{"id":9759,"date":"2025-10-20T19:11:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T19:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/9759\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T19:11:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T19:11:14","slug":"happy-day-actors-reach-tentative-deal-stageworthy-news-of-the-week-new-york-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/9759\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Day? Actors Reach Tentative Deal. Stageworthy News of the Week \u2013 New York Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jordan E. Cooper\u2019s face might not look so happy in \u201cOh Happy Day!\u201d \u2013 or, clockwise, Hugh Panaro\u2019s in \u201cMasquerade,\u201d Nichelle Lewis\u2019s in \u201cRagtime,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Ari\u2019el Stacher\u2019s in \u201cOther.\u201d But most of these shows, reviewed below, try to offer hope in dark and confusing times. As God tells Cooper\u2019s character Keyshawn: \u201cIf you can\u2019t own your happy in the dark, it will only be rented in the light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or, to translate to current events, via a report in NPR about the nationwide No Kings protests<\/a> over the weekend:\u00a0\u201cIn Macon, Ga., protesters belted \u201cThe Story of Tonight\u201d from the musical Hamilton \u2014 a song about the importance of sacrifice and solidarity today for the sake of freedom tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Week in New York Theater Reviews<\/p>\n

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Ragtime\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The revival of \u201cRagtime\u201d has taken on more of the epic feel to which it aspires, thanks to its move from an Encores series concert to a full Broadway production on the Vivian Beaumont\u2019s grander stage, turning an already superb production into a sumptuous spectacle\u2026.If anything, this musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow\u2019s novel about the cultural and political upheavals in the New York of the early 1900s, feels even more timely in the midst of the cultural and political upheavals in the America of 2025.<\/p>\n

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Oh Happy Day<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOh Happy Day!\u201d may sound like church: The plot retells the Biblical story of Noah\u2019s Ark;\u00a0\u00a0a divinely-dressed trio called the Divines belt out original gospel songs; we hear theological discussions and sermon-like exhortations.<\/p>\n

But playwright and actor Jordan E. Cooper peoples his play with a struggling family in present-day Mississippi who are full of angry resentments and bitter memories. And Cooper, whose play \u201cAin\u2019t No Mo\u2019\u201d on Broadway three years ago presented a collection of barbed satirical sketches, here largely puts drama and trauma center stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Other\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

After Ari\u2019el Stachel won a Tony Award for his charming and hilarious Broadway debut in the role of a sexy Egyptian trumpet player in \u201cThe Band\u2019s Visit,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0he was made so anxious by all the congratulations that he kept on rushing to the bathroom for paper towels to wipe the sweat pouring down his face.\u00a0\u00a0He dramatizes the experience in the first scene of his solo autobiographical show, \u201cOther,\u201d opening tonight at Greenwich House Theater. His performance is impressive, brave and deeply unsettling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Masquerade 1. Hugh Panaro, Nik Walker, Jeff Kready, Clay Singer, Telly Leung, and Kyle Scatliffe (Photo by Oscar Ouk)<\/p>\n

Masquerade\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMasquerade\u201d is sensuous and you-are-there in a way that \u201cThe Phantom of the Opera,\u201d the earlier version of Andrew Lloyd Webber\u2019s musical, was not. The approach that director Diane Paulus et al take in this intricate, intimate, interactive new production could well appeal to\u00a0audiences who have never seen Phantom, or even those who saw it and didn\u2019t care for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Week in New York Theater News<\/p>\n

Broadway Actors Reach Deal, but Musicians Still Threaten Strike (NY Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Broadway 2025-2026 season as of now<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAll Out: Comedy About Ambition by Simon Rich,\u201d\u00a0directed by\u00a0Alex Timbers\u00a0December 12 \u2013 March 8 at the Nederlander Theatre with a rotating cast of four actors reading from Rich\u2019s stories, in a kind of follow-up to All In<\/a> from last year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPunch<\/a>\u201d , the Broadway play based on the true story of a man who forms a bond with the parents of the young man he killed, will be livestreamed during the final week of its run, October 28 \u2013 November 2, through the League of Live Stream Theater. Those interested may purchase a $75 ticket (includes $9 service fee) for one of the performances at\u00a0lolst.org<\/a>. Inventory is subject to limited availability.<\/p>\n

