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What’s Coming to Broadway Spring 2024 What’s Coming to Broadway Spring 2024 An interesting, often stellar lineup of shows are scheduled to open between January and the Tony nominations cutoff date (April 25). Some new, some revivals; some plays, some musicals. A quick glance offers:
Brian d’Arcy James and Kelli O’Hara (Photo by Ahron R. Foster) Days of Wine and Roses, Studio 54 Big names star in a grimly gripping musical adaptation of the 1962 movie. Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James give killer performances as an alcoholic couple trying to keep their marriage together. Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas created the adaptation. Moving from the Atlantic Theater Company, Days of Wine and Roses is directed by Michael Grief. Doubt: A Parable, Todd
Haimes Theatre The magnificent Tyne Daly and stunning Live Schreiber star in the first Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s superb 2005 play. Daly is the tough, conservative nun; Schreiber, the new parish priest at her school. Expect great acting and hard moral questions. Kudos to the Roundabout for taking this on. Scott Ellis directs.
The
Notebook, Gerald
Schoenfeld Theatre First, a novel; then, a movie; now, a musical, The Notebook should offer enough romance and love to warm anyone’s heart. Jordan Tyson and John Cardoza are the young lovers; Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez, the middle-aged; Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood are the olders. Ingrid Michaelson wrote music and lyrics; Bekah Brunstetter, the book. Michael Grief and Schele Williams direct. Water for Elephants, Imperial
Theatre Another best-selling romantic novel going from book to screen to stage. Rick Elice wrote the adaptation; music and lyrics come from The Pig Pen Theater Company, best known for music, puppetry, and movement, all blended together. Cast: Greg Edelman, Paul Alexander Nolan, Stan Brown, Joe De Paul, Sara Gettelfinger, and Wade McCollum. Jessica Stone, directs (she of Kimberly Akimbo), with circus design by Shana Carroll, who also co-choreographs with Jesse Robb. Puppetry design is by Camille Labarre (Into the Woods). Expect spectacle! Any time you have a credit for “circus design” and “puppetry design,” there’s going to be lots to look at. An Enemy of the People, Circle
in the Square Theatre Ibsen’s hard-hitting 1882 drama, adapted by Amy Herzog, the auteur behind last season’s powerful adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Jeremy Strong plays a physician who tells truth to power and pays the price. Sam Gold directs. My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?), Lyceum
Theatre Always good to look forward to a hilarious hit. After success in London, writer/actor Rob Madge’s a funny/sweet solo play – also, of course, autobiographical – arrives on Broadway. Luke Sheppard, who directed & Juliet, is at the helm; Pippa Cleary wrote the songs.
The
Who’s TOMMY, Nederlander
Theatre See me… feel me… touch me… heal me… Tommy tells the story of a traumatized boy who takes an unlikely path to becoming something like a messiah. It was first a hugely successful rock and roll album, then a film, then adapted for the stage. It’s been decades since Tommy’s first Broadway outing; it’s time for super-director Des McAnuff to revisit this seminal work from the late 60s. Ali Louis Bourzgui is a Tommy for the 21st century in this re-imagined production. The
Outsiders, Bernard
B. Jacobs Theatre From book to screen to stage, this is a musical version of one of the most loved coming-of-age stories of the 20th century. Adam Rapp and Justin Levine wrote the book for the new musical, adapting S. E. Hinton’s classic YA novel. Folk duo Jamestown Revival did music and lyrics with Levine. Danya Taymor directs. Lempicka, Longacre Theatre Eden Espinoza plays Polish Art-deco portraitist Tamara de Lempicka, whose glamorous, scandalous, non-conformist life, from escaping the Bolshevik revolution to Parisian high life in the 20s to the arrival of the Nazis in the 30s. An interesting story and a musical on the epic scale. Carson Kreitzer wrote book and lyrics; Matt Gould, book and music. Rachel Chavkin directs. Suffs, Music
Box Theatre A new musical honoring Suffragettes -- women demanding the right to vote at the beginning of the last century, leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. That’s a hell of an inspiration for Suffs, a new musical with book, music, and lyrics by the astonishing Shaina Taub. Leigh Silverman directs; choreography by Mayte Natlio. Hell’s
Kitchen, Shubert
Theatre A more or less autobiographical musical about Alicia Keys, with her iconic hits as well as new songs. Kristoffer Diaz’s book follows the journey of a musically gifted teenager who does All The Things: rebels against her mother, discovers sex and romance, and insists that the world hear her knockout music. Directed by Tony nominee Michael Greif with choreography by Camille A. Brown. The Heart of
Rock and Roll, James
Earl Jones Theatre The website says, “The Heart of Rock and Roll centers on a couple of twenty-somethings on the cusp of their futures—Bobby, a rock and roller who’s traded his guitar for the corporate ladder and his boss Cassandra who’s always put the family business first. When they both get a second shot at their dreams, it’ll take “The Power of Love” and a little help from their friends to figure out what kind of life they really want.” Sounds like more than just another jukebox musical, though it’s chock-full of 80s hits from Huey Lewis and the News. Book by Jonathan A. Abrams from a story coauthored by Abrams and Tyler Mitchell. Gordon Greenberg directs Corey Cott and McKenzie Kurtz.
