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New Members who sign up this week will get 14 more Sondheim “Putting it Together” classes by the end of August.
Broadway Maven Members get the Friday Blast once a week filled with Members-only goodies. It’s the easiest way to get links for upcoming classes. In this week’s Friday Blast: links to the upcoming classes on Schmigadoon!, an Evening Primrose Watch Party, Evening Primrose, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; recordings of the Fiddler on the Roof, Dear Evan Hansen, and Gypsy classes; a Rodgers & Hammerstein “elevator pitches” game; a Broadway Blast on On the Town, Miss Saigon, and South Pacific; a YouTube video summarizing Next to Normal; and the Archive clips reel of the week on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
On today’s marquee: A) An essay previewing the ways Paddingto: The Musical is likely to make its mark on Broadway next season B) a StageStreams evoking the film version of the musical 1776; C) a Maven Scholar review of South Pacific; D) a “Broadway Close Up” game; and E) a Last Blast about Merrily We Roll Along.
ESSAY: The Broadway season just under way will include a new musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Galileo bio-musical starring Raúl Esparza, and the first Broadway production of the long-running off-Broadway hit The Fantasticks. Could a four-foot-tall cuddly creature overshadow them all?
Bear with me for a moment.
Anyone who followed the 2025-2026 Broadway season knows that it’s been a tough environment for musicals. Last year’s Tony winner, Schmigadoon!, emerged from a relatively weak field. That situation is unlikely to be the case next year, given the arrival of powerhouse projects like The Warriors, Miranda’s long-awaited follow-up to Hamilton. Yet I suspect the season’s biggest phenomenon won’t be any of those shows. Mark my words: the buzziest show on Broadway will be the transfer of Paddington: The Musical.
Why am I so bullish on Broadway’s newest bear? Let me count the ways:
1. It is already a cultural phenomenon in the West End. The best reason to be optimistic about Paddington isn’t wishful thinking—it’s London. The musical earned 11 Olivier Award nominations and won seven, including Best New Musical. Those honors simply ratified what audiences had already demonstrated: this is no routine import but a bona fide theatrical event. Plenty of shows head to Broadway with strong reviews. Far fewer arrive with the momentum of a genuine phenomenon. That’s exactly what’s crossing the Atlantic.
2. The puppet is unlike anything Broadway has seen. It’s one thing to build an ingenious puppet. It’s quite another to make audiences forget they’re watching one. A small performer inside the costume supplies Paddington’s endearing waddle and nimble physicality, while an offstage puppeteer (via remote animatronics) controls the bear’s highly expressive face—the blinking eyes, tilting head, curious snout twitches, and warm, mischievous smile. The result is seamless: Paddington arrives from “Darkest Peru” and navigates one comic mishap after another. Critics and audiences alike marveled at how quickly the barrier between puppet and character dissolves. By all firsthand accounts, no photo or video fully prepares you for the effect.
3. The songs are irresistible. With music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, the varied score is consistently satisfying and confident. The score’s stylistic range is impressive: “The Explorer and the Bear” is Paddington’s power-ballad fantasy of an adventurous life. “One of Us” affectionately embraces Paddington as a member of the Brown family. And two songs in particular feel bound for the musical-theater canon. “Marmalade” (or, rather, “ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma marmalade”) is a paean to Paddington’s favorite snack and the strongest candidate for the number audiences will hum to themselves the next day. Most refreshing, though, is the villain song “Pretty Little Dead Things,” sung by taxidermist Millicent Clyde, whose collection of literally stuffed animals is missing a Peruvian bear. It’s bound to be Broadway’s most entertaining villain number since Hamilton‘s “You’ll Be Back.” Fletcher’s lyrics manage to be both macabre and hilarious. See if you can catch the clever gimmick of the song’s list of “pretty little dead” species (she left off “Peruvian bear” because her desire for Paddington is the song’s point):
An ant, a bee, a carp, and a dog
Elephants, frogs, two giraffes, and a hog
Iguanas and jellyfish, twelve kangaroos
Lemurs and manatees, I’ll stuff the zoo!
Narwhals and octopi, quite a few quail
Red-crested robins and seventeen snails
All kind of tigers, don’t care where they’re born
If they were real, I’d stuff unicorns!
Vultures and worms, Xantus and yak and a zebra, and we’re almost done!
I’ve stuffed and stuffed everything on this planet but one!
4. The timing couldn’t be better for Broadway. This past season was an unusually bruising one for new musicals. After high-profile commercial disappointments like Beaches and The Queen of Versailles, Broadway could use a musical that’s a proven phenomenon rather than an expensive hope. And look again at two other shows in next season’s powerhouse lineup: the new Lin-Manuel Miranda musical and the Galileo bio-musical—both big, ambitious, expensive swings. Paddington is the only heavyweight that’s both fresh and already proven. The bear arrives at exactly the right moment: not as a savior, but as the kind of crowd-pleasing hit that reminds audiences, producers, and theater owners that a new musical can still become a genuine sensation.
5. Paddington is exactly the hero audiences need. The best musicals send audiences home feeling differently about the world, and Paddington has always possessed that rare ability. Without preaching or grandstanding, he gently nudges everyone around him toward patience, generosity, and forgiveness.
No wonder the character has remained beloved for decades. Parents who love him have introduced him to their children, while the recent films created countless new admirers. For many families, Paddington isn’t simply a fictional character. He’s an old family friend.
