I saw 11 theatrical productions in 2025. Eight musicals and three dramas. The fall got quite busy with work travel combined with a planned surgery and then a hospital stay to conspire against seeing any live theater anywhere. Then I got sick at Christmas and had to cancel a planned 2-show day. Ah well! The goal of an average of 1 show per month is a goal, not a requirement.
Here are the shows I saw, with links to full reviews if I posted one, and short thoughts for the shows I didn’t.
January
Kowalksi, at the Duke at 42nd Street, NYC FULL REVIEW HERE. I saw it off-Broadway. In June 2025 plans were announced to bring it to Broadway in 2026, but no official announcement naming dates or a theatre has been made.
February
Titanique, at the DR Theatre in Union Square, NYC: This absolutely hysterical take on James Cameron’s Titanic, narrated by Celine Dion and featuring a ton of her songs worked into the plot, had us laughing from start to finish. The show is mostly scripted, but there are a few scenes of total improvisation that were just fantastic. We saw it off-Broadway. A short Broadway run at the St. James Theatre has been announced for spring 2026. I plan to see it if it does.
Hadestown, at the Walter Kerr Theatre, NYC. Why did I wait 5+ years to see this? Especially given my love of Graeco-Roman mythology. The music is stunning, the story eternal and yet still topical. The cast I saw included Lillias White as Hermes, Tom Hewitt as Hades, Allison Russell as Persephone, Carlos Valdez as Orpheus, and Hailey Kilgore as Eurydice. What they say is true: even knowing how the story will end, you still hope this time the ending will be different, and you still gasp when it isn’t.
March
Moulin Rouge!, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, NYC. Despite enjoying the movie 20-something years ago, this really wasn’t on my list of “must see.” But my goddaughter wanted to see it for her birthday, so I joined her. I quite enjoyed it. If I have one complaint, it’s that there were just too many rushed medleys. The actual full-song numbers tend to be more powerful and memorable (Satine’s version of “Firework,” the “Your Song” duet, Zidler’s “Chandelier” and “El Tango de Roxanne” were all showstoppers, or close to showstoppers, at our performance.). See it while you Can Can Can (see what I did there?).
Here There Are Blueberries, at the Bram Goldsmith Theatre at The Wallis, Beverly Hills CA. Written by Moises Kaufman (The Laramie Project), this ensemble piece is a true story, about the discovery of a book of photographs taken at the Auschwitz concentration camp which show the lives of the German military and civilians who worked there and whether such images should be made public. I lucked into seeing it during its run at The Wallis during a work trip. I have no idea if it’s still touring but it if it is … see it.
April
Old Friends, at the Manhattan Theatre Club, NYC FULL REVIEW HERE
Guys and Dolls, at Beacon High School, Beacon NY. One of my favorite musicals. Beacon High School has a really great musical theatre department.
June
Passengers, at Perelman Performing Arts Center, NYC FULL REVIEW HERE
July
Pirates! The Penzance Musical, at the Todd Haimes Theatre, NYC FULL REVIEW HERE
August
Cabaret Live at the Kit Kat Club, at the August Wilson Theatre, NYC. Finally got to see this near the end of the run. Billy Porter as the Emcee. Marisha Wallace brought down the house as Sally Bowles. The rest of the cast were also excellent, in particular Fraulein Schneider.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, at the Marquis Theatre, NYC. The stagecraft on this show is amazing. I am still unsure how they did some of the practical effects. Fans of the television show will not be disappointed (although I’m not sure why you’d see it if you were not a fan of the show). The prequel plot fills in gaps between the flashbacks we saw in seasons four and five, and so we see the high school age versions of Joyce and Lonnie Byers, Hopper, Bob Enby, the Wheelers, Dr. Brenner, and other adults from the tv show as well as Henry Creel and his family. I thought the actors playing the younger Joyce and Hopper, and Louis McCartney as Henry Creel, were particularly good.
I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.