14 Shows to See on Broadway This Spring
As we hurtle toward the end of another Broadway seasonâone thatâs seen shows like Merrily We Roll Along, Appropriate, Doubt, and An Enemy of the People cast familiar material in shimmering new lightâthere is still so, so much more to see on the New York Stage. (Lucky us!) From starry revivals to ambitious new works, the theater scene is bursting with gems this year; here are 14 not to miss over the next five weeks.
The Whoâs Tommy (opens March 28)
Based on The Whoâs sprawling 1969 album-slash-rock opera Tommy, about a young pinball wizard and his highly dysfunctional family, Pete Townshend and Des McAnuffâs âtimely and timelessâ rock musical appears on Broadway this spring for the first time in more than 30 years. At the Nederlander Theatre; find tickets here.
The Outsiders (opens April 11)
Photo: Miller Mobley
A new riff on S.E. Hintonâs 1967 novel and Francis Ford Coppolaâs 1983 film sets the story of Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, and their ragtag gang of greasers in Tulsa to music by the folk duo Jamestown Revival. (Playwright Adam Rappâknown for Red Light Winter, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and The Sound Insideâadapted the book with Justin Levine.) At the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre; find tickets here.
Lempicka (opens April 14)
More than a decade in the making, this original musical from Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer considers the fascinating life of Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898â1980). Eden Espinosa, who starred in its world-premiere production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2018, and then in its six-week run at La Jolla Playhouse in 2022, remains on board, returning to Broadway for the first time in close to 20 years. Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812; Hadestown) directs. At the Longacre Theatre; find tickets here.
Suffs (previews begin March 26; opens April 18)
After a buzzy premiere at the Public Theater in 2022, when Time Out hailed it âartful and inspiring,â Shaina Taubâs rousing musical about the passage of the 19th Amendment marches on to Broadwayâwith Hillary Clinton as a co-producer. Leigh Silverman directs. At the Music Box Theatre; find tickets here.
Hellâs Kitchen (previews begin March 28; opens April 20)
The news in December that Alicia Keys and Kristoffer Diazâs moving coming-of-age musical would head to Broadway following a sold-out run at the Public came as little surprise. Set to Keysâs infectious music (and loosely inspired by her teenage years in New York), itâs announced the arrival of a major new talent in 21-year-old star Maleah Joi Moonâand offered yet another thrilling showcase for the great Shoshana Bean. Michael Greif directs. At the Shubert Theatre; find tickets here.
The Great Gatsby (previews begin March 29; opens April 25)
Not a year after departing Hadestown, two-time Tony nominee Eva Noblezada is back on Broadwayânow, playing Daisy Buchanan opposite Jeremy Jordanâs Jay Gatsby and Noah J. Rickettâs Nickâin a new musical based on F. Scott Fitzgeraldâs Jazz Age masterpiece (not to be confused with the other one, set to begin out-of-town tryouts in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in May). Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen wrote the music and lyrics, and Kait Kerrigan the book. At the Broadway Theatre; find tickets here.
The Wiz (previews begin March 29; opens April 17)
Photo: Jeremy Daniel
Boasting a fiercely talented young cast, vivid costumes and sets, and a book refreshed by Amber Ruffin, this celebrated revival packed theaters from Baltimore to Los Angeles before finally heading to New Yorkânearly 50 years after its legendary, Stephanie Mills-fronted Broadway premiere. Schele Williams (Motown: The Musical) directs. At the Marquis Theatre; find tickets here.
Cabaret (previews begin April 1; opens April 21)
A juggernaut in the West End, where it collected a record-setting seven Olivier Awards, this revival of John Kander and Fred Ebbâs classic musicalâstarring Eddie Redmayne as the Emceeâtransfers to New York this spring, now with Gayle Rankin (GLOW, Perry Mason) as Sally Bowles. Rebecca Frecknall directs. At the August Wilson Theatre; find tickets here.
Patriots (previews begin April 1; opens April 22)
Another Olivier-winning hit in London, this play from Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen, The Crown)âset just after the fall of the Soviet Unionâstars Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Call Me By Your Name) as Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky and Will Keen as Vladimir Putin, Berezovskyâs friend turned bitter adversary. Rupert Goold directs. At the Ethel Barrymore Theatre; find tickets here.
Mary Jane (previews begin April 2; opens April 23)
Seven years after its premiere at the Yale Repertory Theatre, Amy Herzogâs play about a mother caring for her chronically ill son makes its Broadway debut, with Rachel McAdams in the title role. (In a previous iteration, at the New York Theatre Workshop, Carrie Coon was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and won an Obie for the same part.) Anne Kauffman (The Sign in Sidney Brusteinâs Window) directs. At the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre; find tickets here.
Uncla Vanya (previews begin April 2; opens April 24)
Adapted for the New York stage by Heidi Schreck (What the Constitution Means to Me), this latest interpretation of Anton Chekovâs essential family drama stars Alison Pill, Alfred Molina, Anika Noni Rose, William Jackson Harper, and Steve Carrell. Lila Neugebauer (The Waverly Gallery, Appropriate) directs. At the Vivian Beaumont Theatre; find tickets here.
Illinoise (opens April 24)
Photo: Stephanie Berger
Those who missed out on tickets to its month-long run at the Park Avenue Armory this March will, happily, have another chance to see director-choreographer Justin Peckâs shimmering collaboration with singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury (Marys Seacole). At the St. James Theatre; find tickets here.
Mother Play (previews begin April 2; opens April 25)
A new play by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive) stars Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, and Celia Keenan-Bolger as a matriarch and her two teenage children in the early 1960s. Tina Landau (Superior Donuts; SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical) directs. At the Hayes Theatre; find tickets here.
Stereophonic (previews begin April 3; opens April 19)
Instantly acclaimed when it opened at Playwrights Horizons last fall, David Adjmiâs new play, with original music by Arcade Fireâs Will Butler, centers on a hungry, young rock band on the brink of stardom in the heady 1970s. Daniel Aukin directs. At the Golden Theatre; find tickets here.
