» This Week on Broadway for March 1, 2026: Bigfoot! @ New York City Center BroadwayRadio

BROADWAYRADIO

03/1/26

James Marino,Jena Tesse Fox,Michael Portantiere,Peter Filichia

This Week on Broadway for March 1, 2026: Bigfoot! @ New York City Center

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Peter Filichia, Jena Tesse Fox, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Bigfoot! @ New York City Center, Chinese Republicans @ Roundabout Theatre Company, The Unknown with Sean Hayes @ Studio Seaview, WestRep Stage production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown @ Western Connecticut State University, Data @ The Lucille Lortel Theatre, The Wicked Stage: Songs About Show Business, Hosted by Christine Pedi @ 54 Below, Elevator Repair Service production of Ulysses @ The Public, and Masquerade.

Bigfoot Off-Broadway Production Photos Credit: Marc J Franklin

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Panel:

Peter Filichia | [email protected] | Facebook
PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. Peter’s new day-by-day desk calendar – A SHOW TUNE FOR TODAY – 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year – is available at finer retailers! Peter also has columns at Masterworks Broadway, Broadway Select, and many other places.

Peter Filichia & Friends: Broadway Tales and Tunes, feat. Judy Kaye, Dick Scanlan, & more!
March 2, 2026 @ 7PM

Showtune for Today: Haven’t The Words from Sing A Rude Song

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.

An Evening with Charles Busch, Tuesday, March 31, 2026 @ The Laurie Beechman Theatre

James Marino | [email protected] | Facebook
BroadwayStars

Note: This week we had listeners join us while recording. These listeners are Patreon members who support BroadwayRadio. If you would like to join us in the future, become a supporter at Patreon.com/BroadwayRadio.

Sponsor: Factor

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Reviews:

Bigfoot Off-Broadway Production Photos Credit: Marc J Franklin

PF+MP+JTF: Bigfoot! @ New York City Center, through April 26, 2026

Set in the town of Muddirt, a glow-in-the-dark oasis that exists somewhere between a chemical dump site and a nuclear power plant, BIGFOOT! is a larger-than-life musical tale of corrupt politicians, small town paranoia, and misunderstood youth. When that youth happens to be eight feet tall, innocent, and in dire need of electrolysis, it makes him more than a target. It makes him the subject of a can’t miss can’t-myth musical comedy.

The cast includes Tony Award-nominee Grey Henson (Mean Girls, Elf) as ‘Bigfoot,’ Tony Award-nominee Crystal Lucas-Perry (Ain’t No Mo’) as ‘Francine,’ Katerina McCrimmon (Funny Girl) as ‘Joanne,’ and Alex Moffat (The Cottage) as ‘Mayor,’ Grammy Award-nominee Jason Tam as ‘Doctor’, Jade Jones as ‘As Cast’, and covers Jake Letts, Kala Ross, and Mike Millan.

Featuring lyrics by Tony and Emmy Award nominee Amber Ruffin, a book by Ruffin and Kevin Sciretta (MST3K), music by David Schmoll (The Second City) and direction and choreography by Danny Meffford (Kimberly Akimbo, Dear Evan Hansen), BIGFOOT! is musical comedy’s next BIG thing!

BIGFOOT! is produced by Benson Drive Productions (George Strus, CEO) in association with Manhattan Theatre Club. Evan Bernardin Productions serves as General Manager. Casting is by Jason Thinger, CSA.

(l to r) Jodi Long (Phyllis/Young Phyllis), Jennifer Ikeda (Ellen/Ailin), Anna Zavelson (Katie) and Jully Lee (Iris) Credit: Joan Marcus

JTF: Chinese Republicans @ Roundabout Theatre Company’s Laura Pels Theatre, April 5, 2026

Three high-powered businesswomen meet for lunch every month to discuss their latest career triumphs, as they’ve done for decades. But the group is jolted when Katie, a bright-eyed 24-year-old new to the workforce, joins to navigate the world of corporate finance. As each of the women attempts to steer Katie towards what they’re certain is best, they’re forced to grapple with how much they already have and are willing to sacrifice to climb the corporate ladder. Shifting between sharp-tongued humor and the harsh realities of modern capitalism, this world premiere production explores themes of assimilation, intergenerational conflict, and gender politics in the workplace.

CHINESE REPUBLICANS by Alex Lin and directed by Chay Yew, features Jennifer Ikeda, Ben Langhorst, Jully Lee, Jodi Long, and Anna Zavelson and is written by Alex Lin. The design team includes Wilson Chin (Set Design), Anita Yavich (Costume Design), Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (Lighting Design), Fabian Obispo (Original Music and Sound Design), and Hanah Kim (Projection Design).

MP: The Unknown with Sean Hayes @ Studio Seaview, through April 12, 2026

PF: WestRep Stage production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown @ Western Connecticut State University, through March 1, 2026

JTF: Data @ The Lucille Lortel Theatre, through March 29, 2026

MP: The Wicked Stage: Songs About Show Business, Hosted by Christine Pedi @ 54 Below, February 25, 2026

The company of Elevator Repair Service’s ULYSSES at The Public Theater, in partnership with Under The Radar festival. Photo credit: Joan Marcus.

JTF: Elevator Repair Service production of Ulysses @ The Public, through March 1, 2026

Created by Elevator Repair Service
Text: Ulysses by James Joyce
Co-Direction and Dramaturgy by Scott Shepherd
Directed by John Collins

Following last fall’s sold-out encore of Gatz—“The most remarkable achievement in theater of the decade” (New York Times)—Elevator Repair Service (ERS) takes on the Mount Everest of twentieth-century literature. James Joyce’s ULYSSES has fascinated, perplexed, scandalized, and/or defeated readers for over a century. In this New York City premiere, seven performers sit down for a sober reading but soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast-forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With humor, pathos, and a richly layered design, ERS stitches together verbatim passages from Joyce’s epic masterpiece into a two-and-a-half hour tour de force.

Presented in partnership with Under the Radar Festival®
Mark Russell, Founding Director
Meropi Peponides & Kaneza Schaal, Co-Directors
ArKtype, Festival Producer
More information at utrfest.org

Masquerade. Photo Credit: Luis Suarez

PF: Masquerade @ 218 West 57th, New York, NY, 10019 (Lee’s Art Shop on 57th Street), through July 19, 2026

Phantom movies:

The Phantom of the Opera (Movie 2004)

Sierra Boggess / The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)

News:

Future Episodes:

Peter’s Brainteaser:

If future Tony-winners Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ron Rifkin, and Maryann Plunkett had attended a 1970’s Tony-winning musical, the first line of a second act solo would have resonated with them more than it would with most anyone else.

What’s the musical, what’s the solo, what’s that first line and why would it resonate?

Michael’s Musical Moments

CHESS MUSIC VIDEOS, CONCEPT ALBUM

“One Night in Bangkok,” Murray Head and Company