Broadway Shows to See This Fall
A guide to Tony-winning shows, including “The Outsiders,” and Off Broadway hits that have transferred to bigger stages.
What to See | Getting Tickets
What to See
For Broadway audiences, summer is a time to bask in all those sparkling new Tony Award winners — and in the fresh arrivals: the downtown hits “Oh, Mary!” and “Job”; the musical comedy “Once Upon a Mattress,” starring Sutton Foster and Michael Urie; and the play “The Roommate,” bringing Patti LuPone back to the stage with Mia Farrow.
Musicals to Leave You Humming
The Great Gatsby
Eva Noblezada, who was such a captivating Eurydice in “Hadestown,” stars as Daisy opposite Jeremy Jordan (“Newsies”) as Gatsby in this musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age novel. Transferring from its world-premiere run at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, it has a book by Kait Kerrigan (“The Mad Ones”), with music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Nathan Tysen (both of “Paradise Square”). Marc Bruni (“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”) directs. Linda Cho’s luxurious 1920s costumes won the show a Tony. (At the Broadway Theater.) Read the review.
Hell’s Kitchen
Alicia Keys’s own coming-of-age is the inspiration for this jukebox musical stocked with her songs. With numbers including “Girl on Fire,” “Fallin’” and “Empire State of Mind,” it’s the story of a 17-year-old (Maleah Joi Moon, a newly minted Tony winner making her Broadway debut) in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, growing into an artist. Shoshana Bean and Brandon Victor Dixon play her parents, and Kecia Lewis plays her piano teacher in a Tony-winning performance. Directed by Michael Greif, the show has a book by Kristoffer Diaz and choreography by Camille A. Brown. (At the Shubert Theater.) Read the review.
The Notebook
Twenty years after Nicholas Sparks’s debut novel became a silver-screen romance, its latest incarnation is this musical. The story of a couple, Allie and Noah, it stretches from their adolescence to old age, when she has dementia and he reads to her, hoping to rouse her memory. In a cast that uses three pairs of actors to portray them at different ages, the eldest duo is played by Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood. Directed by Michael Greif and Schele Williams, the show has a book by Bekah Brunstetter (“This Is Us”) and a score by the singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. (At the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater.) Read the review.
Once Upon a Mattress
Sutton Foster stars as the intrepid swamp creature and formidably delicate sleeper Princess Winnifred, opposite Michael Urie as her man-toddler love interest, Prince Dauntless, in this revival of the composer Mary Rodgers’s musical comedy riff on “The Princess and the Pea.” Adapted by Amy Sherman-Palladino (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), and directed by Lear deBessonet (“Into the Woods”), it was a daffy hit at New York City Center Encores! earlier this year. (Through Nov. 30 at the Hudson Theater.) Read the review.
Suffs
Shaina Taub is nothing if not a politically minded artist, so it’s apt that she is making her Broadway debut during a presidential election year. The show, about American women’s fight for the right to vote, won two Tonys, for Taub’s book and score. In a cast that includes Jenn Colella, Nikki M. James, Grace McLean and Emily Skinner, Taub plays the suffragist leader Alice Paul, reprising her role from the significantly different 2022 premiere at the Public Theater. Joined by a new choreographer, Mayte Natalio, and a new design team, Leigh Silverman directs. (At the Music Box Theater.) Read the review.
Water for Elephants
The world of the circus springs into three dimensions in this musical adaptation of Sara Gruen’s best-selling 2006 novel about a young man who joins a traveling circus during the Great Depression and bonds with an elephant named Rosie. This is a spectacle, incorporating circus design by Shana Carroll of the 7 Fingers and circus performers among the cast. With direction by Jessica Stone, a book by Rick Elice (“Peter and the Starcatcher”) and a score by PigPen Theater Co., it has puppet design by Ray Wetmore, JR Goodman and Camille Labarre. (At the Imperial Theater.) Read the review.
Grown-Up Dramas
Job
The actor Peter Friedman belongs to the elite club of stage veterans now best known for playing hyper-capitalist bad guys on the HBO series “Succession” — though his Frank Vernon was a comparative teddy bear. In this new play by Max Wolf Friedlich, Friedman portrays a crisis therapist whose acutely overwhelmed patient (Sydney Lemmon, also a “Succession” alum) badly wants her big-tech job back. Directed by Michael Herwitz, this tense two-hander arrives on Broadway after consecutive hit runs downtown. (Through Sept. 29 at the Helen Hayes Theater.) Read the review.
Oh, Mary!
Channeling the deliriously outrageous, emphatically queer downtown spirit of Charles Ludlam and his Ridiculous Theatrical Company, this comedy by Cole Escola (“Difficult People”) was a fizzy Off Broadway hit earlier this year. Escola stars as a sozzled, stage-struck Mary Todd Lincoln — a very loose cannon largely ignored by her husband (Conrad Ricamora), the president, who is otherwise occupied with assorted sexual exploits and the bothersome Civil War. (Through Nov. 10 at the Lyceum Theater.) Read the review.
