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Today on Broadway: Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025
00:18:00
Lithgow to return to Broadway in ‘Giant,’ Redford dies at 89, Grace wants redemption from Hollywood IQ Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
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Matt Tamminini
Broadway for Wednesday, September 17, 2025 on Broadway radio's Matt Tamminini and I'm Tell.
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Grace Aki
Me on a Sunday podcast.
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Matt Tamminini
Grace Aki Grace, we are recording a little bit earlier on Tuesday because on Wednesday afternoon slash evening you are going to be heading over to the Music Box Theater where there will be a Broadway opening on Tuesday night. And that is for art. You're going to be working the red carpet, so we will have the reviews for that on tomorrow's episode since you're going to be there and I'm out of town and it's just a little bit easier to wrap those up on Wednesday after they are out. So stay tuned for those reviews on tomorrow's episode and we will have all of the information about what's happening not only from opening night, but from your thoughts on having seen the show already and any news coming out of what is gleaned on the red carpet. But on Tuesday we did get some other pretty big news that we had probably already known or at least assumed because there had been reports about it but nothing had officially been announced until yesterday and that is that John Lithgow will return to Broadway this season with the transfer of the West End hit play Giant. In the show, John Lithgow plays Roald Dahl, who is of course a beloved children's author who also turns out to be incredibly anti Semitic. The show is written by Mark Rosenblatt and is directed by Nicholas Heitner and it had multiple sold out runs at both the Royal Court Theater and in the West End over the past year. The production will feature design by Rob Crowley and we don't exactly know what theater it is going to be playing at, but it is going to go to a Shubert Theater beginning performances on Wednesday, March 11 for a strictly 16 week limited engagement. Grace I have heard through the grapevine that this show might be playing a theater that you are about to Head to in like 20 minutes. So take that for what it is. Did you have an opportunity to see this when you were in London most recently?
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Grace Aki
I didn't, but I'm really excited for it. The last time I saw John Lithgow was in a one person show at Roundabout Theater Company. I will never forget it because I saw Matinee. A Roundabout Matinee was certainly a choice for me. So it was just such a powerful performance and I'm very excited about this play.
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Matt Tamminini
Yeah, I've heard nothing but fantastic things. My aunt and her husband were in London maybe over the summer. I don't remember when, but they saw it and said it was incredibly powerful and a fantastic show. So this will certainly be one to keep an eye on in terms of all of the awards consideration in the spring because not only does it have an incredible pedigree from coming over from London, but it's got John Lithgow. Like, I mean, anything with John Lithgow is certainly worth not only watching in terms of quality, but also in terms of awards consideration. And then unfortunately, Grace, we do have to talk about what is probably the biggest story in all of pop culture right now, and that is the passing of one of the most iconic figures in the latter half of the 20th century in terms of entertainment, and that is Robert Redford. He died at the age of 89 at his home in Sundance, Utah on Tuesday morning. He had, for the most part, withdrawn from public life and was not seen tremendously over the last few years. But for a large part of the latter half of the 20th century, he was a singular figure primarily on screen. But he did get his start on Broadway in the theater. He appeared in five Broadway shows, but really most notably were his final two performances which happened in over the course of three years. The first was Sunday in New York, which happened in 1961, for which he won the Theater World Award in 1962. And then a role that he not only did on Broadway, but also recreated in the film version of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. He went on to not only direct in, but star in some of the biggest films of all time. He won one one competitive Oscar for directing Ordinary People. He was also honored in 2002 with an honorary award. He was nominated for the Sting as an actor, and he was nominated for both Best Director and Best Picture for Quiz Show. But he appeared in such films as not only the aforementioned Barefoot in the park, but Butch Cassidy and Sundance, Sundance Kid, the Candidate, the Sting, all the President's Men, Three Days of The Condor, just a singular figure on screen. But perhaps even beyond that, his most important impact on filmmaking might be his creation of the Sundance Institute and then the Sundance Film Festival, which continues to turn out some of the biggest films of all time. So, Grace, as our resident cinephile here, what are your thoughts about Robert Redford, his passing and his impact on the medium that you love so much?
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Grace Aki
You know, I kind of said this this morning. I think about Robert Redford's impact on cinema and theater all the time. Like, he was such a theatrical actor. And I don't mean that in, like, a weird, like, showman sense, but I mean it in, like, he cared about the art and the craft. And I just think that, like, this is. This is such a seismic thing. I knew it was gonna happen one day, but this morning I woke up to, you know, my giant Barefoot in the park poster, the Neil Simon play, and I just thought, wow, what a loss. I miss him.
