Billy Crystal is blessed with the ability to connect instantly with audiences. It is a gift that propelled his warm and winning solo Broadway show 700 Sundays to a Tony Award in 2005. Two decades later, the beloved star is headed back to Broadway in an all-new memory play, 860. Named for the street number of the home his family lost in the 2025 Palisades fire, 860, directed by Scott Ellis, reflects Crystal’s lifelong quest to find beauty and meaning — and, of course, laughter — amid life’s challenges. The six-time Emmy winner recently offered Broadway Direct a preview of 860, which begins a limited engagement at the Imperial Theatre on October 1.
Tell us about the genesis of 860, which sounds like a very personal project.
While the tragedy of the Palisades fire was unfolding outside our home, I started videotaping everything — planes flying overhead, people trying to evacuate — and making notes, just as a sort of diary. Later, it occurred to me that this could become a companion piece to 700 Sundays, which was set in the house I grew up in. That show was about a young boy loving comedy and starting to become a comedian. I’ve lived in two homes in my life: the one in Long Beach, Long Island, and 860, where many of those boyhood dreams became reality. So, 860 is about our 46 years in that house, and the joys and accomplishments and disappointments our family experienced there. It’s very intimate and very funny.
What was special about 860? What made you stay in the same house for 46 years?
It kept growing and growing with us over time. When we bought it, the house was a run-down little stucco three-bedroom, and as my career grew and our family grew, we were able to add to it. We joked that it took 46 years to get it the way we wanted it. It was just the most beautiful, peaceful, personal home. For example, we had to remove a tree that was encroaching on the house, so a carpenter turned the tree into a staircase railing. A big part of the show takes place in my home office, where so much was written and so many interesting people visited. I invite the audience in and tell them stories. That’s the approach.
What a wonderful way to preserve memories of things that can’t be replaced.
Yes, and we’re obviously very fortunate to be alive and talking about it. You know, it’s the little things I miss most: There was a matchbox from my parents’ wedding with their initials on it, and every year on their anniversary, February 21, I would use one of the tiny wooden matches to light a memorial candle. My mother had a pincushion in the shape of a tomato, and I remember her threading a needle to hem my pants. The art pieces we had collected are terrible losses, but they don’t have the memories of that pincushion or box of matches.
You created a truly theatrical experience in 700 Sundays. What’s the key to making personal stories come to life in a solo show?
I’ve always been drawn to the stage as a writer and performer, and my early standup included some semidramatic pieces. I just love to be able to turn memories into something that makes the audience go, “Oh, I do the same thing.” When I see the audience nodding, I know I’m reaching them in an honest way, and that’s the best kind of drama or comedy. I’m 22 years older now than when 700 Sundays debuted, so there’s more to talk about: Here’s my point of view about time, about overcoming loss, about universal things. And the visual aspects of 860 are going to be stunning. Our visual artist has taken the video I shot on my phone and given it a beautiful, ethereal feel.
The re-creation of your childhood house was a striking part of 700 Sundays. How will your home office come to life in 860?
Someone once gave me a 360-degree camera with a revolving lens, and I stumbled onto a photo of my office that showed every wall, all the way around. I couldn’t believe it! Our Tony Award–winning designer, Scott Pask, initially had the idea about setting the show in my office, and it’s been a little spooky to look at the designs, but it’s so appropriate. It feels like I’m talking to you from walls of memory.
Did you lose your many awards in the fire?
Everything. But the television academy replaced the six Emmys, and the Tony people replaced the Tonys that [my wife and producer] Janice and I won for 700 Sundays. There was an outpouring of concern aimed at everyone in Los Angeles and Altadena who lost their homes.
You have a wonderful rapport with audiences, whether on stage or as an awards-show host. What’s fun about being yourself rather than playing a character?
You get a reaction right away, which is the greatest feeling in the world. From the time I was 5 or 6, performing for my relatives from Ukraine and Russia, I’ve loved making people laugh. When you walk out on stage, there’s a sense of excitement, and a challenge. They’ve paid money to see you, they’ve gotten a babysitter, they’ve made the effort to shut the world out for an hour and a half and hear what you have to say. That’s always been my favorite thing.
Does performing on Broadway feel like a full-circle moment, given that your grandfather played King Lear in Yiddish?
Yes, and I never met him — he died in 1925. What’s odd is that my father died when I was 15, and his father died when he was 16. I had heard stories about my grandparents going on the road, with my grandfather playing Lear and my grandmother playing Cordelia. About five years ago, Janice and I tracked down where he was buried in Queens, New York, and the date of his death was the date I was bar mitzvahed. There are a lot of things like that in my life that I talk about in 860, asking the audience, Was this luck, or was it fate? What is destiny, and how do you fulfill it? Those questions of why we’re here started a long time ago for me, but when I found Julius Crystal’s grave and it was an important date in my life, I felt a connection.
Janice, your wife of 56 years, is the lead producer of 860. What’s meaningful about working with her on a project like this?
We lived through it together. She is such a powerful, smart, charming person who will do anything to make sure we get this right, because it was our house. They were our things. They were our kids that we raised there, and our grandchildren. There’s a lot more at stake for Janice in 860 than in 700 Sundays. The other day, we were shooting promos outside the Imperial Theatre. I looked over at her giving notes to the production company, and it made me feel great that we can share this.
Speaking of the Imperial, are you excited about performing in one of Broadway’s most iconic theatres?
We did 700 Sundays there when we brought the show back in 2013, and I loved it. It’s a big place, but also an intimate, comfortable place for me. Here’s a story I shared back then in my curtain speech: In 1964, about six months after my father died, my mom and I went to Zero Mostel’s final matinee in Fiddler on the Roof. My uncle was a close friend of Zero, so he arranged for us to go backstage after the show. We walked up a flight of stairs, and Zero came out and said, “I understand you want to be an actor. Someday we may do something together,” and he poked me in the chest. When we walked into the Imperial for the second run of 700, someone said, “Your dressing room is on the second floor.” I started up the steps, turned around and said, “Wait a minute — am I in Zero Mostel’s dressing room?” And they said, “Yes, sir!” I thought back to “Someday we may do something together.” It was very moving, and I’m very happy to be back.
What kind of experience do you want audiences to have at 860?
I think there will be something for everybody. It’s like I’m inviting the audience into my house and saying, “Let me show you around.” It’s funny, it’s moving, and ultimately, it’s very positive. It will make you want to hug your loved ones and appreciate how life can change in a second. I’m as excited about this show as anything I’ve ever done.
What will 860 on Broadway be about?
In the aftermath of the Palisades fires which took his home, Billy relives his memories and moments that mattered the most, and how the power of laughter can overcome the most difficult of times. 860 is a hilarious and intimate story about family, friendship, love, luck, and loss.
Who will be in the cast of 860 on Broadway?
860 is a one-man play that will star Billy Crystal.
Who will be on the creative team of 860 on Broadway?
860 was written by Billy Crystal, and directed by Scott Ellis (Take Me Out, Fallen Angels). Tony Award winner Scott Pask serves as scenic designer. Additional creative team information will be announced at a later date.
Where can I get official tickets to 860 on Broadway?
Broadway Direct is an official ticket source for 860 on Broadway. Tickets can be found here.
