Micky Jo (0:00)

So what I'm envisioning is this. Go with me here. Some sort of a mashup between the theme from New York, New York and the hot honey rag from Chicago would go a little something like this. It's up to you. Kick New. Kick York New Baddle up. Bad la. Bad La Battle. La Battle. La Battle. Dump that jazz. I don't know, just off the top of my head. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to you if you are listening to this on podcast platforms. My name is Micky Jo and I am obsessed with all things theater, theatre and I have some exciting news to share. Now, if you're meeting me for the first time, I am a professional theatre critic and content creator here on social media, predominantly on YouTube, where not only do I share reviews of the shows that I get to go and see around the world, but occasionally I also share vlogs about trips to go and see some of those shows, particularly when I'm going to see a show in a different country. I've done this a handful of times for trips to New York, most recently back in March to see a lot of the new Broadway spring openings, but we didn't get to see all of them. And the Tony Awards, as I'm sure you know, as I have said many times, are approaching in early June, and those of you who did know me already may well have been wondering if I was planning to go back and see the rest of the shows that I hadn't yet caught pre Tony Awards. And the answer, of course, is yes. So I'm very happy to let you know that I'm going to be returning to New York imminently. In fact, when you are seeing this, I will already be either in the sky or already in New York City, potentially on my way to the theater because I waste no time. But wait, there's. There's more. So when I was planning this particular trip, it materialized that the timing would work out for us to also. When I say us, I mean myself and my stagey fiance, Erin James, who travels with me. We are also going to have the very exciting opportunity to travel over to Chicago, Illinois for the very first time for either of us, and go and see a handful of shows over there. So today I want to let you know a little bit more about this trip, why we're going at this particular time, the other excitements about being in New York in June, as well as all of the shows that I'm planning to see, as well as the ones that I'm Considering we are going to arrive inevitably with a a handful of free slots, particularly in New York. So I'm still weighing the possible shows that we could go and see now while I'm in Manhattan and subsequently in Chicago, I do expect it to be a very full schedule. I will still do my best to release videos as quickly as possible. Look forward to lots more Broadway reviews of the shows that I haven't seen yet, as well as vlogs of the trip. Expect a lot of footage because we're doing a lot of stuff and a couple more surprises along the way. Maybe I have some interviews lined up, maybe I have some exciting press opportunities, some Mickey Jo Theatre firsts. Much to look forward to. And if you want to make sure you don't miss miss any of it, you got to be subscribed right here on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button and then go ahead and turn on notifications so that your mobile device lets you know Every time I have posted a new video or if you're hearing my voice right now, feel free to follow me on whatever podcast platform you might be listening to. In the meantime, let me tell you a little bit more about our upcoming New York and Chicago trips. So I have to laugh at myself because if you if you don't know if you weren't following me back then. Aaron and I first went to New York together back in March of 2023 for a two week trip that we were considering very honestly at the time to be a trip of a lifetime. And we fell so in love with Broadway and made such substantial friendships while we were there that we felt that we had to go back later in the year. So we then went again in October and we were like, you know what? We could justify going twice a year. An interesting fun fact is that most of the views I get here on YouTube come from the US now rather than the UK. So you know, it's beneficial and rewarding for me to go to Broadway Broadway shows and talk about all of that stuff. But there's also something slightly infectious about all of the buzz and the conversation around it. And if you're following musical theatre, I'm sure that you've noticed this as well. When a new show opens up on Broadway and you haven't had the chance to see it yet, you become really fascinated by it. So we ended up going more and more frequently. I think we did four separate trips in 2024. We went in January, then again in April right at the end of that season, and then in July on our way back through from Canada and then really long trip at the end of the year. Fast forward to this year, 2025. We went in January because we were on route to a Disney cruise. So we thought why not spend a little time in New York. Then we went in March where we were able to see most of the spring season new openings, but not all of them. And for me, being based in the uk, trying to cover everything here as a critic, all of the West End opening nights which are very evenly spread throughout the year, throughout the calendar. Unlike Broadway, which are much more condensed, there is no one perfect time to go over to New York and see everything because inevitably you miss out on limited run run plays and early closures. So when we went back in March, we were a little bit early for a couple of shows. And those are the