Off-Broadway Musicals Archives

  • Saturday Church

    Take me to church. Please. Saturday Church, now playing at New York Theatre Workshop, opens with the magnificent, ebullient, Tony-winning, can-do-no-wrong J. Harrison Ghee as Black Jesus, asking, “Can I show y’all what collective love looks like? What collective joy looks like? What collective healing looks like?” As directed by Whitney White and based on…

  • Rolling Thunder

    The Ensemble (Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade) Rolling Thunder By Julia Polinsky on July 26, 2025 Rolling Thunder, a new show that originated in Australia, is about the Vietnam era, scored to the music of the times. It’s just opened at New World Stages, rolling out its considerable energy until September 7. Considering that this…

  • Lights Out

    Now at New York Theatre Workshop, Lights Out may seem on the surface to be just another bio-musical, this time about Nat “King Cole” (Dulé Hill in a superb performance) but it is much more than that. Go with an open mind, and you’ll do well, because it’s very, very good. The audience seemed to…

  • GODDESS

    There’s divinity at work – literally – in a show now playing at the Public Theatre. It’s appropriately called Goddess– and it will transport you to a vibrant culture with its heavenly music, supernatural characters, and inspiring message. Most of the scene is set in Mombasa, Kenya, largely at Moto Moto, a free-spirited, underground nightclub….

  • Music City

    Bedlam’s Music City, a country-western musical featuring the songs of million-selling songwriter JT Harding, is as warm-hearted and feel-good as a Hallmark Christmas movie. Even if you don’t particularly like country music, some kickass performances from superb performers, a tight, bright musical sound, and a gritty, welcoming, enveloping environment make this almost-jukebox musical a must—see….

  • Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song

    Jenny Lee Stern, Chris Collins-Pisano (Photo: Carol Rosegg) Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song By Deirdre Donovan The latest version of Forbidden Broadway is settling in just fine at Theater 555. Created, written, and directed by Gerard Alessandrini, this revue, entitled Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song, is 90-minutes of sheer theatrical fun….

  • Big Gay Jamboree

    The Ensemble of The Big Gay Jamboree (Photo: Matthew Murphy) The Big Gay Jamboree By Fern Siegel Those who grew up on classic musicals will appreciate their send-up in The Big Gay Jamboree, now off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theater. Marla Mindelle, the show’s star and co-creator, gives an LGBTQ+ sensibility to the traditional musical, which…

  • The Sabbath Girl

    Max Wolkowitz, Marilyn Caserta. (Photo: Dorice Arden Madronero) The Sabbath Girl By Fern Siegel Romantic comedies work best when opposites attract. That’s the case for The Sabbath Girl. Finding love is hard — overcoming cultural and religious differences is harder. But as the new musical, now off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters suggests, love is the great…