Many of the biggest winners at the 2024 Tony Awards are still available to see in person during your next trip to the Big Apple.
While big winners like “Stereophonic,” which triumphed at the most recent awards show, is no longer on Broadway, other Tony-winning productions such as “The Outsiders,” a kinetic adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age novel, “Hell’s Kitchen,” featuring an electric Alicia Keys score,”Suffs,” Shain Taub’s epic musical that explores the victories and failures of a struggle for gender equality, are all still running.
Below, find the best way to snag affordable tickets to this year’s current productions” from buzzy titles like Cole Escola’s “Oh, Mary,” now starring Betty Gilpin, to long-running classics such as “Wicked” and “The Great Gatsby.”
SYNOPSIS: In the 80-minute show, Betty Gilpin takes on the Cole Escola-created role as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, who turns to booze and acting lessons while she’s cooped up in the White House. Conrad Ricamora plays Abraham Lincoln, who is dealing with the stress of the Civil War in some very un-Honest Abe ways (and a secret male lover or two).
WHERE: Lyceum Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “’Oh, Mary!’ is at once campy and complex, a manic bit of extended sketch comedy, but also an unequivocally queer play in which the female characters are played by a trans woman and a nonbinary actor, and the iterations of masculinity are rather gay.”
SYNOPSIS: Set decades before the events of the “Stranger Things” TV series, “The First Shadow” takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Ind. as the Creel family seeks a fresh start, especially Henry, who is eager to escape his troubled past. But when a wave of shocking crimes strikes Hawkins, Henry is forced to consider whether he may have something to do with it.
WHERE: Marquis Theatre
SYNOPSIS: The inimitable Dolly Parton is portrayed by three different actors in an upcoming musical based on her life, featuring all her beloved hits such as “I Will Always Love You,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “9 to 5,” and new original songs by Parton.
WHERE: TBA
SYNOPSIS: “West Side Story” star Rachel Zegler and “Heartstopper” breakout Kit Connor make their Broadway debuts in “Romeo + Juliet,” a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic featuring music by Jack Antonoff.
WHERE: Circle in the Square Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “Gold’s ‘Romeo + Juliet,’”’ while using Shakespeare’s language, feels like it’s designed to draw in tweens, teens and theater-averse adults who might not otherwise be interested in Shakespeare; the trick is to woo them and then keep them in their seats with a fun hipster spectacle led by a British TV heartthrob and a movie star with good pipes.”
SYNOPSIS: Tony-winning Jonathan Groff returns to Broadway about the life and times of singer Bobby Darin. The immersive show will feature a live band and ensemble of 16 to perform Darin’s hits like “Splish Splash,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Mack the Knife” and “Dream Lover.”
WHERE: Circle in the Square Theatre
Marc Brenner
SYNOPSIS: Sarah Snook, the Emmy-winning “Succession” actor, makes her Broadway debut playing 26 characters in “The Pictures of Dorian Gray.” The adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s gothic horror novel is transferring to the Great White Way in March 2025 for a strictly limited engagement.
WHERE: Music Box Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “Together with everything from Clemence Williams’ fierce arrangement of Vivaldi’s “Winter” from “The Four Seasons” to Bock and Harnick’s hymn to self-adoration ‘Gorgeous’ from ‘The Apple Tree’ and Giorgio Moroder’s ‘I Feel Love,’ the ever-surprising sound world is integral to the production’s success in building a world that snares the audience.”
Joan Marcus
SYNOPSIS: Set in Karaj, Iran in 2008, “English” follows a small adult-education class studying for the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
WHERE: Todd Haimes Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “The politics of linguistics, translation, and learning a foreign language make for a play that is as emotionally compelling as it is intellectually stimulating. ‘English’ very rightfully won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2023, and it’s hands down a masterpiece of theater.”
SYNOPSIS: A stage adaptation of the fan-favorite NBC series, starring Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Megan Hilty, Katharine McPhee and Christian Borle, follows the behind-the-scenes process of mounting “Bombshell,” a musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe.
WHERE: Imperial Theatre
SYNOPSIS: Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal will return to Broadway in a revival of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello,” which opens in the spring of 2025 and is sure to be one of the buzziest tickets of the season.
WHERE: Barrymore Theatre
SYNOPSIS: A long-in-the-works musical about the 1930s animated flapper hits Broadway this spring. The stage production, featuring music by David Foster, imagines that Boop leaves her early-20th-century film life to travel to present-day New York.
