“Once I stepped into my womanhood, I felt like the main character of my life,” Dylan Mulvaney tells me, while sipping her lemon drop. “So now that means that I can be the main character on stage.” The social media star and I are dining at Arno, a traditional Italian restaurant, on a frigid evening in January in lower Midtown, a stone’s throw from Penn Station. There’s a good reason we’re dining in a less-than-ideal location—Arno is blocks away from Ripley-Grier Studios, where Mulvaney has just spent the day rehearsing for her Broadway debut as the second, and most infamous, of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne Boleyn, in the Tony-winning musical Six.
Mulvaney’s penchant for girlish giggles and squeals between bites of her spaghetti pomodoro stand out in Arno, especially when juxtaposed against the sea of older gentlemen in an assortment of ill-fitting grey blazers sitting behind her at the bar. She’s wearing a black ballet dress with her long brown hair half up, half down, instantly reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn—something that was by design. “I noticed if I look good for rehearsal, if I fuck up, I’m like, Oh, well, at least I look good,” she says. After years of living in Los Angeles, she’s adjusting to life in NYC. “I feel like if I walk outside for five seconds, I run into somebody that I’ve slept with or somebody that I want to sleep with. You kind of have to look good all the time.”
Mulvaney’s about a week into a four-week rehearsal process to fulfill a lifelong dream of hers—starring in a Broadway musical. It’s not an understatement to say that the world has watched her reach this moment. Her legion of social media followers—1.5 million on Instagram and 9 million on TikTok, as of publishing—have been hooked on Mulvaney’s confessional online content since she began her series “365 Days of Girlhood” on March 13, 2022, which served as a daily chronicle of her gender-affirming transition from male to female. Mulvaney left nothing off the table—the highs, the lows, and the messy in-betweens of becoming the woman she always knew that she was.
But even pre–social media fame and pre-transition, the San Diego native had grease paint roaring through her veins, but didn’t necessarily know where to put that energy as she struggled with her gender identity. Her theatrical dreams “were so small because I hadn’t found my true self. In order to confine myself to a gender that I knew that I wasn’t,” Mulvaney shares. “I had to be like, ‘Oh, I want to be in the ensemble. I want to be in the back. I want to be tree number three.’” Looking back, she could count on one hand the roles that she felt even partially represented in as a child struggling with their gender identity—Kurt from Glee, Ernst from Spring Awakening. “There were so few roles that I could even find femininity in,” she says
Despite her misgivings, she persisted, studying musical theater at the University of Cincinnati College of Music, a prestigious musical theater program, and even playing Elder White in the national tour of Book of Mormon. There, again, her ambition and dreams were stifled by her present-day reality, trapped in a body that was anathema to her. “When I was doing Book of Mormon, I was like, ‘Well, hopefully I’ll just do this for the rest of my life, and I get a lot of Botox,’” she says, wryly.
The owner of a renovated theater along South Broadway is back on good terms with its lender.
Sonquist LLC, which owns the Jewel Theater at 1912 S. Broadway in Denver, exited bankruptcy Feb. 6.
The entity managed by real estate attorney Doug Norberg and business partner Paul Yaft filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 23 to prevent the building’s lender, MidWestOne Bank, from foreclosing.
MidWestOne, which took over the building’s $2.3 million loan when it acquired Bank of Denver in 2024, withdrew its foreclosure effort Feb. 3, records show.
“All issues and litigation have been fully resolved,” Norberg and Yaft said in a statement. “On the Jewel, we were navigating occupancy-related delays with the City that required additional time and capital and we took the steps we needed to preserve the property and create runway.”
Norberg previously said the pair skipped mortgage payments so they’d have cash to install a sprinkler system the city mandated.
The Jewel Theater was built as a cinema in 1926. By the 1970s, it was showing pornographic films. In the 1990s, a climbing gym moved in and operated for 25 years before closing in early 2018. Norberg and Yates bought the building for $1.6 million that December and sought to renovate it to its former glory.
“Interest in the property has been strong, and we are actively entertaining lease proposals from operators who recognize its uniqueness, visibility and viability,” the pair said.
Safe to say, after recent star turns in “The Gilded Age” and the monologue of the year about friendship in “The White Lotus,” Carrie Coon is having a moment.
I asked her, “Would you agree with me that where you used to say you’re at the bottom of the A-List …”
“I think I used to say, ‘The bottom of the B-List,’ but yeah,” she corrected.
“But don’t we need to revise our assessment as where you are?”
“Maybe,” said Coon. “But the thing that’s changed for me is that I was on ‘The White Lotus,’ and now I can be in a Broadway play. That wasn’t true for me five years ago.”
Carrie Coon starring in “Bug,” now on Broadway.
CBS News
The play is “Bug,” which opened just this past week. Coon is leveraging her newfound star power to play the demanding, harrowing lead role in this examination of paranoia, conspiracy, and loneliness. And she is adamant that her success should not obscure a larger, sadder reality of the theater these days: “We live in a country that is fundamentally unsupportive of the arts. So now, in order to do a play on Broadway, you have to do ‘The White Lotus,’ or else you’re not allowed. They have to replace you with somebody more famous.”
“Hang on, if you hadn’t done ‘White Lotus’ and ‘Gilded Age’ and hadn’t sort of blown up as a star …”
“Yeah. We wouldn’t be sitting here, absolutely not,” Coon said.
“Your acting ability, what you do on stage, not enough?” I asked.
“No, that’s not how we make those decisions anymore,” she said. “And you can ask all these extraordinary theater actors who don’t do plays anymore because celebrities are doing plays. It’s just a different world that we’re living in now.”
Tracy Letts is the playwright of “Bug.” He’s in love with Coon’s fearlessness. “She has ice water in her veins,” he said. “In another life, she’d make a great assassin.”
Actress Carrie Coon and playwright Tracy Letts during rehearsals for “Bug.”
CBS News
He’s in love with her acting chops. “She’s a great stage actress,” he said. “For the people who’ve only seen her do ‘Gilded Age’ or ‘White Lotus,’ they just don’t know what a stage animal she is.”
Letts is in love with her. He and Coon have been married for the last dozen years.
I asked, “Your partners, your life partners, they had to be theatre people, right? Because it’s such a consuming world?”
“I came to that conclusion a long time ago that, whoever my partner was had to be in the profession; civilians just don’t get it,” Letts laughed. “They just don’t get it. It’s a hard life.”
Playwright and actor Tracy Letts and actress Carrie Coon, collaborators on stage and off.
CBS News
A couple of Midwesterners (Coon is from Ohio, Letts from Oklahoma), they met in 2010 doing “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Letts said, “We had a palpable attraction to each other. We just wanted to be with each other.”
Coon said, “When we confessed to our director and our castmates that we were officially together, they were like, ‘Yeah. Of course.’ We thought it was shocking, this shocking revel – [and they’re] like, ‘Yeah, hello! We’ve been here the whole time.’”
When the show got to Broadway in 2013, Letts won a best actor Tony. That’s some impressive artistic range, considering his Pulitzer Prize for writing the play “August: Osage County” in 2008, and his steady presence in film and TV for the last several decades, from “Seinfeld” and “The Big Short” to “A House of Dynamite.”
He’s been around a while. Coon noted, “Tracy’s entering into sort of this …”
“Oldness?” Letts offered.
Letts is now 60; Coon is 44.
