2025 Year-End Roundup

The Verdict by the numbers:

• 60 shows in total

• 6,600 minutes in the theatre

• 48 unique shows

  • 35 musicals

  • 12 plays

  • 1 other*

• 1 most seen show: Come From Away (x4)

• 46 different venues

  • 29 in New York

  • 4 in London

  • 24 in Edinburgh

  • 6 outside of New York

• 4 new Broadway theatres

  • 33/41 total

*Notes on "Best" and "Favorite" shows:

While the categories may seem similar, and ended up much the same, the difference is objective versus subjective, with my overall enjoyment of the experience and show going into my decisions for my

favorite shows. On the other hand, the best shows are ranked strictly on the strength of the material, regardless of the cast I happened to see.

They are also the only ranked categories, and all others are in no particular order.

Cast of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Shows:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2. Operation Mincemeat

3. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

4. Ragtime

5. Evita

Cast of Operation Mincemeat

Favorite Shows:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2. Operation Mincemeat

3. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

4. Dead Outlaw

5. Evita

Caroline Bowman and the cast of Sunset Blvd.

Star Turns:

• Caroline Bowman as Norma Desmond (Sunset Blvd.)

• Sam Tutty & Phoenix Best as Dougal & Robin (Two Strangers)

• John Dagleish as Benjamin Button (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

• Christine Sherrill as Donna Sheridan (Mamma Mia)

• Caissie Levy as Mother (Ragtime)

• Jak Malone (Operation Mincemeat, NY)

Evita

Creative Awards:

• Best Scenic Design: Soutra Gilmour for Two Strangers

• Best Lighting Design: Jon Clark for Evita

• Best Sound Design: Peter Hylenski for Just In Time

  
  

Dead Outlaw

Best New Song (on an album released in 2025):

• "Shippin' Out Tomorrow (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

• "A Stranger" & "Up to the Stars" (Dead Outlaw)

• "The Explorer and the Bear" & "Pretty Little Dead Things" (Paddington)

Just In Time at the Circle in the Square

Favorite (new) Theatres:

• The Ambassadors Theatre, London

• Vivian Beaumont Theatre, NY

• Circle in the Square, NY

  *Most visited is the Longacre Theatre, NY

Most Anticipated for 2026:

• Giant (opens at the Music Box on March 28, 2026)

• Paddington (Savoy Theatre, London)

Yes, We're Related at the Edinburgh Fringe

2025 🌟Verdict's Picks🌟

• Sunset Blvd.

• Operation Mincemeat

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Yes, We're Related (EdFringe)

• Don't Tell Dad About Diana (EdFringe)

• Mamma Mia

• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Read all reviews on this website!

Full List of Shows Seen

Romeo + Juliet (Circle in the Square, NY)

Sunset Blvd. (St. James Theatre, NY)

Mystic Pizza (Riverside Theatre, FL)

Mysitc Pizza (Paper Mill Playhouse, NJ)

Maybe Happy Ending (Belasco Theatre, NY)

Redwood (Nederlander Theatre, NY)

Mamma Mia (Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, LA)

Operation Mincemeat (Golden Theatre, NY)

Cabaret (August Wilson Theatre, NY)

Come From Away (Palace Theatre, Waterbury, CT)

Gypsy (Majestic Theatre, NY)

Just In Time (Circle in the Square, NY)

Dead Outlaw (Longacre Theatre, NY)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Music Box, NY)

Sondheim's Old Friends (Friedman Theatre, NY)

Pirates! The Penzance Musical (Todd Haimes Theatre, NY)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (The Ambassadors Theatre, London)

Evita (London Palladium, London)

Operation Mincemeat (Fortune Theatre, London)

Hercules (Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London)

Level Up! (Edinburgh, UK)

Locomotive For Murder (Edinburgh, UK)

Ascension (Edinburgh, UK)

Vagabond Skies (Edinburgh, UK)

Yes, We're Related (Edinburgh, UK)

Showstopper! (Edinburgh, UK)

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Edinburgh, UK)

Don't Tell Dad About Diana (Edinburgh, UK)

007 Voices of Bond (Edinburgh, UK)

Ghost Light (Edinburgh, UK)

Webber! (Edinburgh, UK)

Jackie!!! (Edinburgh, UK)

Midnight at the Palace (Edinburgh, UK)

The Fit Prince (...) (Edinburgh, UK)

Footballers' Wives: The Musical (Edinburgh, UK)

Baby Wants Candy (Edinburgh, UK)

Macbeth: The Musical (Edinburgh, UK)

Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence (Edinburgh, UK)

This Side of Life (Edinburgh, UK)

Come From Away (Curtain Call, Stamford, CT)

Come From Away (TPAC, Nashville, TN)

Ragtime (Vivian Beaumont Theatre, NY)

The Book of Mormon (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, NY)

Hamilton (Richard Rodgers Theatre, NY)

Chess (Imperial Theatre, NY)

Gwyneth Goes Skiing (SoHo Playhouse, NY)

Beetlejuice (Palace Theatre, NY)

Mamma Mia (Winter Garden Theatre, NY)

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) (Longacre Theatre, NY)