Becky Shaw Hits Broadway: Inside Opening Night of the Razor-Sharp Comedy
Madeline Brewer, Lauren Patten and more celebrate the biting Gina Gionfriddo revival at the Hayes Theater
What to Know
- Becky Shaw opens on Broadway at the Hayes Theater, with Gina Gionfriddo’s Pulitzer Prize finalist dark comedy making its Broadway debut nearly 20 years after its off-Broadway premiere
- Madeline Brewer leads the cast in her Broadway debut, joined by Lauren Patten, Alden Ehrenreich, Patrick Ball and Linda Emond under the direction of Trip Cullman
- The revival delivers sharp humor and shocking twists, with cast and creatives noting the play’s themes of power and social dynamics resonate differently with 2026 audiences
Gina Gionfriddo’s dark comedy Becky Shaw details a blind date that spirals spectacularly off the rails, leaving audience members to question what it means to have power and what it means to fear it. Directed by Trip Cullman, this marks Becky Shaw’s return to Second Stage Theater almost 20 years after its off-Broadway premiere. Becky Shaw opened on April 7 at the Hayes Theater, and Broadway.com spoke to the cast and creative team post-show.
Madeline Brewer, who audiences may recognize from television shows including You, The Handmaid’s Tale and Orange is the New Black, makes her Broadway debut as the titular chaos agent. As Brewer so uniquely describes the play, “Remember that candy that fizzles in your mouth? That’s what it feels like to say her words sometimes. You can almost hear the crackle.” The fierce and fiery prose made Gionfriddo’s play a Pulitzer Prize finalist, which is awarded to plays that “best represent the educational value and power of the stage in raising the standard of good morals, good taste and good manners.” Not one character in the play could be considered to have all three, and that's what makes it so delicious.
Lauren Patten, who plays Suzanna, shares that she’s “never done a show that elicits this vocal of a response—not just laughs, but gasps.” Despite the immense unlikability of each character, you cannot help but be invested as an audience member. “That’s what we hope to do, is push people and surprise people, and that really comes down to the play that Gina has written,” says The Pitt star Patrick Ball, making his Broadway debut as Andrew. The play, as charming as it is cutting, packs quite a punch. “It's a very smart play that sneaks up on you. Because it's so funny, the nastiness of it will catch you off guard,” teases Ball.
There are things that “the 2026 audience thinks are a laugh riot that didn’t get a peep before, and vice versa,” says Gionfriddo of audience reactions. It's not that her play has changed, but that the world itself looks quite different than it did in 2008. “Whatever’s in the ether, people are responding differently.”
Hear more about the show, including from cast members Alden Ehrenreich and Linda Emond, in the video below.
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