“He always gave me room to grow, because I was not in the same place in my life as him,” Coon said. “Like, what you’re sitting in contemplation of at this stage in your life is different than where I am in mine.”
So, how does that meld? “Oh, a lotta jokes,” said Coon. “Like, ‘Your second husband’s gonna love this couch.’”
Whether playwright and actor, or husband and wife, what makes this partnership work, they told us, is honest feedback and mutual respect. Letts said, “She knows I’m gonna tell her the truth. She’ll put on a dress and say, ‘How does this look?’ And I’ll say, ‘It doesn’t look good.’”
“No, no, no, no….” I said.
“It’s true!” Letts reiterated. “And she appreciates it, because she knows I’m not lying to her.”
“Isn’t rule number one of husbanding, Not bad? Which we all know means… “
“No. We don’t do that,” Letts said. “So when she puts on something and I go, ‘You look fantastic,’ or when she’s in this play and I say, ‘My God, you’re a great actress,’ she knows I’m not bulls****ing her.”
Later, I asked Coon, “If you have something to say, whether it’s praise or criticism, you know it’s the truth?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Even with things I wear.”
Letts smiled. “See?!”
While any couple might recognize that trust required to navigate life’s challenges, Letts and Coon’s “moment” is providing some uncommon tests. Take Coon landing the “White Lotus” role: “I turned to Tracy and I said, ‘There’s no way I can go away to Thailand for six months.’ We had a three-year-old and a six-year-old. And Tracy was the one who turned to me and he said, ‘We’re gonna figure this out.’
“Tracy was doing every morning. He was doing dinner and bedtime every night, and bath time by himself. So that was a really hard six months.”
“I wasn’t doing anything extraordinary; I was taking care of the kids while she was gone doing a job,” he said.
“We know when the undeniable thing comes along, and we’ll both make room for that to happen,” Coon said.
Which is why this chance to collaborate on Broadway is so important for them. The best way to handle a whirlwind is to find a place to anchor. For these two, that’s always been the theater.
“This is where we’re most comfortable,” Letts said, “in a rehearsal room preparing this on a stage, doing this in a theater. This is what we know. You just have a sense of accomplishment and gratification in the theater. You’ve told a story over the course of the night. You don’t get to do that when you make a film or TV show.”
Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts are a couple now living in some of the culture’s brightest lights. But they’re theater people – bright lights don’t faze them. “I got my first credit card at 43,” Letts laughed. “It’s a tough gig!”
Besides, they have work to do, the kind that’s most affirming for them: Work they can do together.
Letts said, “I needed somebody who understood what it means to be an artist in America.”
“And I needed somebody who reminded me that it was important to be an artist,” Coon said, “and that it was powerful, and necessary.”
Broadway musical ‘& Juliet’ revamps well-known romance story in Central Florida Jan. 6-11
The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.
IS TAKING CENTER STAGE WITH A MODERN TWIST. THE BROADWAY MUSICAL AND JULIET BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO THE ROMANCE TRAGEDY ROMEO AND JULIET. JOINING ME NOW IS 2025 JIMMY AWARD WINNER AND THE SHOW’S LEAD, FABIOLA. FABIOLA. CARABALLO. QUIJADA. FABIOLA. GREAT TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. AND LET ME JUST SAY, MY FAMILY AND I GOT TO SEE THE SHOW LAST NIGHT AND IT IS JUST A CONCERT AND A PARTY, AND YOU GO ON THIS EMOTIONAL JOURNEY WITH YOUR CHARACTER. SO I DON’T KNOW HOW TO EVEN DESCRIBE THE STORY TO SOMEBODY. WHAT DO YOU SAY? YEAH. SO AND JULIET, YOU KNOW, IT KIND OF TAKES A TWIST ON THE CLASSIC ENDING OF OF ROMEO AND JULIET. YOU KNOW, SHAKESPEARE’S INFAMOUS PLAY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS ENDING, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE THE QUESTION, WHAT IF JULIET HADN’T ENDED IT ALL OVER ROMEO? AND SO, YOU KNOW, SHE REALLY STARTS HER JOURNEY OF, OF SELF-EMPOWERMENT AND SHE GOES AND MAKES MISTAKES AND LEARNS FROM HER FRIENDS, AND SHE ULTIMATELY DECIDES THAT HER JOURNEY IS, YOU KNOW, HER DESTINY IS IN HER OWN HANDS. YEAH. AND YOU, YOU PLAY JULIET? OF COURSE. THE LEAD HERE. IT WAS OPENING NIGHT. WE’RE REALLY THANKFUL THAT YOU GOT UP EARLY AND YOU JOINED US HERE. HOW WAS THE ORLANDO AUDIENCE? WHAT WAS THE ENERGY LIKE? YEAH. WE’RE INCREDIBLE. IT WAS INSANE. I HAD NEVER FELT AN ENERGY IN, LIKE, THE FIRST OF ALL, THE THEATER IS JUST INCREDIBLE. IT’S BEAUTIFUL AUDITORIUM. AND YOU GUYS JUST FILLED IT WITH SO MUCH SOUND AND JOY. IT WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE TO FEEL ON STAGE. WELL, AND THEN WE’LL GET TO THIS QUESTION LATER. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE’VE GOT A BIG ORLANDO TIE IN I’M TALKING ABOUT. YEAH, YEAH, MAYBE A BOY BAND MEMBER, YOU KNOW, WHO LIVES HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. BUT FIRST, JULIET, I MEAN, THIS IS A CHARACTER THAT WE KNOW FROM SHAKESPEARE’S WRITING. IT’S A BIG ROLE TO FILL THESE SHOES. HOW DO YOU DO IT NIGHT AFTER NIGHT? YEAH. SO, I MEAN, WE’VE GOT TO START WITH, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF JULIET, YOU KNOW, LIKE, SHE’S YOUNG AND SHE’S A LITTLE BIT SHELTERED. SHE JUST WANTS TO DO, YOU KNOW, SHE’S KIND OF REBELLIOUS. AND SO WE USE MOST OF THAT IN THIS NEW ADAPTATION. BUT WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, SHE IS JUST WILD AND YOUNG. AND WE TAKE THAT ON. AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO INCLUDE LIKE THE POP ELEMENT OF IT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WE KIND OF JUST MIX THE, THE Y2K ELEMENTS WITHIN THE ENTIRE SHOW. AND JULIET IS JUST, OH, SHE’S JUST A ONE BIG BALL OF ENERGY. AND THEN IT BRINGS HER THROUGH SO MUCH IN HER JOURNEY, AND IT LEADS HER TO MEET SO MANY NEW PEOPLE. AND SHE GOES THROUGH A LOT EMOTIONALLY, YOU KNOW, SHE SHE IT’S AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER FOR JULIET. AND SHE ENDS UP SHE WITH THE VICTORY IN THE END. YES. AND FABIOLA, YOU DO A FANTASTIC JOB WITH THIS SHOW. YOU MENTIONED THE MUSIC. IT IS WHAT THEY CALL A JUKEBOX MUSICAL. SO THESE ARE SONGS ALL OF US SHOULD KNOW? YES. INCLUDING CAST MEMBER HERE THAT WE KNOW FROM A BOY BAND, NSYNC MEMBER JOEY FATONE IS ON STAGE WITH YOU HERE FOR THE ORLANDO SHOWS. YES, JOEY IS PLAYING OUR LANCE THIS WEEK AND THIS WEEK ONLY. HE IS JUST AN INCREDIBLE PERSON TO WORK WITH. HE’S SO, SO FUNNY, SO FULL OF ENERGY. HE REALLY BRINGS AN INCREDIBLE ENERGY TO THE STAGE AND IT’S SO MUCH FUN. IT’S DIFFERENT, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT’S