Broadway Press Day with Ruthie Fierberg

Actor Tala Ashe earned her first Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Elham in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English.” Elham is a tricky character — stubborn and often unkind to her classmates in her desperation to learn this foreign language. Yet, in any compelling drama, you must be able to root for the characters. Ashe set out to do just that. Here, she tells Ruthie Fierberg, executive...

You could say that everything Justin Townsend does is for the gaze. After all, the designer uses lighting to point audiences where to look (and sometimes where not to look). He creates the haunting atmosphere and contribute to comedic timing. Here, Townsend divulges the details to host Ruthie Fierberg, Ruthie Fierberg, executive editor of Broadway News. a Townsend discusses timing, color palette a...

Sam Pinkleton first staged Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary!” at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre and then transferred that production to Broadway. The production has earned five Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Play and one for Pinkleton’s direction. Pinkleton’s nomination marks his second nod overall — having been previously recognized for his choreography of “Natasha, Pierre & the...

Marco Paguia began his Broadway career as a keyboardist for “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” Soon enough, he began serving as music director and conductor for Main Stem productions, and, last season, he even had a few lines as part of the onstage band of “Gutenberg! The Musical!” This season, Paguia doesn’t have any lines, but he is pounding the keys as part of the onstage orchestra of “Buena Vista Soci...

In the original musical “Maybe Happy Ending,” scenic designer Dane Laffrey (who also provided additional video design) and video designer George Reeve use a range of analog and cutting-edge techniques to create Seoul, South Korea, circa the year 2064. From suitcases that double as seats in a car to expanding and contracting curtains that frame space to hologram-like projections, Laffrey and Reeve...

The new musical “Dead Outlaw” is an ensemble piece that covers 100 years in the life and death of Elmer McCurdy. Naturally, its actors play multiple characters, including Tony Award-nominated actor Julia Knitel. Here, the actor talks to host Ruthie Fierberg, executive editor of Broadway News , about what makes each character tick and how she feels being a part of the rock musical “Dead Outlaw.” Wa...

“Purpose” won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama earlier this month and is nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins won a Tony last year for Best Revival of a Play for his drama “Appropriate.” Jacobs-Jenkins is also known for his plays “An Octoroon,” “Everybody” and “Gloria.” Host Ruthie Fierberg, executive editor of Broadway News, chatted with the scribe about wr...

Broadway’s “Buena Vista Social Club” transports audiences to the island of Cuba. The music makes audiences feel like they are in Havanna, but when they open their eyes, they also need to see Havanna. Scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado has earned a Tony Award nomination for creating that space for the new musical. Maldonado’s design toggles between the 1950s and 1990s, between a recording studio and...

Producer Greg Nobile and his director, Sam Gold, wanted to create a “Romeo + Juliet” for today’s young people. After all, in William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, the star-crossed lovers are teenagers. This production aimed to return to that authentic youth and cast Kit Connor as Romeo and Rachel Zegler as Juliet. The result is the only Broadway production of “Romeo and Juliet” to have ever earne...

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” on Broadway is a fusion of live theater and live filmography. Audiences watch the action unfold in front of them onstage and on screens simultaneously — which presented quite the challenge for costume and scenic designer Marg Horwell. How did she make every fabric and color look great in both media? How did she architect the set to tell the story and complement the tec...

“Real Women Have Curves” began as a play, which was adapted into a movie (starring America Ferrera) and has now become a Broadway musical. Responsible for the Tony Award-nominated score are Joy Huerta (of the pop duo Jesse & Joy) and Benjamin Velez (“The Tempest” at the Delacorte). The full score features 15 original songs — plus reprises. Host Ruthie Fierberg, executive editor of Broadway New...

Last year, the musical “Dead Outlaw” premiered Off-Broadway to acclaim, including a Drama Desk nomination for star Andrew Durand. Now, “Dead Outlaw” has come to Broadway and Durand is reprising his performance as the titular criminal — and earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance. Durand plays real-life outlaw Elmer McCurdy from his childhood to his death...and beyond, when McCurdy's cor...

Broadway’s “Death Becomes Her” has been nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Two more of those nods go to Christopher Gattelli for his supreme direction and choreography. Based on the Robert Zemeckis film off the same name, “Death Becomes Her” is high camp and high belting. It stars Megan Hilty as Madeleine Ashton and Jennifer Simard as Helen Sharp — frenemies who want to kill eac...