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Broadway Box Office: \u2018Hamilton\u2019 Hits High of $4 Million As Fall Season Begins (Hollywood Reporter<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Beloved \u2018Hamilton\u2019 wardrobe stylist fired from show after beating stage 3 cancer, lawsuit says (Independent)<\/a><\/p>\n

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The 21st Edition of the Under the Radar Festival<\/a> will present 32 works<\/a> from January 7 to 25. Co-Creative Directors\u00a0Meropi Peponides\u00a0and\u00a0Kaneza Schaal\u00a0join Founder and Artistic Director\u00a0Mark Russell\u00a0to form the first of what will be rotating cohorts of festival curators, ensuring that the festival\u2019s programming is ever-evolving and of-the-moment.
Here are two long lists for your perusal (but it makes sense to take the time to look at the individual entries at the UTR website)
List of theater artists: Agrupaci\u00f3n Se\u00f1or Serrano;\u00a0JoAnne Akalaitis;\u00a0Anonymous Ensemble;\u00a0Mario Banushi;\u00a0j. bouey;\u00a0Dahlak Brathwaite;\u00a0Brokentalkers;\u00a0Kinoshita Kabuki;\u00a0Elevator Repair Service;\u00a0Lisa Fagan\u00a0and\u00a0Lena Engelstein;\u00a0Jo Fong\u00a0and\u00a0George Orange;\u00a0Lee Sunday Evans\u00a0and\u00a0Elizabeth Marvel;\u00a0Anne Gridley;\u00a0The HawtPlates;\u00a0Sunny Jain;\u00a0Modesto \u200b\u201cFlako\u201d Jimenez;\u00a0Autumn Knight;\u00a0Cole Lewis, Patrick Blenkarn,\u00a0and\u00a0Sam Ferguson;\u00a0Cherish Menzo;\u00a0Moogahlin Performing Arts\u00a0and Sydney Theatre Company;\u00a0Narcissister;\u00a0Quarantine;\u00a0Graham Sack;\u00a0Tina Satter\u00a0and\u00a0Half Straddle;\u00a0Kaneza Schaal;Roger Guenveur Smith;\u00a0Pamela Sneed;\u00a0The TEAM;\u00a0Wet Mess;\u00a0Kevin Matthew Wong; and\u00a0The Wooster Group\u00a0with\u00a0Eric Berryman\u00a0and\u00a0Jharis Yokley.<\/p>\n

The programming is presented in partnership with cultural organizations including\u00a0The Chocolate Factory Theater,\u00a0HERE Arts Center,\u00a0Irish Arts Center,\u00a0Japan Society,\u00a0Joe\u2019s Pub,\u00a0La MaMa,\u00a0Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,\u00a0The Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College,\u00a0The Living Word Project,\u00a0Mabou Mines, \u200b\u200bMitu,\u00a0New York Live Arts,\u00a0New York Theatre Workshop,\u00a0NYU Skirball,\u00a0Onassis Culture,\u00a0Onassis ONX,\u00a0Park Avenue Armory\u2019s Under Construction Series,\u00a0Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC),\u00a0Performance Space New York,\u00a0The Performing Garage,\u00a0Pregones\/PRTT,\u00a0The Public Theater,\u00a0Soho Rep,\u00a0Symphony Space,\u00a0Waterwell, and\u00a0Working Theater.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Working Theater\u2019s 41st\u00a0season<\/a>\u00a0Theresa Rebeck is developing a play that responds to Arthur Miller\u2019s\u00a0Death of a Salesman, set for a reading in June, 2026, which is also the month that the theater will present The second annual Stage Left readings.<\/p>\n

Ari Emanuel buys TodayTix (NYTimes)<\/a>
What\u2019s interesting about this article is a description of TodayTix, and how it\u2019s changed and expanded \u201cIt now sells tickets, mostly at full price\u2026and accounts for more than 15 percent of all ticket sales on Broadway\u201d<\/p>\n

The Week\u2019s Theater Video<\/p>\n

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