WHAT KEEPS US ON OUR TOES ON STAGE. THE AUDIENCE LOVED SEEING HIM. HE HAS JUST SUCH A FUN PART, BUT IT DOES HAVE THIS EMOTIONAL ARC. I JUST THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE COMEDIC RELIEF LIKE WE FIND IN A SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION. BUT THERE’S SO MUCH MORE TO TO WHAT JOEY BROUGHT. AND HE DOES LIVE HERE, YOU KNOW, HIS FAMILY’S ROOTED HERE AND WE LOVE SEEING HIM ON STAGE. HE ALSO JUST CAME OFF THE BROADWAY RUN. HE DID TWO STINTS ON BROADWAY OVER THE SUMMER, AND THEN EARLIER IN THE YEAR AT 2025, BIG YEAR FOR JOEY FATONE. BUT FOR YOU TOO, YOU JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. I SURE DID. I SAID HIGH SCHOOL THIS PAST SPRING. I MEAN, WHAT A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT. NOW IN A BROADWAY TOUR. WOW. THANK YOU. HOW DID THAT HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? YEAH, WELL, I GRADUATED IN MAY OF 2025, AND SHORTLY AFTER I WENT TO NEW YORK FOR THE JIMMY AWARDS, THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER AWARDS. FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW. AND IT WAS A ONE WEEK, INCREDIBLE WEEK IN NEW YORK. AND I ENDED UP TAKING HOME THE PRIZE TO MY PARENTS AND MY FAMILY. AND, YOU KNOW, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, I WAS I WAS OFFERED THE AUDITION FOR ANNE JULIET, AND I WAS LIKE, HEY, I DIDN’T THINK THAT ANYTHING WOULD COME OUT OF IT. AND, WELL, HERE WE ARE. OH, HERE YOU ARE IN A BIG WAY. FANTASTIC IN THE SHOW. AND JULIET PLAYING JULIET. WE JUST WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS. THANK YOU. IT WAS. IT WAS SUCH A FUN RIDE, EVERYBODY. WE WERE ON OUR FEET. IT WAS LIKE A PARTY AT THE END, CELEBRATING WITH. WITH JULIET HERE AND FABIOLA AS WE WRAP THIS UP HERE, WHAT’S THE MESSAGE FOR OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE, BROADWAY KIDS OR BROADWAY ASPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE? WELL, THE THING THAT I ALWAYS SAY IS JUST THAT IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SO MUCH THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH. YOU JUST NEED TO HAVE A VISION OF WHERE YOU WANT TO BE, AND YOU NEED TO TRY EVERYTHING YOU DO, EVERYTHING THAT IS IN YOUR POWER TO TO TRULY TAKE THIS STEP FORWARD. OPEN DOORS. DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE BECAUSE YOU KNOW A LOT CAN HAPPEN. THERE’S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU YOU, YOU DON’T KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO UNTIL YOU KNOW, YOU TAKE THAT STEP AND THERE YOU ARE. WE LOVE IT. GREAT WORDS. FABIOLA. THANK YOU. A REALLY FUN SHOW. AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HITS THAT MAX MARTIN WROTE THAT. YES. HALF OF THEM CAME OUT BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN HERE. OH, BUT I KNOW HIM JUST AS WELL. OH, LET ME TELL YOU. BETTER THAN I THAN I OR ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE SAYS YOU’VE GOT IT. AND WE’RE GOING TO POST A LINK TO ALL THE SHOW INFORMATION. FABIOLA, WE’RE LOVING YOU AS JULIET. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR YOUR CAREER. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL THE INFORMATION IS U
Broadway musical ‘& Juliet’ revamps well-known romance story in Central Florida Jan. 6-11
The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.
The Broadway musical “& Juliet” puts a modern spin on the well-known Shakespearean romance story, “Romeo and Juliet,” as the national tour makes a stop in Central Florida. The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.The show will take center stage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts from Jan. 6-11, 2026. Orlando native and *NSYNC superstar Joey Fatone joins the Orlando stops of the North American Tour of the hit musical as “Lance.”Click here to learn more.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The Broadway musical “& Juliet” puts a modern spin on the well-known Shakespearean romance story, “Romeo and Juliet,” as the national tour makes a stop in Central Florida.
The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.
The show will take center stage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts from Jan. 6-11, 2026.
Orlando native and *NSYNC superstar Joey Fatone joins the Orlando stops of the North American Tour of the hit musical as “Lance.”
As Broadway shakes off the confetti of another holiday season, the first half of 2026 is taking shape as a cautious but telling moment for New York theater. Ongoing financial pressures have narrowed the field—particularly for new musicals—shifting attention toward star-driven revivals, acclaimed imports, and familiar titles returning in reworked forms. Against that backdrop, below are 10 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions and series to look forward to in the months ahead.
1. City Center Encores!: The 2026 Encores! season at City Center will include new stagings of “High Spirits,” the rarely seen 1964 musical adaptation of Noël Coward’s comedy “Blithe Spirit”; “The Wild Party,” Michael John LaChiusa’s explosive 2000 musical of jazz, drugs, sex and violence; and Jerry Herman’s “La Cage aux Folles” with Billy Porter. “High Spirits” begins performances on Feb. 4 at City Center. nycitycenter.org.
2. Marcel on the Train: Tony nominee Ethan Slater (who just played Boq in the “Wicked” films) will star as Marcel Marceau in a new play which traces the legendary mime’s quiet courage in Nazi-occupied France as he helped Jewish children escape. Begins performances on Feb. 5 at Lynn F. Angelson Theater. classicstage.org.
Daniel Radcliffe, who appears in “Every Brilliant Thing.”
3. Every Brilliant Thing: Fresh off his Tony Award–winning performance in “Merrily We Roll Along,” Daniel Radcliffe will headline the Broadway premiere of Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s acclaimed solo play about finding light in life’s darkest moments, which has been performed in more than 80 countries and captured in an HBO special. Begins previews on Feb. 21 at the Hudson Theatre. everybrilliantthingbway.com.
4. Death of a Salesman: Broadway will get a new look at Willy Loman this spring when Nathan Lane steps into the role in a revival of the classic Arthur Miller drama directed by Joe Mantello. Laurie Metcalf will star opposite him as Linda Loman, alongside Christopher Abbott as Biff Loman. Begins previews on March 6 at the Winter Garden Theatre. salesmanbroadway.com.
5. Giant: Broadway will get an acclaimed import with the Olivier Award–winning West End hit that puts literary legend Roald Dahl on trial. John Lithgow will return to Broadway to reprise his lauded turn as Dahl, under the direction of Nicholas Hytner. Begins previews on March 11 at the Music Box Theatre. gianttheplay.com.