At a time when the news often leaves people exhausted, Broadway could hardly ask for a more welcome visitor. Paddington’s optimism never feels cloying because it is rooted in action rather than sentiment—and because he’s funny and always has been. The “hard stare.” The emergency marmalade sandwich under the hat. The perfect politeness colliding with chaos of his own making: his comedy and his kindness are two sides of the same coin. He simply tries, over and over again, to leave every place a little better than he found it.
Now, there’s no guarantee Paddington will get the kind of reception on Broadway that it did in London, the city where the show is set. Many a Broadway critic has panned a show that was a hit across the pond.
But the combination of technical marvel, engaging music, and a heaping dose of heart suggests that this furry, clever, and hungry bear is here to stay.
Paddington opens on Broadway April 18, 2027.
StageStreams: As America begins its 250th-anniversary celebration—and as much of the world endures extreme heat—the video in this week’s StageStreams looks at the movie version of the Broadway musical 1776. That show traces the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence in the middle of extremely hot weather (”Someone oughta open up a window”) in Philadelphia. History professor Jared Frederick teases out the factual aspects of the story from the stage musical and its film adaptation. The presentation does not shy away from tricky questions like slavery and presents an admiring but not fawning evaluation of a classic American musical. Perhaps most importantly for teachers like me, Frederick endorses the film as a “fantastic movie to use in the classroom.”
MAVEN SCHOLAR REVIEW: The current production of South Pacific at St. Louis’s Muny outdoor theater has a little bit of everything: lyrical choreography, whimsical soldiers, love, heartbreak, and the overcoming of socialized prejudice. The Overture and Entr’acte utilize choreography to set up the opening moments of each act. Another highlight was the set design and paintings used in the background and on the stage floor. Ocean waves lapped at the edge of the stage with beautifully shaded clouds and green tropical woods framing the stage. The scale of the scenery (including a large wooden dock) was so impressive that I found myself wondering how it all disappeared between scenes. The performers playing Bloody Mary (Joan Almedilla) and Luther Billis (Bobby Conte) stole the show for me; their magnetic performances grabbed my attention every time either of them appeared on stage. The actors who played Stewpot and Professor complemented Billis’s comic moments, adding funny dances to their little quips as they entered and left scenes quickly. The rich bass voice of Paolo Szot, who played Emile, shone in his character’s solos. Taylor Louderman also captured Nellie’s cheerful nature in her scenes throughout the musical. South Pacific runs through July 12th (visit Muny.org for tickets).
—Jill Hamill, Maven Scholar (Jill is a music teacher specializing in strings).
ELEVATOR PITCHES: R&H VERSION: Answers at the end of the issue, below the Last Blast.
Which Rodgers & Hammerstein show is the love child of Mary Poppins and Cabaret?
Which Rodgers & Hammerstein show is the love child of Pacific Overtures and Show Boat?
Which Rodgers & Hammerstein show is the love child of Into the Woods and My Fair Lady?
Which Rodgers & Hammerstein show is the love child of Fiddler on the Roof and Pal Joey?
Which Rodgers & Hammerstein show is the love child of Paint Your Wagon and The Music Man?
• Sunday, July 12 Schmigadoon! with Marc Bonanni, Noon ET (MEMBERS ONLY)
• Tuesday, July 14 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with David Benkof and Asher Shectman, Noon ET ($50 for a 16-part course, register HERE)
• Tuesday, July 14 Evening Primrose with David Benkof and Asher Shectman, 7 pm ET, ($50 for a 16-part course, register HERE)
• Tuesday, July 21 Company with David Benkof and Asher Shectman, Noon and 7 pm ET, ($50 for a 16-part course, register HERE)
• Monday, July 27 The Sound of Music with Ted Chapin, Noon ET (MEMBERS ONLY)
• Tuesday, July 28 Follies with David Benkof and Asher Shectman, Noon ET ($50 for a 16-part course, register HERE)
• Tuesday, July 28 A Little Night Music with David Benkof and Asher Shectman, 7 pm ET, ($50 for a 16-part course, register HERE)
• Tuesday, August 4 Sweeney Todd with David Benkof and Asher Shectman, Noon and 7 pm ET, ($50 for a 16-part course, register HERE)
LAST BLAST: While flirting with Frank in Merrily We Roll Along, Gussie mentions her first of three husbands and says, “I don’t think first ones really count, do you?” On the surface, she’s gift-wrapping an excuse for Frank to cheat on his wife. But could the line point elsewhere, too? Maybe Frank isn’t just reevaluating his marriage—but his friendships. In that moment, he’s facing the possibility that Charley—and Mary—were just “firsts” too. The line becomes more than flirtation; it’s a glimpse into a world where love, loyalty, and history are all negotiable—as long as they don’t get in the way of the next big thing.
ANSWERS: The Sound of Music (charismatic nanny and Nazis), South Pacific (East-meets-West and anti-racism), Cinderella (a fairy-tale woman’s social mobility), Flower Drum Song (conflict over traditions in a nightclub setting), Oklahoma! (fast-talking itinerant peddler tries to evade matrimony on the frontier).
The Broadway Maven is a vibrant educational community that helps its members think more deeply about musical theater. We offer 5-15 classes a month for just $25. We also foster enthusiasm for Broadway through the FREE weekly Substack newsletter MARQUEE and host an expansive YouTube channel. It’s your home for Broadway appreciation. Contact The Broadway Maven at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.
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