Theater

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one night in boston

Heated Rivalry Is Chess

 What’s hockey if not literally a cold war? By Rebecca Alter
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stage whisperer

Let’s Talk About the Marvel to Oh, Mary! Pipeline

 First came Kumail Nanjiani. Now it’s Simu Liu. Who’s next? By Rebecca Alter
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theater

What to See on (and Off)(and Off–Off) Broadway

 Let Vulture’s theater desk be your guide. By Vulture Editors
  1. politics
    Kennedy Center President Asked for $1 Million in Damages After Musician CanceledChuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve performance at the last minute due to the Trump name change.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  2. merry christmas!
    Does The Nutcracker Usually Have Tony Hawk?Hey, it makes as much sense as Mother Ginger.
    By Bethy Squires
  3. the law
    Playwrights Horizons Sued Over BIPOC Night DiscountEd Blum, the lawyer who led a Supreme Court case against affirmative action, is taking on New York theater discounts.
    By Jason P. Frank
  4. one night in boston
    Heated Rivalry Is ChessWhat’s hockey if not literally a cold war?
    By Rebecca Alter
  5. kencen
    Oh Good, It’s Called the Trump-Kennedy Center NowDemocratic representative Joyce Beatty attempted to object to the Center’s new name at the board meeting but was muted.
    By Jason P. Frank
  7. stage whisperer
    Let’s Talk About the Marvel to Oh, Mary! PipelineFirst came Kumail Nanjiani. Now it’s Simu Liu. Who’s next?
    By Rebecca Alter
  8. theater review
    A Fresh, Sharp Tartuffe That Shakes the Powder off the WigsMatthew Broderick and David Cross star in Lucas Hnath’s new translation of Molière.
    By Sara Holdren
  9. theater review
    Michelle Williams Hits Every High Note in Anna ChristieO’Neill wrote a rich and chewy set of parts to play, and Thomas Kail’s production finds their tactile vitality.
    By Sara Holdren
  10. the struggle dance
    It’s a Privilege to Watch Ruthie Ann Miles Portray Grief On Stage“I am giving a gift to the audience to watch me in my pain.”
    By Jason P. Frank
  11. travel plans
    Jeremy O. Harris Is Now in Japan By ChoiceA rep said he was released from custody without charges but is staying in the country.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  12. theater review
    Return of the Replicants: Marjorie PrimeA thoughtful, well-wrought play that’s cool to the touch.
    By Sara Holdren
  13. mdma in the back garden
    Jeremy O. Harris Has Been in Japanese Custody for Almost a MonthThe playwright and producer was arrested for bringing ecstasy into Okinawa.
    By Jason P. Frank
  14. theater review
    This Christmas Carol Tries to Put Scrooge on the CouchPlus a very different UK social critique in The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions.
    By Sara Holdren
  15. in conclusion
    The Best Plays and Musicals of 2025High-school agonies, Wilde and Chekhov and Caryl Churchill, and an encounter group that left our critics enthralled.
    By Sara Holdren and Jackson McHenry
  16. remember 2020?
    Nathan Lane’s Death of a Salesman Survived the PandemicJoined by Laurie Metcalf, as previously planned; Christopher Abbott; and “Clock Twink.”
    By Jason P. Frank
  17. secret lives of broadway wives
    Whitney Leavitt Had Her Chicago Casting ComingDancing With the Stars gives Broadway another Roxie Hart.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  18. remembrance
    Tom Stoppard Was the Real ThingEspecially for me.
    By Sara Holdren
  19. the year in culture
    What the Culturati 50 Loved in 2025While we were watching these culture-makers, they were watching each other.
    By The Editors
  20. rip
    Tom Stoppard, Tony- and Oscar-Winning Playwright, Dead at 88Mick Jagger remembered his “favourite playwright” in a touching tribute.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  21. theater review
    Kara Young Is Bloody Excellent in Gruesome Playground InjuriesNicholas Braun gets good work in, too, but this series of scenelets is less than the sum of its parts.
    By Jackson McHenry
  22. theater review
    Initiative Has 18 Charisma, 19 Dexterity, 20 StrengthElse Went’s play, set among a group of millennials playing D&D around the turn of the century, catches the forever feeling of being a teenager.
    By Sara Holdren
  23. theater review
    Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) Is a Little Sweet, a Little SpongyA charming musical that might have been more effective at smaller scale.
    By Jackson McHenry
  24. let me be frank
    Kevin Spacey Is Living in the PastHe says he doesn’t “live anywhere” as he attempts a one-man music show and waits for the phone to ring.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  25. reunions
    Jason Isaacs Went to See Tom Felton As Broadway’s Draco MalfoyHe praised his Harry Potter son for having “balls like ostrich eggs” and being “so brave.”