The cast of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball”
6. Cats: The Jellicle Ball: The Jellicle cats are ready to strut, spin, and vogue their way onto Broadway. Four decades after “Cats” first prowled Broadway, the ballroom-infused reimagining that premiered at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in 2024 will move to Broadway. Co-directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch have turned Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline spectacle into an immersive runway competition inspired by New York’s ballroom culture. Tony Award winner André De Shields will return as Old Deuteronomy. Begins previews on March 18 at the Broadhurst Theatre. catsthejellicleball.com.
7. The Rocky Horror Show: On its 50th anniversary, Richard O’Brien’s cult musical will land where it practically belongs: Studio 54, the former disco palace synonymous with glamour, excess, and rule-breaking. With Luke Evans (“Beauty and the Beast”) stepping into Frank-N-Furter’s heels and Sam Pinkleton (“Oh, Mary!”) directing, this revival promises to turn Broadway’s most notorious address into a midnight playground once again. Begins previews on March 26 at Studio 54. roundabouttheatre.org.
The cast of “Schmigadoon!”Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
8. Schmigadoon!: The town where no one can stop singing is packing up its pastel suitcases and moving to New York. Following a well-received premiere a year ago at the Kennedy Center, the stage musical adaptation of the Apple TV+ series will arrive on Broadway in the spring. The television series aired for two seasons, including the 2021 debut, which affectionately parodied Rodgers and Hammerstein-era musicals. Begins previews on April 4 at the Nederlander Theatre. schmigadoonbroadway.com.
9. The Last Ship: After a 2014 Broadway run that struggled to find its audience, Sting will return to his original musical drama “The Last Ship” with something closer to a second draft—and a grander canvas. The newly adapted version will dock at the Metropolitan Opera House for a strictly limited nine-performance engagement, with Sting leading the cast as shipyard foreman Jackie White. Begins performances on June 9 at the Metropolitan Opera. metopera.org.
10. Shakespeare in the Park: After reopening the Delacorte Theatre last summer following a major renovation, the Public Theater is doubling down on tradition by restoring the long-standing two-show summer lineup. Free Shakespeare in the Park will return with “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Saheem Ali, followed by “The Winter’s Tale,” helmed by Daniel Sullivan. Summer dates TBA at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. publictheater.org.
Sting will bring “The Last Ship” to the Met Opera.Photo by Bruce Glikas @bruglikas @broadwaybruce_
Imani Smith, who once played a young Nala in Disney’s “The Lion King” on Broadway, died on Sunday after she was found with stab wounds at a home, according to the Middlesex County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office.Video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025She “had her whole life ahead of her,” a GoFundMe account set up by Smith’s aunt, Kira Helper, said. “She was a vivacious, loving and fiercely talented person.”On December 21, just after 9:15 a.m., authorities in Edison, New Jersey, received a 911 call about a stabbing, according to a release.”Upon their arrival to a residence on Grove Avenue, they discovered Imani Smith, 26, of Edison with stab wounds,” the release said. Smith was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was declared dead.Officials have arrested Jordan D. Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison, in connection with Smith’s death. Authorities said the two knew each other before the incident and described it as “not a random act of violence.”Smith’s father, Rawni Helper, said in a phone call with CNN Saturday that Jackson-Small is the father of Smith’s 3-year-old son.Jackson-Small is facing several charges, authorities said, including first-degree murder and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center according to jail records.CNN has reached out to his attorney at the Middlesex County public defenders office for commentSmith worked from 2011 to 2012 for Disney’s “The Lion King,” Broadway’s third-longest running show, according to Playbill.The former child actress is survived by her son, “her parents, her two younger siblings, and an extended family, friends, and community who loved her so very much,” the GoFundMe said.”A true triple-threat performer, she most notably played the role of Young Nala on Broadway in Disney’s Lion King — an experience that reflected the joy, creativity, and light she put into the world,” the post, which has raised more than $70,000, said.CNN’s Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.
CNN —
Imani Smith, who once played a young Nala in Disney’s “The Lion King” on Broadway, died on Sunday after she was found with stab wounds at a home, according to the Middlesex County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office.
Video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025
She “had her whole life ahead of her,” a GoFundMe account set up by Smith’s aunt, Kira Helper, said. “She was a vivacious, loving and fiercely talented person.”
On December 21, just after 9:15 a.m., authorities in Edison, New Jersey, received a 911 call about a stabbing, according to a release.
“Upon their arrival to a residence on Grove Avenue, they discovered Imani Smith, 26, of Edison with stab wounds,” the release said. Smith was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was declared dead.
Officials have arrested Jordan D. Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison, in connection with Smith’s death. Authorities said the two knew each other before the incident and described it as “not a random act of violence.”
Smith’s father, Rawni Helper, said in a phone call with CNN Saturday that Jackson-Small is the father of Smith’s 3-year-old son.
Jackson-Small is facing several charges, authorities said, including first-degree murder and third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He is currently being held at the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center according to jail records.
CNN has reached out to his attorney at the Middlesex County public defenders office for comment
The former child actress is survived by her son, “her parents, her two younger siblings, and an extended family, friends, and community who loved her so very much,” the GoFundMe said.
“A true triple-threat performer, she most notably played the role of Young Nala on Broadway in Disney’s Lion King — an experience that reflected the joy, creativity, and light she put into the world,” the post, which has raised more than $70,000, said.
A Broadway actress who played the role of Young Nala in “The Lion King” a decade ago has been murdered, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Imani Smith, 26, was discovered with multiple stab wounds inside her Edison, New Jersey home on Dec. 21.
She was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Smith was one of two actresses playing the role of Young Nala on Broadway between 2011 and 2012. Those who worked with her said she had a great voice and brought tremendous energy to the character.
Online tributes to Smith have been appearing, including one on Playbill.com.
Jordan Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison, is facing several charges, including first degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon. Edison Police said the two knew each other and “it was not a random act of violence.” His initial court appearance was postponed, Smith’s family members said.
Smith’s parents tell CBS News New York Jackson-Small is the father of their daughter’s 3-year-old child.
“Nobody deserves to lose their life in that way, no matter who you are. Especially someone who is so young, has so much promise and has a beautiful little boy. She called, she calls him ‘Bub.’ Amazing parents. And she is unfortunately the second Young Nala we’ve lost, both under very different circumstances,” Jessica Arnold, a child guardian at “The Lion King,” said.
Smith’s mother also worked on “The Lion King” in the hair and wig department, as well as on other Broadway and television shows.
Simu Liu, best known for roles in, among other projects, Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the CBC/Netflix comedy series Kim’s Convenience, will make his Broadway debut in the hit comedy Oh, Mary!, the show’s producers announced today.
Liu will join the Broadway play as “Mary’s Teacher” beginning on Tuesday, February 3, for performances through Tuesday, April 21.
Additionally, the production has announced that current cast members John-Andrew Morrison (‘Mary’s Husband’), Jenn Harris (‘Mary’s Chaperone’), and Tony Macht (‘Mary’s Husband’s Assistant’) will extend their engagements in the company, continuing alongside Liu at the Lyceum Theatre through April 26. As previously announced, Tony and Obie Award-winning actor, writer, and director John Cameron Mitchell will join the company as ‘Mary Todd Lincoln’ beginning February 3 for performances through April 26.
Written by 2025 Tony Award winner Cole Escola, and directed by 2025 Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary! opened on Broadway on July 11, 2024 at the Lyceum Theatre, where it became the first show in the theater’s 121-year history to gross more than $1,000,000 in a single week. Oh, Mary! has since broken its own box office record twelve times, and became the first show of the 2024-25 Broadway season to recoup its investment.
