Welcome to spring in New York City, also known as Broadway’s busiest and buzziest season.

Not only is it crunch time for new productions and big name stars aiming to hit their opening night stride before the 2024 Tony nominations cut-off date on April 25th, it’s also primo time to snap up tickets to several of Broadway’s greatest hits. Long-running and legendary with talent-fueled performances, stellar sets, costumes, and effects—these shows are the jewels in Broadway’s dazzling crown. Indulge!

SPRINGING FORWARD: BROADWAY’S NEWEST SHOWS & STARS

The Notebook
Opened March 14, 2024
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
New musical based on the bestselling novel by Nicolas Sparks, where Allie and Noah share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart.

An Enemy of the People, Michael Imperioli. Photo by Emilio Madrid.

An Enemy of the People
Opened March 18, 2024
Circle in the Square Theatre
The Ibsen classic that opened March 18th stars Jeremy Strong (Succession) and Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos).

Water for Elephants
In previews, opens March 21, 2024
Imperial Theatre
After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus. 

The Who’s TOMMY
In previews, opens March 28, 2024
Nederlander Theatre
Pete Townshend & Des McAnuff’s adaptation of The Who’s rock opera.

The Outsiders
Preview: March 16, 2024
Official Opening: April 11, 2024
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Based on Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 Tom Cruise-Patrick Swayze film.

Lempicka
Preview: March 19, 2024
Official Opening: April 14, 2024
Longacre Theatre
The life of Polish Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka.

Suffs
Preview: March 26, 2024
Official Opening: April 18, 2024
Music Box Theatre
A new musical about suffragists set in 1913.

The Great Gatsby
Preview: March 29, 2024
Official Opening: April 25, 2024
Broadway Theatre
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age epic brought to the stage.

The Heart of Rock and Roll
Preview: March 29, 2024
Official Opening: April 22, 2024
James Earl Jones Theatre
Inspired by the hits of Huey Lewis and the News.

Hell’s Kitchen
Preview: March 29, 2024
Official Opening: April 20, 2024
Shubert Theatre
From Alicia Keys’ songbook, a coming-of-age story based on her life.

The Wiz
Preview: March 29, 2024
Official Opening: April 17, 2024
Marquis Theatre
Revamped revival of 1975’s Tony-winning musical with Wayne Brady as “The Wiz.”

Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club
Preview: April 1, 2024
Official Opening: April 20 & 21, 2024
August Wilson Theatre
Eddie Redmayne, reprising his role as the MC from the London production, joins Gayle Rankin (House of the Dragon) as Sally Bowles.

Will Keen, Patriots (West End). Photo credit: Marc Brenner.

Patriots
Preview: April 1, 2024
Official Opening: April 22, 2024
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Emmy winner Michael Stulbarg (Boardwalk Empire) and Will Keen (The Crown) costar as billionaire Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Putin in this U.K. import. 

Mary Jane
Preview: April 2, 2024
Official Opening: April 23, 2024
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams makes her Broadway debut in this drama about a single mother.

Mother Play
Preview: April 2, 2024
Official Opening: April 25, 2024
Helen Hayes Theatre
Oscar nominee Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons and Celia Keenan-Bolger star in this Paula Vogel play set in 1962.

Uncle Vanya
Preview: April 2, 2024
Official Opening: April 24, 2024
Vivian Beaumont Theater
Steve Carell takes on the title role in Chekhov’s classic.

Stereophonic
Preview: April 3, 2024
Official Opening: April 19, 2024
Golden Theatre
Grammy winner Will Butler wrote the songs for this play with music about an up-and-coming rock band.

Illinoise
Official opening: April 24, 2024
St. James Theatre
This bold new music-theater production leads audiences on a mighty journey through the American heartland, from campfire storytelling to the edges of the cosmos.

WORTH NOTING…

Sarah Paulson. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Appropriate—Extended through June 23rd and relocated to the Belasco Theatre with Sarah Paulson headlining, the cast now includes Ella Beatty fresh from FX’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. 