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Matt Tamminini
Yeah. But I think it's so interesting is that because we think of him from films like Butch Cassidy, the Sunday Sundance Kid, all the President's Men, but, like, his first major break, you know, starting on stage and then going to movies was in, like, a rom com, you know, or at least the equivalent of. Of the time and Barefoot in the park, and he really could do a little bit of everything. And I think that his impact will be celebrated tremendously over the next few days, weeks, and over the next year. And I'm, sure we'll, you know, go up to the Academy Awards in the. In the early part of 2026, but obviously, one of the most influential actors and directors and artists of. Of our time and of any time as well. All right, Chris, let's dive into last week's Broadway grosses. And it was a good week, and it will not surprise you that it was buoyed by one particular show. In total last week, 28 shows played on Broadway, and the grosses came out to 331 $28,088. The total attendance was at 240,283 people. And let's just say that if you had any doubt, Leslie Odom Jr. Is a bit of a draw on Broadway. Last week, Hamilton brought in $3,779,453. That is an increase of over 1.6 million million from the previous week. I. We talked about it last week. It has been nearly impossible to get any kind of ticket to see Hamilton during Leslie's limited return engagement to play Aaron Burr. And if you are finding A ticket. It is incredibly expensive. Greece. We talked last week about how highly priced those premium tickets are. And while it might turn some people off to see, you know, twelve hundred dollars tickets going for Hamilton, it is not any different than it was 10 years ago other than the fact that that's what the show is charging rather than what second secondary ticket markets are selling. So I'm incredibly excited to pay a ridiculous amount to see it next month. But it seems like I am not nearly alone there. The rest of the shows in the top five. Wicked was also still north of $2 million to come in at 2,003,312 bucks. The Lion King was next at just under 1.7. Ma at 1.58 and Death Becomes her rounds out the top five at 1.36. The rest of the shows north of seven figures in descending order are Art, which is doing very well, especially in previews. I would imagine that ticket prices will go up after opening night. Then we have just in time maybe Happy Ending, mj oh Mary, Buena Vista Social Club, Aladdin, Moulin Rouge and the Outsiders. Pretty much every show on Broadway last week except for Wicked which was down by like $2,000 maybe happy ending which only saw an an $18,000 decline following the departure of Darren, Chris, oh Mary and then, and then Hadestown saw week to week increases. So Broadway was very healthy last week and we also saw two new shows join the boards. Waiting for godo played just one performance, but that came in at $367,206. And Punch played seven performances and that came in at 228,612 bucks. Which again Subscription House, that is always going to be a pretty, a pretty low grosses in the early weeks. But Waiting for Godot over the Hudson Theater with Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter only did one performance, extrapolating its total out to an eight show week that would have come in at 2.9 million. So Grace, I imagine that that one will be a very, very hot ticket. And considering that there's only 900 or so less than a thousand seats at the Hudson, this one is going to probably be breaking quite a few records as well.
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Grace Aki
Yeah, I mean I hope I get to see this show, you know what I mean? Like any, anytime a show goes into the Hudson, it's, it's lately been this like high level, premium like kind of exclusive ticket. So I think that it's a good opportunity for you know, everybody involved to say like this is the one time you get to see them and it's and it's more boutique in a way. The Hudson Rema kind of like refurbishment is so gorgeous. But yeah, they it's a small house and they're able to, you know, drive that demand up accordingly.
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Matt Tamminini
Yeah, it's interesting to me that that's the house for a lot of reasons, you know, probably primarily because ATG owns it. But that's like become the star vehicle house. And even though it is a smaller venue, they're able to charge a premium on those tickets because of how exclusive it is. You wonder if another theater that has, you know, 1300 seats rather than 975 seats would do just as well. I think it would. But it is still kind of interesting to me how intimate they keep those performances in those productions, despite the fact that in a lot of cases there are big, massive stars there. But moving on to another thing that has a big, massive star attached to it, coming up on September 19th, which is this Friday, there's going to be a host of stars from various aspects of the theater world being a part of a panel discuss on the great producer Tom Kerdahy over at the New York Public Library. The event will feature such panelists as Rachel Chavkin, Bill Condon, Jonathan Groff, the aforementioned megastar, and Lamar Richardson. They will be on hand to discuss the great producer Tom Curtahee. The event is free, but if you would like to go, you do have to register ahead of time, so we'll have a link to the show. Notes Just some of the shows that Courtehy is represented by in New York right this second include Just in Time, the upcoming Ragtime on Broadway, Caroline, Hadestown and Little Shop of Horrors, as well as Gypsy that just closed. Here we Are, the Inheritance, the Piano Lesson and many, many, many more for decades. And he is also the champion of his late husband Terrence McNally's legacy and impact on the theater. So if you want to get more information on that, we will have it in the show. Notes Grace, you grew up in the era, maybe. I think so. At least I'm assuming of either the books or the movies and maybe even a TV show of the babysitters club. It was that on your radar growing up?
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Grace Aki
You know, I actually think I was a little young for it, in all honesty. Yeah, I feel like that was more of an 80s baby thing. But I did watch Babysitters and Friends. It was the TV show.
