NYC 2025: Take 2 Round-up

Masquerade (#926)

Thanks to the graciousness of my wife, I was able to finagle a trip in time to see the closing of The Phantom of the Opera before it left The Majestic Theatre a few years back. I was transfixed by the stage craft, engulfed in the story, and swept up by hearing the score and seeing the company deliver an iconic piece of mega commercial theatre. When I saw Masquerade, a currently running immersive iteration of …Phantom…, my guest and I had just one comment to the lovely house manager we’d met, “Well, y’all have ruined Phantom…for us. No other production will ever be better than what we just saw.” Hyperbole? Perhaps. But the intimacy of the music and proximity to the cast–literally being with an audience of a dozen in a dressing room with just Christine, for example–maginifies the sympathies towards the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul to a degree that is achieved by a wholly committed cast and incredible logistical and artistic vision by director Diane Paulus. 

Our cast brought the talents of Hugh Panaro (Phantom), Georgia Mendes (Christine), and Nkrumah Gatling (Raoul) in leadership of the musical. All three give gifted, pure, and compelling performances in both scene and song. Nothing is lost with the closeness to “The Music of the Night,” and having “All I Ask of You” literally atop a roof is an inspired choice that pays off even at a full-daylight matinee with sirens blaring and cabbies honking just below. Satomi Hofmann’s hilarious Carlotta serves as more of a guided hostess role in addition to the duties of the part, and Hofmann’s timing and vibrato are a highlight among the supporting performances. If Masquerade even tickles your fancy, make every effort to ensure you grab your formal wear, a decadent mask, and go see the Phantom up close and personal.

Bull Durham (in Previews when attended)

The 1988 baseball cinematic classic, Bull Durham, serves as a hallmark sports film for us athletically-interested artists. The Kevin Costner/Susan Sarandon-led movie is getting a musical makeover at the PaperMill Playhouse and has every bit of reason to be dramatized for the stage. Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Ron Shelton, pens the book, and teams up with musical debut-writer Susan Werner. And while the second act is a stronger turn than the first act, the vision, staging, and attention to this American classic pastime is cleverly and crisply brought to stage by director Marc Bruni. 

Carmen Cusack and Nik Walker lead the production as Annie and Crash, respectively. Cusack’s positioning as both narrator and leading lady, her handling of the double-duty matches her homerun-level talents in chemistry opposite the veteran catcher Crash, played with charisma and cool swagger, and the young buck pitcher, “Nuke,” played with dopey adorableness by Will Savarese. Supported by a slew of notable characters taken right from the film, the expanded musicalization and few plot adjustments to the minor characters serve the overall trifecta arc of the three principals. Centering the action is a gloriously cozy and nostalgia-driven set design by Derek McLane, who ensures the audience always feel like they’re right at the ballpark, waiting for the next pitch; it’s riveting in how soothing and at-home the set makes us spectators feel. 

Joshua Bergasse’s choreography has room to dazzle and challenge, but pairs well with Werner’s score, though the act one finale, “Winning,” is a bit lackluster by comparison to other baseball-infused musicals that audiences have come to adore. The act two romp, “Pensacola,” has reprise written all over it–much in the vein as “Mama Says” in Footloose or the since-cut “Blue” in Heathers–as Nick Wyman (Uncle Roy), Joel Ashur (Larry), and James Moye (Skip), reminisce about their rendezvous when travelling the minor league ballparks. Other notable hits I hope stay are “Every Woman Deserves to Wear White,” a romp of a song that gives the women their turn to shine, and the scene leading up to and including “The Brawl,” a moment for the treasured pitching mound conversation that offers for some improvised insults that proved to earn a true, elongated laugh-out-loud moment between the ballplayers and Benny Elledge (Umpire).

However, it’s Cusack who is truly front-and-center, and is a triumph in her 11 0’clock number, “The Damndest Season.” Cusack earns it, nails it, and proves that a woman’s leading touch is well-received in this male-dominated musical. As Bull Durham continues its run-proper at the PaperMill Playhouse, I encourage east coasters to head to the theater, grab a hot dog and a ticket to this baseball musical treat!

Ragtime (in Previews when attended)

It’s a sweeping score amidst a compelling story; E.L. Doctorow’s novel, Ragtime, has, to date, received a film adaptation and its third Broadway musical run, and for good reason: it’s urgent, it’s sincere, and it’s a musical that, with this newly opened revival, has become a staple among the greatest shows we have in our modern musical theatre canon. Lear DeBessonet’s direction gives attention to effectively pacing this near-three-hour musical while honoring beats, looks, power in stillness, and entertainment in flashes of dance with Ellenore Scott’s choreography. DeBessonet’s helming work is simply superb and this production is just a step below Mandatory Viewing for all theatre-goers who have the ability to see it.

