Theater Update: Carrie Coon, ‘Mamma Mia!’ and Ian Fleming on Broadway
In this intimate play, you perform for a tree
Theater Update
August 20, 2025

Dear Theater Fans,

Carrie Coon is everywhere: “The White Lotus,” “The Gilded Age” and now Broadway. Earlier today, Michael Paulson reported that the in-demand actress will star in “Bug,” which is set in, er, less hospitable digs than Coon’s characters are used to. Written by her husband, Tracy Letts, “Bug” will make its Broadway debut in December — almost 30 years after the play was first staged in London. Michael also broke the news that Jeffrey Finn, a Broadway producer who has overseen theater programming at the Kennedy Center since 2016, will step down next month. The move comes as President Trump has been working to overhaul the institution.

The touring production of “Mamma Mia!” has arrived in Manhattan and parked itself at the Winter Garden Theater for a six-month Broadway engagement. Like the Abba songs that inspired it, the show has become an everlasting part of the pop-culture landscape. As Elisabeth Vincentelli tells it, the show’s return is “the closest we may ever come to a real-life time loop.”

Also an enduring pop-culture figure: Ian Fleming — well, maybe that’s more his suave spy creation: James Bond. Anyway, it’s Fleming’s World War II contributions as a British intelligence officer that have been highlighted recently in the Broadway musical “Operation Mincemeat.” But the show provides only a glimpse of Fleming’s life as a spy. Thomas Maier explains that the feat of deception at the heart of the musical was typical of Fleming, a spy known for dreaming up the most absurd schemes.

I really loved this quote from Dan Daly (and not just because I often recite a version of this to my young daughter): “You don’t need to make the giant, multimillion dollar thing to have an impact.” Daly was referring to his intimate climate-themed piece “Arborlogues,” in which he and his co-creator, Lee LeBreton, have one participant at a time read a monologue to a tree. Joey Sims reported from the theater, and Shuran Huang’s photographs and videos give us a sense of what the experience is like. It just might be the kind of Zen we could all use right now.

One more thing we need: More Prince. We’ll get it this fall when the highly anticipated musical adaptation of Prince’s “Purple Rain” debuts in Minneapolis. Here’s a video of the show’s stars (Kris Kollins and Rachel Webb) singing “Take Me With U.”

Please reach out to me at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com with suggestions for stories or to offer your thoughts about our coverage. And urge your friends to subscribe to this newsletter.

Have a wonderful week,
Nicole Herrington
Theater Editor

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NEWS AND FEATURES

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Michael Brosilow

Carrie Coon Is Scratching an Itch, Starring in ‘Bug’ on Broadway

The play was written by Tracy Letts, who is married to Coon. It’s about a down-and-out duo for whom motel room insects prompt paranoia.

By Michael Paulson

A black-and-white image of Ian Fleming, posing at a desk for a portrait. He is wearing a black jacket, light-colored shirt and bow tie.

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How Ian Fleming and His Spy Scheme Inspired a Broadway Show

The musical “Operation Mincemeat” tells the story of an absurd feat of deception dreamed up by this spy-turned-novelist. His real acts of espionage were even wilder.

By Thomas Maier

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As Trump Tightens Hold on Kennedy Center, Top Theater Producer Resigns

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FROM THE CRITICS

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‘Take a Banana for the Ride’ Review: Jeff Ross’s Life Makes a Detour

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Richard Termine for The New York Times

Critic’s Notebook

‘Mamma Mia!’ Is Back on Broadway. But Did It Ever Really Leave Us?

The musical, just like the Abba songs that inspired it, has become an everlasting part of the pop-culture landscape.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

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Top: Jim McCambridge; XNY/Star Max/GC Images, via Getty Images

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EDINBURGH FRINGE

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