The
Wiz, Marquis
Theatre Ease on down to this newly re-imagined production of the beloved 1975 Tony Award–winning musical. Original book adapted by William F. Brown; music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, with additional, new material by Amber Ruffin. Schele Williams directs; choreographed by Jaquel Knight. The cast features Nichelle Lewis, Melody A. Betts, Kyle Ramar Freeman, Phillip Johnson Richardson, Avery Wilson, and Wayne Brady. The Great Gatsby, Broadway Theatre The light on Daisy’s dock will lure you in to this new musical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book. Try to forget that you were forced to read about a mysterious nouveau riche millionaire and his obsession with a beautiful socialite and enjoy this new musical, written by Nathan Tysen and Jason Howland (music and lyrics) and Kait Kerrigan (book). Marc Bruni directs. Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada will play Gatsby and Daisy, respectively, as they did in the Paper Mill Playhouse production last fall. Another show that has gone from book to film to stage.
Cabaret, August Wilson Theatre One more once for Kander and Ebb’s superb 1967 Tony Award–winning musical, helmed by Rebecca Frecknall. This time, we have an immersive, in-the-round production. Eddie Redmayne will be the Emcee to end all emcees; Gayle Rankin stars as Sally Bowles; Ato Blankson-Wood plays Cliff. Mary Jane, Samuel
J. Friedman Theatre Rachel McAdams makes her Broadway debut in this Manhattan Theatre Club production, written by Amy Herzog. The MTC website summary says Mary Jane is, “The story of a single mother in an impossible family situation. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, Mary Jane relies on unflagging optimism and humor, along with the wisdom of the women around her who have become a makeshift family, to take on each new day. But will inner strength and newfound friendships be enough to see her through?” Directed by Anne Kauffman, who helmed the original NYTW production in 2017. Uncle Vanya, Vivian
Beaumont Theatre There have been 11 Broadway productions of Chekhov’s play; Lincoln Center Theater loads this revival with star power, not least of which is Steve Carrell as Vanya, in his Broadway debut. Vanya and his niece Sonya (Alison Pill) lead dull lives, managing a family estate in Russia, until Sonya’s father (Alfred Molina) and his new young wife Yelena (Anika Noni Rose) arrive. Heidi Schreck did the new translation; Lila Neugebauer directs. Mother Play Hayes Theatre Jessica Lange returns to Broadway in a the latest from Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel. This funny, honest family drama revolves around a super-controlling mother overseeing her teenage children’s move into a new apartment in 1960s Washington, D.C. More star power: Celia Keenan-Bolger and Jim Parsons play her children. Tina Landau directs this Second Stage production. Stereophonic, Golden
Theatre A play with original songs by Will Butler. It’s the 1970s, and a rock band poised to make it big gets together in a Bay Area recording studio. As they create their new album, they almost break their hearts. David Adjmi’s play, directed by Daniel Aukin, premiered at Playwrights Horizons last fall to huge acclaim. 
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