Back home after our trip to New York City (no drama on the flight home Monday night, though we arrived at JFK very early to be safe). We saw more shows than on any of our previous, shorter trips - despite some complications and obligations. It was an unusual set of shows for us, with no new musicals, three plays, our first Encores! show, three previews, and two musicals at New World Stages. I had never been there either. Here’s a summary, as my reaction to some shows surprised me:
Monday night: Giant - John Lithgow dominated the stage in Mark Rosenblatt’s play about Roald Dahl, Israel, war and antisemitism that is set in the early 1980s but could have been written yesterday. Lithgow portrays Dahl as a smart, childish internet troll (before the internet) who does his taunting to people’s faces. I think the critical consensus, that Lithgow is better than the play, is fair. But there was something thrilling about a play that inspires such passion (the audience response at the end of the first act, when the invented Jessie Stone, an American Jew who works on selling Dahl’s upcoming book, tells him off, went beyond the excellence of the performances by Lithgow and Aya Cash). The overall cast is strong, but the play revolves around Lithgow’s Dahl.
Tuesday night: Just in Time - We were there the night Jonathan Groff danced with and bowed down to Bernadette Peters. I know Groff does this, but it was still fun. Also striking: I know about Groff’s reputation for spitting, which he references in the musical, but I didn’t realize just how far his saliva went. The biomusical part runs out of steam in the second act but it was a fun evening watching Groff charm everyone.
Wednesday matinee: Death of a Salesman - The play is surrounded by gloom (and a couple of unnecessary pillars) from the start. It feels haunted before anything bad happens. Director Joe Mantello stages a very solid production of the classic play that moves quickly, in part by casting two Biffs and two Happys at different ages. Ben Ahlers is very good as the older Happy and Christopher Abbott rises to his big moments as Biff in the second act. Laurie Metcalf is very good as Linda, especially in her big scene in the first act - and I thought she sold the ending quite well from my fourth row seat. She has less to do during most of the second act, and her role is less interesting than the wife’s part in Arthur Miller’s previous play, All My Sons, which I had seen a few weeks before at the Berkeley Rep. Nathan Lane, who I had never seen on stage before, is fantastic as Willy Loman. The acting he does with his eyes and body language makes you feel both his delusions and his tragedy. It’s a special performance.
Wednesday night: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - This was a much younger crowd than at Death of a Salesman and the first of two performances at New World Stages where I was very impressed with understudies in key roles. Emily Rudolph (filling in for Jasmine Amy Rogers, who I would see later in the week) and Brandon L. Armstrong were both terrific as Olive and William Barfee, respectively. It’s a light show that gives its actors plenty of opportunities to show their versatility and have fun.
Thursday matinee: Heathers The Musical - As a fan of the flawed but ahead-of-its-time film, I wasn’t really expecting to like this adaptation. And I had my quibbles, some significant. Both the leads were out, but we got Sara Al-Bazali as Veronica Sawyer, and she was so good that I overlooked everything else. (She is the standby for Veronica and Heather Chandler. Now I’m curious how she would handle the latter role.) Veronica’s role in the musical is challenging - she’s got to sing sexy rockers and sweet ballads while acting a tricky role and rarely leaving the stage. She’s terrific. Peyton List, who is known for roles in TV shows I have not seen, doesn’t have a great voice but she doesn’t need one as Heather Chandler. She handles the comedy quite well. I had a great time.
Thursday night: Ragtime - A revival with Joshua Henry belting out big ballads and Caissie Levy (coming off that wonderful Next to Normal performance in London) and Brandon Uranowitz at his most charming - not to mention Allison Blackwell belting out a moving first act closer - should not be my biggest disappointment of the trip. But it was, mostly because I just don’t like Ragtime even though I can’t fault some of the songs or any of the performances. The book is terrible and it has aged badly. I don’t want to antagonize anyone. It just wasn’t for me.
Friday night: Cats: The Jellicle Ball - I have never seen Cats in person (just once, on BroadwayHD). My knowledge of ballroom culture is limited to what I have learned on the internet. I am a cisgender male past 60. I tend to get frustrated if I miss out on lyrics or am surrounded by people who get all the jokes or love an unfamiliar (to me) show loudly and passionately. But I did two things right. I bought fifth row center mezzanine tickets and I didn’t try to use the restroom at intermission (described to me as a mosh pit). I really enjoyed the show. There are moments in this musical in which the choreography and staging are so fantastic that it will stick with me.
Saturday night: The Wild Party - I guess I chose wisely in buying tickets for this Encores! production too, because I didn’t have any problem hearing the music or lyrics from our center orchestra seats. The Wild Party is a challenging, dark show and I can see why it failed on Broadway more than a quarter century ago - especially with a competing musical based on the same poem running at the same time. But I thought it was excellent, with a strong cast led by Jasmine Amy Rogers, Jordan Donica and Adrienne Warren - in a supporting role as Kate that oozes danger and sensuality. Rogers, as Queenie, and Donica, as Burrs, are both quite good as the dysfunctional show business couple who host the party. Rogers holds her own with Warren and sings a gorgeous ballad with Jelani Alladin, who plays Kate’s lover but is interested in Queenie too. There are a lot of characters and the show gets increasingly messy, but that felt like part of the point.
Sunday evening: Oh, Mary! - We got rush tickets, with partial view, but we were close to the stage and got to see John Cameron Mitchell’s crazed, unhinged looks as Mary Todd Lincoln. I tend to be leery of silly comedies, but Cole Escola has written one that is an absolute meal for an actor willing to dive into it. I can’t compare casts, having never seen the play before, but my wife and I laughed a lot. It was a fun ending to a full week of theater.
Updated On: 3/25/26 at 04:35 AM
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