Best theater of 2025, and how you can see these shows
Welcome to Mashable's first annual Best Theater Experiences of the Year list.
While our entertainment team's main focus has long been on films and television, we've many theater lovers in our ranks. And this year, with all the incredible shows we've seen on stage, it seemed downright wrong not to expand our Best of 2025 lists to include our favorites.
Now, there's a slight caveat here in that we decided to do this list after some critically heralded shows had already closed, and we were therefore unable to see them. (Apologies to Tony Award winner Purpose and the much-buzzed-about West End production of Evita!) Then, there are some shows that have gotten the internet giddy, like Sunset Blvd. with its outdoor antics and Tony wins, or Waiting for Godot for its most-excellent casting of Bill & Ted's Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in the lead roles. But when it came down to what we liked best, these revivals just didn't make the cut.
So, what did? This list includes productions that are new, ongoing, and closed. Beyond that, we sorted our list by Off Broadway and Broadway, noting how you can see them (if you still can). In the mix, we've got inventive reinterpretations of classic shows, musicals inspired by movies, jaw-dropping new shows, the Broadway sensation that keeps us coming back, and the Broadway bomb that we thought deserved better.
So, take a look for what tickets you ought to book. And look for Mashable to take on more theater coverage in 2026.
Best of Off Broadway 2025
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Off Broadway, new revival
Learning new words has never been more fun than in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. William Finn, Rachel Sheinkin, and Rebecca Feldman's beloved musical throws audiences into a middle school spelling showdown — sometimes literally, as four audience members get to join the spellers onstage. The high-stakes bee is no ordinary competition, though. It's also an invitation into the young spellers' inner lives, as they deal with high pressure, puberty, and family drama.
Danny Mefford's Off Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a non-stop delight, brimming with relentless energy and a stacked cast. It's undeniably fun to watch a group of adults play middle schoolers, but thanks to the actors' commitment, your awareness of the age discrepancy quickly disappears, replaced by sheer investment in these kids' success. Look no further than when my whole audience gasped whenever someone got a word wrong. Like us, you'll get sucked in in no time, and leave with a whole host of musical bangers stuck in your head. G-O S-E-E I-T! — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
Starring: Philippe Arroyo, Autumn Best, Leana Rae Concepcion, Justin Cooley, Lilli Cooper, Jason Kravits, Matt Manuel, Kevin McHale, Jasmine Amy Rogers, Brandon L. Armstrong, Jahbril Cook, Emily N. Rudolph, and Cecilia Snow
How to watch: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is now running until Apr. 12, 2026.
Critic's Pick: Beau the Musical
Off Broadway, new
An Off-Broadway musical so successful it bounced from one venue to another and kept on rockin', Beau the Musical unfurls the queer coming-of-age story of Ace Baker (Matt Rodin), a pop-country musician who found his love of music and himself by growing closer to his estranged grandfather, Beau (Dead Outlaw's Jeb Brown).
Staged in a theater space/dive bar, Beau the Musical feels like wandering into a concert with the power of flashbacks. Eight actor/musicians play both Baker's band, and then also an array of characters, like his hard-as-nails mom, his best friend, and the vicious bully on whom he had a confusing crush. Songs in this show run from rollicking to heartbreaking and back again. 100 minutes with no intermission, it's a moving and joyous celebration of love, family, and music. And it's best enjoyed with a beer (or hard cider) in hand, so you too can feel like you're on the porch with Beau and Ace, taking in the night air and the guitar playing. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
Starring: Matt Rodin, Amelia Cormack, Luke Darnell, Seth Eliser, Andrea Goss, Ryan Halsaver, Tyler Donovan McCall, Miyuki Miyagi, Max Sangerman, Derek Stoltenberg, Lauren Jeanne Thomas, Rose Van Dyne, and Jeb Brown
How to watch: Beau the Musical is now playing at The Distillery at St. Luke's Theatre through Jan. 4, 2026.
Gwyneth Goes Skiing
Off-Broadway, new
On a snowy day at the Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah, a normal optometrist accidentally skied into a very famous actor and wellness guru. The world would be changed forever.
