Peter Filichia, Jena Tesse Fox, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere review Bug @ the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon @ Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, The Opening @ The Players Theater, Picnic at Hanging Rock: The Musical @ the Greenwich House Theatre, Ragtime @ LCT, Isabel Leonard and Friends, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in Concert, Try/Step/Trip @ ART, and HMS Pinafore @ G&S Society
Carrie Coon as Agnes White Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans in Bug written by Tracy Letts directed by David Cromer Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy
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Jena Tesse Fox | Twitter | Instagram JENA TESSE FOX has written about theater for many publications, including Playbill Magazine, BroadwayWorld, Time Out New York and HowlRound. She is a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women and the Drama Desk, and is a contributor to BroadwayRadio
Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook MICHAEL PORTANTIERE is a theater reviewer and interviewer. The founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other publications, and he writes reviews of cabaret shows for NiteLifeExchange.com. Additionally, Michael is known as a producer and director of shows at 54 Below, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and other venues.
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Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans in Bug written by Tracy Letts directed by David Cromer Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy
PF + JTF + MP: Bug @ the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, through February 22, 2026 From Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) and Tony Award-winning director David Cromer (Prayer for the French Republic, The Band’s Visit) comes the Broadway premiere of Steppenwolf’s acclaimed staging of a cult classic about an unexpected and intense romance between a lonely waitress (Carrie Coon) and a mysterious drifter (Namir Smallwood). What begins as a simple connection between two broken people in a seedy Oklahoma motel room twists into something far more dangerous. When reality slips out of grasp, paranoia, delusion, and conspiracy take over in this sexy psychological thriller.
Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans in Bug written by Tracy Letts directed by David Cromer Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy
Up next at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre:
The Balusters Apr 21, 2026 – May 24, 2026 Written by David Lindsay-Abaire
EXTENDED BY POPULAR DEMAND! “Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon” To Play an Additional Week – Now Through February 22!
Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer) and Jack Lewin announced today a one week extension for the World Premiere of Going Bacharach: The Songs Of An Icon, a musical revue featuring the many songs of Burt Bacharach, including such recognizable titles as “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?, “What’s New Pussycat?, and “That’s What Friends Are For”, and many more. The show was co-created by Will Friedwald, Adrian Galante, Tedd Firth & Jack Lewin, and conceived by Mr. Lewin. The arrangements and orchestrations are by Adrian Galante, who also serves as the production’s Music Director. Musical supervision is by Tedd Firth, and the show is directed by Tony and Olivier Award winner David Zippel. Performances began on Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 7:30pm at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (10 West 64th Street – between Broadway & CPW. Opening Night was Monday, January 12 at 7:30pm. Scheduled to end its engagement on February 15, due to popular demand, the production will now play through Sunday, February 22, 2026.
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK: The Musical, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Joan Lindsay, with book and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music and arrangements by Greta Gertler Gold. It is directed by Portia Krieger with choreography by Mayte Natalio and opened on Thursday, December 18 at the Greenwich House Theatre (27 Barrow Street) for a strictly limited engagement until January 17, 2026.
First brought to global recognition through Peter Weir’s iconic film, this musical adaptation powerfully reimagines the story through a female lens. On Valentine’s Day in 1900, a group of teenage schoolgirls go on a picnic to the foreboding Hanging Rock. Three vanish without a trace. A tale that came to author Joan Lindsay in a dream, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK unfolds against a backdrop of Australia’s wild natural beauty, exploring the fates of spirited young women determined to navigate the constraints of their futures. It is a haunting exploration of innocence, mystery, and the unseen forces shaping our destinies.
Isabel Leonard and Friends The Songs of Bernstein, Berlin, and Beyond Thursday, January 15, 2026 8 PM Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage Multiple Grammy Award winner Isabel Leonard welcomes fellow star of the Metropolitan Opera Ryan Speedo Green, and vocalist and actor Jordan Donica (Broadway’s Sunset Boulevard and Camelot, The Gilded Age) for a one-night-only performance as part of her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series. Joined by the brilliant collaborative pianist John Arida, they perform wide-ranging repertoire drawn from the 1930s and ’40s songbooks of Bernstein, Berlin, Porter, Price, Copland, Weill, and more.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in Concert Monday, January 12, 2026 7 PM Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage New York’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s brings Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first Broadway classic—Oklahoma!—to the Carnegie Hall concert stage. Conducted by Emmy- and Grammy-winning music director Rob Berman, this concert features the original orchestrations by iconic Broadway and Hollywood arranger Robert Russell Bennett, whose contributions to Oklahoma! were indispensable. Orchestra of St. Luke’s Rob Berman, Conductor Emmett O’Hanlon, Curly McLain Micaela Diamond, Laurey Williams Jasmine Amy Rogers, Ado Annie Carnes Andrew Durand, Will Parker Ana Gasteyer, Aunt Eller Jonathan Christopher, Jud Fry Parvesh Cheena, Ali Hakim David Hyde Pierce, Andrew Carnes Shuler Hensley, Director
The unknown Sondheim — ‘He was a great gamer and loved children’ A new podcast, co-hosted by the theatre great’s former partner Peter Jones, reveals the man behind the musicals for the first time Clive Davis, Chief Theatre Critic, Friday January 02 2026, 5.00pm GMT, The Times
Loving You: The Untold Sondheim
In personal celebration of Stephen Sondheim, an unprecedented tribute podcast will be released by Sondheim’s chums Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones, in association with Jason Caffrey of Creative Kin Ltd, on all streaming platforms on 5 March.
Rumor — Cynthia Erivo has secured Passion rights, with Maria Friedman directing
Future Episodes:
Peter’s Brainteaser:
They both had the same first name and the same middle initial, which both used professionally.
They both acted in the same play, one in the original production, one in a revival almost 48 years later.
Each won one Tony, although not for either of these productions.
In fact, the earlier person didn’t win the Tony for acting.
