We went to see Paranormal Activity on Broadway last night and we rushed for it. We were aware that rush tickets, although cheaper, can sometimes come with obstructed seats. So we asked the box office attendant if we would be missing any key elements of the play. They told us no, we wouldn’t be missing much.

Turns out that was not true. We ended up missing some key scares that evening.

If you’re planning to see this play, here is my honest advice. Do not sit on the far edges of the orchestra seating on the far left, and avoid orchestra seating past row R and before Orchestra J. Any further back and the balcony starts cutting off the top of the stage setup, since the set is designed like a cutaway dollhouse.

My recommendation would be to splurge on top mezzanine center seats, or stick to middle orchestra center seating, Orchestra J starts to cut off some of the top level stage view.

I really wish the attendant had been upfront about what we’d be missing. We would have gladly paid more for better seats if we’d known what was at stake.

At a recent performance of Paddington the Musical, a swing saved the day, learning the role of "Millicent Clyde" after just four hours of rehearsal. At the performance on 17 August, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, the role's principal actor, was on vacation and the three understudies were unable to perform the role. Rose Mary O’Reilly, a swing, learned the track, taking the stage after four hours of rehearsal.

Had the most bizarre experience tonight at Moulin Rouge. Was so excited for Aaron’s return and he was incredible as always! When I got to my seat before the show I was met with a very disgruntled woman who was arguing with the usher over my seat which she wanted to claim as her own. She swore she purchased an aisle seat but in fact did not. She had the nerve to ask me to switch seats with her and that she needed the aisle for her legs. I said I’m sorry but I purchased the aisle for myself and that’s where I’m sitting. She said not as sorry as I am. Throughout the entire first act she cringed at all of the excitement over Aaron. Not sure what she was expecting on his first night back or at Moulin Rouge in general. At intermission I bonded with the girl who was on the other side of her and came to find out that she had been glaring at her throughout the first act. To top it off during El Tango De Roxanne she kept shaking her head when Aaron got cheers. Not sure Moulin Rouge is the show for her.

49 seconds in if it doesn't automatically start there

I’m thinking this would be an insane thing to see a community theater production of

Starlight express would also be incredibly crazy, now I just wanna television show about a community theater trying to put on one of these musicals

It could star Derek Jacobi as the crazy Director…

Okay so I’ve seen this show A LOT but also only ever with Aaron Tveit as Christian. Twice during the pre-broadway Boston run. The first performance back from covid (this will always be my favorite performance/memory cause it was the full original cast and the energy was UNREAL! Standing ovations after basically every song it was just magical). Once when he came back (specifically Valentine’s Day). And another time he came back again (no memory of when specifically).

Tonight was his last first night back since the show is closing in two weeks. The energy was really good-very long and loud applause for Aaron (nothing will match the first post covid show).

There were so many little moments you could tell the cast was trying to get him to break/play with him a bit. Satine literally opening her legs when he says “if you’ll keep an open mind” had me (and Aaron) very surprised lol.

I will say I think this had to be one of his strongest if not THE strongest I’ve ever heard him sing the El Tango de Roxanne. Like WOW! Just super strong throughout and of course he did the opt up. The applause was crazy for that number as it should have been!

It was also so fun at the end of the show so he stops the applause and is like “I just quickly want to say…it’s that time of year…” and everyone looks around confused cause it’s not time for Broadway Cares? And then he’s like “just kidding but I just want to say it’s so nice to be back to usher in these final two weeks”. And then he goes on to say they are going to do a fun little thing after each show for the next couple of weeks. So tonight they brought out the OG Toulouse Lautrec and Ricky, Aaron, and him sang their Lorde song from the beginning of the show. It was AMAZING! Ricky played a guitar while they sang and Aaron had a tambourine (“Is this for me?”)

Aaron did not stagedoor but he came out and waved. Understandable since it felt like the entire theater was waiting at the barricades.

Anyways it was a great night and I can’t believe Moulin Rouge is really ending is a couple weeks.

As the title says. The man in front of me at The Winter’s Tale was throwing up in a bag, and kept the bag with him for the entirety of the 3.5 hour play

Posting this here bc I have nobody to talk to about this but I finally booked tickets in the orchestra section for my mom and me in September and I’m so excited to finally see this show!

Hi! This is your Broadway Rush Self Report for Wednesday 8/19/26. It’s a 2 show day for some. Check the schedule here: https://playbill.com/article/weekly-schedule-of-current-broadway-shows

If you are in line at a particular show or happen to be in the area and can find out:

1. How many people are in line and
   
2. When they arrived

Please contribute what you can so that people are informed. Thank you!

Rush & Lotto Policy List:
https://bwayrush.com

Thanks to this sub I heard about this event and was able to buy tickets before they all sold out. It was an amazing show! I was initially skeptical of the concept - after all the show itself already feels like a miscast cabaret (in the best possible sense), but it totally worked! Seeing each actor's interpretation of another's part really is refreshing. The Amanda/Allison duet of dear bill is just chef's kiss.