Based on the real Gwyneth Paltrow trial and created by the dynamic duo behind independent theater group Awkward Productions, Joseph Martin and Linus Karp, Gwyneth Goes Skiing has been a traveling staple since 2023, with runs in London, Edinburgh Fringe, and Park City, Utah (the site of the now-infamous trial). This year it took over NYC, too, with two separate Off-Broadway turns that brought audience members themselves to the stage. That's right, the majority of the cast is solicited from the seats, like interactive dinner theater, who are given their lines through a video monitor and audio cues. There are flying wigs, a sock puppet, props manned by what feels like a single overworked crew member. At one point, an audience member stood up on top of his seat to deliver his line, and we threw wool snowballs at the stage. I made my Off-Broadway debut, too, as a totally-over-it resort shopkeeper. Congratulations to my fellow co-stars, Darren Criss (voice only) and Trixie Mattel (video cameo as Blythe Danner).
The show's fiercest critics consider it to be weighed down by the kind of brain rot internet humor that's becoming more and more passé — the pre-show was just a slideshow of Paltrow's filmography and Glee references. But I think this is exactly how you make near-cosmic levels of self-referential humor and internet memes work: with a couple bucks and nary a care in the world. — Chase DiBenedetto, Social Good Reporter
Starring: Joseph Martin, Linus Karp, Darren Criss, Catherine Cohen, Trixie Mattel, the audience
How to Watch: Gwyneth Goes Skiing closed off Broadway, but is doing limited-run shows in Aspen, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California, in January.
Heathers: The Musical
Off Broadway, new revival
Before there was Mean Girls, there was Heathers. This is true of both the teen comedies, and the stage musicals they inspired. This 2025 revival brings plenty of snark, energy, and camp.
When I saw it, Lorna Courtney starred as Veronica, the moody cool girl whose best friends and worst enemies are the Heathers, a trio of vicious and popular girls. Recreating classic scenes from the 1988 movie with songs that share its bite, Heathers: The Musical is an outrageous night at the theater. Sure, not all the big movie moments can be translated to the stage. But the book and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy are smart about where they stay true and where they expand. Like, there's a lot of catchy songs on this soundtrack. But for someone who grew up quoting Heathers' darkest lines with friends, the rousing number "My Dead Gay Son" had me rolling. — K.P.
Starring: Lorna Courtney, Casey Likes, McKenzie Kurtz, Kiara Michelle Lee, Elizabeth Teeter, Kerry Butler, Erin L. Morton, Xavier McKinnon, Cade Ostermeyer, Ben Davis, and Cameron Loyal
Messy White Gays
Off Broadway, new
Imagine Alfred Hitchcock's Rope minus the queer subtext, and just scads and scads of queer text. American comedian Drew Droege, whom millennials might remember as Chloë Sevigny for a series of scorching web videos, satirizes gay culture and white privilege with Hitch's familiar framework.
Lights up on two young men strangling a third to death. This is their throuple-mate, whom they have both grown to loathe. But how will they hide his body — especially when a gaggle of their party pals are due for Sunday brunch any minute!? This deeply absurd premise is set in a high-rise apartment with a view of Central Park, but the humor is determinedly and deliciously lowbrow. The kooky cast of characters gleefully skew archetypes of queer men, from the femme theater boy to the himbo gym rat, the OnlyFans model, and the twink with more money than sense. Then, there's Droege, who makes a grand entrance as a nosey neighbor who proceeds to read everyone on stage like he's Dorothy from The Golden Girls. Simply put, Messy White Gays is outlandish, hilarious, and unapologetically for gay people by gay people. — K.P.
Starring: Drew Droege, Derek Chadwick, James Cusati-Moyer, Aaron Jackson, and Pete Zias
How to watch: Messy White Gays is ongoing until Jan. 11.
Critic's Pick: A Streetcar Named Desire
Off Broadway, new revival
Is this a safe space to admit I never liked A Streetcar Named Desire? My introduction to the Tennessee Williams classic, which debuted on Broadway in 1947, was the 1951 film adaptation staring Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski. And I just couldn't understand this Stanley, who was such a crude brute yet drew Stella toward him by screaming like a wounded animal. Well, this revival — which was borne on the West End with two sold-out runs — made me understand Stanley and Streetcar as I never had before.
