Why are there so many actors who continue to do the stage door? It's a miserable experience that has become more and more unsafe and toxic over the years. I'm surprised at the amount of performers who are open and willing to embrace it, despite putting additional pressure on the many tough hours of belting and dancing they do every day. They already have the curtain call as a "thank you" to the audience; why can't they just leave it at that?

I get that it's completely optional and some actors avoid it entirely (and bless them), but still, I feel like actors who stage door are REALLY wasting the time they could have had to take a rest from hours of difficult, draining onstage work, in order to appease parasocial "fans" who want to get into their personal space.

In addition, I feel like they're also setting a truly horrible example for other performers and staff members. A lot of actors who don't stage door get a ton of hate online from people who obsessively follow the horrendous stage door culture, and I've heard stories of staff members going out the stage door getting boos and jeers from people who just want to see the actors only.

All performers NEED to go back home and take a well-needed rest. Period. They really need to let the show just be a show.

Just got back from my first trip, where I knew Chicago (from the movie) before I left, and went in cold to Heathers and The Play That Goes Wrong

Planning to go back soon for Book of Mormon, Hadestown, and Spring Awakening. For those three, would it be better to go in cold, or to learn the songs, and mythology in the case of Hadestown?

I know it hasn’t been long, but I usually have some very good luck with lotteries.

Hiii so the schmigadoon album signing is next week I was just wondering how long it typically takes/would I actually get in if it’s only an hour long and don’t have a ticket to see the show that day.-

Hi all,

I plan on taking my school choir (all 90 of them!!) to see the Sound of Music. I know in Times Square there are tons of restaurants that can accommodate that size (John's, Hard Rock Dallas BBQ). Is there anything remotely like that within close distance of LC?

Thanks.

Mine would be either Hello Dolly, or Calamity Jane.

By any chance does anyone know what day Christopher Jackson is least likely to call out of Hamilton? I'm traveling from Hawai'i to New York in early November, and he's my favorite OG cast member so I'd love to see him.

Obviously, I'd be lucky to see the show in general but it would be great to see him as Washington! Trying to decide between Saturday evening and Tuesday evening. If anyone has any insight please let me know!

Ive seen another post about thia b4, but i stg it was different. In the entire musical, a VERY CLEARY african american guy was playing the beast (fergie L fillipe) and then at the end there was a completely different dude. He was taller, different body type, everything and i wasnt caring that much until i was watching bows and no one else came out for beast. There was no understudy notice, and no where in the playbill did it mention anything like it...please soemone explain (btw the performance was at ABQ popejoy theatre oct 15th)

Hi! So I want to do a double show day on a Sunday, my plan is to see the outsiders at 3:00 and &Juliet at 6:30. Is that crazy? Will we be cutting it close if we want to try and have a quick dinner in between? Maybe I’m being silly but I have extreme “be on time to things” anxiety so I’m trying to prepare lol.

Another question, would we have time to stage door by the outsiders if we skip dinner, and is it worth it? I’ve heard that stage door is insane so I’m thinking to skip, but I do really love a stage door experience lol so I would like a few opinions…

And last question, should I try to rush &Juliet? We’re 3 people and I don’t know how that works, I usually prefer to buy tickets in advance and I never did two shows in one day so idk I’m just anxious for no reason

TYIA!!!

Yes, I’m asking because of all the hype about Midnight. Honestly, I’m relieved to read so many esteemed Reddit-Broadway lovers push back on that, because I trust this sub to help us all separate the influencer hype from the true diamonds. Having said that, I’d love to know what some of your “Hamilton at the Public’s” are! And I would love to hear if it is, in fact, Midnight!

If it’s actually Hamilton at The Public… I’m happy for you 😒🥲

One of mine is The Outsiders at La Jolla Playhouse.

I’m just curious about this: is it difficult to cast older roles on a non-equity tour? It sounds like when you do a tour of a show about teens or early 20-something’s like Mystic Pizza or Hairspray, producers have a ton of brilliant young actors who haven’t been able to get into equity quite yet who would like to be cast in those young roles. Is it harder to cast older roles? I’m thinking, if an actor is old enough to play Wilbur Turnblad, he’s probably been grinding at his craft for years. If he hasn’t been able to get into equity for whatever reason, I would think that he would eventually give up by the time he’s old enough to play Wilbur. So how does that work? I’m purely curious. I know working in the arts is brutal. I personally haven’t seen a non-equity tour but that’s because I grew up and still live near NYC, so tours generally don’t come near where I live, not because of ethics.

Tickets were supposed to go on sale at 10:00 AM, but I just logged in & was able to purchase! Good luck!

I presume there are multiple exits out of the theater? Or do they literally have to walk past the folks gathered for stage door and just sort of ignore them?

