The 2025 Best & Worst of Broadway/theater lists

New York Theater - Jonathan Mandell

Top 10 New York Theater for Which I'm Grateful in 2025

Updated On: 12/3/25 at 11:24 PM

Love that so many of these are highlighting Just in Time and Groff. Now that we’re removed from it a bit, I really think he should’ve won the Tony over Criss. Criss is definitely very good, but Groff is dynamic.

P.S. I’m aware Criss isn’t in the conversation here bc MHE technically opened the year before.

Updated On: 12/3/25 at 02:58 AM

So happy to see Ragtime showing up on so many lists.

Liked Criss fine - but that wig, make up and material did a lot of work for him. Loved Tom Francis & Jonathan Groff most - and Jordan's vocals. Criss (and Arden) just rode the "look what happened" MHE narrative wave to wins (and were shows not closing). The category is "Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical". Not "Best Acting in a Musical" for the Tonys.

Updated On: 12/3/25 at 11:18 AM

Criss has a very specific assignment in Maybe Happy Ending that feels unfair to put against what Groff has to do in Just In Time. One is fully embodying a character with constraints that other roles wouldn’t have (because they aren’t, you know, robots) , the other is more or less playing with a muddied extension of his own persona (the show never really lets you forget that we’re telling a story ABOUT Jonathan Groff playing Bobby Darrin) They both totally nail their respective assignments and either of them winning would have been perfectly acceptable.

Updated On: 12/3/25 at 11:33 AM

VULTURE - Sara Holdren & Jackson McHenry

The Best Plays and Musicals of 2025

Sarah Holdren

Jackson McHenry

I love the bit with out of the 20 voting opportunities in the Vulture only 2 are Broadway shows.

Timon3 said: "I love the bit with out of the 20 voting opportunities in the Vulture only 2 are Broadway shows."

And not a single musical!

The New York Times - 16 Best Theater Moments of 2025

A Charge In The Air - Laura Collins-Hughes

• “Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp” (Public Theater) X Deirdre O'Connell
• Marisha Wallace's Sally in "Cabaret" (Broadway)
• Brian D'Arcy James monologue in Les Water's revival of Eurydice (Signature Theatre)
• Kara Young's 8-year old Kayleen in Rajiv Joseph's " Gruesome Playground Injuries" (Lortel Theater)
• "Real Women Have Curves'" immigration tale (Broadway)
• Ruthie Ann Miles Mrs. Antrobus' loss of child in Ethan Liipton's "Seat Of our Pants" (Public Theatre)

Big Gestures, Big Feelings - Alexis Soloski

• Robert Icke's "Oedipus". countdown clock X Leslie Manville & Mark Strong
• Natalie Palamides, in her play "Weer", portraying both Mark and Christina running into each other on the street (Cherry Lane Theatre)
• Julia McDermott as Stacey Gross in Brian Watkins "Weather Girl" (St. Anns Warehouse)
• Lea Michele's "Nobody's Side" in "Chess" (Broadway)
• Maggie Kuntz, Morgan Scott, Fina Strazza and Amalia Yoo screaming in “John Proctor Is the Villain.” (Broadway)

Taking Loud and Quiet Risks - Elizabeth Vicentelli

• First scene in Act II of Bess Wohl's "Liberation (Broadway)
• "Oh Mary!" X Jinkx Monsoon (Broadway)
• In Carl Holder's "Out of Order" he provides a line-by-line analysis of his recent bank statements. (East Village basement)
• Chris Fisher's illusions in "Paranormal Activity" (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)
• Nina Hoss as Ranevskaya in Benedict Andrews' staging of "The Cherry Orchard" (St. Ann's Warehouse)

Updated On: 12/11/25 at 12:47 AM

Chicago Tribune - Chris Jones

Best theater of 2025: Storefront shows and Court Theatre reign in our top 10

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/10/best-theater-2025/

• 1. "Angels In America" (Invictus Theatre)
• 2. "Translations" (Writers Theatre)
• 3. "A Raisin In the Sun (Court Theatre)
• 4. "True West" (Paramount's Copley Theater)
• 5. "Mr. Wolf" (Steppenwolf)
• 6. "Big White Fog" (Court Theatre)
• 7. "Lobby Hero" (Shattered Globe Theatre)
• 8. "Much Ado About Nothing (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
• 9. "Berlin" (Court Theatre)
• 10. "Jekyll & Hyde (Kokandy Productions)

Updated On: 12/11/25 at 01:09 AM

I really like how they picked moments in the Times, clever and some great ones.

CoffeeBreak said: "Chicago Tribune - Chris Jones

Best theater of 2025: Storefront shows and Court Theatre reign in our top 10

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/10/best-theater-2025/

• 1. "Angels In America"(Invictus Theatre)
• 2. "Translations" (Writers Theatre)
• 3. "A Raisin In the Sun (Court Theatre)
• 4. "True West" (Paramount's Copley Theater)
• 5. "Mr. Wolf" (Steppenwolf)
• 6. "Big White Fog" (Court Theatre)
• 7. "Lobby Hero"(Shattered Globe Theatre)
• 8. "Much Ado About Nothing (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
• 9. "Berlin" (Court Theatre)
• 10. "Jekyll & Hyde (Kokandy Productions)

Numbers 1 and 10 were non-Equity shows.

Number 4 was at the studio space of the major theater in a far western suburbs casino town. During the run, Paramount called off the rest of the "Bold Series" season (which was for the most part, considering what usually plays in the suburbs) due to the new Democratic (!) mayor of the town cutting back on funding, perhaps deciding that Paramount was attracting too many people from surrounding Republican suburbs (Aurora is predominately a Latino town).

Court Theatre had the most shows on the list, most of them the last artistic decisions of their retiring artistic director. He's been replaced by a woman with no experience directing plays--and their current show, another attempt at a feminist "Shrew," got a mixed-at-best review from the author of the referenced article, whose power, especially in getting people to storefronts, is equivalent to the power of the lead critics at the pre-Frank Rich NY Times.