Paul Mescal brought his Sad Boy energy to Kowalski, transforming the character I only knew through Brando. Mescal infused the character with a rage that not only hurts those around him, but immolates himself. Opposite Patsy Ferran as Blanche, he was snarling beast and bully. But before the two have their most climactic conflict, Mescal showing off Stanley's silk pajamas hit different. He was showing a soft side to Blanche, thinking she'd understand it — understand him. But when she rejects him (because of everything before), he turns violent and violating. He despises Blanche for the softness she has, because his own has been so long denied. And in that, the tragedy of Streetcar hit me like — well, a streetcar. Before, I felt sympathy for these women, but Stanley felt such a caricature of toxic masculinity I couldn't make sense of how they fit. Now, here, where all are equally ferocious and punished for vulnerability, I was in awe and tears. I was literally on the floor. Okay, so that last part was because the BAM run sold out tickets so fast that added literal floor seats (a cushion literally on the floor before the stage). But you know what, I've paid more for way worse seats this year. (Sorry, Vanya.) — K.P.
Starring: Paul Mescal, Patsy Ferran, and Anjana Vasan
How to watch: A Streetcar Named Desire ran Feb.-April 2025, but is now closed.
Tartuffe
Off Broadway, new
In a wild bit of symmetry, theater director Sarah Benson helmed the first production I saw in 2025, and the last! In January, I was delighted to see one of the final performances of Teeth, a chaotic and hilarious musical adaptation of the horror film that imagined what might happen if a teen girl had the infamous vagina dentata (aka, teeth in vagina)! And this month, I closed out a week of much theater-seeing with the newly debuted revival Tartuffe! And lucky me, because Benson knows how to make a comedy truly outrageous.
Originally written by Molière in 1664, Tartuffe centers on the titular charlatan (Matthew Broderick) who claims to be Christian, while driving a wealthy French family to bickering, division, and shenanigans. But this Off-Broadway revival isn't the farce I studied in college. Writer Lucas Hnath leans into bawdiness and frank crassness, allowing his characters to read each other to filth and curse throughout — while rhyming! A perfect introduction to this take is RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio, who opens the show by strutting in, adorned in fierce 17th-century fashion and spitting barbs at all in her view. From there, it's a no-bullshit housekeeper who will drag every affluent fool in this house. And the jibes are as hilarious as the physical comedy. Another show with no intermission, Tartuffe is a terrifically entertaining night at the theater, and star-studded to boot. —K.P.
Starring: Matthew Broderick, David Cross, Bianca Del Rio, Amber Gray, Ryan J. Haddad, Emily Davis, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Lisa Kron, and Francis Jue
How to watch: Tartuffe is running through Jan. 24, 2026.
Twelfth Night
Off Broadway, new revival
There's magic in publicly funded art. There's love in a group of New Yorkers gathered together in one place, finally off their feet, to watch that magic be made, just a few months before the city would rally together in one of the greatest political campaigns of the 21st century. It's why this year's free Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night — the first in Central Park's newly renovated Delacorte Theater — was perhaps the best to ever do it.
It's one of Shakespeare's classic comedies: a pair of separated twins, a woman pretending to be a man (while falling in love with another man), pranks and miscommunication, a satisfying ending. But this version is a little more queer, a bit more musical, and even funnier than the original, soundtracked by the sultry songs and guitar strums of Moses Sumney in a standout performance as Feste. I think I speak for everyone (even you, Tina Fey, who sat behind me) when I say Lupita Nyong'o's gender-swapping performance, complete with small mustache and expertly tailored Brooks Brothers suit to match her real-life sibling and co-star Junior Nyong'o, stirred something carnal.
By the end, we were enrapt. The city was uproarious. The cast strutted onto stage in glimmering festooned garments and danced with the crowd for their bows. Stage lights reflected off of sequins and up into the New York City sky to fill the space where stars were missed. A being floating above could have looked down and spotted those celestial beings right there, not up in the night but sat around the Delacorte — a group of performers, of audience members, of artists, of hard workers. All equals, all there to enjoy a little Shakespeare funded by each other, built for each other, in love with each other. — C.D.
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Sandra Oh, Peter Dinklage, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Moses Sumney, Khris Davis, Junior Nyong'o, b, John Ellison Conlee, and Kapil Talwalkar
How to Watch: Twelfth Night ran the summer of 2025, and has since closed, but a recorded performance is available on PBS.
Vanya
Off Broadway, new
One of the hardest tickets to get this year was Vanya. A bold reinvention of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, this production — from writer Simon Stephens, director Sam Yates, and designer Rosanna Vize — reimagined the 1897 drama about a family farm, ripe with heartache, into a one-man show. And what one man could pull it off? It was Andrew Scott, who has awed audiences with Sherlock, Fleabag, and Ripley. First, he wowed the West End with a sold-out run. Then, he came across the pond to Off Broadway, where critics cheered and audiences clamored for tickets.