The Roommate
Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone return to Broadway as a newly acquainted odd couple, sharing an Iowa house in this darkly comic two-hander by Jen Silverman (“Spain”), which was seen in a completely different production at Williamstown Theater Festival in 2017. The Broadway staging is by Jack O’Brien, whose competitive Tony-win total — three — matches LuPone’s, and was augmented this year by his lifetime-achievement Tony. (In previews at the Booth Theater; opens Sept. 12. Limited run ends Dec. 15.)
Stereophonic
David Adjmi’s riveting rock drama with songs by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire, won five 2024 Tony Awards, including best play and best featured actor, for Will Brill. Set in the mid-1970s inside a pair of California recording studios (David Zinn’s meticulous set design also received a Tony), it follows a British-American band on the cusp of fame through the delicate, drawn-out, drug- and sex-fueled process of making their new album. At just over three hours, the play is practically epic length, but every moment of the Tony winner Daniel Aukin’s drum-tight production, which transferred from the Off Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons with its impeccable original cast, is worth the time. (Through Jan. 5 at the John Golden Theater.) Read the review.
Brit Hits
& Juliet
Spoiler alert: At the end of “Romeo and Juliet,” both lovers die. Not so in this musical comedy, which imagines — with an assist from Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife — what happens when Juliet goes on living sans her Romeo. With a book by David West Read (“Schitt’s Creek”), it has a song list full of pop hits by Max Martin (“… Baby One More Time”). (At the Stephen Sondheim Theater.) Read the review.
Cabaret
Eddie Redmayne was a sensation as the Emcee when Rebecca Frecknall’s darkly seductive take on the Kander and Ebb classic made it a nearly impossible ticket in London’s West End. Now he reprises the role for Broadway, where Tom Scutt’s Tony-winning design for the immersive production turns the ordinarily staid August Wilson Theater into the Weimar-era Kit Kat Club. With Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles, Bebe Neuwirth as Fräulein Schneider, Steven Skybell as Herr Schultz and Ato Blankson-Wood as Clifford Bradshaw. (At the August Wilson Theater.) Read the review.
Silver Screen Favorites, Refashioned
Back to the Future: The Musical
The DeLorean is the star attraction in this Olivier Award-winning adaptation of the 1985 comedy about a teenager who time-travels to the 1950s and meets his parents when they were his age. With Roger Bart as the eccentric inventor Doc Brown — a.k.a. the Christopher Lloyd role — and Casey Likes (“Almost Famous”) in the Michael J. Fox role of Marty McFly, John Rando’s production boasts scenic design by Tim Hatley (“Life of Pi”) and video design by Finn Ross. (At the Winter Garden Theater.) Read the review.
The Outsiders
Rival gangs in a musical who aren’t the Sharks and the Jets? Here they’re the Greasers and the Socs, driven by class enmity just as they were in S.E. Hinton’s 1967 young adult novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film. Set in a version of Tulsa, Okla., where guys have names like Ponyboy and Sodapop, this new adaptation is the show with the rainstorm rumble you’ve heard about. It won four Tonys, including best musical and best direction, by Danya Taymor. With a book by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine, it has music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Levine. (At the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater.) Read the review.
Long-Running Crowd-Pleasers
Aladdin
Song, dance and extravagant design buoy Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie in this winking stage adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated film, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. (At the New Amsterdam Theater.) Read the review.
The Book of Mormon
A pair of Mormon missionaries seek converts in Uganda in this gleefully profane musical comedy, which returned from the pandemic shutdown altered by its creators — Trey Parker and Matt Stone (“South Park”) and Robert Lopez (“Avenue Q”) — to address cast members’ objections to its depiction of the Ugandan characters. (At the Eugene O’Neill Theater.) Read the review.
Chicago
The 1996 revival, Broadway’s longest-running show, has far outpaced the original production of Bob Fosse, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s dark vaudeville about Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly and all that jazz. (At the Ambassador Theater.) Read the review.
Hadestown
Anaïs Mitchell’s jazz-folk musical about the mythic young lovers Eurydice and Orpheus won eight Tonys in 2019, including best musical, and picked up a cult following along the way. With Stephanie Mills’s Hermes as our guide starting July 9, Rachel Chavkin’s splendidly designed production takes audiences on a glorious road to hell. (At the Walter Kerr Theater.) Read the review.
Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s game-changing musical-theater phenomenon raps its tale of “the 10-dollar founding father without a father.” Ticket prices are no longer swoon-inducing, but the show’s digital lottery — for $10 seats at each performance — offers hope of a truly inexpensive way in. (At the Richard Rodgers Theater.) Read the review.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The saga of the grown-up Harry and his Hogwarts friends continues with the next generation, but now in slimmed-down form. Initially a bulky, two-part marathon experience, John Tiffany’s Tony-winning production has become a shorter, one-part play yet still boasts stagecraft that will astound Potter fans. (At the Lyric Theater.) Read the review.
The Lion King
Lush with masks and puppetry, Julie Taymor’s visually extravagant retelling of the Disney animated classic is that rare beast: a high-art spectacle that’s also an enduring commercial blockbuster — 26 years and counting. With a score by Elton John and Tim Rice, additional music by the South African composer Lebo M., and choreography by Garth Fagan. (At the Minskoff Theater.) Read the review.
MJ
Elijah Rhea Johnson makes his Broadway debut in the title role of this dance-infused Michael Jackson jukebox musical, whose 2022 Tony Awards include the choreography prize for Christopher Wheeldon, who also directs. Lynn Nottage wrote the book for the show, which is produced “by special arrangement with” Jackson’s estate. (At the Neil Simon Theater.) Read the review.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
For those to whom a Broadway show means spare-no-expense spectacle, this lavishly designed adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie musical is just the ticket. Directed by Alex Timbers — and the winner of 10 Tonys, including best musical — this is a doomed Parisian romance showered with confetti and fireworks, and sung to snippets of no fewer than 70 pop songs. Aaron Tveit (“Schmigadoon!”), a Tony winner for his performance as Christian, reprises the role July 23-Oct. 13. (At the Al Hirschfeld Theater.) Read the review.
Six
The half-dozen wives of Henry VIII recount their marriages pop-concert style — divorces, beheadings and all — in Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s upbeat musical, which has an all-female cast and an all-female band. It also has a 2022 Tony Award for best original score, and another for Gabriella Slade’s instantly iconic costumes. (At the Lena Horne Theater.) Read the review.
Wicked
Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s musical spin on “The Wizard of Oz” has remained a strong draw since 2003. It’s the smash that woke up Broadway producers to the voraciousness of girls as a demographic. A captivatingly designed, impeccably maintained production, it’s for teens, tweens and “Oz” fans of all ages. (At the Gershwin Theater.) Read the review.
How to Get Tickets
If you’re looking for a deal on a hot-ticket show, you will search in vain. The shows offering discounts may be in previews (which means critics haven’t yet weighed in) or, having been around a while, are running low on fuel. Still, some excellent productions might be in the mix.
Box Office or Show Site
To guard against the heartbreak of counterfeit tickets, the safest bet is to buy through the show’s website or at the box office. The box office in particular has its advantages — including that you don’t have to pay hefty service fees. And if you have a discount code, like the ones sometimes offered on theatermania.com or broadwaybox.com, it should work in person, too. But do check on the box office hours before heading out.
TodayTix App
The TodayTix app is a trustworthy source for often-discounted Broadway tickets, which users buy online. For some shows, you can choose your exact seats; for others, you pick the general section where you want to sit, and TodayTix assigns your seats. Whether you get barcoded electronic tickets delivered to your device or physical tickets that you pick up at the theater box office depends on the show. The app can also be used for entering some shows’ digital lotteries, which offer the chance to buy cheap tickets if you win, or for finding digital same-day rush tickets.
TKTS
TKTS, that discount-ticket mainstay of Times Square, sells same-day matinee and evening tickets, as well as next-day matinee tickets, at up to 50 percent off. There is also a satellite booth at Lincoln Center. On the TKTS app, or online, you can see in real time which shows are on sale at which location, and what tickets cost. But that doesn’t mean there will be any seats left for the show you want by the time you get up to the window, and you have to buy them in person. (For a few Off Broadway shows, sales are cash only.) Options are most plentiful right after the booths open, but new tickets are released all day, even as curtain time nears, so going later can be lucky, too.
Rush Tickets and More
Many shows, though not the monster hits, offer same-day rush tickets — either at the box office or online — for much less than full price. Some also sell standing-room tickets if a show is sold out. Don’t count on lucking into these, because availability varies — but it’s worth a shot. Conveniently, Playbill keeps a running online tab of individual shows’ policies on digital lotteries, rush tickets (sometimes just for students, often for everyone), standing room and other discounts.
Refunds and Exchanges
Don’t bet on them. In the early stages of its reopening, Broadway was eager to reassure ticket buyers with flexible policies on exchanges and cancellations. That is not the case anymore. Buyer beware.
A Note on Bad Weather
Is it cascading from the heavens? That may be your chance to snap up some suddenly available seats at the box office, though be prepared to pay face value. Your odds of winning a ticket lottery are better on days like that, too.
Advertisement