When no less than 40 pink boas are lined up outside the Winter Garden, it can really only mean one thing. Mamma Mia! is officially back on Broadway, and thank goodness. 

Now the investigative journalist in me has been waiting ever since arts journalist Baz Bamigboye reported back in early 2023 that Mamma Mia! may be back on the boards this year, so for the past 27 months, I have been very patiently biding my time, and that all ended this past weekend when the dulcet tones of ABBA could be heard throughout Midtown. 

The beloved jukebox musical first hit the scene in 1999 in London when theatrical producer Judy Craymer asked Catherine Johnson to write a book for the Swedish pop group’s catalogue. Phyllida Lloyd joined as director, and the rest is history. The musical, which is still running in London, celebrated its 10,000th performance last summer. 

The Broadway run opened at the Winter Garden Theatre in October of 2001; it transferred to the Broadhurst in 2013 and ran for almost 14 years, becoming the longest-running jukebox musical in Broadway history. 

As we entered the Winter Garden on Saturday night for their first preview, there was almost a wave of calmness before the show began. Eerily quiet, as I think everyone was self-internalizing that they were about to witness Mamma Mia! back on Broadway, and it hadn’t fully clicked. 

From the first stroke of the downbeat of the overture, the screams that erupted envied that of any major concert at Metlife. The musical forged on, and the actors and audiences shared that special bond that makes up the magic of theatre. They were giving everything they could to us, and boy were we giving everything right back. 

What made Saturday so immensely special was that this production celebrates 25 Broadway debuts, most of which were made on Saturday evening officially. Look, the curtain call megamix is always going to be thrilling, but when you see actors giving it their all with tears in their eyes realizing dreams are coming true right before you, it’s a specialness one will never forget. 

During intermission, I noted a mother-daughter duo with bags, and I mean bags, of merch headed to their seats. They flew to town for Gracie Abrams at the Garden and when they heard Mamma Mia! was headed back, they extended their trip just to be among the first to catch the show. They are ABBA super fans and purchased one of everything at the merch stand—I am not joking. 

This show is a juggernaut, with numerous productions playing all around the world every day of the year. The music is so infectious, it’s hard not to have an incredible night out. The question I get all the time as a theatre journalist is “where can I just go have fun” and boy is Mamma Mia! the answer. The show officially opens August 14 here at the Winter Garden and is currently on sale through February 2026, but if I had my way it would never leave us again.  

So grab your girlfriends, and your boyfriends, hey grab anyone and go catch Mamma Mia!, truly the most fun you can have on Broadway right now. 

For tickets and more information, visit here. 

Victoria Clark is making her way back to the Broadway stage in Manhattan Theatre Club’s Punch this fall. 

Clark joins Cody Kostro, Piter Marek, Camila Canó-Flaviá, Will Harrison, Sam Robards, and Lucy Taylor. She will portray Joan, the victim’s mother, in the production. 

‍Punch tells the story of Jacob, who must reconcile with the consequences of fatally punching a young boy. While in prison, he struggles to accept his errors, but finds an unusual source of salvation: the parents of the boy he killed.   

Clark recently won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role in Kimberly Akimbo. She also won a Tony Award for her role in The Light in the Piazza, as well as nominations for Gigi, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and Sister Act.

The creative team for Punch is Anna Fleischle (Scenic and Costume Design), Robbie Butler (Lighting Design), Alexandra Faye Braithwaite (Original Music & Sound Design), Leanne Pinder (Movement Director), Ben Furey (Dialect Coach), Charlotte Fleck (Dialect Coach), Caparelliotis Casting & Kelly Gillespie (Casting), and Richard A. Hodge (Production Stage Manager).

Punch will play simultaneously on Broadway and in London’s West End this fall. Both productions are directed by Adam Penford. MTC’s Broadway production will start previews on Tuesday, September 9 and open Monday, September 29 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

Punch begins performances on Sept. 9 and opens Sept. 29 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on West 47th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here. 

Jordan Tannahill’s Prince Faggot is transferring to Studio Seaview on West 43rd Street this fall after an acclaimed run at Playwrights Horizons. The show, directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Shayok Misha Chowdhury, will play a limited engagement from Sept. 11 to Oct. 25. 

What begins as a theatrical thought experiment — six queer and trans performers imagining themselves into a world of inherited power and royal expectation — quickly becomes a gloriously profane and surprisingly tender love story. Equal parts delicate and audacious, Prince Faggot takes on identity, inheritance, and all the beautiful, terrifying contradictions that come from living truthfully in a world built to contain you.

The show marks Tannahill’s Off-Broadway debut. All of the original performers will return for the Seaview production, playing themselves as an ensemble of actors. The cast includes Rachel Crowl, Tony Award nominee K. Todd Freeman, David Greenspan, Mihir Kumar, John McCrea, and N’yomi Allure Stewart. Tyrone Mitchell Henderson will play K. Todd Freeman through Sept. 26, when Freeman returns from directing Rajiv Joseph’s Mr. Wolf at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

The returning creative team includes scenic designer David Zinn, costume designer Montana Levi Blanco, lighting designer Isabella Byrd, sound design and original music by Lee Kinney , wig and hair designer Cookie Jordan, dramaturg Sarah Lunnie, intimacy coordination by UnkleDave’s Fight-House, props by Matt Carlin, aerial effects by Paul Rubin, and dialect coach Deborah Hecht. Casting by Alaine Alldaffer, Lisa Donadio, Taylor Williams, CSA. Jack Serio is Associate Director. Production stage manager is Ryan Gohsman, with production supervision by Hudson Theatrical Associates / Sean Gorski and Seaview / Jonathan Whitton serving as general manager.

Prince Faggot will be a phone-free experience. Upon entering the theatre, all phones will be locked in Yondr pouches. Due to sensitive subject matter, including nudity and sexual content, the show is recommended for ages 18+.

The ruun at Playwrights Horizons was a coproduction by Playwrights Horizons and Soho Rep. The Studio Seaview engagement is presented by bb², Seaview, LD Entertainment, Playwrights Horizons, and Soho Rep.

Prince Faggot runs at Studio Seaview on West 43rd Street in New York City from Sept. 11 to Oct. 25. For tickets and more information, visit here.