Today is Sunday, and my husband and I have just returned home from a brief trip to Ireland for our nephew’s birthday. Due to our trip, I missed the opening nights of Chez Joey at Arena Stage and Little Miss Perfect at Olney Theatre Center, but I look forward to seeing both shows at the end of the upcoming week. My reviews will likely be published on March 1, rather than next Sunday, to allow me the necessary time to write them.

Incidentally, when my husband and I were in Ireland three years ago, we went to the Abbey Theatre to see a new adaptation of Ghosts – which was produced Off-Broadway last season. This time, we went to the Abbey Theatre to see the world premiere of Fair Deal – which I will not be surprised to find produced in New York sometime soon. (My husband loved the play.)

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The lyric, by Howard Dietz, for “Massachusetts Mermaid,” from the 1948 revue Inside U.S.A. The number was written expressly for Beatrice Lillie, with whom Dietz had previously worked on the 1935 revue At Home Abroad. Lillie made her final Broadway appearance as the star of the 1964 musical comedy High Spirits.

(Siren discovered sitting on a rock in the middle of the sea. On a ledge at her elbow are a mirror, a comb, a compact in the shape of a seashell, and a classical lyre. At rise, she is admiring herself in the mirror.)

(Spoken.)
Lovely, lovely! I am the Massachusetts Lorelei. List to my saga: There’s a saga born every minute.

(Verse. Sung.)
When the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock
They realized with a sudden shock
To develop the future Puritan stock
They’d have to resort to sex

With ahoy and aho
And a whaddye know

Resorting to sex can be quite a resort
The couples were paired and dispatched for the sport
But one little left-over boy they did thwart
For no maiden was his to annex

With a derry down derry
Down down derry air

(Spoken.)
He felt lonely and unwanted, a Pilgrim who couldn’t make Progress. He tried everything: crossword puzzles, patience – he even took Natirup – that’s Puritan spelled backwards.

(Sung.)
He wandered down to the water’s brim
To cool himself off, he went for a swim
An adorable dolphin flirted with him
(Flirt gestures.)

With a bend and a bow
He merely said “How”

(Refrain.)
So, that’s the way I came to be a mermaid
A siren combing out her raven locks
At home at sea or on land
At home when I’m combing the sand
You see me temporarily on the rocks

I have a strange appeal for every sailor
In fact for anyone who loves an oar
And few of them ever fail
To be attracted by a tail
I’m the mermaid off the Massachusetts shore

(2nd Verse.)
And unlike the nymph on the German Rhine
Immortalized by one Heinrich Hein
I come from a virtuous Protestant line
There’s Cotton and Mather in me

(Spoken.)
Actually, I’m a piscatorial Episcopalian.

(Sung.)
With a tura a lura
An aqua and pura

(Spoken.)
Only the other day I was talking to a schrod – one of the Boston Schrods – who couldn’t understand what I could see in people. Of course, she’d been hooked once.

(Ad lib.)
But as I told her,
I’ve got them under my scales…

(2nd Refrain. Sung.)
You see in me a coy New England mermaid
A mermaid is a somewhat different dish
From the waist-up I’m the same
As any ordinary dame
But below the belt I definitely am a fish

I’d fall in love if I could find a Merman
But mortal men affect me so much more
I lure them with my lyre
I’m a seacow named desire
Of [sic] the Mermaid off the Massachusetts shore

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PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Here is a list of select press announcements from the past week. Each headline is clickable for more information.

• Mirvish Unveils 2026-27 Season, Including Karate Kid Musical and an Agatha Christie Whodunnit
• John Legend & Lynn Nottage Musical Imitation of Life to Premiere at the Shed This Fall
• Galileo Will Open on Broadway This Fall, Starring Raúl Esparza, Jeremy Kushnier and Joy Woods
• All-American Cast Revealed for Broadway’s Operation Mincemeat
• McKenzie Kurtz, Isabelle McCalla, Brad Oscar & More Join Schmigadoon! on Broadway
• Daniel Durant and James Olivas Will Lead Elephant Shoes Musical World Premiere
• Sara Bareilles Musical The Interestings Will Make World Premiere in 2027
• Ben Jacoby and Brent Thiessen Join Beaches Broadway Musical
• Jelani Alladin, Jordan Donica and Tonya Pinkins Join The Wild Party
• Jay Copeland, Nikki Renée Daniels, Jason Gotay and Jill Paice to Lead York Theatre Songs for a New World Spring Benefit
• Practical Magic Musical in Development, with Score from Norah Jones
• Ben Platt Will Star in Midnight at the Never Get in London
• Somebody to Love, Featuring ’70s Rock Hits, Sets West Coast World Premiere
• Heathers Revival Extends to the Fall at New World Stages
• Postponed National Tour of The Who’s Tommy Will Launch This Fall

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PREVIEWS AND OPENINGS

Here is a list of the new musicals and revivals either opening or beginning previews during the upcoming week, specifically on Broadway and Off-Broadway. It contains, as well, select new musicals beginning performances regionally, and select new musicals and revivals beginning performances in New York City. Each title is clickable for more information.

Monday, February 16

Tuesday, February 17

Wednesday, February 18
• NYC: Silver Manhattan

Thursday, February 19
• Regional: Starstruck

Friday, February 20

Saturday, February 21

Sunday, February 22

Photo of Andrea Martin in the New York City Center production of High Spirits by Joan Marcus.