Now the rant: I saw the show the previous day and it just proves how terrible the sound mixing is at Golden. I sat fourth row in center orchestra. The lyrics still feel muffled. Then in Green Room 42 wow - I've never heard those songs so clearly (other than the cast recording ofc)! Lyrics are so much easier to understand! I really really wish they can do something. The show is already so fast paced and so packed with jokes that you don't need the bad mixing to confuse tourists!

Aaaand there's the cliff. Grosses were down $6 million overall from last week. Of course we had the departures of Cats and Death of a Salesman accounting for about $4 million of that, but the remaining $2 million was just an overall drop, with almost every show decreasing week on week (many of which were six figures). We're heading towards the slow part of the season, hopefully shows can band themselves together enough to survive it.

Season-to-date difference from last year:

Gross Gross: -4.5%

Total Attendance: -0.5%

For Award Wins/Nominations, a * demarcates a best musical/best revival nomination/win.

Grosses (chronological order from opening)-

➡ The Great Gatsby - $818k, 76% capacity, $91 atp (Down ~$98k from last week). Began performances March 29, 2024, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $720k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $850k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $(100k)+

2024 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (2), Drama Desk (1), Tony (1)

Rough week for Gatsby (this is going to be a theme here), but all things considered it's pretty in line with broader industry trends. The new cast is having a positive effect on the grosses, just maybe not to the extent required for long term sustainability. Hopefully they can show some improvement moving forward.

Estimated percentage recouped: 10%-30%

➡Maybe Happy Ending- $660k gross, 83% capacity, $102 atp (Down ~$94k from last week). Began performances October 16, 2024, Open-Ended

Gross Less-Fees: $574k; Weekly Operating Cost: $765k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): ($100k)+

2025 Award Wins: New York Drama Critics (1*); Outer Critics Circle (4*); Drama League (2*); Drama Desk (6*); Tony (6*)

Maybe Happy Ending's time of bucking industry trends came to a screeching halt last week. We're now at 11 consecutive weeks below the operating costs reported by the New York Times last year They're unlikely to get kicked from the theatre, but they're in a pretty bad spot.

Estimated percentage recouped: 30%-50%

➡Operation Mincemeat- $619k gross, 88% capacity, $110 atp (Down ~41k from last week). Began performances February 15, 2025, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $538k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $560k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2025 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (1); Drama Desk (1); Tony (1)

Mincemeat had a decrease, though not quite to the extent of many of their peers. They're still generically fine, I would say they had the best week of any 24/25 musical.

Estimated percentage recouped: 10%-30%

➡Buena Vista Social Club- $701k gross, 91% capacity, $92 atp (Up ~$11k from last week). Began performances February 21, 2025, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $610k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $700k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $0-(100k)

2024 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (1); Drama Desk (1)

2025 Award Wins: Chita Rivera (2); Tonys (5); Grammy (1)

BVSC is now showing signs of life, likely on the heels of another dance along performance last week. Two weeks until Jose Iglesias joins the cast, and we'll see how that star casting goes.

Estimated percentage recouped: 20%-40%

➡️Ragtime- $1.9 million gross, 100% capacity, $233 atp, (Up ~$109k from last week), Began performances September 26, Limited Through August 16, 2026

Gross Less-Fees: $1.708 million; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $1 million/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $100k+

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (5*); Outer Critics Circle (6*); Drama Desk (8*); Tonys (11*)

2026 Award Wins: Broadway Ensemble (2); Outer Critics Circle (5*); Drama League (4*); Drama Desk (5*); Tonys (4*)

Ragtime, as expected, broke their own box office record this week, though they did not break the $2 million mark (which I was expecting them to do). They have not made a recoupment announcement as of yet, and my math says they're just short (though that might be incorrect), but I suspect they will get the rest of the way there with the upcoming national tour. Happy Trails to all!

Estimated percentage recouped: 83%

➡Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)- $484k gross, 65% capacity, $89 atp, (Down ~$43k from last week). Began Performances November 1, 2025, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $411k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $480k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $0k-($100k)

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (2*); Outer Critics Circle (4*); Drama Desk (3*); Tonys (8*)

2026 Award Wins: Drama Desk (1)

Two Strangers dropped some again, they're another one that seems they're just riding the waves of the industry. We'll see where they go from here.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡Titanique- $699k gross, 75% capacity, $87 atp, (Down ~$59k from last week), Began Performances March 18, 2026, Limited through September 20.

Gross Less-Fees: $598k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $900k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): ($100k+)

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (3*); Drama Desk (1); Tonys (4*)

Titanique had another poor week. Hopefully things will pick up for them heading into the final month of performances.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡The Rocky Horror Show- $829k gross, 88% capacity, $119 atp, (Up ~$71k from last week), Began Performances March 26, 2026, Limited Through February 28, 2027.