Oh, Mary! is produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum & Lucas McMahon and Mike Lavoie & Carlee Briglia with Bob Boyett, The Council, Jean Doumanian Productions, Nicole Eisenberg, Jay Marcus & George Strus, Irony Point, Richard Batchelder/Bradley Reynolds, Tyler Mount/Tommy Doyle, Nelson & Tao, Palomares & Rosenberg, and ShowTown Productions.
Liu starred in the first Asian-fronted movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. For five seasons, he starred in the CBC/Netflix comedy series Kim’s Convenience. Liu’s first major role was on the critically acclaimed OMNI crime drama Blood and Water, and in 2023, he starred in Warner Bros.’ Barbie directed by Greta Gerwig.
A Sacramento man was arrested for homicide in connection with another man’s death along Broadway earlier this month, the Sacramento Police Department said.On Dec. 2, officers responded to a report of a person down in the roadway just after 4:30 a.m. and found the man at the intersection of Broadway and Stockton Boulevard with life-threatening injuries. Despite receiving medical aid, the man died at the scene. (Previous coverage in the video player above)Police initially described the incident as an assault investigation. However, officials later said the victim was hit by a vehicle. On Friday, 23-year-old John Rosario was taken into custody and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on a homicide warrant. He is set to appear in court on Tuesday morning. See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
A Sacramento man was arrested for homicide in connection with another man’s death along Broadway earlier this month, the Sacramento Police Department said.
On Dec. 2, officers responded to a report of a person down in the roadway just after 4:30 a.m. and found the man at the intersection of Broadway and Stockton Boulevard with life-threatening injuries. Despite receiving medical aid, the man died at the scene.
(Previous coverage in the video player above)
Police initially described the incident as an assault investigation. However, officials later said the victim was hit by a vehicle.
On Friday, 23-year-old John Rosario was taken into custody and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on a homicide warrant.
He is set to appear in court on Tuesday morning.
See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.
The Company in “A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic (2023)”
Photo by Manuel Harlan
Winter may not be prime time for New York theater—at least not compared to the star-studded fall openings and the awards-hungry spring rush—but this season is unusually robust, with a mix of high-profile revivals, adventurous downtown premieres, and unexpected celebrity turns. From June Squibb’s Broadway bow in “Marjorie Prime” to Michelle Williams leading a new “Anna Christie” and Elevator Repair Service taking on “Ulysses,” the cold months are offering more heat than usual. Here are the productions worth stepping out for.
Marjorie Prime: Jordan Harrison’s Pulitzer-finalist sci-fi drama finally lands on Broadway with 95-year-old Oscar nominee June Squibb in the title role, backed by Cynthia Nixon, Danny Burstein, and Christopher Lowell. Its 2017 film version featured Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, and Geena Davis. In previews at the Hayes Theater, 240 W. 44th St., 2st.com.
A Christmas Carol: Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris plays the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge in the New York return of Matthew Warchus’ handsome and festive production of the Charles Dickens classic, which was seen on Broadway in 2019. In previews at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, 251 Fulton St., pacnyc.org.
Anna Christie: Thomas Kail (“Hamilton”) directs a star-packed revival of “Anna Christie” at St. Ann’s Warehouse, with Michelle Williams taking on one of Eugene O’Neill’s toughest heroines opposite Tom Sturridge, Brian d’Arcy James, and Mare Winningham. Begins performances on Nov. 25 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, 45 Water St., stannswarehouse.org.
Tartuffe: New York Theatre Workshop will present Lucas Hnath’s (“A Doll’s House, Part 2”) new adaptation of Molière’s classic French satire attacking religious hypocrisy. The starry ensemble includes Matthew Broderick, David Cross, Bianca Del Rio, Amber Gray, Lisa Kron, and Francis Jue. Begins performances on Nov. 28 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 E. 4th St., nytw.org.
The Rest of Our Lives by Jo Fong and George Orange, as seen at the Under the Radar Festival.Photo by Sara Teresa
All Out: Comedy About Ambition: After scoring a surprise Broadway hit last season with “All In: Comedy About Love” — in which rotating casts of celebrities performed live readings of Simon Rich’s comic short stories — Rich and director Alex Timbers are back with a follow-up. The rotating lineup includes Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Mike Birbiglia, Ray Romano, Cecily Strong, Jim Gaffigan, Abbi Jacobson, Wayne Brady, Heidi Gardner, Nicholas Braun, Craig Robinson, and Ashley Park, among others. Begins performances on Dec. 12 at the Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St., alloutbroadway.com.
Bug: Tracy Letts’ cult thriller, in which fragile romance in a dingy motel room between two damaged outsiders quickly mutates into a paranoia-soaked spiral of delusion, danger, and conspiracy, finally reaches Broadway in David Cromer’s acclaimed Steppenwolf staging, with Carrie Coon and Namir Smallwood leading the cast. Begins performances on Dec. 16 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., manhattantheatreclub.com.
Under the Radar: The annual citywide festival, which showcases international, experimental and multidisciplinary theater, returns for its 21st edition with a diverse new lineup involving more than 20 local cultural institutions. Jan. 7 to 25 at multiple venues, utrfest.org.
Ulysses: Elevator Repair Service (“Gatz”) takes on James Joyce’s literary mountain with seven performers soberly reading the text—until the pints, brawls and debaucheries kick in. Begins performances on Jan. 13 at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., publictheater.org.
The company of “Ulysses” Photo courtesy of Elevator Repair Service
Coriolanus: This staging of Shakespeare’s political war drama promises to juxtapose live performance against a media-saturated environment, exploring gaming violence and screen combat. Begins performances on Feb. 1 at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, tfana.org.
Mother Russia: Set in St. Petersburg right after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lauren Yee’s dark comedy follows two aimless young men who end up surveilling a former pop singer while trying to make sense of capitalism, freedom, and fast food. Begins performances on Feb. 3 at Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St., signaturetheatre.org.
High Spirits: The rarely seen 1964 musical adaptation of Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” returns to New York via the Encores! series, with real-life Broadway duo Phillipa Soo and Steven Pasquale playing the beleaguered couple whose séance-invited ghost (Tony winner Katrina Lenk) sends their life spinning, with Andrea Martin as the eccentric medium Madame Arcati. Begins performances on Feb. 4 at City Center, 131 W. 55th St., nycitycenter.org.
Marcel on the Train: Tony nominee Ethan Slater (who just played Boq in the “Wicked” film) stars as Marcel Marceau in a new play which traces the legendary mime’s quiet courage in Nazi-occupied France as he helped Jewish children escape. Begins performances on Feb. 5 at Lynn F. Angelson Theater, 136 E. 13th St., classicstage.org.
In 1965, the original musical “Funny Girl” was playing at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, starring someone who knew her way around a song. That same year, a guy named Joe Allen opened a place a few blocks away. It was the place to be for Broadway stars like Al Pacino and a host of others. Plus, they served a mean cheeseburger.
The cheeseburgers are still there, and so are Broadway’s elite. Lea Michele has been coming here since her Broadway debut in the 1990s. “I just love this place so much,” she said.
And what would she eat? “A burger. I mean, it’s always so good, so good here, oh my God,” she said.
