Unless you’re\u00a0Troy from\u00a0High\u00a0School\u00a0Musical,\u00a0basketball and Broadway have not often felt connected. But last week, as the New York Knicks made a historic\u00a0comeback in the NBA finals, and\u00a0have now taken home their first Championship title in almost 50 years, the NYC theatre industry fully embraced its\u00a0connection to the Knicks\u00a0as\u00a0one of the city’s leading\u00a0cultural institutions. Because when\u00a0New York wins, everyone wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On June 13, the\u00a0Knicks beat the Spurs (of San Antonio, Texas)\u00a0in Game 5, winning by just four points in what was ultimately\u00a0a close game. But New York\u00a0fans knew their team would\u00a0take home the title. The Knicks demonstrated unparalleled strategy and determination throughout the Finals; they executed\u00a0a 29-point comeback in Game 4\u2014the largest comeback in NBA Finals\u00a0history.<\/p>\n
After a nail-biter of a final 20 seconds,\u00a0New York erupted in cheers and fireworks, and the Empire State Building lit up in blue and orange.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Broadway celebrated, too.\u00a0A number of Broadway shows and stars\u00a0paid homage<\/a> ahead of Saturday night’s big game with social media posts and even special mid-show shout-outs. That only intensified on Sunday, the day after the Knicks’ win.\u00a0At Playbill, we certainly love a sports-meets-stage moment,<\/a> so\u00a0here’s a round-up of some more creative nods to the New York Knicks on the Broadway stage.<\/p>\n Every Brilliant Thing<\/a>\u00a0Names the Knicks Winning as a Brilliant Thing<\/p>\n It’s been no secret that the current star of\u00a0Every Brilliant Thing, Mariska Hargitay<\/a>, is a Knicks fan. Last Wednesday, Hargitay performed an athletic feat of her own when she did a two-show day then ran 10 blocks south to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks play. Then on Friday, Hargitay pulled out a Knicks jersey onstage during the show. And that’s not all. On Sunday, after the Knicks won, the show posted on its Instagram<\/a>:\u00a0“The Knicks are a brilliant thing.” No disagreements here!<\/p>\n Hamilton<\/a>\u00a0Performs “New York, New York” at Curtain Call<\/p>\n Frank Sinatra’s rendition of Kander and Ebb’s\u00a0New York, New York has long been heralded as the theme song of New York.\u00a0Sports fans already know that;\u00a0up until recently,<\/a> every Yankees game concluded with the anthem blaring across the stadium, win or lose. (Somewhat controversially…now it’s a treat only enjoyed after a win.) Saturday night’s big win for the New York Knicks certainly called for a special rendition of the song, and what show could be more fitting to perform it than the one that declares New York City each night to be the greatest city in the world?\u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe Happy Ending<\/a>‘s\u00a0Zachary Noah Piser<\/a> and Hannah\u00a0Kevitt Fangirl Over Jalen Brunson<\/p>\n Every night, Helperbots (and jazz aficionados) Oliver and Claire enthuse over the Jazz Monthly magazine issues they receive. But in a special nod to the Knicks player who led the team to their epic win, the characters\u00a0received a very special magazine during Sunday’s matinee performance, with Jalen Brunson on the cover. Not only is the Knicks’ win legendary because it’s a\u00a0long-awaited comeback, but Brunson specifically made history on Saturday night, scoring 45 points in Game 5: making Brunson tie with Michael Jordan’s NBA record for the highest score in a series-clinching Final. Certainly worth fan-girling over!<\/p>\n & Juliet<\/a>\u00a0Roars Over the Knicks<\/p>\n At the Sunday performance of\u00a0& Juliet, current lead Gianna Harris took her curtain call bows in a Knicks jersey, before exclaiming that the team won and leading the cast in a triumphant group rendition of “Roar.” It wasn’t just them, the entirety of New York City was roaring Saturday night.<\/p>\n The Rocky Horror Show’s One-Eyed Showgirls Open the Show With A Special\u00a0Sign<\/p>\n My Rocky? Horror. My time?\u00a0Fleeting. My showgirls? One-eyed. Knicks in 5!\u00a0The Rocky Horror Show<\/a>\u00a0had its one-eyed showgirls toting their usual signs “Enjoy the Show!” signs before the curtains opened, but cheekily flipped them over to show the backside now read “Knicks in 5.” If you haven’t kept up with the viral rallying chant for the team, it comes from Ahnaf Hossain,\u00a0a 23 year old fan, who declared (as seen on TikTok<\/a>)\u00a0ahead of the Knicks’ fourth game in the finals: “My\u00a0mayor? Muslim, my bagel’s Jewish, My Christian? Dior, Knicks in four!” The phrase has been modified by the masses, and many Broadway shows have tailored their own versions of it for the meme of it all. After all, it wouldn’t be true a New York historic moment without a viral soundbite to quote.<\/p>\n Buena Vista Social Club<\/a> Holds Up a Knicks Cap<\/p>\n It’s not a true party in New York until someone shows up in a Knicks cap. At curtain call, one band member held up the instantly recognizable orange-and-blue hat as the crowd cheered.\u00a0Posting it to the production’s official Instagram, the caption also riffed on the viral chant, writing: “My club social, the music GRAMMY winning, the band is live, Knicks in five”.\u00a0<\/p>\n