NEW YORK — Remember when you bought tickets to a Broadway show, and simply watched the performance?
Alas, Broadway theaters have adopted the movie mojo, hawking concessions once exclusive with film-going.
I have a frank confession about concessions. No, no. no. If you book seats for a Broadway show, you don’t go there to eat. Or drink. Or share snacks.
You go, supposedly, to watch, to be entertained, to witness a musical and sing your way out, or cherish a chuckle about a hilarious moment or character in a comedy, or wipe off tears if you experience a heart-tugging or impactful chicken-skin scene element in a drama.
Leave the food in your hotel room. Eat it before or after the show, please.
We need to restore the dignity and respect for theater performers. Please?
There was a time –back in the day when with shows featuring legendary and outspoken actors like Patti LuPone — would halt her show if someone was eating or chatting during her performance. Ballsy LuPone would stop her show, if faced with distractions from the stage. She would find you to shame and yes, shame on you… so you don’t mix eating and chatting during a performance.
Similarly, I recall Glen Close halting her performance and pinpointing a spectator in a Los Angeles theater, when a cell phone rang.
Popcorn, candy and munchies are not suitable for theater. Ditto, iPhones. Theaters become circuses and ballparks when viewers bring food to the table. To me, that’s a worrisome wrinkle on Broadway.
Perhaps it’s too late, to sound off the alarm, since the flood of food at Broadway shows apparently began as far back as the 2000s, when you could only buy a drink with a tight lid to sip and watch a performance. How the movement has changed. I noticed this year, folks were hauling in gigantic soft drinks, and kids were carrying drinks with sealed lids, as if there’s a drought outside. Many theaters allow wrapped candies and soft drinks and sealed wine glasses, and I haven’t seen spilled drinkables. Yet.
Remember, Broadway theater seats don’t have cupholders on the arms, which means that a careless drinker could kick and spill a filled cup left on the floor. Messy and sticky, if this happens.
The Shubert organization, which operates 17 Broadway theaters (nearly half of the show houses), used to be the strictest in the snack parade, allowing only quiet-opening candies like Kit-Kats and M&M. Times have altered operations; theater owners know concession sales will make the proverbial cash registers ring and jingle and yield more bucks to combat rising costs.
The Nederlander chain embraces the movie-style, too, with common candy, chips and popcorn, normally at shows with family and kiddie audiences.
The volume of snack sales go up with family shows like “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” and “Lost Boys,” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and perhaps fewer sales in dramas like “Giant,” and “Death of a Salesman.”
I didn’t see it at the abridged “Harry Potter” this year, but several years ago, when “Harry Potter” was a twofer Part 1 and Part 2 – there were snack and drink menus at the theater seats. So if you ordered before intermission, the bounty of orders was delivered at the break.
The theater fare so far excludes pizza, a concerning edible since it can be messy and it smells. But some shows approve popcorn, which of course signals whiffs of buttered popcorn as the lights go down.
All theaters now have that standard plastic cup for soda and booze, and special promotions boasts logos of the show, a means to charge even more. But you get to take home a souvenir.
At a “Harry Potter” performance I was at the Lyric Theatre in early July, a boy’s phone rang, with bonus of bright lights shining, but he was quick to shut down the phone, wisely without answering. But it gave him an op to share candy with his girlfriend.
Alas, LuPone was not in the cast. That’s food for thought…
NEW YORK – There are 41 theaters on Broadway, and in early July, I visited eight theaters and consequently saw a remarkable range of shows.
The good news: Broadway amassed its best season ever, in its just-ending 2026 season, achieving $1.9 billion in total grosses, reflecting a remarkable $14.6 million tickets sold, according to Ken Davenport, a Tony Award-winning producer who monitors the tempo, the heartbeat and pulse of The Great White Way,
Davenport publishes weekly analytical breakdowns tracking individual show revenues, and regularly monitors developing theatrical trends. He also is an active producer of shows.
Ken Davenport
As a show-goer, the eight different productions I caught over a six-night stay leading to the July 4 holiday weekend was my umpteenth New York vacation over the years.