shows that I'm going to be prioritizing on our upcoming trip. Those shows include Floyd Collins at Lincoln Center Theatre starring Jeremy Jordan. I don't know Floyd Collins whatsoever. I do plan on listening to the cast recording fully before I go and see it. I want to have, you know, that kind of pre existing knowledge of the material because it's a revival and most of the other people I know who are theatre buffs know Floyd Collins a lot better than I do. It feels like one of my musical theater black spots. So I'm excited, excited to see that. I'm hoping I enjoy it because I have yet to really love a production at Lincoln Center. Then you have the other revival production which is Pirates, the Penzance musical down at the Todd Haymes Theatre, a Roundabout Theatre Company production. I've heard really nice and fun things about this. The cast is of course fantastic with David Hyde Pierce and Ramin Karimloo and Jinkx Monsoon, all performers that I've had the joy of seeing on stage before. Also Nicholas Barash, who I loved in the she Loves Me pro shot, who I haven't had the joy of seeing on stage before. But so much the energy of this show and what I've heard about it and what I've seen of it really excites me. So yeah, I'm definitely going to try and catch that one as well. Then there are the two new musicals that opened a little too late for us to catch them on our last trip. One of those is Real Women have Curves, which had just started previews but wasn't yet in a position to be reviewed. They weren't anywhere near press performances. However, I have heard the most stunning and joyous word of mouth from this from like all of my friends and all of my friends in New York so rarely agree on one particular show. Normally there are so many dissenting opinions, but I've only heard really charming things about this. And I was worried because, you know, they are struggling and I don't think it's a disservice to them to point out that they're struggling because it does nobody any favors to ignore it. And then the show closes because we didn't talk about this. I hear it's a lovely show. Not enough people are buying tickets. It's not in the best position geographically. It's a very crowded time when all of these shows open, when all of these theaters are full simultaneously, it's really hard for, you know, certain shows to be able to break through. And so I'm thrilled that Real Women have Curves. Seems to be sticking out until the Tony Awards and it seems as though fingers crossed unless they last minute announce closing. And by the time I'm posting this, I'm hoping that that hasn't happened or anything. That would be really dreadful. I'm hoping that we do get the chance to see that at the James Earl Jones Theatre and before I have the chance to review it, like I said, I've heard wonderful things. Please go and check it out if you can. Then there is another new musical and in fact one of this season's best new musical Tony nominees. A show which has been nominated for multiple Tony Awards, which has already won multiple awards for its Off Broadway run. I'm talking about Dead Outlaw at the Longacre Theater. The Longacre being another one that feels just a little bit cursed in my recent experience. But I've heard great things about this show and clearly it's had a lot of, you know, huge critical response. So I'm very excited to go and share my thoughts on it. I know nothing. And I think that's how I might go into this one. I don't know if I will listen to much of the music beforehand. If I'm making a huge mistake by doing that, please let me know in the comments what you think. But I think I feel good about going into this one with a almost completely blank slate and knowing very little certainly of the music. And if I said only two new musicals just then, I lied because there is also Just In Time starring Jonathan Groff up at the Circle in the Square Theater. I'll be honest, I forgot this show was happening because so many new shows were coming in in the spring. And I kept forgetting about this one. And since it has begun performances again. This has surprised everyone, I think, because you know, we've seen a lot of jukebox bio musicals doing a similar sort of a thing, but there seems to be a real joy and vitality to this that is leaving really charmed and I want to get in on that as well. So I am very excited to return to the Circle in the Square only for the second time to go and see Jonathan Groff and the cast of Just In Time. And because the Tony Awards are looming, I will do my best to get all of those reviews out as quickly as possible. I'm also planning to hold off on my Tony Awards predictions until I've seen all of those shows. So you're going to have to bear with me on that one. But I think it's important because I'm going to have had the chance to see all of them to hold off on predicting the Tonys until I have so those are the shows which we are definitely seeing in New York. We then arrive at a couple that we may might see and a couple that we might return to having seen before. We still haven't seen Operation Mincemeat on Broadway and I've seen the show plenty of times, a handful of times in the West End three I think. I think I'd seen it as many times also pre West End in much smaller off West End theaters while it was in development. The show has always been terrific since the very first time that I saw it and it's been so exciting watching them ascend to the heights of Olivier Award wins and Broadway and Tony Award nominations. It would be really wonderful to go and see the show on Broadway with