Scott was outstanding, playing a cavalcade of roles. With a tilt of his head, or the picking up of a prop, or the softening of his tone, he gracefully transformed from an elegant woman to a fumbling doctor, or wizened professor, or sheepish girl. A simple stage with one set and simple props, he made use of all of it. However, the seats on the mezzanine at the Lucille Lortel Theatre are far from ideal for such a staging. Any time Scott went toward the very front of the stage, or got on his knees even midway downstage, the whole of the mezzanine's audience would shift to find him again, causing a wave of movement as we all blocked each other's view. This frustration aside, the show itself was fascinating. The arguably gimmicky approach essentially erases the idea that we people are all that different, or perhaps shows how we all contain multitudes. For Scott fans, it was a showcase of his range and vulnerability. And you can stream it now. — K.P.
Starring: Andrew Scott
How to watch: Vanya ran from March 10 to May 11 off Broadway. Though now, closed, a recorded performance of Vanya can be streamed through the National Theater.
Best of Broadway 2025
Death Becomes Her
Broadway, ongoing
Death Becomes Her is one of my all-time favorite movies. The comedy-noir is about two feuding besties whose battle over a mediocre man leads them to take a youth potion that gives them back their looks, but at a twisted cost. And for Broadway, it now has comical songs added to the macabre slapstick.
I've seen the show twice, once with Megan Hilty and once with her understudy, Kaleigh Cronin. And both times, it's a terrifically funny and rousing time — which is good news, as Hilty exits the production in January. Props to writer of the book, Marco Pennette, with lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey, for keeping true to Martin Donovan and David Koepp's sublimely silly and surly script, while finding new extremes to push Mad (Hilty) and Hel (Jennifer Simard). Props to the divas who brought them to fresh life, and cheers to the clever stunts and effects team who turns falling down the stairs into an epic comic climax. No wonder TikTok's been going wild for its soundbites. —K.P.
Starring: Megan Hilty, Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, and Michelle Williams
How to watch: Death Becomes Her is now on Broadway, with a North American Tour coming in 2026.
Critic's Pick: John Proctor Is the Villain
Broadway, new revival
Arthur Miller's The Crucible gets reframed in Kimberly Belflower's revelatory John Proctor Is the Villain. The play takes place in a small Georgia town in 2018, when a spate of sexual harassment allegations force a classroom of high school students to reconsider who the true villain of The Crucible is. Is it Abigail Williams, who spearheads the Salem witch hunt? Or could it be John Proctor, the supposedly "good man" who began a relationship with the much younger Abigail?
The reconsideration of an American classic turns John Proctor Is the Villain into a thoughtful, thorny exploration of feminism and the #MeToo movement. Each of the show's young characters approach the issue in a different way, from the rage-filled Shelby (Sadie Sink, later replaced by Chiara Aurelia, whom I saw in the role) to the conflicted Beth (Fina Strazza). The result is an exquisitely layered ensemble, all brought to life by an incredibly talented cast. As if that weren't enough, the show's final five minutes are the most cathartic theatrical experience I've ever had: a raw exorcism of a dance scene set to Lorde's "Green Light." You'll never hear the song the same way again. — B.E.
Starring: Sadie Sink, Chiara Aurelia, Nihar Duvvuri, Gabriel Ebert, Molly Griggs, Maggie Kuntz, Hagan Oliveras, Morgan Scott, Fina Strazza, Amalia Yoo, Noah Pacht, Fiona Robberson, Shian Tomlinson, Garrett Young, and Victoria Vourkoutiotis
How to watch: John Proctor Is the Villain ran on Broadway from April 11 to Sept. 7. It is now closed.
Critic's Pick: Just In Time
Broadway, new
Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff is in the role he was born as Bobby Darin. Look, I didn't know anything about the American singer before seeing the jukebox musical Just In Time. But part of the brilliance of the book by Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver is that it's written with fourth-wall breaks that allow the show to be not just about Darin, but also about Groff.
The Circle in the Square Theatre, which Groff calls correctly "the basement of Wicked," is lit to look like a dazzling night club. Curtains, stages, and central tables where audience members can be a part of the action, are all draped in gorgeous blue lighting. Groff explodes onto stage with his beaming band and his sirens, an incredibly talented trio of dancers/singers. And he introduces himself, shares his enthusiasm and then dives into the story of Bobby Darin, with support from an ensemble that is audaciously talented.