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Matt Tamminini
Oh, okay. Yeah, I know it kind of goes in waves because it was big when I was a kid and then I thought there might have been a resurgence with movies or something, but nonetheless there is a new musical adaptation of the beloved Anne M. Martin's children book series the Babysitter's Club. The project is being written by Kate Weatherhead who is one of my favorites. She is great and the songs are by Mark Sonnenblake who is a former Broadway radio guest here but is having a major hit right now by writing some songs for K Pop Demon Hunters, which is like the biggest pop phenomenon in in the world right now. Any tippy will direct and choreograph There are going to be industry presentations coming up in November, November 13th to be exact. They are planning on having a theatrical premiere sometime in 2027, but if you are of a certain age that is obviously something that is very, very exciting. And actually there's a new play that is me coming to the Off Broadway space and is coming to us from the Vineyard Theater and the Civilians. It is a new play called the Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire by Anne Washburn. It is going to have a six week run at the Vi Theater, beginning performances on October 23rd. Steve Kosson is directing and they announced the cast on yesterday. It will star Jeff Beal, Bartley Booze, Cricket Brown, Donetta, lavinia Grays, Bruce McKenzie, Bobby Moreno, Tom Pasinka and Marian Rendone. The new work is set in Northern California at an intentional community that lives off the land. When a member of the group dies unexpectedly, everything about their world comes into question. Sounds great. Some of those people involved, especially Tom Pasenka, coming off of Stereophonic a few seasons ago seems really interesting and anytime the Vineyard or the Civilians do a show it is certainly worth checking out. And then finally Grace, we have a recommendation. It's a little bit different from our normal recommendations, but applications are now being accepted for the 2026 cohort of design Actions Springboard to Design Program. It is a tuition free theatrical design mentorship and training for students from underrepresented communities. The week long intensive is led by former Broadway radio guest Clint Ramos and David Zinn, both of them Tony Award winning designers in their own right. This year's Intensive will be held from July 19th through the 25th of 2026 at the Harvey Fierstein Theater Lab at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Applicants are asked to provide a few short essays, a brief introduction, video and an original piece of art and send a $25 application fee. But if that is difficult for anybo, applicants can request waivers for that. Deadline for applications is December 15th, so if you Want more information about that? Check it out in the show notes. Grace, this is something, obviously that is very cool, not only because of who is involved and who is leading it with Clint and David, but the opportunity to expand what the creative landscape looks like for theater beyond just the folks that traditionally work in those spaces is something incredibly valuable that hopefully not only will benefit from this, but for many other things in the future. All right, Grace, before we get out of here, by the time this comes out, art will be open. So let's do the remain review tomorrow. But can you give me, like, a one or one or two sentence thoughts that you have coming out of having seen that show during previews?
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Grace Aki
Yeah. I like it when people argue.
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Matt Tamminini
Okay. All right. That's very good. That's good. That is a good sell for this show. Here's my thing, Grace. Not related to art. I'm a little disappointed in you and the fact that it took you three whole seconds to be able to recognize Almost Famous on the streets of New York.
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Grace Aki
No, no, no, no, no. I have to defend myself. Matt. How dare you.
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Matt Tamminini
Explain. Explain what I'm talking about.
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Grace Aki
So Hollywood iq, which is an Instagram channel, they do these, like, fun man on the street, like, pieces of content where they ask random people walking through the street to name the movie in one second. The thing that you are seeing on Social is the. The one second clip and then me trying to guess it. You're seeing it close to your face. The screen that that video is playing on was 15ft away from me in the dark. So if I had been as close as your eyes are to it, I could have known that that was Almost Famous. It's one of my favorite movies, but it was 15.
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Matt Tamminini
I know.
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Grace Aki
Feet away. So I agree with you. I'm disappointed, too. But what they're not showing are all the clips of me guessing the other movies instantaneously. So, yeah, I'm gonna need Hollywood IQ to hit that collab so I can see the rest of them.
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Matt Tamminini
Okay. Yeah, I know Almost Famous is obviously one of your favorite films, and I know how good you are at those things, so it almost feels like they're just rubbing it in and.
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Grace Aki
I know, I know. And also, they didn't prep me with what movies could be. They just. They were three random movies, and then afterwards they were like, wow, you really like movies. And I was like, yeah, yeah.
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Matt Tamminini
Okay. What were the other two movies?
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Grace Aki
Well, just in case they come out, I don't want to say, but, I mean, there it was. Dream Girls was one of them. Which would have time for us to pose that one. And then the other was a Ben Stiller movie and he looked depressed, so. And I hadn't seen the movie, but I knew if it's Ben Stiller and he's depressed, it much must have been the Walter Mitte movie. And it was.
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Matt Tamminini
Oh, I would have said meet the parents. No, not meet the parents. He's not depressed in that one. Okay. All right. Either way. Well, I'll have a link to that social media video in the show notes, and you can bombard Hollywood IQ and force them to release the other videos to save Grace's good cinephile name. 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 broadwayradio. If you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio Grace. Where can people find you?
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Grace Aki
You can find me at Grace Hockey.
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Matt Tamminini
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Wednesday and we will talk to you tomorrow.
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