that fantastic original company, three of whom co wrote the show with Felix. That has to happen at some point. I'm not too worried about Mincemeat that I feel like I need to do it asap. There is a question in my mind of which show we go and see after the Tony Awards on the Tuesday. John Proctor might win out here just because it's a play I desperately need to return to. There are certain things that happen in that play that mean you are empowered to see it very differently on the repeat visit. I think once you see it for the first time, you'll understand it's a play you need to see at least twice, minimum twice. And currently it's still a limited run on Broadway. My hope is it wins a bunch of Tony Awards and goes on to extend and then announce international productions because I think young people around the world need John Proctor as the villain and deserve John Proctor as the villain. But I definitely need to see it again before it closes. Here's another one that I didn't rush to on my last trip, but now would really love to see Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. And I saw it a couple of times in London and Bernadette Peterson, Lea Salongo were both. Then you might be able to see the signed poster over there on the wall behind me. They didn't sign it for me personally. I bought that at Musical Con, but I really loved that production and it was my first time getting to see Bernadette Peters on stage. And that meant an extraordinary amount to me. And, you know, I suddenly thought, after our last trip, why am I not taking advantage of the opportunity to go and see Bernadette do Sondheim while I still have the chance? Now, I haven't mentioned many plays here, and I've not become a man of extraordinary wealth since the last time we spoke about Othello. So I still don't believe that I will be seeing that. It also wasn't nominated many Tony Awards. So it's not really part of the conversation. They're doing fine. They're doing wonderfully. In fact, they're doing great business at the box office. Good for Othello. I don't need to be involved in that. That's absolutely fine. They're going to sell with or without the reviews. That has already been established. I feel similarly about Glengarry Glen Ross, which has been recognized by the Tony Awards, but it hasn't filled me with enthusiasm to go and see a David Mamet play in the current political climate. Now, good night and good luck. I actually would have gone to sea. I would have got up real early and stood on the street and tried to get a rush ticket for that show if they hadn't announced that they are going be screaming it on TV while we're in the US So maybe we just stay in that night and have a good night and good luck. Like movie night on the sofa. The Broadway schedule can get very hectic. And while I don't think that that would compare to the live theatrical experience and my preference, obviously, who are we talking about here? Is always going to be being in a theater because that's uniquely special. I think, you know, once we get to that point in the week, I'm probably gonna feel like, yeah, maybe we just stay in and watch Good Night and Good Luck on TV with some sn, the One play. And this might surprise you because it surprised me, honestly, that I think I might return to is Stranger Things, the First Shadow. And this is mostly because I've heard there have been really substantial changes since the London production. And there's also a handful of shows that I might go back to because of the casting right now, the historic casting currently going on at Wicked. Would love to go and see that. But also the new cast members of Hadestown with Ali, I think. Oh, that would be exciting. And Jordan Fisher in Moulin Rouge. Jordan Fisher, the Prince of Broadway. Going into all of these shows and breathing exciting new vocal life into them. I think that would be really fun to see as well. And you know, I don't just see Broadway shows. There are a couple of Off Broadway things I've had my eye on as well, including Goddess at the Public. Never seen a show at the Public, but heard great things, particularly about Amber Iman's performance. She was so wonderful in Lempicka. I would love to go and see that. The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse is another one that I'm very intrigued by, as is Bow the Musical, which my friend Matt Roden is going to be doing off Broadway as well. I think I might be there in time to catch some of the early pre performances of that one. But definitely plenty of exciting things to see in June. Oh, my gosh, there's one more as well. I hadn't thought about this one because it's not part of the last season, it's part of the new season. Jean Smart is returning to Broadway in a play called Call Me izzy at Studio 54. This one just started previews, and I've heard some good things, so I think I'm going to try and catch that as well. There you go, another play. And so you begin to understand why we're going back so soon, because there is, in fact, plenty of stories, stuff for us to go and see. But also, I've never been to New York in June before, and that's exciting for a couple of reasons. One of them is it's not quite as hot as July, which was hell the last time we were there. Another is the fact that it is going to be Pride Month. I've never been in New York during Pride, and in the current political landscape, I think that's going to feel all the more vital and empowering and necessary. And in conjunction with that, all of the playbills, which are complimentary at Broadway shows historically become Pride