When I went, Sarah Hyland and Sadie Dickerson played the loves of Darin's life, Connie Francis and Sandra Dee, respectively. And they were remarkable, shifting from bubbly romance to aching loss. (Hyland in particular had the audience sobbing with a teary "Who's Sorry Now.") Meanwhile, Valeria Yamin as Darin's mother is a bawdy broad I fell for hard. But even the smaller players like Joe Barbara, who plays Bobby's gruff brother-in-law, manager, and cigarette-chomping camera operator, are captivating. But of course, Groff is the headliner. And he's as good as you'd expect, even better.
He explodes on stage, singing and dancing (and yes, spitting) like the living Broadway legend he is. It is a very "wet" performance, and those aforementioned lights mean you can see just how much Groff is giving with every projection. But while fans might lovingly joke about the wetness (as Groff does in an opening speech), it's that radiant passion for performing that makes him a marvel. He shines, bright and dazzling, in every moment of Just In Time. And the staging, which runs from one stage to another, up the stairs of the audience and back again, makes the whole theater feel a part of the show. I can say with confidence that I've never seen anything like this. Is it like seeing Darin at the Copa? I couldn't say. But I can say this show, nominated for six Tonys, including Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical, Just In Time is absolutely outstanding. Get tickets if you can. — K.P.
Starring: Jonathan Groff, Sarah Hyland, Sadie Dickerson, Valeria Yamin, Claire Camp, Julia Grondin, Michele Pawk, Emily Bergl, Caesar Samayoa, and Lance Roberts
How to watch: Just In Time is now playing on Broadway through March 2026.
Critic's Pick: Liberation
Broadway, new
What in the world happened between the activism of '70s-era feminism and today, when the government is revoking hard-won wins like the right to an abortion? That's the daunting question playwright Bess Wohl wrestles with in her staggering play Liberation, which alternates between the '70s and present. In the past, aspiring reporter Lizzie (Susannah Flood) starts a women's group in a high school gym. Decades later, her daughter (also played by Flood) reconnects with the remaining group members to better understand not just the movement, but her mother as well.
Liberation's folding of time makes for a powerful reminder of how many of the same issues women faced 50 years ago still echo today, as well as a moving mother-daughter story. (See it with your mom for the Liberation 4D experience.) Elsewhere, the group meeting scenes provide powerful moments of catharsis, as Lizzie's group — all women from different walks of life — commiserate over sexism they face at work and at home. However, Liberation also acknowledges the flaws of second-wave feminism, including its failure to make space for Black women. Here, Wohl reckons with her own role as a white playwright. Who gets to tell whose story, and how? The play doesn't reach any tidy answers on this, or on its central questions about feminism. But given such a sprawling topic, who could? Instead, it's Liberation's own acknowledgement of its limits that turns it into such an astounding work. — B.E.
Starring: Betsy Aidem, Audrey Corsa, Kayla Davion, Susannah Flood, Kristolyn Lloyd, Irene Sofia Lucio, Charlie Thurston, Adina Verson, Britt Faulkner, Leeanne Hutchison, Matt E. Russell, and Kedren Spencer
How to watch: Liberation runs on Broadway until Feb. 1.
Oedipus
Broadway, new
Though Sophocles' Oedipus Rex dates back to about 428 BC, you don't need to be a classics enthusiast to know this story is about a real motherfucker. The Greek tragedy centers on the eponymous man, who is undone by discovering he's killed his father and bedded his mother.
Mark Strong stars as the eponymous politician, who's run his election campaign on a policy of truth — always. On election night, he gathers with his family at the campaign HQ, looking to celebrate. The future is bright. He seems certain to win the election, and once he does, he will do as he's promised, revealing his birth certificate to the public, and finding the real killer of the long-dead ruler Elis [Laius?]. But the visit from a blind soothsayer (Samuel Brewer) sours things with a disturbing prediction.
Writer/director Robert Icke updates Oedipus with a modern setting and a firm awareness that his audience knows what's coming. So, there's a lot of ironic lines about Oedipus and his wife/mother that the characters on stage do not realize are jokes, but we do. But this same certainty from the audience ramps up tension as Oedipus doggedly pursues the truth. Onstage, a literal timer counts down as the play rolls on, but counting down to what? You know. It might be gimmicky, especially as scene transitions happen with the clock audibly ticking away the seconds. But when the big reveal hits, and the timer hits zero — I felt it hit hard in my gut.