WHERE: Broadhurst Theatre
SYNOPSIS: Tony-winning Idina Menzel returns to the stage with “Redwood,” a musical she began developing 20 years ago. Directed by Tina Landau, who also wrote the book, the show tells the story of Jesse (Menzel), a woman who leaves the big city for a cross-country trip to Northern California. She finds unexpected connections and healing among the Redwoods.
WHERE: Nederlander Theatre
SYNOPSIS: George Clooney will make his Broadway debut in a play adaptation of his 2005 drama “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Clooney , who directed and starred in teh original film, will play journalist Edward R. Murrow, who was the host of CBS’ “See It Now.”
WHERE: Winter Garden Theatre
SYNOPSIS: Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr will star in the upcoming revival of David Mamet’s lauded play “Glengarry Glen Ross.” The Patrick Marber-directed play takes place in a cutthroat Chicago real estate office where four salespeople compete to sell mostly worthless properties to unwitting customers. Things become ruthless when they’re given the news that whoever sells the most wins a car and whoever sells the least is out of a job.
WHERE: Palace Theatre
John Proctor Is the Villain
SYNOPSIS: Sadie Sink takes Broadway in this musical comedy set at a high school in rural Georgia. According to a synopsis, an English class is studying “The Crucible” but the students are “more preoccupied with navigating young love, sex ed, and a few school scandals.”
WHERE: Booth Theatre
SYNOPSIS: Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren will team up for the first-ever Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years,” which follows the relationship between an up-and-coming author and aspiring actress over the course of, yes, five years.
WHERE: Hudson Theatre
Hell’s Kitchen
SYNOPSIS: In Kristoffer Diaz’s latest musical, “Hell’s Kitchen,” featuring songs by Alicia Keys, the story unfolds around a dinner table. Each night, 17-year-old Ali (Maleah Joi Moon) shares a meal with her mother, Jersey (Shoshana Bean), in their Hell’s Kitchen apartment. This nightly ritual, insisted upon by Jersey, is meant to shield Ali from the dangers of 1990s New York City. But despite the protective dinners and warnings, Ali yearns to break free and experience the world, love, art and more. The show features several Keys chart-toppers including “Fallin,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” “No One,” “Girl on Fire” and three new songs.
WHERE: The Public Theater
VARIETY REVIEW: “The minimalism of the stage and Ali’s earnest narration make the viewers feel a part of the production rather than just spectators. In addition to Moon and Bean’s sensational vocal range, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ illustrates how tender mother/daughter relationships can be.”
SYNOPSIS: After being delayed by the pandemic in 2022 after a buzzy Chicago run at the Shakespeare Theater, the musical adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks romance novel and iconic 2004 romance film starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams is finally coming to Broadway. The new version of this much-loved tale jumps through time to tell the story of the enduring love between the characters Allie and Noah. In the live show, different actors play the various versions of Allie and Noah through time and this adaptation takes place not during the 1940s but in the 1970s. Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson penned the music and lyrics and the book is by Bekah Brunstetter from TV series “This Is Us.” But most importantly, yes, they make it rain on stage.
WHERE: Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “The huge fanbase of the romance novel and the 2004 hit film might initially boost the box office, but it will take more than recreating that iconic rainstorm to win over other theatergoers looking for more than clichés, tropes and triggers.”
SYNOPSIS: Another book to movie to Broadway production. Based on the historical novel by Sara Gruen that was later turned into a Hollywood feature starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattison, the musical stars Grant Gustin (“The Flash”) and Isabelle McCalla (“Aladdin” and “The Prom”). Set during the Great Depression, the story follows veterinary student Jacob Jankowski (Gustin) who winds up as an animal caretaker at a traveling circus. There he falls for the circus performer Marlena (McCalla), who is sadly married to a cruel man.
WHERE: Imperial Theater
VARIETY REVIEW: “This underdog circus troupe may promote its entertainment as ‘Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth,’ but for this rube’s nickels, “Water for Elephants” could be the greatest show on Broadway.”
The Outsiders Broadway
SYNOPSIS: The musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 movie stars Brody Grant (Ponyboy Curtis), Brent Comer (Darrel Curtis), Jason Schmidt (Sodapop Curtis), Sky Lakota-Lynch (Johnny Cade) and Joshua Boone (Dallas Winston). Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1965 the story follows the lives of a group of “greaser” boys as they navigate their battle with the “Socs” a rival gang of privileged youths.