bills with a rainbow design across the top, which is super cute. We've never actually got authentic Pride bills before. Like, friends have sent them to us and we've picked them up from flea market and things. But we've never been in a theater in June and got an actual Pride Bill. And I'm now rethinking over the shows that we're going to see and trying to figure out if some of them are a little bit of a strange choice for a Pride bill. But, you know, it's a trivial detail. Finally, the other thing that's happening in New York in June is award ceremonies and not just the Tonys. As of right now, I have have no plans, no possibility to officially attend the Tony Awards in any capacity. And, you know, it's not something I necessarily expected. I still in many ways feel like a visitor to Broadway. I am far from the most important member of the press to cover that. I would love to do it at some point in the future. But what I am really excited to tell you the weekend before the Tonys, and this is a Mickey Jo Theatre first, is I am going to be attending the Drama Desk Awards. Not just attending, but I am going to be covering the Drama Desk Awards in an official capacity, I believe, and I'm going to have to check this. I believe that I am going to have a spot on the carpet to do interviews with presenters and hosts and guests and nominees, which is very exciting in this season, obviously. And by that point, hopefully I will have seen almost all of their work. And then subsequently, I think I'm gonna get the chance to be in the press room afterwards. I've been in press rooms before, but I'm anticipating that this one might be a little bit different. I'm going to try and watch all of the various pieces of coverage that were put together last year, so I know what to expect. But yeah, I'm excited to bring you coverage of the Drama Desks. This might come as one long video. I might go live from the carpet on the Sunday night. This will be June 1st in the late afternoon evening Eastern Standard Time, so, you know, look out for that. But I hope you're excited by that because I'm really excited and I'm very grateful to everyone involved for giving me the opportunity to have official accreditation. I think that's really cool. And like I said, there might be a couple more surprises on our trip, but I don't like to promise anything before it's completely set in stone. But that is essentially finally our New York trip, after which we are going to fly from Manhattan to Chicago. Haven't booked those flights yet. Probably should to go and spend a couple of days there. Because there are a surprising number of simultaneous exciting shows happening right now in Chicago. The one that drew my focus there immediately and is responsible for kind of birthing this idea in my mind is the North American premiere of the musical 42 Balloons by Jack Godfrey. Jack Godfrey, a rising star British composer whose work I have thoroughly enjoyed in a couple of shows. Now, 42 balloons we first saw a couple of years ago in concert and we were just blown away by the show and the score. It's truly one of the next really exciting things musically and Jack is one of the next really exciting contemporary musical theatre voices. We might even be in a time now where I feel like I can call it post contemporary musical theatre. Are we there yet? Is that a thing? Does that make any kind of sense whatsoever? Anyhow, 42 Balloons had its first fully staged production last year, I believe at the Salford Lowry. I caught that on its opening night and now we're going to try and catch it in Chicago as well. The same lead performers are reprising their roles, Charlie and Yvie, with a new ensemble cast around them and what looks to be a slightly bigger production. I think there's a new song as well and I do believe that this show is eventually going to make it to Broadway and to the west end. I think 42 balloons is a really special show. If you're going to be in Chicago, traveling through, living there, while 42 balloons is on at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, I encourage you to go and check it out. That's a big Mickey Jo Theatre recommendation. Or just and listen to the cast album and get into it and get ready for its inevitable next step. But we wanted to make sure that we caught it in Chicago. That just feels special to us. Side note here. I've been telling people for months that we're planning a trip to New York and Chicago and it speaks to the theatrical circle of people. I've surrounded myself with that. Everyone's follow up question has been Chicago like the show, like you've seen that on Broadway before multiple times. And it made me think, wouldn't it be fun if there was a production of New York, New York being staged in Chicago while the production of Chicago continues to run in New. Oh, I'm silly now. While that may not be happening, another show that we saw on our very first trip ever to Broadway back in March of 2023 is going to be playing in Chicago. I am talking about the first national tour of Kimberly Akimbo, the Tony Award winning musical. We loved the show, we saw it twice on Broadway I sort of regretted not going to see it for a third time when we were in town during its closing weekend. But when they announced Carolee Carmelo, one of my favorites of all time, leading the national tour, I knew that I wanted to try and catch this at some point. And I've never seen a US national tour before because we've only really seen theatre in New York in a couple of producing houses in New Jersey and one theater in Connecticut. So very excited