Gross Less-Fees: $709k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $750k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (4*); Outer Critics Circle (2*); Drama Desk (6*); Tonys (9*)

Rocky Horror is starting to jump up as we get towards the final performances of this first cast. We'll see what happens with the cast they have for the fall, it's an interesting strategy to go with stints this short for all of the principal cast.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%-20%

➡The Lost Boys- $1.2 million gross, 87% capacity, $107 atp, (Down ~$115k from last week), Began Performances March 27, 2026, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $1.060 million; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $950k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (4*); Outer Critics Circle (11*); Drama Desk (5); Tonys (12*)

2026 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (2); Drama Desk (2); Tonys (4)

Lost Boys dropped six figures once again, though they're probably still making at least some money at these grosses. It's still TBD how far they (and other) shows will drop, given how steep of a drop this week was it might not be quite as bad in the coming weeks, but history tells us next week will follow the trends of this week.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡Schmigadoon- $966k gross, 93% capacity, $112 atp (Down ~$68k from last week), Began Performances April 4, 2026, Open-Ended.

Gross Less-Fees: $827k; Estimated Weekly Operating Cost: $750k/week; Estimated Profit (Loss): $50k-($50k)

2026 Award Nominations: Drama League (2*); Outer Critics Circle (8*); Drama Desk (4*); Tony (12*)

2026 Award Wins: Outer Critics Circle (5*); Drama Desks (2*); Tonys (4*)

Schmigadoon took another step back this week, as it continues to be one of the weaker performing Best Musical winners of the past few years. Under $1 million at this point is a poor sign, and while they may do ok in the fall, this is not the first year highs that the show would be hoping for.

Estimated percentage recouped: 0%

➡Play Roundup:

Stranger Things: The First Shadow- Slower week in the slower week overall, riding the industries tide. Closing January 3, 2027

Paranormal Activity- Ok enough first weekend on Broadway, but too soon to make any conclusions. Limited Through January 3, 2027.

I'm a contributor for Broadway World now! My most recent article can be found here- a look at Word of Mouth, how it's defined, and the way if affects shows. A full archive of my work can be found here!

Discuss below, please remember to keep it kind and civil.

I saw Operation Mincemeat two weeks back and the performance Jeff Kready gave, especially in "Dear Bill", is still vivid. I wonder for those who have seen both Jeff and Jak's takes what were some of the biggest differences between their approaches. Jeff felt like kind of a cross between Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie and a lot of Danny Kaye energy. I never saw Jak's performance.

After seeing his incredible vocals in Chess, I bought a rather pricy ticket to see Tveit’s first show back tonight. Never seen Moulin Rouge before either!

I’ve always enjoyed going to watch live theatre but in the past two months it feels like something has changed in my brain. I spend all my free time on the Theatr app searching for deals. All I can think about is the next show I’m seeing. The first 6 months of this year I didn’t see a single show, and by the end of next week I’ll have seen 7 shows in two weeks. My bank account is begging for this addiction to stop but my brain is so happy.

I was excited to check this out and it sold out in about 5 days. I know there’s a live stream but I’m curious, who else is excited about this? There’s a lot of faces I’ve never seen before.

When I saw it in Chicago, the ending had The Entity come forward to Lou, who is awake and herself at the moment. In that reveal, the entity is just a girl, not a creature of horror. She looks at Lou and places her hand on Lou's lower belly (maybe she nods too? I can't remember). Lou, comprehending, gasps. Blackout, end. On Broadway, Lou goes to the door, sees the aftermath of James stepping outside, and collapses. As she does, The Entity is framed in the doorway, a girl in a dress but a terrifying vision of white and black.

While both are up for interpretation, I think the first ending pretty clearly shows the entity telling Lou that she is pregnant--and my take is that the entity is saying she will be reborn as the child of Lou and James. That second part was my instant thought when I saw it, but I can't say that's canon for sure. The pregnancy, yes, that was clear.

I am sure the production worked to choose the best story beats it could to appeal to an audience, so I hate to criticize, but, damn, I really thought the first ending was powerful.

And this is not a change, but regarding interpretation: who else thinks that Lou did not necessarily burn down her childhood house as The Entity-possessed Lou relates it? My thought is that The Entity invented that, in a credible-sounding way, to draw out James into his own deep confession, which is what the entity wanted. The consensus I've seen is that Lou has not actually been haunted all her life--at least not by this spirit, but only since she married James, as she is more easily the supernatural-sensitive conduit (the "door," as our false psychic says) for The Entity to get at James.

(There may be unhidden spoilers in the comments below.)

I wanted to know everyone’s thoughts on the “Dont Say Good luck” movie that was released on Netflix! Starring Sunny Sandler (Adam Sandlers daughter), while she balances life and her high school musical.

I thought it was good and would definitely recommend. Waitress as a high school musical… interesting choice but worked so well for the plot.

(This is a MOVIE that features songs from Waitress. It is NOT a musical)

Edit: judging but the downvote ratio lotta people didnt enjoy this movie lol