FUNNY BUSINESS

Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

Few, if any, Broadway musicals can lay claim to the laughs-per-minute quotient generated by The Book of Mormon. What begins with a trumpeted biblical prologue, morphs into the show’s iconic “Ding, dong! Hello, my name is Elder….” and a stage teeming with peppy newbie missionaries, freshly scrubbed and ready to preach the word of Mormon far and wide. Of them, Elders Price (handsome and hoping for Orlando) and Cunningham (gung-ho and giddily up for anything) find themselves paired and assigned to a dodgy Nigerian village, where priceless profanity and droll irreverence lurk around every corner. But this—along with a 2011 Best Musical Tony —is what you’d expect from a creative team comprised of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, alongside Robert Lopez (Avenue Q).

And if you’ve yet to see the show—or Kevin Clay’s Price and Cody Jamison Strand’s Cunningham—by all means get thee to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre ASAP.

MISCHIEF “UN”MANAGED

The cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, photo by Matthew Murphy.

At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, classes in Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology are—as any Potterhead will tell you—educational musts. But at the Lyric Theatre, where the Tony-winning play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child works its magic eight shows a week, the alchemy that takes place is my no means limited to a classroom. It’s an enchanted techno thrill-ride that takes flight pre-performance in the lobby when a QR coded Patronus or portrait springs to life. The experience soars to the rafters once the show begins and wands (and a plot-driving Time-turner) come out. 

The story, written as a sequel to J.K. Rowling’s book series, focuses Harry’s son Albus (Joel Meyers) and Draco Malfoy’s son Scorpius (Erik Christopher Peterson) and the secrets the two young wizards unearth after meeting as first years on the Hogwarts Express. New characters are introduced, but long-standing fans can look forward to pop-up cameos from the past, including my personal favorite, Moaning Myrtle.  

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

Of all the fantastical worlds that have captivated readers and theatregoers over the years, none have proven more seductive than the land of Oz. From Frank L. Baum’s original to the classic 1939 flick to countless spinoffs, homages, and re-imaginings, the musical Wicked reigns as the ultimate theatrical success story. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, subtitled “The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” this epic Ozian production invites audiences into a multifaceted backstory filled with unexpected friendships, villainy, humor, rebellion, show-stopping numbers, and enough cosplay inspiration for a decade of Comic Cons. 

Worth noting, too, is the first-rate cast, which includes Tony-winner Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) as duplicitous Headmistress Madame Morrible, Tony-nominee Brad Oscar (Something Rotten!) as The Wizard and, in the leading witch roles, Mary Kate Morrissey as green-and-gravity-defying Elphaba and Alexandra Socha as ever-so-pop-u-lar Glinda.

HISTORY HAS ITS EYES ON YOU

Tamar Greene and Ensemble - (c) Joan Marcus 2023.

Buzz is a double-edged lure, and if you’ve yet to see the phenom known as Hamilton, you might wonder “How bloated is the hype?” Four words: Not in the least. Nearly nine years after its lightning-bolt opening night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre—and copious cast changes later, including the passing of the Hamiltonian torch by creator/composer/title character Lin-Manuel Miranda—the show remains, and rightly so, a Broadway colossus.

A riveting Trey Curtis is Miranda’s current heir apparent to the character who initially defines himself as “...a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal tryin’ to reach my goal.” Embodying Hamilton’s counterpoint/frienemy/ultimate demise, Aaron Burr, is Jared Dixon in a tautly wound performance. Together they helm a company of cutting-edge performers who flourish within the factual storyline, lyric-driven score, and Andy Blankenbuehler’s stunning choreography.

Redefining how we look at both U.S. history and musical theatre, the production resonates with the issues and ideals the founding fathers juggled, while at the same time challenging audiences to keep up with a score infused with everything from stylized rap and R&B ballads to jazz and show tunes. And since the Grammy-winning score has been around a while, there’s a good chance you’re ready to surrender (pun intended) to Jarrod Spector’s flamboyantly bratty King George when he invites you to join the bouncy chorus of “You’ll Be Back.”

IT’S GOOD TO BE KING

Stephen Carlile as Scar and Ensemble. Photo by Deen van Meer.