But when we met her at Joe Allen’s, she wasn’t in a burger mood, because she had a show to do. Lea Michele is currently starring in the musical “Chess.” In the show, she plays a brilliant strategist for two world champion chess players (played by Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher).
Lea Michele returns to Broadway in the revival of “Chess.”
“Chess: The Musical”
“Chess” is a love triangle, a spectacle, and a chance for the stars to raise the roof at the Imperial Theatre – the same place where Michele made her Broadway debut in 1995 in “Les Miserables,” at the age of eight.
Her parents weren’t show biz people – Dad owned a deli – and before she auditioned, they had no clue their daughter could sing. “And as we were leaving, I turned to my Mom and I was like, ‘I’m gonna get this. I think I’m gonna get this,’” Michele recalled. “And she said, ‘Things like that don’t happen to people like us.’”
In this case, Mom was wrong: Michele got the part, and went on to even greater heights in the musical “Spring Awakening,” and later became a household name in the hit TV show “Glee.”
She hit a few bumps along the way, among them a difficult pregnancy with her first child in 2020, and flak on social media that she acted like a diva back in the “Glee” days. But things looked up in 2023, when she was asked to step into the shoes of her idol Barbra Streisand, and take over a struggling revival of “Funny Girl.”
She said, “I think that we all grow as we get older. It’s hard being in an industry where there is such a spotlight on these phases and times in your life.”
And what was the pressure like to take over “Funny Girl”? It was the first time that I was really sort of in the spotlight after everything that had happened to me personally,” Michele said. “I wanted to finally show everyone that I could play this part, and play her really well.”
“Funny Girl” star Lea Michele performs during the 76th Annual Tony Awards, June 11, 2023, in New York City.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Long story short, Michele killed it, and turned a sinking show into a hit, despite suffering a miscarriage during her run. And when she was approached about doing “Chess,” she told producers that having another baby came first. “And so my husband and I ended up doing IVF, which was in its own right very intense and challenging,” she said. “But you know, we got pregnant and had our daughter, who is wonderful and wild. And then they, you know, said, ‘Would you like to do the show?’ ‘Absolutely!’”
Now, the 39-year-old mother of two is back at the Imperial Theatre, where it all began, serving up another knockout performance with a side of gratitude.
I asked, “What do you think that eight-year-old girl would think, back in that same theatre?”
“I think that she’d be so proud, and she would just say, ‘Thank you,’ ’cause that’s all she wanted,” Michele said. “And it’s still what I want. My love for what I do was definitely reignited during ‘Funny Girl.’ And I’m very grateful for that. But I’m so happy to be here, and to be home.”
To hear Lea Michele perform “Someone Else’s Story,” from “Chess: The Musical,” click on the video player below:
In 1965, the original musical “Funny Girl” was playing at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, starring someone who knew her way around a song. That same year, a guy named Joe Allen opened a place a few blocks away. It was the place to be for Broadway stars like Al Pacino and a host of others. Plus, they served a mean cheeseburger.
The cheeseburgers are still there, and so are Broadway’s elite. Lea Michele has been coming here since her Broadway debut in the 1990s. “I just love this place so much,” she said.
And what would she eat? “A burger. I mean, it’s always so good, so good here, oh my God,” she said.
But when we met her at Joe Allen’s, she wasn’t in a burger mood, because she had a show to do. Lea Michele is currently starring in the musical “Chess.” In the show, she plays a brilliant strategist for two world champion chess players (played by Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher).
Lea Michele returns to Broadway in the revival of “Chess.”
“Chess: The Musical”
“Chess” is a love triangle, a spectacle, and a chance for the stars to raise the roof at the Imperial Theatre – the same place where Michele made her Broadway debut in 1995 in “Les Miserables,” at the age of eight.
Her parents weren’t show biz people – Dad owned a deli – and before she auditioned, they had no clue their daughter could sing. “And as we were leaving, I turned to my Mom and I was like, ‘I’m gonna get this. I think I’m gonna get this,’” Michele recalled. “And she said, ‘Things like that don’t happen to people like us.’”
In this case, Mom was wrong: Michele got the part, and went on to even greater heights in the musical “Spring Awakenings,” and later became a household name in the hit TV show “Glee.”
She hit a few bumps along the way, among them a difficult pregnancy with her first child in 2020, and flak on social media that she acted like a diva back in the “Glee” days. But things looked up in 2023, when she was asked to step into the shoes of her idol Barbra Streisand, and take over a struggling revival of “Funny Girl.”
She said, “I think that we all grow as we get older. It’s hard being in an industry where there is such a spotlight on these phases and times in your life.”
And what was the pressure like to take over “Funny Girl”? It was the first time that I was really sort of in the spotlight after everything that had happened to me personally,” Michele said. “I wanted to finally show everyone that I could play this part, and play her really well.”
“Funny Girl” star Lea Michele performs during the 76th Annual Tony Awards, June 11, 2023, in New York City.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
Long story short, Michele killed it, and turned a sinking show into a hit, despite suffering a miscarriage during her run. And when she was approached about doing “Chess,” she told producers that having another baby came first. “And so my husband and I ended up doing IVF, which was in its own right very intense and challenging,” she said. “But you know, we got pregnant and had our daughter, who is wonderful and wild. And then they, you know, said, ‘Would you like to do the show?’ ‘Absolutely!’”
Now, the 39-year-old mother of two is back at the Imperial Theatre, where it all began, serving up another knockout performance with a side of gratitude.
I asked, “What do you think that eight-year-old girl would think, back in that same theatre?”
“I think that she’d be so proud, and she would just say, ‘Thank you,’ ’cause that’s all she wanted,” Michele said. “And it’s still what I want. My love for what I do was definitely reignited during ‘Funny Girl.’ And I’m very grateful for that. But I’m so happy to be here, and to be home.”
To hear Lea Michele perform “Someone Else’s Story,” from “Chess: The Musical,” click on the video player below:
In this web exclusive, Lea Michele, currently starring in the Broadway musical “Chess,” talks with Tracy Smith about debuting on Broadway at age 8 in “Les Miserables”; how “The Phantom of the Opera” ignited her love of musical theater, and how a medical emergency led to her first audition; how she didn’t let a car crash get in the way of auditioning for “Glee”; joining the revival of “Funny Girl”; and being back on stage at the Imperial Theatre, where she first performed in “Les Miz.”
Lea Michele made her Broadway debut in “Les Miserables” at the age of eight. The “Glee” star who recently returned to Broadway in the revival of “Funny Girl” is now starring in “Chess: The Musical.” She talks with Tracy Smith about stepping into the shoes of her idol Barbra Streisand, and about the challenges she faced giving birth to her second child.
Wicked: For Good, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as frenemy witches Elphaba and Glinda, stays fairly faithful to its source material. But fans of the Broadway musical may be surprised to find that Wicked: For Good also makes a few unexpected left turns not found in the second half of composer Stephen Schwartz and writer Winnie Holzman’s stage musical. Those changes—which the film’s creative team discussed with me for Universal and VF’s official Wicked: For Good podcast—mostly have to do with Grande’s Glinda the Good, who closes her character arc by stepping into her power in a new way. (Warning: Spoilers for Wicked: For Good are below.)