Admittedly, the staging of the show — set entirely in a minimalistic office — is a bit boring, seeming too much like an workplace TV show than a Broadway spectacle. But Lesley Manville turned me around on the show, which has no intermission to interrupt its tension. As Jocasta, mother and lover of Oedipus, she goes from breezy to tormented as dark truths are unearthed. She delivers monologues that radiate with rage and pain, and still rattle in my head days later. When she declares, "Cowardice is sometimes the cost of survival," I felt my heart crumble for her. And I could see by the counter, we still had a ways to go before the terrible, tragic end. A nail-biter, indeed. — K.P.
Starring: Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Anne Reid, John Carroll Lynch, Teagle F. Bougere, Samuel Brewer, Ani Mesa-Perez, Bhasker Patel, Olivia Reis, Jordan Scowen, and James Wilbraham
How to watch: Oedipus is now playing through Feb. 8.
Critic's Pick: Oh, Mary!
Broadway, ongoing
Famously, Cole Escola wrote a juicy role for themselves by creating a historical comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln that cares far more about "bratty curls" and bad attitudes than actual history. And thank the theater gods. From its 2024 to 2025, Oh, Mary! went from buzzy Off-Broadway hit to a Tony Award–winning Broadway smash.
Originating the role, Escola scored the Tony for playing Mary Todd Lincoln as a booze-swilling, cabaret-obsessed maniac. But as new leads stepped into those character shoes, Oh, Mary! proved it could survive without Escola's distinctive star power. Betty Gilpin, Tituss Burgess, Jinkx Monsoon, and Jane Krakowski all followed. Between the Mashable staff, we've seen every incarnation of the show so far. And with its outrageous humor, twisted turns, and crackling comedic timing, it's a reliably sensational night at the theater. (For everyone but Abe).
30 Rock's Jane Krakowski is currently in the role on the Great White Way. Playing it like Jenna Maroney, she's absolutely hilarious in her commitment to every bit, while Cheyenne Jackson is stealthily hysterical as Mary's unexpected friend. Jinkx Monsoon, who took the role this summer, will return in January for another stint, followed by John Cameron Mitchell. And across the pond, Oh, Mary! has opened with Mason Alexander Park tossing the bratty curls. So choose your fighter, and have some fucked-up fun. — K.P.
Starring: Cole Escola, Betty Gilpin, Tituss Burgess, Jinkx Monsoon, Jane Krakowski, and Mason Alexander Park
How to watch: Oh, Mary! is now playing on Broadway through July 2026 and on the West End.
The Queen of Versailles
Broadway, new
See it while you can! Wicked's composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and first Galinda Kristin Chenoweth reunited for this wild musical based on a critically heralded 2012 documentary. But critics met this musical adaptation with brutal reviews.
And yet, I liked it! This musical interpretation reimagines the life of Jackie Siegel, a trophy wife who dreamed of building the castle of Versailles in Florida, into a darkly comic — and definitely campy — parable. As I wrote in my review, "Jackie becomes a tragic figure, like King Lear or Anna Nicole Smith." And her obsession with more, more, more will cost her dearly.
Plus, "Like she did as Glinda with 'Popular,' Chenoweth is a force of unrepentant whimsy as she trots and glides around the stage in furiously sequined mini-dresses and heels." She's a legend of Broadway for a reason, and she reminds us all why with Queen of Versailles. — K.P.
Starring: Kristin Chenoweth, F. Murray Abraham, Tatum Grace Hopkins, and Nina White
How to watch: Queen of Versailles is now on Broadway until Dec. 21.
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
Broadway, new
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is exactly what it sounds like, and so much more. This charming two-person show sees Robin (Christiani Pitts), a jaded Brooklynite, cross paths with Dougal (Sam Tutty), an Englishman in New York City for the very first time. They're headed to the same wedding, but first, they've got to usher the cake from Brooklyn to Manhattan. It's not long before their errand morphs into a chance at deeper connection.
Robin and Dougal's ensuing journey is an adorable New York odyssey that'll leave you fizzing. While its songs never quite reach the highs of opening number "New York," Two Strangers runs on Pitts' and Tutty's charming performances. She's an eternal bundle of cool, he's an excitable Golden Retriever, and together, they both have a lot of baggage to unpack — a fact made literal by the set made up of giant pieces of luggage. Original and inventively staged, Two Strangers is an endearing treat. — B.E.
Starring: Christiani Pitts, Sam Tutty, Phoenix Best, and Vincent Michael
How to watch: Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is now playing on Broadway through July 6.