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Across the Pond: 5 NYC theatre highlights from September

In our monthly series, we're catching you up on the Broadway and Off-Broadway news you shouldn't miss, especially if you're planning a stateside theatre trip.

Gillian Russo
Written byGillian Russo

Welcome to our Across the Pond series, where the editor of our sister site New York Theatre Guide rounds up the most exciting theatre news in NYC from the past month.

From [buzzy star casting to the end of a long-running show's reign to the deaths of two entertainment icons], here are 5 major headlines in NYC theatre from September, plus one moment you should look forward to in October.

Planning an NYC trip? Visit New York Theatre Guide for tickets to the shows featured below, plus dozens more events on Broadway and beyond.

Summary

  • Major NYC theatre news from September includes & Juliet and Two Strangers announcing closing dates, Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd returning to Broadway, and the 2026 Emmy Award winners
  • Coming up in October is Halloween season, with special guests and events at musicals like The Rocky Horror Show
1.

Parting is such sweet sorrow for two beloved musicals.

2.

Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd will reunite on Broadway — quietly.

3.

You can 'Sea' Andrew Scott off Broadway for two weeks only.

4.

Matthew Rhys and Jean Smart made Emmy Awards history.

5.

It's going to be a blue Christmas on Broadway.

6.

Coming up: It's spooky season

1.

Parting is such sweet sorrow for two beloved musicals.

After more than four years on Broadway, the hit pop musical & Juliet will play its final performance on 3 January, closing the same day as the previously announced Six after its own five-year run. And just over a month earlier, the sweet musical comedy Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) will end its run on 29 November.

All three are British imports that equally won over audiences in the States. While we'll miss these three fan-favourite shows, we're glad we have new London-born tuners, like Paddington, to look forward to on Broadway in the spring.

Book Broadway tickets to all these musicals at the links above.

Parting is such sweet sorrow for two beloved musicals.

Photo credit: & Juliet on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)

2.

Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd will reunite on Broadway — quietly.

This spring, you can see Julia Roberts, Paul Rudd, Sarah Paulson, Martin Freeman, Greta Lee, and Isaac Powell share the stage in Bess Wohl's Small Mouth Sounds. But you won't really hear them. The play is set at a silent retreat, though the emergence of desires and disturbances among the six strangers makes it hard for them to keep quiet.

Roberts and Rudd reunite over 20 years after co-starring in the 2006 Broadway premiere of Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain. Tickets go on sale later this autumn.

Learn more about Small Mouth Sounds on New York Theatre Guide.

Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd will reunite on Broadway — quietly.

3.

You can 'Sea' Andrew Scott off Broadway for two weeks only.

Years before Tom Sturridge performed Sea Wall on Broadway in a double bill with Jake Gyllenhaal, playwright Simon Stephens penned the monologue for Andrew Scott. The Olivier winner and Fleabag star has performed it numerous times since 2008, but never stateside — until now.

Scott will appear in Sea Wall, about a man coping with the aftermath of a tragic accident, from 16-30 October only. Can't make it? Never fear — the run will be recorded and released as a film at a date to be announced.

Book Sea Wall tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Book tickets
You can 'Sea' Andrew Scott off Broadway for two weeks only.

Photo credit: Andrew Scott.

4.

Matthew Rhys and Jean Smart made Emmy Awards history.

Numerous stage stars triumphed at the 2026 Emmy Awards on 14 September, but two made history for their TV work. One was Jean Smart, who won her fifth consecutive Emmy for Hacks and eighth total, tying her with Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the most Emmy-winning performer. Smart most recently performed on Broadway in 2025's Call Me Izzy.

Additionally, Matthew Rhys became the first person to win two lead acting categories in the same night: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (for Widow's Bay) and Limited Series (for The Beast in Me). He'd also won the Drama Series category for The Americans in 2018, making him the first male performer to win all three lead categories.

In 2027, he will lead the Off-Broadway show Playing Burton, as actor Richard Burton, with Lincoln Center Theater.

Learn more about the 2026 Emmy Award winners on stage.

Matthew Rhys and Jean Smart made Emmy Awards history.

Unlock your 24-hour London itinerary

Unlock your exclusive guide, full of the best attractions, food, free events and more.

09:00

The Breakfast Club

Head to one of The Breakfast Club’s central London branches for a slap-up English cafe classic.

10:30

Buckingham Palace

Is there anything more British than the changing of the guards? Arrive early for a good spot to watch this historic event, which takes place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 10.45am.

5.

It's going to be a blue Christmas on Broadway.

Blue Man Group is a global phenomenon that's performed all over the world. But having played off Broadway for over 30 years, they never took the Broadway stage. That changes this year, as Blue Man Group makes their Broadway debut with A New Holiday Surprise, in which the titular extraterrestrials explore holiday traditions with music, art, and kooky antics.

A New Holiday Surprise joins other specials taking the stage for the holidays, like the illusion show Now You See Me Live and the Off-Broadway return of Matthew Warchus and Jack Thorne's A Christmas Carol, starring Andy Karl.

Learn more about A New Holiday Surprise on New York Theatre Guide.

Learn more
It's going to be a blue Christmas on Broadway.

Photo credit: Blue Man Group “A New Holiday Surprise.” (Photo courtesy of production)

6.

Coming up: It's spooky season

Halloween isn't just a day; it's a state of mind. That's especially true on Broadway. You can ring in the season at the camp cult classic The Rocky Horror Show, with special events all month long and a guest appearance by Rosie O'Donnell as the Narrator from 6-18 October only. Stay in musical comedy territory with Little Shop of Horrors, or go full-on thriller with the ghastly Paranormal Activity or the vampiric The Lost Boys.

Discover more Halloween theatre on and off Broadway on New York Theatre Guide.

Coming up: It's spooky season

Photo credit: Travis A. Knight and Cher Álvarez in Paranormal Activity on Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)