Today is Sunday, and this week’s Report features a potpourri of miniature musical theatre musings, including “A Shitty Season with Reason to Hope,” “Sending Good Vibes to Leigh Silverman,” “The RPF Rule,” “Jukebox Musicals vs. Book Musicals,” and “Bigger, Bolder, Louder.” Plus, a quote of the week; select press announcements from the past week; and a list of the upcoming week’s previews and openings.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’ve lived in the theatre for 69 years, and I don’t care how many films you make or how things change or how many fads come and go. Broadway musicals are here to stay.” -Dorothy Fields, lyricist of Blackbirds of 1928, Stars in Your Eyes (1939), and Sweet Charity (1966)

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A SHITTY SEASON WITH REASON TO HOPE

The 2025-2026 New York theatre season has been, as they say, “shitty” – a sophisticated theatrical term coined by actor Queenie Smith in the Park Avenue penthouse of playwright Sidney Howard after the opening night of White Lights in 1927. But there is always reason to hope. Here are two.

First, the hugely promising New York-based productions that played out of town, especially in and around Washington, DC, and specifically Chez Joey and Damn Yankees at Arena Stage and Safety Not Guaranteed at Signature Theatre. (The two former titles are almost certain to open on Broadway next season.) Plus, Senior Class at Olney Theatre Center showed promise, and In Clay at Signature Theatre showcased two promising songwriters and one promising orchestrator and arranger. Even Ceilidh, despite an incredibly faulty first outing, could, with a thoughtful, craft-conscious overhaul, be built into an incredibly enlivening affair. (The new musical played M&T Bank Exchange in Baltimore last fall, after previously having been workshopped at Scotland’s Cottiers, and it heads to Scotland’s Pitlochry Festival Theatre in October.)

Second, the seismic positive changes that were made to Night Side Songs after its premiere engagements last year, and prior to its Off-Broadway opening last month. These meaningful artistic improvements, while not enough to save the show, suggest that authors Daniel and Patrick Lazour have an active interest in bettering their work, an awareness of storytelling, and a feeling, however small, for the musical stage. I am, as such, greatly looking forward to taking in the pair’s newest piece, The Lunchbox, at Berkeley Rep this June.

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EXCELLENT ARTWORK

Cats: The Jellicle Ball is a ghastly mess, but the artwork is excellent: color, font, physical layout, photography, including costumes and wigs, and evocation of show. A salute to Serino Coyne, Eleven O’Clock Studio, Jacob Cooper, et al.

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SENDING GOOD VIBES TO LEIGH SILVERMAN

The Full Monty is returning to Broadway next season under the direction of Leigh Silverman, and while Silverman may be a fine director of plays, she has demonstrated, to date, little or no feeling for the musical stage. (See: The Seat of Our Pants, Suffs, Sweet Charity, et al.) The Full Monty is a solid musical comedy, with a strong freshman score by David Yazbek. I hope that Silverman will rise to the occasion, and I am available for a consult if she would like a practical introduction to the art form in advance.

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BIGGER, BOLDER, LOUDER

Music City officially returns to the New York stage in June, and, according to an Instagram advertisement, it will be “bigger, bolder, and louder than before.” Bigger is understandable. Bolder is meaningless. And louder is frightening – if, by louder, the creators and their producer, Gabrielle Palitz, mean the literal volume of the show. Amplification at a certain level of excess – which may be different from show to show – is virtually guaranteed to remove an audience from the story, from the show, and to diminish the theatrical shape and the dramatic impact of the musical numbers – of any given musical, not specifically Music City. Loudness is not synonymous with excitement. Or drama. Or theatricality. And loudness is a matter that must be considered by music arrangers and orchestrators as well as directors, music directors, and sound designers.

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THE RPF RULE

Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Hadestown, Hamilton, The Lion King, and Wicked should be forced to close immediately, and, in the interest of the commercial theatre industry’s – and the art form’s – sustained freshness, vitality, distinction, and cultural import, every Broadway landlord, including the institutionals and in concert with the Broadway League, should immediately adopt a new RPF rule, whereby every production must close within five years of its date of recoupment: “Recoupment Plus Five.” And this does not preclude the return of “Broadway” to its original definition, or the return of the Tony Awards to their original design.

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JUKEBOX MUSICALS VS. BOOK MUSICALS

To my fellow artists and producers: please stop telling me that your jukebox musical is special or genre-defying because it operates like a book musical. Every jukebox musical is a book musical, excepting songbook and anthology revues, like The Look of Love and Smokey Joe’s Café. Let me repeat: a jukebox musical is a book musical! And while jukebox musicals have acquired a bad name over the last couple of decades, in large part because so many of them are poorly made, the making of a jukebox musical is not, in and of itself, a matter of which to be ashamed. Just make the damn thing good.

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UPCOMING REPORTS

The Reports of April 26 and May 3 will feature reviews of Beaches, Cable Street at 59E59, The Chequerboard Watch at Delaware Theatre Company, I and You at Olney Theatre Center, The Lost Boys, The Rocky Horror Show, and Schmigadoon! The Report of May 10 will be a special Tony Awards issue, including a brutal take on the nominations. And the Report of May 17 will be a special summer issue, with a focus on the new musicals set to open outside of New York City between May and August of this year.

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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.

• A Walk on the Moon, Musical Adaptation of 1999 Movie, Sets New York Stage Debut
• Thelma & Louise Musical to Open Young Vic’s 2026/7 Season, Plus Ben Whishaw and Kathryn Hunter in Eurotrash Play
• 5th Avenue Theatre Will Present World Premiere Musical Alice in Neverland
• The Full Monty, The Imaginary Invalid, Mix and Master Will Arrive on Broadway in Roundabout’s 2026/27 Season
• J.T. Harding Musical Music City Finds New Home After Heavily-Renovated Venue Fell Through Days Before Previews
• Comedian Cat Cohen’s One-Woman Show Broad Strokes Sets Off-Broadway Debut
• Deaf West Whistle Down the Wind and More Set for New York Stage & Film 2026 Summer Season
• Rock Opera 1972 Sets World Premiere at American Repertory Theater
• Liberation, Leopoldstadt, and More Set for Berkeley Repertory Theatre 26/27 Season
• Unorthodox New Musical By Benj Pasek, Shaina Taub, and Joshua Harmon and More Set for The Huntington 2026/27 Season
• King of the Yees, Miles for Mary, and More Set for Signature Theatre 26-27 Season
• Tonya Pinkins and More Complete Cast for La Cage aux Folles

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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, April 20
• Opening: Schmigadoon!

Tuesday, April 21

Wednesday, April 22
• Opening: Beaches
• Regional: I and You
• Concert: Dear Everything

Thursday, April 23
• Opening: The Rocky Horror Show

Friday, April 24

Saturday, April 25

Sunday, April 26
• Opening: The Lost Boys
• NYC: Cable Street

Photo of a scene from Ceilidh by Matthew Murphy.