WHERE: Jacobs Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “The production only intermittently rises to the challenge of transforming such familiar material into theater that feels both original and necessary. It packs plenty of heart and soul, but lacks a strong pulse.”
SYNOPSIS: The Broadway arrival of the West End hit “Back to the Future” continues the march of Hollywood brand extensions to the musical stage. The production, based on the 1985 film hit that spun off two sequels, mirrors the film’s plot and stars Casey Likes as the time-traveling teen Marty McFly and and Roger Bart as mad scientist Doc Brown.
WHERE: Winter Garden Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “In a story that hearkens back to 1955, you could wish this musical’s creators had considered what made musical theater so great in that golden era. Perhaps they might have crafted something more fresh and tuneful, with goosebump moments that come not from hydraulics but from theatrical know-how.”
Jeremy Daniel
SYNOPSIS: The new revival of William F. Brown and Charlie Smalls’ 1974 musical has a fresh new vibe thanks to comedian and host Amber Ruffin (previously nominated for a Tony for her work adapting “Some Like It Hot”). The “Wizard of Oz” inspired tale follows Dorothy (Nichelle Lewis ) the Scarecrow (Avery Wilson), the Lion (Kyle Ramar Freeman) and the Tinman (Phillip Johnson Richardson) as they “ease on down the road” to find The Wiz (Wayne Brady).
WHERE: Marquis Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “The maximalist revival … diminishes some of the show’s reliable pleasures with unmitigated, candy-colored exuberance. This family-friendly approach — bright, broad, unironic — aligns with the musical’s legacy as a VHS favorite, but even kids could use help knowing where to look. Dizzying visuals and overamplification too often swallow both actors and storytelling in a swirling sensory overload. “
Joan Marcus
SYNOPSIS: Following a sold-out extended run at The Public Theater, “Suffs” finally hits Broadway this Spring. Shain Taub’s epic musical explores the victories and failures of a struggle for gender equality — a struggle that, as the show highlights, is far from over.
WHERE: Music Box Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “Over the course of this almost three-hour show (which could be even longer to better accommodate the stuffed-and-rushed second act), Taub manages to dramatize the complex origins and contentious development of the women’s rights movement by filtering it through the political coming-of-age narrative of Alice Paul, one of its seminal leaders.”
SYNOPSIS: The musical adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel stars Broadway’s beloved Jeremy Jordan (“Newsies,” “Smash”) and Eva Noblezada (“Hadestown,” “Les Misérables”) as Gatsby and Daisy respectively. Set in the roaring 1920s, the production released an early look (above) of the song “For Her / My Green Light.”
WHERE: The Broadway Theater
VARIETY REVIEW: “For any fan of ‘The Great Gatsby’ it’s likely you’ll have moments of wanting more, of missing out on all the subtext, grit, and suffering beneath the sequins.”
Matthew Murphy
SYNOPSIS: Created by the Emmy-winning writer of “Schitt’s Creek,” this acclaimed musical-comedy imagines what would happen if Shakespeare’s Juliet didn’t “end it all over Romeo.”
WHERE: Stephen Sondheim Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “’& Juliet’ is exactly the show Broadway needs right now: fun, exuberant, supremely joyful, hilarious, and excellently performed by a talented and diverse cast. The amount of confetti may be gratuitous (they seem to be trying to outdo “Moulin Rouge!”), but honestly, why not?”
SYNOPSIS: A new musical inspired by the life of Michael Jackson will have its world premiere when it begins preview performances later this year.
WHERE: Neil Simon Theater
VARIETY REVIEW: “Packed with nearly 40 hits from Michael Jackson’s irresistible catalogue, the Broadway production from director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is not so much a biomusical as a high-shine and surface-skimming rehabilitation tour for its late subject, flattening rather than reckoning with his complex legacy.”
SYNOPSIS: After earning a million dollars during its first week of previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, “Six” was hours away from officially opening before the COVID-19 shutdown went into effect on March 12. This wildly original stage production is like watching a pop concert starring the six ex-wives of Henry VIII.
WHERE: Brooks Atkinson Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “Audience interest in this competitive concert concept could easily wear out its welcome but the musical variety, bite-sized storytelling and unstoppable performances keep the entertainment level high as the musical subversively builds in emotional depth.”
