Fallen Angels (Broadway) (2026)

Fallen Angels is an old play from 100 years ago by Noel Coward. Our social mores have changed a lot since then but the play holds up. It's still very funny thanks to two very physical performances from the leading ladies. Kelli O'Hara is of course a theater stalwart but Rose Byrne, fresh off an Oscar nomination in a dark comedy, shows off her more traditional comedy chops. Byrne I think actually steals the show. She gets the funnier costume and wig. The two of them get progressively drunker throughout the night and it devolves from there. The set is beautifully appointed. And it's hilarious that Mark Consuelos who I've been watching on Live since I was a kid is making his Broadway debut (coincidentally in the same season as his son Joaquin in Death of a Salesman), with a thick French accent. The play is like Waiting for Godot, as he only appears in the final scene, has just a handful of lines. But that last scene is a riot. My one complaint is about the acoustics in the Todd Haimes theater. When the actors aren't facing you, it's difficult to understand what they're saying. But so much fun!

Ragtime (2026) (Broadway)

Ragtime may just be the best musical of the year. though it may not be the most enjoyable. Terrence McNally's adaptation is a staggering epic. It's quite the downer for 2 hours and 50 minutes. Made all the more depressing because it's realistic. It holds a mirror up to our society, like the end of Cabaret, forcing us to confront America in all its glory and mess, not just at the turn of the century but today. The show follows three families: a black community in Harlem, Jewish immigrants in the Lower East Side, and an upper-crust white family in New Rochelle. They weave in and out of each other's stories, representing the great melting pot that is America. There are real historical figures in the show, appealing to the history nerd in me. "Make Them Hear You" is sort of equivalent to "History Has Its Eyes On You" from Hamilton, making the show about the study of history itself. The melodies are lush if not exactly memorable. Joshua Henry's voice is like magic so full and deep when he sings "Sarah, come down to me" I felt goosebumps. He even has a soliloquy about his his son's future similar to Henry's rendition of Soliloquy in Carousel though I think this music suits his voice better.