The first trip my wife Vi and I made to Broadway was in 1973, when we saw “A Litle Night Music,” which was ensconced at the Shubert Theatre. “Night Music,” a Stephen Sondheim creation, was the season’s gotta-see number, playing to sellouts. We had no reservations, so we dropped off our suitcases at the Algonquin Hotel a block away and headed to the Shubert.
In those days, sales were largely done in person, and the woman at the ticket window said the performance was a sellout for the matinee. I smirked a bit…and she quickly informed us there were two tickets left, located near a column so there would be moments we wouldn’t be able to see two quickie scenes. We bought the tickets, so at least we got in. And those days, I was such a country-jack, looking and gawking at the antique theater décor.
Decades later, I shared this little story with Hal Prince, the prevailing theatrical giant of his lifetime, and he chuckled. He was visiting his longtime friend, the late Joy Abbott, widow of the legendary playwright George Abbott, who was a sometimes resident, who hosted us at a lunch at the Orchids Restaurant at the Halekulani Hotel. The director and the playwright Abbott had collaborated with a bounty of Tony-winning shows, so it’s a remarkable irony that neither director Prince nor writer Abbott have theaters named after them today.
A Broadway theater must have at least 500 seats to qualify as a “Broadway theater,” the genre that includes such legendary attractions as “The Lion King,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Hamilton,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Misérables” and “Cats.”
As for the 41 existing theaters, I daresay I’ve seen musicals, comedies and dramas possibly in perhaps 38 of the 41 theaters since the ‘70’s.
John Rhoades, enjoying a chic breakfast at Delta’s Skyclub at JFK’s Terminal 4 in New York.
Some reflections:
This last trip was a long-planned family journey to take our grandnephew, John Rhoades (now 28, and a sergeant in the Army), on his second visit to the Big Apple. The first was when he was in middle school. This time, he offered to tend to the wheelchair I needed to get around Times Square, and oversee the weighty suitcase transport. The trip was somewhat a dream come true treat for all, with first class seats on Delta, which included visits to the Delta Skyclub in Honolulu prior to our departure flight, which was not as glorious as the luxurious dream-come-true experience at the modern and swanky Delta One Club, throbbing with excellence and grandnes, in Terminal 4 of JFK airport.
We’re all checking out the Delta Skyclub; from left, John. Wayne and Vi. Breakfastcalls.
No one took advantage of the massage and shower options available, but I utilized a swanky men’s room, which had ample space, with possible even guest-sitting, with space for a handler for wheelchair. No, I was solo, while John was checking out other options.
Times change; while my energy has diminished, the spirit’s still there, but a new strategy was vital. Two heroes in the 2026 plan: Vi’s penchant for details, John’s devotion and physical power to navigate the wheelchair with savvy. This reportage is slanted to help other handicapped travelers who may be reluctant to visit to The Big Apple but are fearful of crowds, and thereby denying themselves of taking in marvelous entertainment. Seek support, and you can possibly made a desire happen.
The able Mr. Walker
Mr. Walker, whom you’ve heard me mention previously, was on the trip with me, so I was able to do a bit of meandering with the walker. I had rented a power wheelchair, which was was a huge mistake, because I couldn’t easily get around. It was John who canceled the electric wheeler and exchanged it with a traditional chair which he pushed and twirled amid the jam-packed sidewalks and roadways in the Times Square vicinity.
The traditional Mr. Wheeler.
The new Mr. Wheeler got me to all eight shows on time with John quickly learning the routines of Mr. Walker and Mr. Wheeler, who had to be alternately parked before and retrieved after all performances. Ground transportation was never so easy, when in the right hands.
The shows we saw:
“Lost Boys,” at the Palace Theatre. A musical spectacle with vampires and more!
“Oh! Mary!,” at the Lyceum Theatre. Secrets and music a-plenty, with Mary Todd Lincoln.
“Cats: The Jellical Ball,” at the Broadhurst Theatre. The cat’s out of the bag, competing in drag-show, fashion-plate pace.
“Schmigadoon,” at the Nederlander Theatre.” A parody of “Brigadoon” with homages to “Oklahoma” and more. The year’s Best Musical Tony winner, and the most fun.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” at the Lyric Theatre. The magic is reimagnied in this drama about Albus Severus Potter, son of Harry and Ginny, who strives to maintain and live up to the fame of his father’s legacy.