Wicked: Part One focused on Elphaba’s journey from green-skinned Shiz University student to the Wicked Witch of the West. But while Erivo’s Elphaba is still front and center in Wicked: For Good, the sequel is more focused on Glinda’s turn from powerless figurehead and brand ambassador for the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) to a truly good witch who has her own magical powers. In a departure from the stage show, director Jon M. Chu includes a flashback to little Glinda, played by Scarlett Spears, at her birthday party, attempting to convince her guests that she has magical powers. It’s a moment meant to mirror the flashback scene from the first Wicked when little Elphaba, Karis Musongole, discovers her innate magical powers.
Over the course of Wicked: For Good, written by Holzman and Dana Fox, Glinda’s perfectly manicured facade cracks as Elphaba’s power grows. In another change from the stage play, Erivo has a new song—a rousing ballad called “No Place Like Home”—which underlines her commitment to Oz. Schwartz also added a new song for Glinda, the eleven o’clock number “The Girl in the Bubble,” in which Grande’s character wrestles with her complicity in the hunt for Elphaba—and finally, actively, makes the choice to make good on her promise to truly be Glinda the Good.
Before the end of the film, the estranged witches reconnect to sing the titular song, “For Good.” The stage show ends shortly after this number, with Elphaba “melting” after Dorothy Gale throws a bucket of water on her and Glinda pledging to the Ozians that she will try to be good. Wicked: For Good follows similar beats: After Elphaba has seemingly melted, Glinda stands up to both the Wizard and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), imprisoning Morrible and revealing to the Wizard that Elphaba was, in fact, his daughter, after discovering they both drank the same green elixir. All of this happens on stage as well.
What’s new, though, is that in the final act of the film, both Elphaba and Glinda each get what they desire. Glinda ends the film by closing the arc on the story’s persecuted talking-animal subplot, asking for all of the Ozians to join her in inviting the recently excommunicated creatures to return to Oz. The stage play leaves this thread dangling, while in the film it’s clear that Elphaba’s sacrifice was not in vain, and that Glinda will carry through on her efforts to make Oz a safe space for all. We even see Elphaba’s favorite mammalian professor, Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), and his tiny goat glasses return to his classroom.
Kristin Chenoweth is starring in a new Broadway musical for the first time in a decade. She talks to “CBS Mornings” about the musical, “The Queen of Versailles.” The “Wicked” star also reflects on her role as Glinda and talks about Ariana Grande’s portrayal of the character in “Wicked: For Good.”
A packed house of fans in the audience—some dressed in pink, most in green—did scream when they saw Cynthia Erivo, as her character, Elphaba, had predicted in the first film’s “The Wizard and I.” They also screamed when they saw Ariana Grande, whose high, bouncy ponytail was as buoyant as the bubble her Glinda favors for transport. They screamed for Jonathan Bailey, for Bowen Yang, and for Colman Domingo, as well as Chu, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, and Ethan Slater. Hell, they screamed at the very mention of Winnie Holzman, who wrote the musical’s dialogue. Let’s hear it for the book!
Led by a contingent of uniformed Yellow Brick Road guardsmen, the film’s cast and director joined producer Marc Platt at the front of the house to rapturous applause.
After brief remarks by Platt, Chu took on spokesperson duties for his company, who were huddled close and clutching at one another’s elbows in excitement for this final bow.
“How do you describe what it feels like to work on a project for five-plus years?” Chu said. Once again, he marveled that the films he once worried would “end” his career—and send him back to the exile of shooting wedding videos—have instead became an unstoppable cultural juggernaut.
“We had three children while making this movie,” Chu said of himself and his wife, Kristin Hodge, who share five kids total. “One was born on the day of the premiere last year. I watched it from the delivery room while she was pushing. I was just peeking. It was when Fiyero runs into Elphaba for the first time in the forest. I marked it, and didn’t tell [Hodge]. That’s a reveal tonight.” Surely an astrologer can work this into the kid’s chart.
Scarlett Spears, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Read an excerpt below, in which Schwartz finds the inspiration of what will become his most successful musical production to date, when he discovers Gregory Maguire’s prequel to L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” – the genesis of the long-running Broadway musical “Wicked.”
And don’t miss Mo Rocca’s interview with Stephen Schwartz on “CBS Sunday Morning” November 16!
“It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap!” —Wicked
At the start of 1996, Stephen Schwartz never imagined he would end the year envisioning his next Broadway musical, Wicked. Movie songwriting seemed to be his future, especially after one eventful evening in March. He donned his newly-purchased black tuxedo and white silk dress shirt, strode across the red carpet, and met up with his Pocahontas writing partner Alan Menken at Los Angeles’ Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. For forty-eight-year-old Schwartz, being nominated for an Academy Award was a welcome twist on his childhood dream of writing musicals for the stage. With his parents and wife in the audience, he waited for the announcement.
“And the Oscar for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score goes to…” An expectant silence settled in the hall while presenter Quincy Jones opened the envelope.
“Alan Menken, musical and orchestral score, and Stephen Schwartz, lyrics, for Pocahontas.” Applause burst out while the pair made their way to the stage. As Menken thanked their Pocahontas music team, Schwartz clutched his golden statuette and smiled, looking down at Mel Gibson in the front row making funny faces at him and soaking in the acknowledgment from Hollywood. That evening he and Menken also stepped up to accept the award for Best Original Song, “Colors of the Wind.”
Back home in Connecticut, he placed his gold-plated statuettes beside his Grammy gramophones in a trophy case converted from an aquarium that his kids no longer used.
The rest of the year was a busy one, with the premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and early work on The Prince of Egypt involving meetings with the DreamWorks team and the writing and demo-ing of songs. He was also working on an early production of a revue musical Snapshots in Seattle, confident that when finally finished, the show would go direct to stock and amateur licensing rather than to a commercial production. The one thing he was emphatically not doing was planning anything new for Broadway.
Then towards the end of the year, a phone call came that would change everything. He was in Los Angeles finishing some work on The Prince of Egypt when his long-time buddy, songwriter John Bucchino, called him from the island of Maui in Hawaii. Singer-songwriter Holly Near had hired Bucchino as a piano accompanist for her performances at a conference at the tropical getaway. Once on Maui, Bucchino decided it was too good not to share. His room included an extra bed, and he had a car and free food. “If you can cash in some frequent flyer miles and come for the weekend, you’ll have a free vacation in Hawaii,” Bucchino offered.
“Why not?” thought Schwartz. He had the weekend free, and after all, it was Hawaii. “I am so there,” came Schwartz’s answer from LA, and by December 16th, he was.
When Bucchino and Near had a block of time away from the stage, they organized a snorkeling adventure with Schwartz and Near’s friend, Pat Hunt. A small boat sped them over to Molikini, a mostly submerged volcanic crater popular for its rainbow spread of sea creatures that delight snorkelers.
On the trip back, Holly casually mentioned to Stephen, “I’m reading this really interesting book called Wicked, by Gregory Maguire.”
The novel’s title sounded intriguing. “I think I’ve heard of it. What’s it about?” he inquired.
“It’s the Oz story from the Wicked Witch of the West’s point of view.”
In an instant, Schwartz’s imagination flashed through the implications of a backstory for The Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the unpopular witch. His reaction was visceral: “All the hairs on my arms stood on end,” he recalls. “I thought it was the best idea for a musical I had ever heard.”
As soon as he returned to his LA apartment, he called his attorney in New York, inquiring about Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. “Okay, this book has been out for a while, so somebody has the rights. I need you to find out who has them. Meanwhile, I’m going to get the book and read it, because I think I have to do this.”
