New Billy Crystal one man show 860 to premiere at the Imperial in October

Titled 860; show is written by Crystal and directed by Scott Ellis

Updated On: 6/15/26 at 12:47 AM

At a Shubert Theater TBA, not necessarily THE Shubert.

These are the kinds of shows we can expect to hit Broadway in the coming years. I'd gladly accept more autobiographical solo performances as long as they're worth a watch.

I'd assume the main purpose of this is to get it filmed for a streaming service.

willep said: "At a Shubert Theater TBA, not necessarily THE Shubert."

The Winter Garden or Barrymore for this?

Yeah, my guess would be Barrymore or Imperial. I can't imagine him playing the Winter Garden, and isn't Much Ado rumored to be going in there?

PeterC6482 said: "I think 700 Sundays played the Broadhurst."

The original production did, but the 2013 remount played the Imperial

I think this has happened before. And I think they have also both been producers on the same shows in the past.

It would be great to get a Los Angeles out of town tryout so the community can experience this.

Five readings of this are being presented at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, tonight through Monday at 7 pm and Tuesday at 2 pm. Roundabout subscribers received an email invite; I'm not sure who else lucked out. All dates are now filled, but maybe there will be cancellation lines? Run time is listed as approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. I'm going on Tuesday and will report back (to the extent allowed).

emo_geek said: "Still hoping he brings it to Los Angeles after. It only makes sense....right?"

700 Sundays came to LA for two months after its initial Broadway run, and given the subject matter I can't imagine that this doesn't follow a similar trajectory.

Dan6: I saw the last of five "readings" of this today - actually a full performance, with Billy only occasionally looking at the teleprompters on the stage. It was a thrill to see him workshop this material in such an intimate setting, including a warm Q&A afterwards. Marc Shaiman provided live keyboard accompaniment, as they're apparently testing out the music cues to use during certain scenes. The play, as previously described, is ostensibly about the loss of his Pacific Palisades home during the January 2025 fires, but on a broader level it's about loss, impermanence, death, and grief...as well as the randomness of luck and/or fate. As you'd expect from a Billy Crystal play, it is very funny, but also deeply moving and profound. As an Angeleno who lived through the fires and has many friends and family members who lost everything, I can say that many tears were shed this afternoon.

In its current form, the play is a bit scattershot, jumping around in time and including autobiographical anecdotes about his marriage, his children, his early standup career (including a hilarious story about opening for Blood, Sweat & Tears in Scranton), Mickey Mantle, Muhammad Ali, "Soap," "SNL," hosting the Oscars, "When Harry Met Sally," Rob Reiner, Norman Lear, and more. Many - but not all - of these apparent diversions ultimately tie in to the central story and theme, and I expect as Billy and Scott Ellis continue to refine the piece they might jettison some of the more peripheral material or find ways to strengthen the connective tissue. But I can already tell you with some assurance that this will be a performance not to be missed, so get your tickets when they're available. Opening in October at the Booth.

Thank you Dan6 for such a detailed report. I saw 700 Sundays multiple times so I can't wait for this show.

Sure. Why not?

Anyone able to access the Audience Rewards presale? It's just taking me to the homepage and no indication of the show itself.