder. Now it will be known as Wanted and it is looking to arrive on Broadway sometime in 2026. They did not specify whether that was the spring of 2026, which would be the back half of, I guess the current season that we are in, or the fall of 2026, which would be obviously the following season. If I had to guess at this point, I would imagine that it is the spring of 2026 that they are shooting for. That's why now the show features a book and lyrics by Angelica Cherry, who is a descendant of the Clark sisters who are at the center of the story, which we'll get to here in a minute. And the music is by Ross Baum and it is directed by Stevie Walker Webb. The show focuses on two sisters, Mary and Martha Clark, who are twin sisters. They're black, but they go to extraordinary measures, including passing as white to settle their mother's sharecropper debt and save their home in 1893 Texas. The most recent production of the show at Paper Mil Playhouse starred Lucy LaFontaine and Ciara Renee as the sisters. A previous version of the show starred Emmy Raver Lampman and Soleil Pfeiffer in the roles. No word as to who will be a part of the show when it comes to Broadway, but there will be a workshop held in June. So if we hear about who is going to be a part of that process, that will probably tell us what is likely to happen when the show comes to Broadway, if it does as planned. In the Papermill Playhouse production, in addition to La Fontaine and Renee, Jeanette Baerdel, Aaron James Mackenzie, Hunter Parrish and more were a part of the principal cast. Alright, let's get to some awards news and yesterday the Outer Critics Circle, which is the organization that I belong to, announced its 2025 awards winners and I will do a separate episode in the Patreon feed going through what I voted for. But here are the winners for the major awards if you want to see all of them, of course, head to the Show Notes Outstanding New Broadway Musical the winner was maybe Happy Ending. Outstanding New Broadway Play was John Proctor is the Villain. Outstanding New Off Broadway Musical Musical went to Drag the Musical Outstanding New Off Broadway Play went to Liberation the John Gassner Award for a new American play, preferably by a new playwright, went to George Clooney and Grant Hesloff for Good Night and Good Luck. Outstanding Revival of a Musical went to Cats, the Jellicoe Ball Outstanding Revival of a Play went to Vanya that's the one man version with Andrew Scott. Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play went to Laura Donnelly for the Hills of California. Outstanding Feature Performer in a Broadway Play went to Frances Zhu for Yellowface. Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical went to Jasmine Amy Rogers for Boop the Musical. That is certainly an upset given the fact that she was up against some pretty heavy hitters. Outstanding Feature Performer in a Broadway Musical went to Jack Malone for Operation Mincemeat Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off Broadway Musical went to Nick Adams for Drag the Musical and Outstanding Feature Performer in an Off Broadway Musical went to Andre de Shields for Cats, the Jellicle Ball. Moving over to the Play categories, Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off Broadway Play went to Adam Driver for Hold on to Me Darling and Outstanding Feature Performer in an Off Broadway Play went to Michael rashon for table 17. And wrapping up, the Performance category's Outstanding Solo Performance went to Sarah Snook for the Picture of Dorian Gray. Again, I will have a link to all of the winners in the Show Notes if you want to check that out, but I will note that there was a special award given to the recently retired Curator of the Theater on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Patrick Hoffman. Alright, it looks like the Richard Rodgers in the current Broadway production of Hamilton are going to be bringing back a beloved awards season traditional as Ham4Ham will be returning for the next few weeks as it focuses on some of the new musicals and revivals for musicals that are currently eligible for Tony Awards. Lin Manuel Miranda posted that some of the shows that'll be highlighted this season include Pirates, the Penzance Musical, maybe Happy Ending and Buena Vista Social Club. We are not 100% sure if there will be others involved, but those three did make the Instagram post that he had. It will start on Tuesday today, May 13th at February 4pm outside the Rogers and if you can't be there, of course they will be available on social media all over the place. So you definitely will want to see all of those. All right. From one very exciting concert presentation to another one during NBC's upfront presentations on Monday where they show everything that they have coming so they can get advertisers to spend money on their on their channels and streamers. It was announced that there will be a very special concert coming to NBC and Peacock this fall ahead of Wicked for goods release in the movie theaters. It'll be a special concert that will feature Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and more folks from the Wicked franchise that'll sing songs from the