“Moulin Rouge,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. A jukebox musical, loaded with 70 disco and boogie music, embraces a tragic star-crossed romance between songwriter Christian and. chanteuse Satine, set at the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.
“Titanique,” at the St. James Theatre. A parody of “Titanic” and vocalist Celine Dion. And of course, The Song goes on and on.
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow:” This is a strange play withmusic and dance, featuring beaucoup songs by a singing-dancing cast. It’s a prequel to the Netflix streamer, whose audiences are supporting the tale of how a boy became the villain. The least likeable of the shows I saw.
(Note: I’ll post mini-reviews in a subsequent column).
Show tickets are costly, like other life pleasures. In earlier times, I would splurge and purchase seats in prime orchestra locations. In checking prices this year, some shows had orchestra seats for under 400. I sought orchestra, but in secondary locations, with per-show admission up to $250, range, as follows: “Boys,” $121.06; “Mary,” $251.66; “Cats,” $276.11; “Schmigadoon,” $231.34; “Potter,” $233.10; “Rouge,” $192.86; “Things,” $94.70; and “Titanique,” $111.00. (And do the math, if you want to know the tab for three seats for each show).
Locations matter, when seeking a hotel.
I used to book rooms that offered frequent-stayer points, like Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and Hyatt. Not any more, since they are useless unless you are a business traveler capable of accruing enough status to justify the amenity. From nearly a decade ago, location mattered more because my walker-wheelchair needs mounted. So we now book Hotel Edison, on W. 47th St., in the heart of the Times Square. And tariffs were in the upper $300 during prime summertime travel.
Hotel Edison, on W. 47th St.
From the Edison, walkability to the shows was breezy block or minimally a block or two away – no cab, bus, or subway necessary. From Times Square, the furthest north theater is the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center, the furthest south is the Nederlander, on W. 41st St. The bulk of the theaters are located in the grid of the 40ths, between 6th Ave. and 9th Ave.
The bathroom issue? Yes it can be problematic.
Getting to know where to “go.”
When you’re handicapped, going to the lua is a challenge; you may rely on a cane, some crutches, a walker or a wheelchair, so knowing where accessible bathrooms in theaters is prime before heading to your seat, or at intermission.
Realistically, theater restrooms at Broadway theaters are either In the basement, sometimes on the mezzanine, but only rarely on the orchestra (first) level.
Do what I do, if you’re theater-bound. Before you secure tickets, inquire with the theater, or seek help with ticket sites. I inquired with broadway.com, where I bought all my tickets, and they’re friendly like heck — almost as easy as Goggling each venue.
However, I’ve done the math for you, if you’re only bound for any of these destinations: Palace Theatre, wheelchair access on orchestra level; Lyceum Theatre, unisex wheelchair access on main level; “Cats,” wheelchair on orchestra level; Nederlander, previously not available, but now with accessible restroom on first level; Lyric Theatre, accessible restrooms in Dress Circle lobby, with ADA locations in Orchestra and Dress Circle, with elevator access; Hirschfeld, wheelchair access on orchestra level; Marquis Theatre, facilities on 3rd and 4th levels of Marriott Hotel, with elevator access; St. James Theatre, access on main level.
Other information important to know before go:
You’ll require a buddy or family member to help, especially with the wheelchair; New York has rentals, which are conveniently dropped off and picked up at your airport at your desired times.
Inform airline about handicapped assistance, and it will note your needs in your flight data; ADA access will include wheelchair transit assist, from check-in through TSA checks, with lifts to your flight gate; at arrival, wheelchair assist continues to baggage claim; on return flight, similar assistance is available, from flight to baggage claim, to curbside for a pick-up or cab ride.
I secured an ADA room at the hotel rental, with shower stall catering to the handicapped…
Yes, post carding used to be a trip-related thing. Back in the day, you’d secure a bunch of postcards whenever you visited a city. You’d buy a few cards and bring some postcard stamps with you when you hit the road.
That’s a tradition that’s mostly extinct now. Before, if you visited Europe, your hotel concierge in Italy or France would have the appropriate foreign stamps to affix to your postcard.