to catch Kimberly Akimbo in Chicago. But for the other shows, I really wanted to try and find, you know, productions that had been created in Chicago. And there are a few of them. One of them is the Midwest regional premiere of Diana the musical. Yes, that one. I've seen Diana in concert. I've never seen a fully staged production. So I am really intrigued about this. I think it's being done in like a black box theater, which only makes it more exciting to me. There is also the non replica production of Titanique. So different staging, I believe, certainly different designs. Celine is wearing a red sparkly dress rather than the sort of champagne gold one that you see in the original production. Although this one is still directed by the same director, Ty Blue. So I'm really curious. But Titanique is a show I love anywhere. And who knew that Titanique was going to become one of the few shows I will have seen on two continents in three different seasons. Cities. If only I could have caught the Australian production. I believe that the Goodman Theatre is doing a revival of the Color Purple, but I don't think it's going to start until after we leave. And there is only a finite time that we could be out of the country because there are a lot of big openings happening in the West End like Evita and Hercules and Stereophonic that we had to try and get back for. There's also a play at Steppenwolf. I don't know much about the play, but there's a big part of me that would just love to go and see something at Steppenwolf because it's such a theatrical institution. Steppenwolf also is where purpose that's currently on Broadway, that just won the Pulitzer. Also originated and in a completely different direction a little bit outside of Chicago. There is a production of Cats using circus themed elements. Think Cats, the Jellicle Ball. But instead of transplanting the music and the story of Cats to ballroom culture, it's been transplanted to the world of circus. It's Cats, but circus themed. And I had no idea that this was happening. And then I have seen pictures and I have seen footage and now I am desperate to go and see circus cats. I don't know what's going on with the licensing right now for Cats Cats that all of these wild high concept productions are all suddenly being licensed because I think there's like a, like a cowboy themed cats, like a western style cats happening somewhere in the US Obviously there was the ballroom cats, which is planning a New York return at some point with details to be confirmed. But in the meantime, I want to go see circus cats because absolutely. Why would I not? And as for everything else we're going to do while we're in Chicago, we're going to be there for a few days. I'm pretty excited about it. I want to try a deep dish pizza at some point. If anyone has good recommendations about like the right place to go and try proper Chicago deep dish, let me know. Bonus points if you can find somewhere with gluten free options so that Erin can enjoy some as well. And in general, just feel free to either email me comment down below, DM me on Instagram, whatever it may be with Chicago restaurant and culture recommendations. I know that there is a specific theatrical bookshop. I want to go and check that out. I think we have to go and take a photo at some point with the bean. That's like a thing that people do in Chicago. There are a lot of sights that I want to see, none of them more so than the painting by Georges Seurat which inspired Sunday in the park with George by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. The painting which I believe is actually called A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, something to that effect. But that is in Chicago and no way I can pass through Chicago and not go and pay a pilgrimage to that and probably cry if I'm being completely honest. There's also the typical touristy things that we'll probably do. Like there's a viewing plan platform there as well. But I'm very open to suggestions when it comes to our Chicago trip. And if anyone is based in Chicago and wants me to do like a fun stagey meetup, then that's definitely something that we could consider doing. Just let me know. In the meantime, that is literally everything that I planned so far. If you're watching or listening to this on the day that I posted it, then we are literally flying to the US today. Hopefully that all goes great. I will try and bring you all of the content as soon as possible, but there is going to be plenty of content eventually. So stay tuned, make sure you're subscribed, and if you want to contribute to the Schmackery and Junior's Cheesecake Fund, there is a button here on YouTube somewhere below my face where you can tip for this video. You don't have to. I'm not suggesting that, and realistically we're going to get a lot of schmackeries and cheesecake regardless, but I thought I would let you know that the option is there if you wanted to help, but it would also be just as helpful to drop any theater culture restaurant otherwise recommendations in the comments section down below and I will read all of them and keep planning this exciting trip. In the meantime, thank you so much for continuing to watch and listen along. It's because of all of you watching that I get to do exciting stuff like this. So thank you all so much and I hope that you enjoy the vlogs and the reviews and everything else that is going to come out of this trip and I'm excited to bring it to you soon. And I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a Stagey day. Subscribe.