Podcast Summary

MickeyJoTheatre

Episode: The Best and Worst Things About Broadway Shows | Reviewing Every Play and Musical on Broadway
Host: Mickey-Jo (MickeyJoTheatre)
Date: November 22, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, theatre critic and personality Mickey-Jo embarks on a humorous and insightful challenge: to name the best and worst thing about every single play and musical currently running on Broadway – whether he’s seen them or not. Using a reverse-alphabetical list, Mickey-Jo delivers rapid-fire critiques, candid opinions, and signature wit, exploring everything from blockbuster musicals to brand-new plays. Along the way, he comments on cultural moments, casting, storytelling decisions, and the wider industry context, inviting listeners to agree, disagree, and share their own thoughts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Format & Approach to the Review

• Mickey-Jo sets the tone by explaining that his assessments are a blend of serious critique and tongue-in-cheek observations.
• Reviews are given for every current Broadway show, including those he hasn’t yet seen, and range from artistic to experiential, and sometimes cultural or industry-wide remarks.
• “Some of these answers might be a little bit tongue in cheek, but some of them I think are entirely accurate...” (02:53)

2. Reverse-Alphabetical Rundown: Best and Worst of Broadway

Highlights from Each Show

A selection of notable entries and arguments:

Wicked (Gershwin Theatre)

• Best: “Defying Gravity is the defining moment... maybe the best Act 1 finale that there is.” (03:42)
• Worst: The existence of the new two-part film “fleshes out the story” more, which makes the stage show feel “a little bit faster.” (04:08)

Waiting for Godot

• Best: New “slightly more playful route... using characters of Bill and Ted” and reframing the iconic status of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. (04:27)
• Worst: “I'm sorry, Samuel Beckett, is that it’s Waiting for Godot.” (04:46)

Six: The Musical

• Best: Casting allows performers to “make the show their own... like going back to see a band that you love.” (06:11)
• Worst: Initially, “the American accent can be a little bit jarring,” and the show is “inherently a little bit insubstantial... one of the lighter Broadway shows.” (07:05)

Ragtime

• Best: “One of the greatest book musicals ever written... a string of relentlessly great and extraordinary and huge songs all in a row.” (08:41)
• Worst: Tendency “to let the score and the material simply speak for itself... I would also love a set.” (09:36)

The Outsiders

• Best: “The sequence in the second act when they Fight in the Rain. The staging of that is absolutely extraordinary.” (11:03)
• Worst: Script “still sort of feels as though it’s behaving like a book... too much narration.” (11:22)

Operation Mincemeat

• Best: “The ‘Dear Bill’ moment... goes from zany, silly comedy to heartbreaking emotional sincerity.” (11:45)
• Worst: The “combination of the Britishness... and the sound design at the Golden Theatre,” making it hard for non-Brits to catch all the jokes. (12:39)

Moulin Rouge!

• Best: “Opening of the second act... Sonya Tayer’s choreography... show stopping.” (15:14)
• Worst: Swapping out “One Day I’ll Fly Away” for Katy Perry’s “Firework” and miscasting Satine’s age against the storyline. (15:37)
• “You can have that one for free, Moulin Rouge. Just a couple of things to consider.” (16:08)

MJ: The Musical

• Best: “The choreography... celebratory of dance and the way that it unpacks Michael Jackson’s artistic and emotional relationship with dance and choreography...” (16:24)
• Worst: Focuses on “a moment in Michael Jackson’s life leading up to, but not including the start of the serious allegations... It’s an impossibly unavoidable elephant in the room.” (16:55)

Hadestown

• Best: “The healing sensation, the catharsis and the emotional recovery that it can offer to audiences... creating space for healing.” (29:35)
• Worst: “So lyrically dense that people struggle to emotionally connect... need to go back and see it again.” (30:13)

The Great Gatsby

• Best: “The scale... the music, the choreography, the set design, the cars... perfect for what people expect Broadway to be.” (30:28)
• Worst: “Based on a book with considerably more nuance... turning characters into utterly traditional heterosexual love interests.” (31:05)

