It's Tony Awards weekend, which means Broadway is on my mind. A lot of theatre kids lionize Broadway, and a lot of us become theatre students who learn that Broadway is neither a (necessarily) realistic career goal nor (more importantly) the artistic be-all-end-all. Broadway is most interested in big-name stars and big-brass bands and glitzy tap dance costumes and finding the next It Girl and casting her in a Nice American Drama revival. All of that is fine and often fun, and every production should be judged on its own merits. But Broadway is, of course, not so representative of the next generation of theatre artists or on-the-ground, independent work being made in New York and across the country.
Covid somewhat changed this dynamic. Once it was clear that the New York theatre shutdown would last more than just a week or two (oh, to be young and hopeful), artists and producers seemed to agree that no one was going to be making money right now anyway, so they might as well try something different. The definition of "commercial" changed or became a tad less relevant. Pass Over, Antoinette Nwandu's Waiting for Godot-inspired exploration of police brutality and racism, had a successful Off-Broadway run pre-Covid; with the play's themes in the national conversation in 2020 and 2021, producers took a chance, and the play officially reopened Broadway. (I was lucky enough to see this production, which is one of the most memorable theatre experiences I've ever had; the brilliant eeriness of the changed ending still haunts me.) Shows that had been considered "too downtown" got the chance to move to Midtown, among them Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop, which won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. (I saw a matinee in the cheap-ish seats that summer, surrounded by tourists who were excited to see the Best Musical winner and then quite confused and a little upset. "Not everything is for you" is a hard concept for Middle America to grasp.)
Broadway is still home to glitzy musicals and superfluous revivals, but it's also made space for plays like Kimberly Belflower's John Proctor is the Villain, which had a rich regional life before coming to New York this year. I feel particularly gratified that dramaturg Lauren Halvorsen is now a Tony Award nominee (the production is a Best Play contender, so that makes Lauren a Tony nominee, case closed). Halvorsen is a tireless advocate for theatre artists and workers through her newsletter Nothing For The Group, and though she frequently refutes the label of journalist, I do think that her work has changed the theatre media landscape.
That being said, I haven't actually seen John Proctor yet, so it is not included in my list of my favorite productions and performances of the 2024-25 theatre season. I do look forward to seeing which play will become the official industry darling this weekend: John Proctor, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's Purpose, or Cole Escola's Oh, Mary!.
My personal Best of Season list includes:
Pre-Existing Condition by Marin Ireland at the Connelly Theater (rip), directed by Maria Dizzia
Our Class by Tadeusz Słobodzianek, presented by Arlekin Players Theatre at Classic Stage Company, dir. Igor Golyak, adapted by Norman Allen
Pony Cam's Burnout Paradise at St. Ann's Warehouse
Xhloe and Natasha's A Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First at SoHo Playhouse (this show is back running at SoHo Playhouse through June 29!)
Liberation by Bess Wohl at Roundabout Theatre Company, dir. Whitney White
Becoming Eve by Emil Weinstein, adapted from Abby Chava Stein, presented by New York Theatre Workshop at Abrons Arts Center, dir. Tyne Rafaeli
The companies of Our Class and Liberation
The company of Purpose, with a special shoutout to Alana Arenas
Richard Topol in Arlekin Players Theatre's The Merchant of Venice at Classic Stage Company
Stella Marcus in The Curse of the Starving Class at The New Group
Scenic designer Jason Ardizzone-West's tree in Redwood
Tatiana Maslany in Pre-Existing Condition
Richard Schiff in Becoming Eve
Natalie Walker's "I Literally Die" in The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse at The New Group (music and lyrics by Michael Breslin, with additional music and lyrics by Patrick Foley)
T. Ryder Smith in Eurydice at Signature Theatre
Honorable mention: Oh, Mary! and Escola's performance (I saw Oh, Mary! off-Broadway last season, not this one)
Over Memorial Day weekend, my play dear kitty (or, not another anne frank play): a travesty received a second developmental reading, this time with the theatre company LakeHouseRanchDotPng in Florida. I was very excited to hear that someone who isn't me was interested in my work — a playwright's dream!
Thank you to director (and LakeHouse artistic director and co-founder) Brandon Urrutia for your faith in the play. Brandon's play Current World Record is running at The Tank here in New York this weekend and next, and it made me gasp out loud.
