Is Broadway Going Easy On Us?

Cannonball with Wesley Morris

The New York Times

News, News Commentary, Arts, Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Each spring, in the months leading up to the Tony Awards, Wesley Morris tries to see as many Broadway shows as he can. And this season’s spree (including “Ragtime,” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “Proof,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Giant") left him with the question: Where are the challenging shows? There were some great performances, but the productions seemed designed to reflect his values and make him feel good. Doesn’t the best theater raise uncomfortable questions, and not give clear answers? Shouldn’t the shows vying for Broadway’s top awards be a bit more difficult? To work through these feelings, and to help wrap his head around this season, Wesley invites Helen Shaw, The Times’s chief theater critic, to compare notes.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, before we start this week's episode, I just wanted to let you know that
0:04.7	Cannonball, we're going to do our first live show, and we're going to do it at the Tribeca
0:10.4	Festival this year.
0:12.2	And I'm going to be on stage with Cynthia Nixon.
0:15.7	That's Cynthia Nixon.
0:17.2	And we're going to talk about some great art about New York City.
0:20.6	And that's going to happen on Friday, June 12th at 6 p.m.
0:24.3	I'll say it again.
0:25.7	Friday, June 12th at 6 p.m.
0:28.8	And you can get your tickets right now as I speak at Tribecafilm.com slash audio.
0:35.0	That's Tribecafilm.com slash audio.
0:38.6	Can't wait to see you there.
0:40.3	Please, come join us.
0:52.2	I'm Wesley Morris, and this is Cannonball today.
0:58.0	Tony, Tony, Tony.
1:03.8	Every spring, I do this nutty thing where I try and see as much theater as I can in about two months.
1:11.9	Like one day at the end of every March, this alarm goes off and I'm like, oh, right, I kind of miss
1:18.6	going to shows.
1:20.1	For me, it's a convenient way to do things since the Tonys are usually somewhere on the horizon.
1:25.5	And it's kind of nice to know what the theater industry likes.
1:29.1	I spent one of my first nights on this spree at Lincoln Center watching the latest revival of
1:33.9	Ragtime.
	...

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