This Week on Broadway for October 18, 2026: Other Desert Cities

James Marino, Michael Portantiere, and Jan Simpson talk about Other Desert Cities, Anon @ MCC, Slam Frank @ Orpheum Theatre, A Ghost in Your Ear @ Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre, Good Time Charlie @ The Public, Memoirs Of Amorous Gentlemen @ The Night Egg at The Culture Club, and The Hairy Ape @ the Irish Rep. “This Week on Broadway” has been coming to you every week since 2009. It is the longest-running running Broadway and theatrical podcast with hundreds of shows giving thousands of reviews and interviews. Subscribe to BroadwayRadio in Apple Podcasts by CLICKING HERE. Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio Patreon listeners get This Week on Broadway first, on Sunday afternoon before it is released to the general public on Sunday evening. Panel: Peter Filichia | [email protected] | Facebook PETER FILICHIA is a playwright, journalist, and historian with a number of books. Peter’s new day-by-day desk calendar – A SHOW TUNE FOR TODAY – 366 Songs to Brighten Your Year – is available at finer retailers! Larry, The Big-Time Broadway Producer @ The Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA) October 9 – 18, 2026 Showtune for Today: Michael Portantiere | [email protected] | Facebook MICHAEL PORTANTIERE has been a theater journalist for more than 50 years. The founder and editor of CastAlbumReviews.com. He is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in The New York Times and other publications. Additionally, Michael is known as a producer and director of shows at the Laurie Beechman Theatre and other venues. Jennifer Simard Will Be Schmigadoon!’s New Mildred Layton on Broadway Jennifer Simard Reveals She Was in the Emergency Room ‘Hemorrhaging’ at End of DEATH BECOMES HER Run James Marino | [email protected] | Facebook BroadwayStars Jan Simpson | [email protected] | Facebook | Twitter Broadway & Me Jan Simpson is a theater journalist who writes the theater blog Broadway & Me and hosts the BroadwayRadio podcasts “All the Drama” and “Stagecraft.” She has served three times as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and currently sits on the executive board of the Outer Critics Circle, is a nominator for the Lortel Awards and is a member of the Drama Desk and the American Theatre Critics Association. Note: This week we had listeners join us while recording. These listeners are Patreon members who support BroadwayRadio. If you would like to join us in the future, become a supporter at Patreon.com/BroadwayRadio. Sponsor: Pre: The BroadwayRadio App is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Andorid! Please let us know if you run into any problems or have suggestions. Reviews: JS: Other Desert Cities @ Hudson Theatre, through January 17, 2027 11-time Emmy Award winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus will make her Broadway debut alongside Tony Award nominee and four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris, and two-time Tony Award nominee, Academy Award winner, and seven-time Emmy Award winner Allison Janney, Actor Award winner Joe Keery, and Tony Award nominee Lily Rabe in the first Broadway revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s Tony Award-winning play Other Desert Cities, directed by Tony Award winner John Benjamin Hickey. MP + JS: Anon @ MCC Theater’s Newman Mills Theater, through November 1, 2026 by Anne Washburn directed by Anne Kauffman When a gay pride flag is unfurled across the street from Jeanie, an increasingly online TikToker in a suburb in Texas, two seemingly different households…freak out. How well do you know the people you live among, and with, in an America where the line between fantasy and reality has become increasingly optional? The cast of ANON will include Jeff Biehl (The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire), Crystal Finn (Cold War Choir Practice), Andrew Garman (The Holdovers), Izabel Mar (Family), and Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park). JS: Slam Frank @ Orpheum Theatre, through November 30, 2026 The Anne-Frank Afro-Latin Hip-Hop Musical Music and Lyrics by ANDREW FOX Book by ​ JOEL SINENSKY MP: A Ghost in Your Ear @ Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre, through December 12, 2026 (extended!) written and directed by Jamie Armitage featuring sound design by the duo Ben & Max Ringham starring Lucas Iverson and Owen Campbell JS + MP: Good Time Charlie @ The Public’s Martinson Hall, through October 25, 2026 written by Ryan J. Haddad directed by Danny Sharron As a young man, Charlie dreamt of a life on the stage, but his parents thought dentistry sounded better, so he channeled his passion for culture into his nephew Ryan—a fellow theater-loving gay kid with Broadway ambitions. Spanning more than three decades, GOOD TIME CHARLIE is a multigenerational story of gay men growing up, falling in love, and cherishing the arts. This comedic, theatrical love letter celebrates the people who teach us how to dream.  The complete ensemble-cast of GOOD TIME CHARLIE includes Sherz Aletaha (Understudy), Timothy Bagley (Lou), Nicholas Barrón (Understudy), Michael Cristofer (Sheldon), Ryan J. Haddad (Ryan), Beth Malone (Janice), Nael Nacer (Charlie Sr./Bob), Artemis Pebdani (Joan/Judy), Jonathan Raviv (Charlie), and Doug Shapiro (Understudy). JS: Memoirs Of Amorous Gentlemen @ The Night Egg at The Culture Club, through January 3, 2027 Based on the manga graphic novel “Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen” by Moyoco Anno music and lyrics by Duncan Sheik book by Leah Nanako Winkler directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford JS: The Hairy Ape @ the Irish Rep, through November 15, 2026 Directed by Ciarán O’Reilly Starring Jon Beavers, Jonathan Crimeni, Nayib Felix, Joanna Glushak, Ariyan Kassam, John Keating, Hassiem Muhammad, Adam Petherbridge, Elizabeth Teeter, Harrison Tipping, Audrey Cardwell, Richard Hollis Discussion: Future Episodes: Peter’s Brainteaser: These five Broadway productions are listed in a sequence that brings to mind a mega-hit Tony winning musical. Next Time I’ll Sing to You The Flip Side Fire Breakfast at Tiffany’s Moose Murders Michael’s Musical Moments MARILYN LOVELL: “A Cockeyed Optimist,” 1993 MDA Telethon Music Opener: Music Closer: Support BroadwayRadio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/broadwayradio Patreon listeners get “This Week on Broadway” on Sunday afternoon before it is released to the general public on Sunday evening. Explicit: No Contact Info: Email addresses: See above in bios BroadwayRadio Phone / Voicemail: +1-888-285-4666 BroadwayRadio: Facebook | Instagram Subscribe: Patreon | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart Radio | TuneIn | Pandora | YouTube Music …and anywhere that you can listen to finer podcasts.