Nations like the U.K., New Zealand, Mexico, Croatia, etc. possibly would have exotic stamps, including some treasures. In reality, however, you’d beat your card home because out-of-country mail is understandably slow-mo.
In days of old, you could even use generic postcards showing your hotel. Or gratis cards from your airline. Boring, but doable.
My home-made postcards/notecards, for a week-long New York visit. The tradition lives!
I’m so old-school and believe the postcard industry – and perhaps even the post office – have killed this element of travel communication. Bright new postcards at a curio shop cost a few dollars now, if you can find ‘em at all. The standard cheapo cards were 10 for $1, and they were OK if you don’t mind cards depicting outdated Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building images. Equally out of date: a post card flashing Times Square neon signs depicting “Phantom of the Opera” or “A Chorus Line” billboards, a pair of singular sensations long gone.
E-mail has changed the world. And I changed, too. I make my own, decorating cards pr paper sheets depicting my destination. It’s almost always a New York theme, and this year, I’m doing a Broadway jaunt.
But postal costs are also a factor. The present price to mail a first-class envelope is 78 cents, but will rise to 82 cents beginning July 12. A domestic postcard stamp currently costs 61 cent, and it rises to 65 cents starting July 12.
I’m utilizing my Forever stamps, bought earlier at discounted for eternal use.
E-mails erased the necessity of sending postcards; a quick “arrived 10 a.m.; off to a boat tour,” via your iPhone would suffice, along with a companion image of you on a tour going ‘neath the bridges in Chicago, New York, or San Francisco.
But I’m a crafter, and a crafter crafts. And notecards -to the Big Apple- with appropriate stickers or rubber stamps –are especially easy to create. It’s very basic crafting, but I enjoy sharing ‘em.
A confession: I’m bound for New York this week, to catch a clutch of Broadway shows, including “Lost Boyd” and “Schrigadoon,” both Tony winners this year.
FYI, I’m done making my N.Y. postcards/notecards, 2026 edition, and have assembled envelopes, too, in anticipation of the keeping the postcard ritual alive.
I affixed an apple with glitter inside, and chose a signature NY attraction or nameplate to complete the NY theme.
In the past, I used subway maps, adorned with tiny yellow cabs; Lady Liberty has been a favorite motif and years ago, I purchased a great rubber stamp. Two years ago, I was ambitious created a mini-newspaper filled with data of shows I was seeing and it was so easy to make, using one sheet of 8 ½ x 11 paper, folded like a book with only two scissor cuts. Grade school teachers know this trick for their youngsters— a mini book with a few actual pages to turn. I filled the wee pages with text messages.
With my homemade cards, I’ll write notes and mail ‘em in-between Broadway shows or while breakfasting or lunching. Hmmmm, not certain if I made enough notecards or will have enough time to scribble a note and affix the stamp and find a mailbox…
You will, when Diamond Head Theatre unveils its cast for the upcoming “Les Miserables” production, opening July 24.
Anthony Fedorov will portray Jean Valjean, the protagonist unjustly imprisoned for 19 years who breaks parole to seek a rich life, but Jose Ver, cast as the antagonist Inspector Javert, is forever in pursuit of Valjean.
This beloved musical based is based on Victor Hugo’s novel and showcases musical theater’s grand, rich score, which most theater fans can sing, since every number has become part of the folklore of musical theater.
Its uplifting characters perform songs of hope, heartbreak, struggle and redemption, laced with romance, honor and heroism in wartime 19th century France.
The Cameron Macintosh production is the world’s longest running musical, and boasts a grand score featuring music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and book by Alain Boublil, based on the classic wartime Hugo story.
Other leads in the company: Mehana Stone (Fantine), Lainey Hicks (Cosette), Ainsley Schearer (Eponine), Kimo Kaona (Marius), Buffy kahalepuna Wong (MadameThenardier), Presley Wheeler (Thernardier), Kime Braud (Enjolras), Mali Na’auao (Gavroche), Philex Kepa (Gavroche), Elle Silver (Little Cosette/Young Eponine), Mazzy Meers (Little Cosette/Young Eponine), Madison Abe-Revera (Little Cosette/Young Eponine).
