Every day is opening night.

It’s been nearly a full week since the opening night of John Proctor is the Villain, and I’m still reeling. The Booth Theatre was pulsing with youthful energy (even F. Murray Abraham seemed full of boyish vigor) as Broadway’s newest firestarter threw back the curtain on its bold, blistering story of high school hijinks and feminist rage, centered around a rethinking of The Crucible in the post-#MeToo American South.

Sadie Sink blazed through her role with a ferocity that felt both modern and mythic. But make no mistake, John Proctor is the Villain is a true ensemble triumph, with each perfectly calibrated member pulling their weight like a symphony of sorcery: Nihar Duvvuri, Gabriel Ebert, Molly Griggs, Maggie Kuntz, Hagan Oliveras, Morgan Scott, Fina Strazza, and Amalia Yoo — every one of them a spellcaster in their own right. From simmering classroom tensions to plot-propelling revelations, each moment is sharpened by the cast’s collective precision — written by the incomparable Kimberly Belflower and polished to perfection by director Danya Taymor.

Sink was cheered on by a gaggle of her Stranger Things castmates, including Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard. Also spotted in the crowd: Will Brill, Lilli Cooper, Micaela Diamond, Richard Kind, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Sydney Lemmon, Marla Mindelle, Lynn Nottage, Justin Peck, Tom Pecinka, Solea Pfeiffer, Sarah Pidgeon, Adam Rapp, Julie Taymor, and Elliot Goldenthal, Marisa Tomei, Taylor Trensch, Cristin Milioti, Juliana Canfield and Constance Wu.

The energy? Electric. The response? Instantaneous. Gasps, guffaws, and a standing ovation that lifted like steam from a hot Georgian sidewalk. And that final beat — oh, that final beat. Without giving anything away, I’ll simply say this: it is already being whispered about as one of the great coups de théâtre of our time. The kind of ending that doesn’t just stick the landing — it shatters the floorboards. Inventive, invigorating, and indelible – it will be discussed for years to come.

And then, we all collected ourselves and headed to the after-party. The Bowery Hotel’s second floor was the scene of the season: crimson-lit, crowded, and clinking. The tightknit cast looked delighted, as whispers of rave reviews filtered through the bash. Danya Taymor arrived with the poise of someone who knows she just steered the ship to shore — and perhaps into the history books. Spotted nearby, producers Sue Wagner and John Johnson soaked in the glow of a production that’s not just a hit, but a happening. (After their triumph last season with Stereophonic, these happenings are becoming habit.)

The opening, though, was only one entry in Proctor’s weeklong celebration dubbed Spirit Week, courtesy of the show’s coven of marketing masterminds. Tuesday was Skip Day (a self-care moment). Wednesday’s Honors Lit Day partnered with @nobookbans to combat censorship. Thursday? Coven Day, naturally — the all-black dress code turned the Booth lobby into a gothmopolitan (to coin a term) séance. Friday night, a Homecoming Silent Disco manifested a glittering cauldron of curated chaos right in Shubert Alley. And over the weekend, a Limited Edition Poster Drop gave superfans a new talisman for their bedroom walls.

Looks like this year, Awards Season is trending less bitchy and more witchy!

Finally, a quick note for the history buffs and Broadway nuts: American History Unbound: The Great War & The Great Gatsby returns to Carnegie Hall last night and tonight. Narrated by John Monsky and directed by Michael Mayer, this centennial salute to Fitzgerald’s classic stars Micaela Diamond, Adam Chanler-Berat, and more — blending music, memory, and a dash of Gatsby’s wartime past. Sources say the audience will be peppered with living descendants of the evening’s real-life characters — from Roosevelt and Berlin to Fitzgerald and Hemingway — making this more than a performance; it’s a family reunion of American history.

Tidbits from around town…

Caught Julianne Moore exiting Le Bernardin in tennis shoes — a footwear choice no mere mortal would dare attempt!

Saw a very bundled-up Daniel Craig flipping through The New York Review of Books in Bryant Park.

Witnessed culinary creatrix Alison Roman being fussed over by the owner of the Sagaponack General Store, during its very busy and highly anticipated reopening weekend.

A toast of something sparkling to you and yours!

Kisses,