» This Week on Broadway for March 8, 2026: The Piano Lesson, McNeal, and Ain’t Misbehavin @ Milwaukee Rep BroadwayRadio

BROADWAYRADIO

03/8/26

James Marino,Michael Portantiere,Peter Filichia

This Week on Broadway for March 8, 2026: The Piano Lesson, McNeal, and Ain’t Misbehavin @ Milwaukee Rep

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Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about Mother Russia @ Signature Theatre, Milwaukee Rep’s three productions: August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, McNeal, Ain’t Misbehavin, Marcelle on the Train @ Classic Stage Company, The Other Place @ The Shed, and Zack @ Mint Theater Company.

Milwaukee Rep’s new home at the Associated Bank Theater Center

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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.

Showtune for Today: The Grass is Always Greener from Woman of the Year

Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook
MICHAEL PORTANTIERE has been a theater journalist for more than 50 years. 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

Timeless: Ben Jones Sings 100 Years of the American Songbook @ The Laurie Beechman Theatre, Wednesday, March 11, 2026

James Marino | [email protected] | Facebook
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Pre:

All the Drama: Playwright David Auburn on ‘Proof,’ 2001 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama available on Patreon

Note: there have been reports of Patreon issues. If you are having an issue with Patreon, please email James.

Reviews:

MP: Mother Russia @ Signature Theatre, through March 22, 2026
Written by Lauren Yee
Directed by Teddy Bergman
Cast: Steven Boyer, Adam Chanler-Berat, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and David Turner

St. Petersburg, 1992: the Soviet Union has collapsed, McDonald’s has risen, and Evgeny, a young man at a loss, stumbles into a job working surveillance with his old friend Dmitri. Their target: Katya, a former pop singer with questionable allegiances and a mysterious past. As their lives chaotically intertwine, Evgeny finds himself falling in love and losing his bearings, all while grappling with the taste of freedom (and fast food) along the way.

Peter Reviewed Mother Russia on This Week on Broadway for February 22, 2026: Georgia Stitt

PF: Milwaukee Rep
108 East Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202

August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, through March 22, 2026

McNeal, through March 22, 2026

Ain’t Misbehavin, through April 26, 2026

MP: Marcelle on the Train @ Classic Stage Company, through March 22, 2026
By Marshall Pailet & Ethan Slater
Directed by Marshall Pailet

History remembers Marcel Marceau as the world’s greatest mime. But before the spotlight, he was a young man in Nazi-occupied France, guiding Jewish children to safety with nothing but courage and imagination. In the shadows of World War II, Marcel on the Train reveals the man behind the invisible mask. Co-written by and starring Tony Award? nominee Ethan Slater (SpongeBob SquarePants, Wicked), this inventive new play shows us how, sometimes, the loudest resistance begins in the most quiet places.

Marcel on the Train Production Photos by Emilio Madrid

PF: The Other Place @ The Shed, through March 1, 2026

MP: Zack @ Mint Theater Company, through March 28, 2026

Zachariah Munning has a natural sweetness that is unappreciated by his family. They long ago decided he was just lazy and dim. Zack’s calculating mother and cold-blooded brother are scheming to take advantage of a rich relative who is coming to visit. They believe her wealth might solve the problem of their failing business and are ready to sacrifice Zack for their own aims.

Spoiler alert, Zack comes out on top. “There is something here about the importance of kindness and the underdog winning that makes the audience exude sighs of contentment…It’s a preposterous happy-ever-after tale, but one that should melt the most cynical heart,” says Lyn Gardner of The Guardian.

Written by Harold Brighouse (1882 – 1958), one of “England’s most respected but neglected playwrights.” Harold Brighouse’s 1916 comedy, ZACK, had the misfortune of appearing after Hobson’s Choice, the one play that Brighouse is remembered for today. New York theatergoers might know Harold Brighouse as the author of Garside’s Career, produced by Mint Theater a year ago, when it received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Revival.

News:

Future Episodes:

MP + PF: Every Brilliant Thing (Next Week)

Peter’s Brainteaser:

He wrote more than one Tony-winning musical. One team did even better.

The solo songwriter saw the first of his Tony-winners run precisely twice as many performances as the team’s Tony-nominated but Tony-losing musical.

Who is he? Who are they? What Tony-winning musical ran precisely twice as long as theirs (which you must name, too)?

Michael’s Musical Moments

“Just in Time” from BELLS ARE RINGING

Music Opener: Bobby Darin