Also in the Ensemble: Mike Abdo, Kim Anderson, Landon Ballesteros, Becca Brake, Drew Bright, Ioane Camacho, Mary Chesnut Hicks, Kalani Hick, Sage Hirasuna, Casey Lauti, Lee Nebe, Shane Nishimura,Cayden Park, Larry Paxton, Pualaela Slover, Marie Staples, David Weaver, Karsyn Wentzell, Brian Willis, Trent Yamagata, Rain Young, Anna Young.
Doug Kreefer will direct this spectacle, and Jenny Shiroma is musical director. “Les Miz” enables the artistic team to take advantage of the revolving stage installed on the DHT floor.
Willie Sabel is set designer, and it’s a no-brainer that he’ll build the show’s iconic barricade.
Jericho Sombrio is sound designer, Kyle Conner is props designer,Chris Gouveia is lighting designer, Emily Lane is costume designer, Aiko Schick is hair and make-up designer, Trudi Melohn is production stage manager.
Though opening July 24, the formal opening night will be on July 31; and even before the show opens, extension dates have been announced for 3 p.m. July 26, 7 p.m.. Aug. 5, 7 p.m. Aug. 20 and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21.
Tickets: $70 and $54 at (808) 733-0374 or diamondheadtheatre.com
In her Diamond Head Theatre debut as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” Becca Brake turns in a star-making performance, hitting all the right notes and delivering all her solo vocals with powerful confidence.
Not an easy task, considering she is working in the shadows of Barbra Streisand, who originated Fanny Brice on Broadway and later in the film.
Hello, gorgeous!
Brake starts off slowly, then going full-throttle-furiously, chewing her lines in rat-tat-tat swiftness, and conquering every one of her solo vocals with stunning flair and finesse.
Not surprisingly, audiences are cheering and applauding.
The show, about a hungry-for-fame singer from New York’s Lower East Side, features a musical score by Jule Styne (music) and Bob Merrill (lyrics), based on a book by Isobel Lennart. It’s a made-for-the-stage story of talent and eagerness overtaking the odds and challenges of the uncertainties of stardom, in the era of vaudeville and the Ziegfeld’s Follies.
John Rampage, DHT’s seasoned director-choreographer, is the perfect choice to helm and mount “Funny Girl,” which is the fourth revival of the classic over the past six decades, Rampage knows the road map to this one, steering his cast of 29 – tap dancing has been his specialty – with the spirit of the era. And yep, he knows how to party hearty with a corps of dancers who also sing…a strength of DHT musicals.
Shari Lynn is Mrs. Brice, Becca Brake is Fanny Brice, in “Funny Girl.”
The show is well cast, with Mark Sanders (debonair, smooth talker) as gambler Nick Arnstein, who marries Brice; Shari Lynn (a stalwart Jewish mother, with a firm perspective of life), as Mrs. Brice; Joe Martyak (profound business man, and a star-maker), as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.; and David Weaver (loyal, supportive best buddy of Fanny) as Eddie Ryan, the talented dancer-choreographer.
Brake carries the burden of singing and delivering the show’s familiar hit songs – “I’m the Greatest Star,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People” –all in Act 1, with a couple of duets with Nick. Brake still dominates the song count in Act 2, with such novelties as “Sadie, Sadie” and “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” rendered with the company.
Jenny Shiroma efficiently conducts the orchestra of seven; the opening overture here is not exactly the best (not the fault of the musicians).
The techies deliver where it counts: Dawn Oshima’s lighting design and Michael Minor’s sound design work hand in hand; Miya Yoshimoto’s hair and make-up design project the look and style of an earlier time.
Kyle Conner’s and Dawn Oshima’s set design – depicting backstage of the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, circa 1924 — is a curiosity, with a pair of moveable stairways as the centerpiece. There’s a lot of old-time roll-on/roll of set pieces, like Fanny’s dressing room, lots of furniture (sofas, chairs, tables) and a couple of recurring “drops” (a faux brick wall, a reflecting and glittering curtain). It’s all effective, considering the time, and a reminder of old times before the new DHT launched, when set pieces were on wagons and relied on cast and stagehands to push and pull.
Playdates originally were through June 7, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays and 3 pm. Sundays. Extension dates have been announced for Saturday June 13 and Sunday June 14.