Joan Marcus
SYNOPSIS: A prequel of sorts to “The Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked” recounts the happenings in Oz before Dorothy sauntered down the yellow brick road and tells the story of how a green-skinned woman named Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. With classic songs like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular,” it’s one of the most beloved shows on Broadway.
WHERE: Gershwin Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “‘Wicked’ is stridently earnest one minute, self-mocking the next; a fantastical allegory about the perils of fascism in one scene, a Nickelodeon special about the importance of inner beauty in another.”
Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
SYNOPSIS: Baz Luhrman’s legendary film comes to life in this enchanting and glitzy musical, following the same 19th century forbidden love story from the 2001 movie.
WHERE: Al Hirschfield Theater
VARIETY REVIEW: “It’s the same old story that poets and songwriters are still writing about today, in songs like “Nature Boy” and “One More Night” and “Only Girl in the World” and all the other tunes that Logan and Timbers have woven into this traditional — but kind of special — jukebox musical.”
SYNOPSIS: The Tony-winning musical, written by celebrated singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. The acclaimed show is a love story at its heart, following the mythical tales of two intertwining couples, Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and his wife Persephone.
WHERE: Walter Kerr Theater
VARIETY REVIEW: “The storytelling is spare, but the visuals say it all, helped along by the melodious voice and slip-sliding dance moves of the indomitable André De Shields as the swift-footed god Hermes, as well as by the three gorgeous, golden-throated Fates played by Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer and Kay Trinidad.”
SYNOPSIS: The musical based on the 1992 Disney animated film at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre
WHERE: New Amsterdam Theatre
SYNOPSIS: The longest-running American musical in Broadway history has returned with the razzle dazzle. The Tony-winning revival tells the story of two women in Chicago who will use absolutely anything at their disposal to stay on the front page of the local newspaper, from behind prison bars.
WHERE: Ambassador Theatre
Mason Poole
SYNOPSIS: London’s hottest ticket arrives on Broadway this Spring with Oscar and Tony Award winner Eddie Redmayne reprising his Olivier Award-winning performance as the Emcee, and introducing Gayle Rankin as the Toast of Mayfair, Sally Bowles.
WHERE: August Wilson Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “The triumph – that’s not too strong a word – of director Rebecca Frecknall’s stunner of a production is that, despite piercing performances from Jessie Buckley and Eddie Redmayne, her supremely intelligent, emotionally draining vision of the show turns it, enthrallingly, into ‘All About Berlin.’”
Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
SYNOPSIS: Lin Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical tribute to one of our illustrious Founding Fathers was an immediate sensation upon its 2015 debut, and it’s still going strong on Broadway with a new cast. If you can’t make it in person, Disney+ has a live recording of the production with the original cast, including Miranda.
WHERE: Richard Rodgers Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “Like any true landmark, ‘Hamilton’ stands up to repeated viewings. After six months, the show’s initial impact hasn’t dulled a bit; in fact, the qualities that made it so extraordinary the first time around are all the more striking.”
Manuel Harlan
SYNOPSIS: Based on an original story written by J.K Rowling, this adapted play takes place 19 years after the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.”
WHERE: Lyric Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “Best of all, there’s a set of bookcases in the Hogwarts library that keep swallowing and spitting out unwary readers. But for all its inventive stagecraft devices, the show has a plot that really works as an extension of the Potter saga.”
Courtesy of Joan Marcus
SYNOPSIS: King Mufasa, Simba, Scar and the rest of the animals from the Pride Lands of Africa.
WHERE: Minskoff Theatre
SYNOPSIS: Starring Tony-Winner James Monroe Iglehart (“Aladdin), this new musical “A Wonderful World,” looks back at the life of Jazz musician and trumpeter Louis Armstrong through the lens of his four wives. The show has been previously staged in Chicago, New Orleans and Miami before its New York debut.
CURTAIN UP: Previews begin October 16, 2024, and opening night is November 11, 2024
THEATER: Studio 54
Joan Marcus
SYNOPSIS: This hilarious, Tony-winning musical follows two Latter-day Saints missionaries as they attempt to preach the teachings of their religion to a the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village.
WHERE: Eugene O’Neill Theatre
VARIETY REVIEW: “The cast shows no evidence of being second tier, and production values are as lavish and performance style as crisp as at the show’s nativity. As long as you don’t go expecting the Second Coming, you’re unlikely to be let down by this breathlessly funny, solidly crafted musical satire.”