    By Jennifer Zhan
  26. theater review
    Dawn of a Dull Day: Tom Hanks in This World of TomorrowHis story about time travel to the 1939 New York World’s Fair really needed another pass through the typewriter.
    By Jackson McHenry
  27. theater review
    Nazareth Hassan’s Practice Horrified Me, Exactly As IntendedA play about psychological manipulation in a theater troupe doesn’t need buckets of fake blood to leave everyone unsettled.
    By Sara Holdren
  28. theater review
    Conversion on the Road to Calabasas: Meet the CartoziansIn Talene Monahon’s play, assimilation is both goal and enemy.
    By Jackson McHenry
  29. theater review
    The Winner Takes It All: Chess Returns to BroadwayIt’s dripping in 1980s absurdity, and I had a blast.
    By Sara Holdren
  30. theater review
    Thornton Wilder Retailored: The Seat of Our PantsNew songs and dances and contemporary language give this adaptation of The Skin of Our Teeth freshness but also slow it down.
    By Sara Holdren
  31. theater review
    I’m Not a Regular Mom, I’m a Cool Mom: Robert Icke Does OedipusSophocles’s play gets slashingly remade — by a guy, yet again — in a production that, while not flawless, is vivid and potent.
    By Sara Holdren
  32. theater review
    The Proto-Incels Who Blew Up Europe: ArchdukeRajiv Joseph’s vivid play finds echoes of today’s lost boys in the sad-sack assassins of 1914.
    By Sara Holdren
  33. an englishman and jamaican in ny
    Sting and Shaggy on Broadway, for 9 Nights OnlyThe BFFs will share the stage in a new The Last Ship adaptation.
    By Devon Ivie
  34. theater review
    Is The Baker’s Wife Fixable?Ariana DeBose and the rest of the cast chow down on an undercooked premise.
    By Jackson McHenry
  35. theater review
    Gilt or Guilt? The Queen of Versailles Can’t DecidePlus: A weirdly similar paradox in Anne Washburn’s The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire.
    By Sara Holdren
  36. theater review
    Stories You Think You Know: Blue Cowboy and Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?)Two solo shows that seem like familiar narratives about identity then take unexpected turns.
    By Jackson McHenry
  37. bear with us
    I Would Die for the West End PaddingtonPerformed by two puppeteers, he deserves all the marmalade sandwiches in the world.
    By Jennifer Zhan
  38. theater review
    Of Fossil Fuels and Fury: Kyoto and Jewish PlotAnd playing to your audience vs. confronting it.
    By Jackson McHenry
  39. forever brat summer
    Rachel Zegler Says her Pre-Evita Playlist was Heavy on Brat“Like in ‘Von Dutch,’ she knows that you’re obsessed with her.”
    By Bethy Squires
  40. theater review
    What Happens When Bat Boy Grows Up?The cult musical gets a full-out production at City Center, and the scaling-up takes a little bite out of its sense of mischief.
    By Jackson McHenry
  41. theater review
    You Won’t Stop Watching Laurie Metcalf in Little Bear Ridge RoadSamuel D. Hunter’s play is custom-tailored to her onstage skills. Is that enough to make it great?
    By Jackson McHenry
  42. life in pictures
    Misty Copeland’s Final BowA photo diary of the dancer’s last day as a principal for the American Ballet Theatre.
    Photographs by Henry Leutwyler
  43. the time warp
    The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway Finds Its Beefy Frank-N-FurterThis “sweet transvestite” is a muscle queen.
    By Jason P. Frank
  44. theater review
    Re-Encountering Bess Wohl’s Liberation on BroadwayIts emotional power, discovered through reporting and deep feeling, still comes through in a larger house.
    By Jackson McHenry
  45. relationships
    Jonathan Groff Reconnected With Gavin Creel Right Before He Died“He texted me congratulations, and that was the last interaction we ever had.”
    By Jason P. Frank
  46. carrying the banner
    Broadway Musicians Reach a Deal to Avoid StrikeA tentative agreement with “meaningful wage and health benefit increases” was met at 4:30 a.m. on October 23.
    By Jason P. Frank
  47. on set
    Naked and UnafraidHow Bess Wohl’s Liberation pulls off Broadway’s most daring scene of the year.
    By Sara Holdren
  48. encounter
    Harvey Fierstein Is Now a Full-Time QuilterThe seven-time Tony winner is writing a book on his later-in-life career change.
    By Zach Schiffman
  49. theater review
    America in Major and Minor Keys: Ragtime ReturnsA dreamy story of a nation facing a new century.
    By Jackson McHenry
  50. theater review
    Two Plays Where the Lord Might Be Found Back HomeJen Tullock’s Nothing Can Take You From the Hand of God and Jordan E. Cooper’s Oh Happy Day! seek the divine in their characters’ hometowns.
    By Jackson McHenry
  51. q&a
    Heather Christian, Certified Genius, Loves Spirographs and Blooming Onions“I’m just not slick.”
    By Sara Holdren
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