There was no way around it. This was a Broadway concept not suited to a small-budget theater company. And he knew it was a highly theatrical idea, not one meant for film or television. Although he had firmly decided, indeed pledged, never to work on Broadway again, his instincts didn’t leave him a choice.
“Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, first published in 1995.
HarperCollins
But with such a popular novel, surely someone in Hollywood was converting it to the silver screen. Schwartz would have to stop them, and somehow inspire the rights holders to consider instead the risky, expensive, and time-consuming venture of producing a musical in New York City.
While his attorney, Nancy Rose, followed clues on the rights trail, Wicked‘s prospective composer-lyricist read the novel and confirmed that his hunch had been right: musicalizing the Wicked Witch’s story seemed “quintessentially an idea for me,” meaningful enough to be worth the potential struggle.
For one thing, he loved looking at traditional stories from a new angle. When he was in college he saw Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard’s play in which two minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet are made the central characters. “It was a revelation to me,” he recalls. “From that point on, the idea of looking at familiar material from an unfamiliar point of view became a goal for my own work.” Godspell had approached the New Testament in a fresh way, Children of Eden reworked Genesis for a new take on family life, and The Prince of Egypt explored the Exodus story from the standpoint of the brother relationship between Moses and Ramses. But Gregory Maguire’s twist on The Wizard of Oz was a chance to do something more directly like the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern concept. “I recognized immediately that this was a genius idea and that it was an idea for me: the way it took a familiar subject and spun it,” Schwartz recalls.
Wicked also felt inherently musical to him. “Elphaba is a very musical character with big emotions. She is fantastical. The world is fantastical. Glinda is very musical.” To him it was clear that the world of musical theater was where the story belonged.
And then there was the character Maguire’s vision had moved to the center of the story: Elphaba, the quirky and misunderstood green girl who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Maguire named her after L. Frank Baum, who penned The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, when he pondered the sound of the author’s initials “eL” “Fa” “Ba.” Elphaba’s story seemed close to Schwartz’s own emotional experience. He knew what it felt like to be “green” and what inner resources are needed to carry on with life. “The idea of the story created a sympathetic resonance in me,” Schwartz affirms, “and I know that I’m not alone. Anyone who is an artist in our society is going to identify with Elphaba. Anyone who is of an ethnic minority, who is black or Jewish or gay, or a woman feeling she grew up in a man’s world, or anyone who grew up feeling a dissonance between who they are inside and the world around them, will identify with Elphaba. Since that’s so many of us, I think there will be a lot of people who will.”
“There were things that I knew right away. I knew how it was going to begin, I knew how it was going to end, I knew who Elphaba was, and I knew why— on some strange level—this was autobiographical even though it was about a green girl in Oz.” —Stephen Schwartz
Schwartz bought a spiral notebook in which he would capture all his story and lyric ideas—snatches of inspiration, research notes, lists of rhyming words, first drafts of lyric lines, and later drafts. On the black cover, the manufacturer’s slogan, “Five Star—In a Class By Itself,” hinted at what would become of the musical that began as penciled scrawls on the lined pages.
Maguire had created, as the author himself described it, a dense, almost nineteenth-century-type novel that takes place over thirty-eight years and has thirty-eight speaking parts. Could any group of musical collaborators successfully distill these ingredients into a viable evening of theater?
Wicked: One Wonderful Night soared onto NBC on November 6, featuring big-voiced performances from Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and the cast of Wicked and Wicked: For Good. But the magic really happened over a month ago, when Wicked: One Wonderful Night was taped in front of a live audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Disclosure: I was there in my capacity as host of Universal’s official Wicked podcast.) Here’s what the cameras didn’t capture—and which moments didn’t make it to the final telecast.
Ariana Grande and companyNBC
A LONG YELLOW BRICK ROAD
Audience members were instructed to arrive at the theater no later than 4:30 p.m. to guarantee entry to the taping—and they were in for a lengthy night. By the time One Wonderful Night had concluded, it was half past nine, making the event a five-hour marathon. (The Wicked superfans present, many of whom were decked out in their Ozian best, didn’t seem to mind.)
After tucking their phones away in Yondr pouches, audience members could mingle with friendly faces from the Wicked press tour, like Bowen Yang’s Las Culturistas bestie Matt Rogers and journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist, who was able to hold space in the flesh. Some cast members that didn’t participate in the special, like little Cesily Collette Taylor—who plays baby Nessarose—were also cheering on their castmates from the audience. Director Jon M. Chu made a special appearance, introducing never-before-seen clips from the movie featured in the special. That was a recurring theme of the evening; Erivo, Grande, and Yang all teased snippets of the second film’s new songs, “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble,” as well as a special performance of “For Good,” sung by Erivo and Grande, filmed live at the Gershwin Theatre—only to reveal later that this footage wouldn’t actually be shown until the special aired.
TAKE TWO
The songs in Wicked are notoriously tricky, and some numbers at the taping had to be recorded more than once. Toward the beginning of the evening, Erivo wowed the audience with a choreography-forward rendition of “The Wizard and I,” which kicked off with her costar Jeff Goldblum—also an accomplished jazz musician—tickling the ivories. During her first shot, Erivo switched around the lyrics in the bridge of the song—understandable, as that portion uses a melody that Elphaba repeats with different lyrics throughout the show. She sang the whole thing again afterward, nailing the words on her second try.
Erivo also took two cracks at her literally soaring rendition of “Defying Gravity,” which launched her toward the ceiling of the Dolby Theatre. Though her first rendition was note-and-word perfect, production needed to capture certain aspects of the act from different angles—which meant Erivo had to strap into her harness and belt out the number a second time, much to the audience’s delight.
Even so, shooting two drastically different films simultaneously was a huge challenge for everyone involved. “It actually was an extremely technical feat to go back and forth,” Chu said. “We all had to be in complete cohesion and understanding of where we were in the story emotionally.”
Each witch had a different technique for keeping everything straight. “Sense memory is something I use a lot,” Erivo told me. “So I had a perfume for Elphaba at different points of her life. There’s a scent that’s specific to Elphaba at the very beginning. Then there’s a scent for Elphaba at the end of the film.” The fragrance work helped ground Erivo, even when she was flying high as the Wicked Witch of the West. “You get that sense memory of, Oh, this is who I am today,” she said. “There’s something biological that happens when you smell something.”
To map out Glinda’s arc from popular girl to civil servant, Grande opted for a more visual approach. “I had a color-coding system,” she told me. “I had little tabs. We would tab each scene with which kind of insecurity was present or which incident was tapping on which childhood wound—things like that. It really helped me with the back-and-forth.” She also relied on a more old-fashioned technique: “Getting to know her as well as I possibly could, inside and out, was the most helpful thing,” Grande said. “Preparing in that way, a super actor-y way…. I’m a Stella Adler girl.”
For so much more on how Grande, Erivo, and the rest of the cast and crew made Wicked and Wicked: For Good, tune in to Wicked: The Official Podcast, which debuts new episodes every Thursday, beginning on October 30. In addition to appearing on the podcast, Erivo, Grande, and the cast of Wicked will star in an NBC special on November 6, Wicked: One Wonderful Night, which will see them perform songs from the stage musical alongside a full orchestra at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. I was in the audience for the filming of the show; trust me, it’s not to be missed.