first film that was released last year and then previewing some of the songs that'll be happening in the second film. It'll be filmed at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and It'll air on NBC, I'm guessing at 8pm but who knows at this point, and then it should be able to stream on Peacock the following day. In addition, apparently they also premiered the the trailer for Wicked for Good at upfronts yesterday, so maybe that'll be showing up somewhere online or in movie theaters here in the next week or two. I haven't really gotten any response as to how it was or what it looked like, but I imagine that it'll be very, very good and get people incredibly excited for the release coming up around Thanksgiving. All right, we've got some show and casting news that I want to get into. Yesterday it was announced that the Manhattan Theater Club has extended Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends for a second and final time. The show will now play through June 29th. That is a two week extension over the previously extended date of June 15th. Up the street a little bit. Yesterday was announced that Goodnight and Good Luck has recouped its initial $9.5 million Broadway investment in less than two months seven and a half weeks on Broadway. The show has already recouped its investment, of course. It grossed over $4 million last week and yeah, sure, okay. Late last week, it was announced that Lana Gordon will be returning to the production of Hadestown. She first joined the cast in February of 2022, and she's gone on to do the show both on Broadway and on tour. She will now pick back up the role of Persephone after Merle Dandridge leaves on June 1. And Lana Gordon will return on June 3, moving from Broadway to Off Broadway at the theater for a new audience where Taylor Mac's new play, Prosperous Fools will begin performances also on June 1st. It'll be directed by Darko Tresnik, and they announced the cast yesterday. And Sierra Boggess will be leading the company. And this is true. Playbill even confirmed it. Her character's name is Hashtag, hashtag hashtag hashtag dash, hashtag hashtag hashtag. Don't know what that means. You can say pound if you want. I'm not exactly sure how we're verbalizing it, but that is the way that it is, that it is written on the page. So if you want to check out the entire cast for this show, which does include Taylor Mac, you can see it in the show notes. And then some news that was very much appreciated by me and many folks who have seen the show. In London yesterday, it was announced that Darren Clark and Jethro Compton's musical the Curious Case of Benjamin Button will release a cast album. And we don't gotta wait long because it is happening this week. It will be released on Friday. I absolutely love it. I hope that you have an opportunity to stream it when it is released on May 16th. CDs will be available beginning on June 20th. The last little bit of news here I want to talk about is actually some good news when it comes to arts funding. We've talked so much about all of the cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and everything that's happening at the Kennedy center due to the new administration's siege to purge everything that they don't like and disagree with. But on Friday, we actually got some good news as New York State Governor Kathy Hockle signed the fiscal year 2026 state budget into law. And it does include extra tax credits for Broadway productions. The current New York City musical and theatrical production tax credit had been set to expire this year. It has now been extended two years and the money allocated to the program will increase from $300 million to $400 million. This had started in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic and has allowed a lot of shows to actually be positive. And that is probably certainly what helped. Good night and good luck. Get to profitability that quickly. So how this works is that productions can receive tax credits up to 25% of qualified production expenditures, meaning that producers could write off $350,000 for Off Broadway shows and up to $3 million for Broadway productions. So that is a very good thing and certainly helps a lot of producers get shows running in New York that probably would be too risky to do without something like this to to help buoy them in very, very difficult times. It'll be interesting to see what happens with tariffs and travel and all that stuff as to how tourism is impacted by all of the financial shenanigans that the administration is getting up to. But we at least know that this tax credit will be there to help and hopefully keep Broadway and Off Broadway thriving for the next few years. All right, let's wrap up with a little bit of a recommendation. So much talk has happened around Dead Outlaw on Broadway. It is one of the shows nominated for best musical. If you have not yet seen it, they released some highlights yesterday. So if you want to check it out, we will have that in the show 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 rodwayradio. And you can follow me on Instagram at bwwmat. Alright everybody, have a wonderful Tuesday and we will be back to talk to you tomorrow.