Theater Update: Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are ready for ‘Godot’
‘Hamilton’ TikTok trend, ‘Saturday Church,’ Charles Ludlam’s ‘Galas’
Theater Update
September 10, 2025

Dear Theater Fans,

So many shows are onstage right now, with several opening tonight (including Julio Torres’s “Color Theories” at Performance Space New York and Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “The Brother Size” at the Shed). Speaking of “The Brothers Size”: I’m still feeling the buzz after today’s matinee performance. Our review of the show will post later tonight.

There are also return engagements, of shows like Jordan Tannahill’s “Prince Faggot” — now at Studio Seaview after an earlier run at Playwrights Horizons, and last chances: including Shakespeare in the Park’s “Twelfth Night,” with Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage and Sandra Oh, and Bubba Weiler’s “Well, I’ll Let You Go,” now with Marin Ireland, at the Space at Irondale in Brooklyn. (Both close later this week.)

Last week, Melena Ryzik delivered two very different but equally brilliant reads: A feature on Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, their friendship and their forthcoming Broadway production of “Waiting for Godot” (previews begin Sept. 13), and a look at how the recently closed play “John Proctor Is the Villain” is just one example of “a wave of young women and girls letting their pipes loose, on stages and in rock clubs, across arenas and on screens — and exhorting anyone to join in.”

There’s also another trend we have our eyes on: Esther Zuckerman looks at the funny TikTok shorts that reimagine a snippet of the “Hamilton” number “Best of Wives and Best of Women,” and why they serve as both tribute and critique. Other must reads: Elisabeth Vincentelli’s preview of the new musical “Saturday Church,” which opens Monday at New York Theater Workshop. The musical contributions are from Sia, Honey Dijon and the house-music D.J. and producer Luke Solomon, which, Elisabeth noted, are “not the kind of bona fides you often see Off Broadway, let alone on it.” (Listen to the show’s concept album here.)

Lastly, we’re wishing Billy Porter a speedy recovery. In July, he stepped into the role of the Emcee in the Broadway revival of “Cabaret,” but recently he has been absent. On Sunday, we learned why: The show’s producers said he “is recovering from a serious case of sepsis.” Now the production will close on Sept. 21.

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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