Death Becomes Her

• Best: “It is unashamedly for the gays... it leans utterly in to its campiness.” (31:41)
• Worst: “It’s the song that Ernest sings in the second act... I still think it’s a terrible song.” (32:07)

Chicago

• Best: “It has branded the Fosse style of choreography and made it recognisable the world over.” (32:45)
• Worst: “A long running show... can be a little bit tired... film adaptation has more panache in moments than the stage show.” (33:15)

The Book of Mormon

• Best: “A musical that straight boyfriends who aren’t into musicals are probably more willing to go and see.” (36:16)
• Worst: “Relationship to race is multilayered... actors are positioned... to be laughed at for playing racist caricatures by majority white audiences.” (37:16)

Aladdin

• Best: “‘Friend Like Me’... a great sequence tailored well to its theatrical setting... great effects.” (38:45)
• Worst: “Cutting all of the animals out... No Abu. No Iago... detracts from the whimsy.” (39:05)

& Juliet

• Best: “Tells important stories... female-led, celebratory, queer, inclusive Shakespearean riffing musical that is a multi-year hit on Broadway.” (39:47)
• Worst: “Has empowered other jukebox musicals to think... they can pull together a list of songs by different artists and call it a cohesive score.” (40:22)

(Full reviews of every show—including niche criticisms, personal fears of magicians, and praise for specific production numbers or star cameo turns—run rapid-fire from 02:00–40:50 in the episode.)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The best thing about Wicked on Broadway is Defying Gravity... It’s still maybe the best Act 1 finale that there is. Certainly I think the best one that there is on Broadway right now.” (03:45)
• “The worst thing about MJ... is the way the show deliberately focuses in on a moment in Michael Jackson’s life leading up to, but not including the start of the serious allegations against him so that it doesn’t have to address it.” (16:55)
• “The healing sensation, the catharsis and the emotional recovery that [Hadestown] can offer to audiences.” (29:35)
• “By buying a ticket to go and see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, you are inadvertently funding transphobia.” (25:52)
• “Musical theatre girlies... If you have a boyfriend who is not only willing but enthusiastic to go with you to all the musicals, then…you either are incredibly lucky…or you have a gay boyfriend and that’s okay too.” (36:46)
• On Operation Mincemeat: “I don't think too British can be a shortcoming. Maybe it’s the sound design at the Golden Theatre... and [that] a majority of audience members might be struggling to understand the words that are being said...” (12:39)
• On Death Becomes Her: "It is unashamedly for the gays... That has really been the success, the making of the show and what makes it so delightful and sexy and fun." (31:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:58] Mickey-Jo’s Introduction/Challenge Explained
• [03:42–40:22] Best & Worst of Every Broadway Show (Reverse Alphabetical Order)
  • Particular timestamp highlights:
    • [03:45] Wicked review
    • [06:11] Six: The Musical review
    • [16:24] MJ: The Musical review
    • [25:42] Harry Potter and the Cursed Child review
    • [29:35] Hadestown review
    • [32:45] Chicago review
    • [36:16] Book of Mormon review
    • [38:45] Aladdin review
    • [39:47] & Juliet review
• [40:36] Episode sign-off

Tone and Language

Mickey-Jo delivers critiques in a conversational, witty, and deeply knowledgeable style, blending earnest appreciation with playful sarcasm. He approaches the Broadway landscape as both a fan and a critic, and frequently breaks the fourth wall to engage with listeners and viewers directly.

Conclusion

In this whirlwind, ultra-comprehensive episode, Mickey-Jo offers a snapshot of Broadway’s current scene—celebrating its triumphs, poking fun at its quirks, and drawing attention to longstanding issues (representation, industry politics, and more). The episode is accessible and entertaining for both seasoned theatre fans and Broadway newbies, with humor and insight packed into each segment.

“I hope that you enjoy. For slightly more serious and more in-depth analysis of a bunch of Broadway and West End shows, make sure you subscribe…” (40:32)

If you’re curious what makes Broadway tick—or just want to know whether you’ll love or hate a specific show—Mickey-Jo’s rapid-fire take is the perfect pre–theatre binge.