There’s nothing quite like a villain origin story — especially when the villain in question is “Stranger Things”’ Vecna. The stage adaptation of the Duffer Brothers’ hit Netflix series, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” is a prequel to the TV show and shows how a young boy named Henry Creel becomes a monster. Louis McCartney originated the role of Henry Creel in the premiere production of “The...

Ruthie Fierberg hosts Broadway News’ latest awards season interview series. More than 130 artists were nominated for 2025 Tony Awards. In the span of a single day, Ruthie spoke to more than 40 of them. Every day from now through the 78th Annual Tony Awards on June 8, 2025, we'll release episodes that feature one-on-one conversations with these nominated artists. From “Stranger Things” star Lou...

"Real Women Have Curves" first debuted as a play, by Josefina López, in 1990. Inspired by some of her own experiences, López adapted her own work into a 2002 film, which starred America in her breakout role. In 2025, that story has been reimagined once again as a Broadway musical: "Real Women Have Curves." Starring Tony Award nominee Justina Machado (TV's "One Day at a...

Straight from the Netflix universe, “Stranger Things” has come to Broadway. But it’s not an adaptation of the series. As you’ll hear in this episode, Broadway’s “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is a prequel to the streaming show. And it is absolutely canon. Kate Trefry, a writer and executive producer of the Netflix show, penned the play while still writing the series — and she made sure it wou...

“Floyd Collins” first bowed in New York City nearly 30 years ago, Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. The musical tells the true story of cave explorer Floyd Collins, who became trapped in Kentucky’s Sand Cave back in 1925. As Floyd fought for his life below, a media circus sprouted above him — as thousands of people wanted to see if Floyd would be rescued. After success Off-Broadway, writer-dir...

After taking home the 2024 Tony Award for “Merrily We Roll Along,” actor Jonathan Groff returns to Broadway in the Bobby Darin bio-musical “Just in Time.” Groff is known for his breakout role in Broadway’s “Spring Awakening,” his turn as a sassy King George III in “Hamilton” and his voice in the “Frozen” franchise (he’s Kristoff). So why Bobby Darin, the singer of “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the...

The now-iconic cartoon character Betty Boop first debuted in Fleischer Studios' Talkartoon series in the 1930s. Betty was a bit player, but became so popular the studio created animated movies just for her. Betty comes to Broadway in an entirely original story with “Boop! The Musical!” Starring newcomer Jasmine Amy Rogers (Betty), Tony Award winner Faith Prince (Valentina) and Ainsley Melham (...

Emmy and Golden Glob Award winner Sarah Snook makes her Broadway debut in “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Adapted by Kip Williams from the Oscar Wilde novel, this staging of “Dorian Gray” is a one-person show. Snook plays 26 characters in one wild ride. The play bowed in London's West End in 2024, and Snook took home the Olivier Award for Best Actress. She's got a herculean task, but why did...

NBC's cult-favorite television series "Smash" comes to Broadway as a brand new stage musical. The series — about the making of a Marilyn Monroe bio-musical called "Bombshell" — first debuted in 2012. Broadway's "Smash" will officially open at the Imperial Theatre on April 10, 2025. The show was a melodrama on television, but the Main Stem version is a backstage farce — highlighting the shenanigans...

Tony Award-winning actor Idina Menzel ("Wicked") returns to Broadway in the new, original musical "Redwood." Menzel stars as Jesse, a woman who has experienced a profound personal loss. After a year of avoiding her own feelings and struggling to deal with her grief, Jesse longs to escape. She drives until she can't anymore — until she lands in the Redwood Forest. "Redwood" chronicles Jesse's trans...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play "English" by Sanaz Toossi officially opened on Broadway on Jan. 23, 2025. Host Ruthie Fierberg spoke with Toossi, director Knud Adams and the cast while they were in the earliest days of Broadway rehearsals. Actors Tala Ashe (Elham), Ava Lalezarzadeh (Goli), Pooyah Mohseni (Roya), Marjan Neshat (Marjan) and Hadi Tabbal (Omid) introduce their characters, share behind...

Manhattan Theatre Club welcomes the brand-new comedy "Eureka Day" to Broadway. Pronounced with the emphasis on "Day," Jonathan Spector 's play takes place at a private, progressive school in Berkeley, California. As the lights come up, we see four parents and the principal of Eureka Day gathering for a meeting of the parent executive meeting, in which everything about the school is decided by unan...