Billy Crystal was his typical showman self hosting Opening Night at the Bowl on Saturday — and that included some timely swipes at President Donald Trump, the UFC and California’s high-profile elections earlier this month.
“Welcome to the 2026 opening night of the Hollywood Bowl,” the 78-year-old emcee and nine-time Oscars host began, acknowledging the deafening applause of 18,000 attendees. “That’s sensational. I haven’t heard excitement like that since they took Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center. Unbelievable. What a great night.”
The “Best of Broadway” evening — featuring show-stopping performances from Halle Bailey (“The Little Mermaid”), Darren Criss (“Maybe Happy Ending”), Renée Elise Goldsberry (“Hamilton”), Brian Stokes Mitchell (“Ragtime”), Lea Salonga (“Miss Saigon”) and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the direction of conductor Thomas Wilkins — kicked off at sunset as Crystal took the stage to rally excitement, plug his upcoming Main Stem one-man show “860” (opening in October) and poke fun at the city he calls home.
“The stars are out, the music’s alive, there’s pollutants in the air — what an L.A. night,” Crystal said, joking that the “one thing” the audience has in common is traffic.
“Traffic moves so slowly. I got here yesterday, I thought I’ll beat it,” he joked. “Everything’s slow here. That’s how we count our mail-in ballots: very slow. Right before I came out, they announced finally they had the final results of the governor race, and Gray Davis is going to be governor.” (Davis, of course, being the former governor who in 2003 was recalled and removed from office.)
Emphasizing the importance of music education and the L.A. Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA), which the opening night program benefitted, Crystal later explained how organizers landed on the night’s Best of Broadway theme following 2025’s evening with Hugh Jackman.
“Now tonight’s theme is the ‘Best of Broadway.’ Yes, it was either this or holding a UFC match here, and we decided that we would be classy and respectful,” Crystal ribbed, poking further fun at Trump and his UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House Lawn.
“We’ll get through it,” the comedian exasperatedly said of the administration as the crowd applauded and he pivoted off politics: “You love Broadway, I love Broadway — and speaking of Broadway, did I mention my new show a few minutes ago?”
As the evening’s musical festivities progressed and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra played out the program of Broadway classics on the newly named John Williams Stage, highlights included Bailey’s rendition of “Home” from “The Wiz,” “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors” headed by Salonga and Criss, Elise Goldsberry’s “Without You” from “Rent” and Stokes Mitchell’s opening number, “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” from “Annie Get Your Gun.”
The two-hour show wrapped with the orchestra playing out a symphonic medley set to the traditional razzle and dazzle of the Bowl’s fireworks display.
“After the fireworks are over,” Crystal said in his closing remarks, “if you would do me a favor, please stay in your seat for about a minute or two so I can get into my car and get out of here easily. It’s been an honor everybody.”