Ever seen folks stop an actor and try to talk to them when the actor wasn't doing the stage door thing?

Nothing about Midnight really seems to add up to me.

I do not understand the level of hype around the show. A few influencers are framing it as the greatest thing they have ever seen, comparing it to being at Hamilton at the Public, and staking a remarkable amount of credibility on that position.

But the broader response does not seem to match. There are only about 20 reviews on Show-Score, averaging roughly 72. That is not the profile of an undisputed breakout hit, particularly when most current Broadway shows, and plenty of Off-Broadway shows, are scoring higher.

Meanwhile, there has been very little traditional media coverage, despite reports that the run ends November 8 and tickets are being priced as high as $400.

Maybe the show is genuinely extraordinary and the wider reviews simply have not caught up. But the gap between the influencer narrative and the available audience response is striking. Something feels off.

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2627/forums/the-long-christmas-dinner/

Grab it before it's gone.

I’ve listened to the soundtrack countless times and I’ve seen the show a couple of times and I interpreted it as David making Michael hallucinate his father in “Secret Comes Out” and “You Belong to Me” and I’ve read a couple posts that other people have thought the same thing. So if that’s true, my question is why did David make Michael hallucinate his father? Because I feel like if David didn’t do that, he would’ve had a better chance of getting Michael to trust him, but instead he made Michael relive his biggest trauma and pushed him away essentially. Or if that’s not true at all and Michael just hallucinated his father on his own why do you think that happened? Anybody got any thoughts?

Saw A Few Good Men last night at Lincoln Center and wanted to share my thoughts:

A few observations:

1. The text is still the star. It's not a hot take, but Aaron Sorkin can write some dialogue. The last 20 minutes in the courtroom are as compelling as ever. It's fun to hear dialogue you can recite word for word spoken on stage
2. It is the movie, and it's not the movie. Overall, the production is pretty similar to the film. It's definitely not a massive overhaul or dramatic departure. The dialogue you're waiting for is there, and many of the characters look and feel like the ones you remember. At the same time, it's not the movie. If you're expecting a beat-for-beat recreation of Nicholson's iconic monologue or Cruise's performance, this isn't that. The actors find ways to make the roles their own, which can be either disappointing or refreshing depending on your expectations
3. Tom Blyth is a beautiful human being. He's a movie star and you can tell from the moment he walks on stage 
4. Blyth's Kaffee feels like he has slightly different motivations than Cruise's in the final courtroom scene. Cruise's Kaffee feels more determined. He wants to nail Jessep. Blyth's feels a little more "gotcha." He wants to catch Jessep in his trap. It's a subtle distinction, but I found myself missing some of Cruise's resolve. Both interpretations work, but they give the scene a slightly different energy

Overall, the set, sound, and production are strong. It's an iconic piece of writing for a reason, and I walked out thinking, "That's a really good play"

edit: wording, formatting

Tonight, you will be among the very first to hear and see “the legend of the Sisters Clarke.”

Post those thoughts from the James Earl Jones below…

If you've been looking for tickets, there are plenty available on October 28 & December 6 (the closing performance!). Just wanted to give everyone a heads up!

The Baby-sitters Club: A New Musicalbased on Ann M. Martin’s book series that inspired the 1995 film and two TV series, will make its world premiere this spring with Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles.

Previews for the four-week run will begin on May 6, 2027, ahead of its May 16 opening. The dates and venue were announced today by the producing team, which includes Mountain A, the production company co-founded by Oscar-winning actor Natalie Portman.

So, I've been following That Parenting Musical since its inception as a funny music video and then first workshop (in Colorado, where I live - but I frequent NYC Broadway 4-5x a year!) and it's been so cool watching it grow. I've seen it at many different stages and they had an Off-Broadway run at Theatre Row in 2024. Now there's a cast album on the way featuring some really amazing broadway performers like Bonnie Milligan and Chris Jackson, and Kara Lindsay!! There's a new single dropping tomorrow and Playbill just featured Christopher Jackson singing it so I'll link that below for anyone who wants to give it listen. I'm obviously a little biased but it's been exciting to see this show develop from a small Colorado workshop into a full album with these performers. Honestly, I think it deserves more attention! As a parent of young kids myself, the musical is such a WHOLLY ACCURATE, hilarious and heartfelt depiction of life and its ups and downs.

Anyway, just wanting to spread the word. Check it out!! The full album drops October 23rd.

https://playbill.com/article/watch-christopher-jackson-performs-glide-from-that-parenting-musical

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6oyjtGSAsaHM4ekfROroBz?si=yNG8qygEQtGpaeargbHyOQ
(Kara Lindsay's single from the album has already been released, here's the link!)