2026 New York Theater Tour Wrap Up

As the group gathered to check into the Time Hotel, we were met with 7 fire engines, scores of firemen and smoke pouring out of the theater next door to the hotel where Book of Mormon was playing. Eventually the fire (in the control room) was deemed out and we were able to check-in! A bit of smoke smell remained, but the hotel was not affected otherwise. What a way to start our week!  

The tour began with cocktail hour in the lobby bar and a huge Italian dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Serafina.

For our first day in New York, we enjoyed free time and many of us attended additional performances. I saw Operation Mincemeat, another saw The Balusters and another went to Death of A Salesman. Dinner was at The Glass Tavern, we walked a few blocks to our first show (that later was voted “favorite show” by the group): Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. The post show discussion (plus wine and snacks) was led and Michael and seemed quieter than usual. Jet lag, anyone?

The group gathered for breakfast each morning in the hotel’s restaurant. Our “chat” with our guest artist of the morning was super interesting. Darron West is a sound designer who designed the sound for both Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and Giant - two shows on our itinerary. He told us how he works and regaled us with so many stories of how sound effects the work on stage. Fascinating!

Boarding our private vans, we were transported to a guided tour of the very contemporary New Museum. Many unusual pieces of “art” were on display including an entire room of robots!

Our show tonight was Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) which was a delightful musical that made us all smile. Post show discussion (more wine and snacks) was more lively now that everyone had some sleep!

After breakfast, the chat this morning was with Rob Melrose, director of The Emporium. Rob was the former artistic director of Cutting Ball Theater and has moved to Houston as artistic director of the Alley Theatre. He talked about how the playwright finished the incomplete script by Thorton Wilder and how it landed at the Alley Theatre and finally at Classic Stage Theater off-Broadway, where we saw it the following day.

Although Dramarama Tours had visited the The Museum of Broadway, several years ago when it first opened, I thought it would be of interest to see how it has evolved. Everyone loved it - so much information about the beginnings of Broadway and full of costumes and set pieces!

Tonight’s show: Giant. John Lithgow won a Tony for best actor in this play and we all agreed he was exceptional. The story, however, is pretty intense and our post show discussion reflected that.

Today was a two-show day;The Emporium and Death Becomes Her. We had dinner at Lattanzi Cucina Italiana, a favorite of Dramarama. Death Becomes Her had fabulous reviews, which to be truthful, did not live up to the hype in my opinion. Lots of feathers, dancers and old time musical big numbers but mostly fluff. Discussion afterward found some people liking it…and that’s the glory of different people having different opinions. Love that about our discussions!

Our last morning of the tour, as always in New York, we met with grads of the former ACT MFA program. What a discussion this was! One of the grads is a dialect coach for all of the North Hamilton shows! And she also was the dialect coach for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Her accomplishments are amazing. As were the other two who told us about their successes and not so successes. A take away from that talk: for most actors the job has three components: auditioning, performing and working a day job.

Our last show, starring Daniel Radcliffe, was Every Brilliant Thing. Dramarama Tours saw this play as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival several years ago and it was in the round, no tech and just an actor telling this heartwarming, and sometimes funny, exploration of how a young person's list of "brilliant things" to help his mother navigate depression. The production involved audience participation in both Dublin’s and New York, but since it was not in the round, Daniel Radcliffe spent the first 15 minutes gathering up folks who would be willing to be in the play and brought them up on stage. This production also added music and tech and although it was very well done it didn’t compare (in my opinion ) to the intimate Dublin version.

Farewell Dinner at Chez Josephine was delicious as always and this visit included a piano player!

So we conclude another New York tour in this unique city with so much to offer it is impossible to do it and see it all. Just walking down the street is a show in itself. Each year we try to see and do as much as possible, but the best part, being immersed in theater with a group of theater lovers…just can’t be beat.