Theater Update: ‘Masquerade’ reimagined ‘Phantom,’ and the fans are flocking
‘Hell’s Kitchen’ to close
Theater Update
January 21, 2026

Dear theater fans,

Sometimes there is joy to be had in the unknown — especially if you can quiet your questioning mind. I wrestled to do just that last week while watching “What to Wear,” the collaboration between Michael Gordon and Richard Foreman, at Brooklyn Academy of Music. But then I did, and I was utterly transfixed. In her critic’s notebook, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim described the work as “delightfully baffling” and “a visual riot.”

Earlier this month I had a similar experience at Mario Banushi’s “Mami,” which was part of the Under the Radar festival. Gia Kourlas wrote glowingly about that lovely wordless work exploring the relationships between mothers and children and the passage of time. “There is a rapt calmness to it all, a clarity that shoots through the senses,” she wrote.

And for her first review for The New York Times, Helen Shaw wrote about being a bit “baffled” by Erica Schmidt’s “The Disappear,” a farce whose “two theatrical modes never fit convincingly together.”

Now, for something with firm answers: Here’s a fun quiz of book titles inspired by Shakespeare.

Please reach out to me at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com with suggestions for articles 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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