NOVEMBER 4, 2026

Hello, Stage Whisperers, 

We’re in the doldrums of summer, but we’re checking in from Stage Whisperer HQ to remind you that, even though this is a quiet time for theater, there’s still plenty for all of you to seek out if you want. As part of a mini-summer preview for what’s coming down the pike in July, we’ll remind you that the British drama Shifters is coming soon to the Cherry Lane, Cat Cohen’s one-woman show Broad Strokes is starting up the Lortel, and Bubba Weiler and Jack Serio’s reteam at Atlantic, The Saviors, is also nearing us. Plus Dad Don’t Read This, which I have convinced many a co-worker to see, is still running, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to enroll in a class on Big Feelings at the Cell, which just added a few performances through July 24. (Those sold out in between the time I wrote this introduction and filed it to my editor, but it does have a standby program.) I saw a performance of that play, written by Ryan Drake and directed by Sammy Zeisel, just before going on vacation for the long weekend, and its cute-then-sinister swerves kept me thinking about it throughout the holiday. In short, you’re a first-grader enrolled in class with Ms. Joy (a frighteningly committed Julia Greer), and as she has you work through some exercises about expressing your own feelings, she starts to reveal her own very intense angst. Don’t worry, you won’t be called on to participate if you don’t want to, but you may find yourself reckoning with choices far beyond the emotional capacity of a child — or reasonable adult — to comprehend. 

Jackson McHenry
Critic, Vulture

The latest grosses are here! This week,  Jackson McHenry, Rebecca Alter, Ray Rahman, and Zach Schiffman discuss. 

JACKSON MCHENRY: Everyone's grosses are down with so many people out of town, watching fireworks and tall ships and avoiding the blast radius of Taylor Swift's wedding — and a heat dome and focus on the World Cup probably doesn't help — but Maybe Happy Ending stemmed the bleeding the least, which is at least nice for them.

RAY RAHMAN: Which show do we think was most popular among Taylor's out-of-town wedding guests?

ZACH SCHIFFMAN: Definitely Oh, Mary!

JACKSON: Did Mariska Hargitay go from Every Brilliant Thing to the wedding directly? Frankly, Taylor should have invited some of The Lost Boys for fun. Do the Met Gala thing where there are a bunch of megacelebrities and then a smattering of random theater actors who are just there because Anna Wintour likes them.

ZACH: The most Broadway person there was, like … Jessica Chastain.

JACKSON: Hey, there was a brief, pre-pandemic moment when Sabrina Carpenter was in Mean Girls the Musical.

ZACH: True! Interesting to see Rocky Horror dip so much — were Juliette Lewis and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez that big of draws? In my house, Sherie Rene Scott joins the cast and the price you pay doubles.

JACKSON: No surprise, but we also know Titaníque will not run indefinitely because Dolly is coming into the St. James. They've extended till at least September 20, but with these grosses, we'll see if they make it to dock there.

REBECCA ALTER: "Wicked had its worst-selling full week on Broadway since 2004?!?!?!?!"

ZACH: And Two Strangers is obviously cheap to run, but how soon until we are rid of this bedbug of a musical?

➼ Ethan Slater and Betsy Wolfe walk into The Little Shop of Horrors together.  

➼ Spring 2027 alert: Three Days of Rain starring François Arnaud, David Corenswet, and Yvonne Strahovski will come to the Shubert. 

➼ Speaking of the Shuberts: They’ve found a new operating partner for Sardi’s. (No, it’s not the Frenchette group.)

➼ Little Island’s summer schedule is a little smaller this year. 

➼ Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum is getting revived in London.

➼ Sam Pinkleton gets the GQ treatment.

➼ Two Met Opera performers, one New York Times Vows column. 

➼ Drama in D.C. 

➼ Which lead star will you see perform in Marin Ireland’s Pre-Existing Condition?

➼ Amanda Seyfried in a turtleneck and Jonathan Groff in a beard are just some of the things you’ll see in Vanity Fair’s first-look photo of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s upcoming film Octet.

➼ Watch out, you never know when John Lithgow could be behind you. 

➼ “No more fiber before a show. I’m scared” —Joy Woods.