Following the central figures of Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Mother, and Tateh, the real estate given to each’s story is a masterly organization of plots and relationships by book writer Terrence McNally, and supported in full by Lynn Ahren and Stephen Flaherty’s score, which is a feast of styles, ballads, upbeats, and company-wide tunes that are in sturdy hands at the Vivian Beaumont. Joshua Henry’s turn as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. is simply begging for his interpretation, he is purely magnificent. His bravado and vibrato are strengthened by his showing of the vulnerable, romantic side of the piano player, showcased at top-tier level in “Wheels of a Dream” opposite an emotionally-driven, beautifully-voiced Nicelle Lewis as Sarah. The two have a chemistry you have all the patience in the world to see develop while knowing their fate is all too laid out in their lyrics and scenework, making”Till We Reach That Day” all the more of a dreaded end (though gloriously sung) to the first act. Coalhouse’s trajectory sees perhaps the most change of the principal cast of characters, and is handled with deft and confident talent in Henry’s hands.

Caissie Levy and Brandon Uranowitz are a dynamite pairing when in scene and song, especially in the tender “Our Children.” Levy’s individual triumphs are in full force in “Goodbye My Love,” her contributions in “Journey On” along with Uranowitz and Colin Donnell’s commanding Father; but none better than her turn at act two’s torch song, “Back to Before.” Not just a powerful singer, Levy’s emotional turns are both dramatically sound and comically true, especially as she sees herself growing further from Father’s outdated, stubborn, heel-digging demeanor; his refusal to change is as palpable as Mother’s insistence that change should be embraced and manners be damned when serving others. Uranowitz delivers an utterly beautiful performance as Tateh, the immigrant with a daughter and a dream; both which he protects and nurtures with passionate care. Uranowitz has charm, allure, and a charisma that fits Tateh with ease. The juxtaposition of act one’s “Success” to act two’s “Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc.” display not just Tateh’s American dream come true but also Uranowitz’s talented ability to present the shift in character seamlessly. 

Supporting performances come from a slew of wholly capable and resoundingly gifted actors who ensure their roles both take focus while in support of the primary stories. Shaina Taub is a gritty, hilarious Emma Goldman; Anna Grace Barlow is a delightful, whimsical Evelyn Nesbit; and Rodd Cyrus delivers a Harry Houdini that is both graceful and sturdy in his presence, especially when he and Grace Barlow lead “Atlantic City II.” Taub teams well with Ben Levi Ross’s Mother’s Younger Brother in “He Wanted to Say,” a song that gives us a look into Brother’s mind and that ends with one of the few true punchlines the libretto has to offer. However, it’s Levi Ross’s depiction of the privileged-becoming-radicalized youth that is shaped to give audiences a direct commentary into what we in the modern-day America are seeing happening to our very own juveniles, especially when they are rejected once and then put their energies into a closed-door rabbit hole of radicalization, whether it results in a solution for better or violence for the worse. Colin Donnel’s Father is a master class in how stillness, cadence, nuanced reaction, and precise character development is handled by a stage veteran; he makes his turn as Father one where–while you don’t agree with most of his choices–you absolutely see with crystal-clear clarity, why he makes the decisions he does. 

David Korins’ deconstructed set, in service of the grand stage construction of the Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont, works for the most part, especially for the New Rochelle house; however, DeBessonet’s staging does away with necessary place-setting for many of the solos and duets. Linda Cho’s costumes are decadent, appropriate, character-driven, and provide a palette of riches for the eye. James Moore’s musical direction handles the score and sound with respect to the harmonies and power offered for the emotion that is below so many of Ahrens’s lyrics. Altogether, Ragtime is a success in nearly every sense of the word, and with a nation that seems to be proving why we require performance art like this to still be done, I implore you to see this show with the openness to experiencing the very conviction and hope this musical offers.

Six: the Musical (3rd time seeing it)

I’ve come to realize that watching Six: the Musical as the finale to my New York trips should just become my tradition. I was blessed to have scored a lottery ticket for the 4th Anniversary performance, and what a treat it was to get back to the Lena Horne Theatre to see this hyped show with a new-to me lineup of Queens since my last visit. Clearly this is a favorite of mine, so of course I still think the direction, choreography, Tony-winning costumes and score are still fabulous. This lineup of Queens, as compared to others I have seen, have nailed the personalities each Royal brings to the stage and to their song(s). Making it less about the pop stars they’re inspired by, the current cast is serving laughs, Tudor liturgy, and lewks from start-to-finish, and I was as wildly entertained as I’ve ever been. Notably, Gianna Yanelli’s Anne Boleyn is one of the funniest performances I’ve ever seen on a Broadway stage, and her turn at “Don’t Lose Your Head” is outstanding. Kelsie Watts' dramatic turn in “Heart of Stone” as Jane Seymour is a bring-the-house-down park-and-bark that compels as much as captivates. 

I know this was not the last time I’ll have seen Six: the Musical on Broadway and, while of course I know that are so many other offerings on and off Broadway, plus regionally and collegiately, all I have to say is sorry, not sorry, I know what I like and this show is it!