It’s common knowledge that The Lion King’s 25+ years and multi-generational appeal has former kids now introducing their own kids to the Broadway blockbuster. What’s not so well-known, however, is the number of cast members who have been with the show for years. A case in point is Stephen Carlile, who has been finessing the diabolical king wannabe Scar on stage at the Minskoff Theatre since 2017, having cut his teeth on the nefarious role for two years (2012-2014) with the U.K. touring company. Fellow Brit Cameron Pow, who plays/operates Zazu, the king’s bird servant, has also been tied to the Broadway production off and on during Carlile’s stint.

Meanwhile, there are other actors who have been with the show far longer than Carlile and Pow, like Lindiwe Dlamini, who’s been a member of the ensemble even before The Lion King made its Broadway debut. 

Still, according to Dlamini, keeping things fresh is not an issue. “Every day, every performance is exciting and never the same,” she says.

Clearly, there’s something about the show, the script, the message, and theatregoers that resonates with these veteran performers. “You have to think of the audience,” observes Carlile. “I try to see through their eyes. What we do up on the stage is really a great responsibility [and] I want to inspire the audience.”

A WHOLE NEW DECADE

Photo by Deen van Meer.

If the exotic and colorful pleasures built into Aladdin have been swirling around your wish list, 2024 and its 10th anniversary cachet presents the perfect timeline to join Aladdin, Genie, Jasmine, and company for the flying carpet ride of your life!

The hit musical celebrated this milestone decade with its 3,513th performance on March 20th. Having appeared on the Top 10 list of highest-grossing Broadway shows virtually every week of its run, Aladdin’s audience count at the New Amsterdam Theatre is approaching six-million. Amazing what Genie, a magic lamp and super-talent can achieve!

And for the occasion, Disney has some pretty spectacular special effects stats:

• The Genie has set off more than 131,000 pyrotechnics in the showstopping number “Friend Like Me”;

• In the Act II opener “Prince Ali,” the cast and wardrobe team have made nearly a quarter million lightning-fast costume quick changes; 

• 850 pounds of custom-mixed glitter have been used to create the Genie’s signature sparkle;

• Aladdin and Jasmine have flown over 115 miles on the magic carpet while singing the Oscar-winning song “A Whole New World”!

GOINGS ON OFF-BROADWAY

BLUE NOTES

BLUE MAN GROUP with one of the new screens at Astor Place Theatre. Photo by Pretty Damn Sweet.

Diehard Blue Man Group devotees who think they know the lay of the Astor Place land when they visit the trio’s flagship stomping ground are in for a surprise, and it’s Pretty Damn Sweet—which happens to be the name of the creative agency that partnered with BMG for a majorly awesome overhaul of their downtown digs. The revamp launched eight new high-tech screens, designed to up the immersive ante, and give audiences access to new state-of-the-art video content accompanying the Blue Men and band.

“With new advancements in creative technology, it’s exciting to see a global entertainment brand such as Blue Man Group invest in pushing the production to the cutting edge,” says Pretty Damn Sweet co-founder Stephen Gifford. “Through this partnership, we’ve refreshed New York City’s Astor Place Theatre to take Blue Man Group audiences on a gorgeous abstract ride of humor, science, art, and more.”

RETRO & RIGHT ON!

Chilina Kennedy, center, and the cast of A Sign of the Times. © Jeremy Daniel.

The vibe is far out and the dress code is Mod so obviously it’s the groovy 1960s. In A Sign of the Times, the throwback musical currently bringing audiences to their feet at New World Stages, the era is brought into focus via the lens of one Cindy McQuiken of Centerville, Ohio. Following her heart from the Midwest to the Big Apple in the hopes of launching a career in photography, she finds herself caught up in 1965’s hot-button headline grabbers, along with relationship and employment issues.  

Two things, however, make this show a total “turn-on”: the score—pulsating with mid-‘60s pop hits by Petula Clark, Leslie Gore, The Monkees…the list goes on—and awesome performances by Beautiful alum Chilina Kennedy (Cindy), Crystal Lucas-Perry (Tanya), Justin Matthew Sargent (Matt), Ryan Silverman (Brian), and Akron Lanier Watson (Cody). 

And while it’s more Midtown than “Downtown,” A Sign of the Times’ music, dancing, humor, and romance proves “everything’s waiting for you” Off-Broadway.

You can find a complete run-down on what's playing on Broadway here. Find our comprehensive Off-Broadway coverage here.