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It was nice to see a good turnout for the final performance by Kunoichi Productions' production of Pacific Overtures at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco. The audience was enthusiastic and the company was even more revved up than when I saw it last weekend. Keko Shimosato Carreiro, who played The Reciter, spoke emotionally to the audience after a standing ovation at the show's conclusion.

I've made my positive comments before, but I can only r

Binau, I second the praise for your review, which both explains the conceits of the revival while highlighting what you thought worked. It is, however, making me regret not seeing a more traditional production of Evita. (There was a local production not long ago, but some life stuff happened and I missed it.)

I had seen Sunset Blvd. before, both the film and the Glenn Close production in Los Angeles, so I didn’t have to worry about the plot - just the

I said in my first comment about the review that I appreciate critics who don’t whitewash a show’s flaws just because it is a small production. It must be awkward to both cover the local theater scene - and many San Francisco Bay Area theaters have closed since 2019, which Lily Janiak has written about - while also being an honest critic.

But there’s a line between honest criticism and nastiness, especially when aimed at actors and directors who are doing this as

I realized the other day that I am running out of musicals with music and/or lyrics by Stephen Sondheim that I haven't seen in person at least once. (I am not counting the films.) The ones I haven't seen are Saturday Night, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the  Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Do I Hear a Waltz?, The Frogs, Passion (though I've seen the Great Performances pro-shot), and Wise Guy

Hi Wayman,

I think it’s safe to say that you know a lot more about Pacific Overtures than I do. This was my first time seeing it. I always worry a bit when seeing ambitious shows by small theater companies, but it’s often very rewarding (and sometimes brings something different out of a show). I knew in advance that women were in the cast, but because I had never experienced the traditional version in person and am not a purist, that didn’t both

binau said: "I am very hopeful MHE can now recoup. If it can, it’s the best thing to keep investors willing to play this game. Someone said in the NYtimes I think it was that it is harder to find investors these days because of the economic dynamics, so we need these success stories.

It’s probably helped by strong baseline sales that strange loop and fun home never had, but it’s looking like the tony win is giving this the boost it needed to become a sell

pippy1 said: "Just saw this yesterday (I thought we’d get understudies but they were all there) - I have to admit there was part of me that thought I would leave at intermission. I had read up on the story beforehand, but I still had a bit of trouble understanding some of the jokes because of their accents. At times, I had trouble keeping my eyes open. BUT….I am so glad I stuck around. After the Dear Bill song (he deserved the Tony 100%), something clicked for me and I d

Random thoughts:

- For anyone who saw ‘Rose’s Turn’ at Radio City Music Hall, how did it come across? As someone who loved it in the Majestic, it felt like McDonald was playing to a much bigger audience in the building as opposed to modulating her performance for viewers at home. Then again, for people who think she was acting with a capital A, I doubt they would like it anywhere. It worked for me, overall, worked even more for my family - who seemed more blown away b

I knew some of this from following this board but the story emphasized just how grim things were last fall - first because it wasn’t totally clear the musical would open at all, and then its early - and costly - box office struggles.

This show wouldn’t have survived if it had come out in the spring. It needed the space for word of mouth to build.

The discouraging thing is the reality that it’s really difficult to make money on a new Broadway musical. I thi

Based on YouTube views, the two biggest draws were the Hamilton reunion (first by a mile) and Cynthia Erivo (her opening number and the In Memorium performance both are scoring well). 

The downside? Hamilton doesn’t really need the help, and Cynthia Erivo left Broadway a long time ago. But you can bet CBS wants her back if she’s willing.

Jonathan Groff’s and Nicole Scherzinger’s performances also are doing w

binau said: "I really hope to god they will film Audra - such as the closing performance. Ultimately this is more important than a Tony win over the long term. If I recall we ALMOST had Patti on film but when things went south and they closed early the whole thing was cancelled. Now we're stuck with Imelda Staunton's version which is FINE but I prefer Audra's vocals.”

I am increasingly convinced that getting a show filmed, if done well, is critical to it

Kad said: "Woah, I was not expecting such a jump. But I think there were a number of things working in favor for that this year: Erivo and the Wicked wave, a number of shows having big success on social media (it may not reliably translate to ticket sales, but going from TikTok to watching the Tonys makes sense to me), Hamilton’s reunion, competitive categories, and a higher profile season overall."

It doesn’t take too much to cause a ratings spike, as th