Romeo and Juliet (c) Emilio Madrid
The 2024 Broadway fall season has some promising shows lined up with a starry roster of actors (Robert Downey Jr., Audra McDonald, Jim Parsons, Mia Farrow, Nicole Scherzinger) and intriguing new plays, musicals and revivals by The Avett Brothers, David Henry Hwang, Elton John and Jake Shears, Leslye Headland, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Thornton Wilder and yes, William Shakespeare. Get your credit cards ready.
Go.
The Interested Bystander's Most Anticipated Broadway Shows
Yellow Face (c) Marcus Middleton
YELLOW FACE
Opening: October 1
Theater: Todd Haimes Theatre
David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) will make his Roundabout debut with the Broadway premiere of Yellow Face, his hilarious is-he-or-isn’t-he comedy of identity, show business, and (perhaps) autobiography. Starring Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet). Inspired by real events, the playwright’s fictionalized doppelgänger protests yellowface casting in Miss Saigon, only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play. This Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer finalist play is a laugh-out-loud farce about the complexities of race.
GYPSY
Opening: December 19
Theater: Majestic Theatre
6-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald plays the mother of all roles in a revelatory new production of Gypsy, helmed by Tony Award-winning visionary director George C. Wolfe, and choreographed by Tony Award-nominated Camille A. Brown.
Sunset Blvd (c) Marc Brenner
SUNSET BLVD.
Opening: October 20
Theater: St. James Theatre
Haunted by her memories and dreams, movie star Norma Desmond yearns to return to the big screen. A struggling screenwriter who can’t sell his scripts to the Hollywood studios may be her only hope, until their dangerous and captivating relationship leads to disaster. Drenched in champagne and cynicism, Sunset Blvd. focuses the lens on the ambitions and frustrations of its characters and puts their intoxicating need for fame and adoration in stark close-up. Nicole Scherzinger stars as the immortal Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary Sunset Blvd., reimagined by visionary director Jamie Lloyd.
ROMEO AND JULIET
Opening: October 24
Theater: Circle in the Square Theatre
The Youth Are Fucked: Left to their own devices in their parents’ world of violent ends, an impulsive pair of star-crossed lovers hurtle towards their inescapable fate. The intoxicating high of passion quickly descends into a brutal chaos that can only end one way. Emmy Award winner Kit Connor (Heartstopper) and Golden Globe Award winner Rachel Zegler (Spielberg’s West Side Story) star as Romeo and Juliet in Tony Award-winning director Sam Gold’s (An Enemy of the People) visceral and visionary production. Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy now belongs to a new generation on the edge.
The Rest:
Cult of Love (c) 2nd Stage
CULT OF LOVE
Opening: December 12
Theater: Helen Hayes Theatre
It’s the holiday season for the Dahl family! The four adult children return to their childhood home with partners in tow. The Dahl traditions include singing carols in harmony at the drop of a hat, but the gathering is anything but harmonious. Old conflicts resurface, new issues battled, and dinner is taking absolutely forever to be served. Will the love the Dahls have for each other be enough to get them through, or will this be their last Christmas together? Emmy Award nominee Leslye Headland (Star Wars: The Acolyte) has written an equally heartwarming and heartbreaking new play about the things that bind families together... or tear them apart.
EUREKA DAY
Opening: December 16
Theater: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Wildly relevant and bitingly funny, Jonathan Spector’s play comes to Manhattan Theatre Club in an all-new production following an acclaimed London run. Eureka Day is a private California elementary school with a Board of Directors that values inclusion above all else—that is, until an outbreak of the mumps forces everyone in the community to reconsider the school’s liberal vaccine policy. As cases rise, the board realizes with horror that they’ve got to do what they swore they never would: make a choice that won’t please absolutely everybody.
Death Becomes Her (c) Death Becomes Her
DEATH BECOMES HER
Opening: November 21
Theater: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Madeline Ashton is the most beautiful actress (just ask her) ever to grace the stage and screen. Helen Sharp is the long-suffering author (just ask her) who lives in her shadow. They have always been the best of frenemies…until Madeline steals Helen’s fiancé away. As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for. Starring Tony Award nominees Megan Hilty (Smash), Jennifer Simard (Company), and Christopher Sieber (Spamalot), with Grammy Award winner Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child), Death Becomes Her, based on the classic 1992 film, is a drop-dead hilarious new musical comedy about friendship, love, and burying the hatchet…again, and again, and again.
THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA
Opening: September 29
Theater: Broadhurst Theatre
In the sweltering heat of a 1970s summer, the Webb sisters return to their childhood home in Blackpool, an English seaside town, where their mother Veronica lies dying upstairs. Gloria and Ruby now have families of their own. Jill never left. And Joan? No one’s heard from her in twenty years… but Jill insists that their mother’s favorite won’t let them down this time. The run-down Sea View Guest House is haunted by bittersweet memories of amusement park rides and overdue bills. Back in the 1950s, each night the four young sisters rehearse their singing act, managed by their fiercely loving single mom. But when a record producer offers a shot at fame and a chance to escape, it will cost them all dearly. Written by Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem) and directed by Sam Mendes.
Left on Tenth (c) Left on Tenth
LEFT ON TENTH
Opening: October 23
Theater: James Earl Jones Theatre
When she least expects it, Delia, beloved novelist and screenwriter of You’ve Got Mail, makes a surprising connection with a man from her past and falls into her own romantic comedy—complete with entertaining mishaps, unexpected sparks and plenty of plot twists. Left on Tenth is the wonderfully hopeful true story of a woman bravely facing the comically complicated world of dating later in life and how to laugh along the way at the left turns love throws at us all. Written by Delia Ephron, based on her bestselling memoir, this warm and witty new play is directed by five-time Tony Award® winner Susan Stroman and stars Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie), Peter Francis James (Funny Girl) and Kate MacCluggage (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret).
MAYBE HAPPY ENDING
Opening: November 12
Theater: Belasco Theatre
Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver (Darren Criss) lives a happily quiet life, listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a Helperbot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow Helperbot neighbor Claire (Helen J Shen) asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure, and maybe even…love? Helmed by visionary director and Tony Award winner Michael Arden (Parade), with a dazzling scenic design by Dane Laffrey (A Christmas Carol) and book, music, and lyrics by the internationally acclaimed duo Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending is a fresh, original musical about the small things that make any life worth living.
McNeal (c) Lincoln Center Theater
MCNEAL
Opening: September 30, 2024
Theater: Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Jacob McNeal (Academy Award winner Robert Downey Jr.) is a great writer, one of our greatest, a perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. But McNeal also has an estranged son, a new novel, old axes to grind and an unhealthy fascination with Artificial Intelligence. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s new play is a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity – and increasing inhumanity – of the stories we tell. Directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher.
OUR TOWN
Opening: October 10
Theater: Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Starring four-time Emmy Award winner Jim Parsons, Our Town returns to Broadway for the first time in over 20 years. Thornton Wilder‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic will shine in a momentous new production, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (Topdog/Underdog), this is an Our Town for our time. In Wilder’s timeless tale of a small town, a stage manager narrates the daily lives of its locals, depicts a childhood friendship turn into marriage, and sets the stage for magnificent truths of what it means to be alive.
The Roommate (c) Julieta Cervantes
THE ROOMMATE
Opening: September 12
Theater: Booth Theatre
See Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone prove that being bad can be so much fun. Sharon (Farrow) has never had a roommate before. But after her divorce, she needs a housemate to pay the bills. That’s when Robyn (LuPone) arrives. The Roommate by Jen Silverman is about an unexpected, life-changing friendship that’s both funny and deeply moving, between two very different middle-aged women as they navigate the complexities of identity, morality, and the dream of reinvention.
Swept Away (c) Giles Clement
SWEPT AWAY
Opening: November 19
Theater: Longacre Theatre
From the chart-topping folk-rock band The Avett Brothers comes a musical of shipwreck, salvation and brotherhood set on the high seas. Swept Away features a book by Tony Award winner John Logan (Red), direction by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (American Idiot), and choreography by Tony Award nominee David Neumann (Hadestown) and stars John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening), Stark Sands (Kinky Boots), Adrian Blake Enscoe (Dickinson), and Wayne Duvall (O Brother, Where Art Thou?).
TAMMY FAYE
Opening: November 14
Theater: Palace Theatre
It’s the 1970s. As satellites broadcast brand-new cable programming into American homes, millions fall in love with Tammy Faye Bakker – the charismatic wife of pastor Jim Bakker. Together, they build a nationwide congregation that puts the fun back into faith. But, even as Tammy dazzles on screen, jealous rivals plot behind the scenes, threatened by her determination to lead with love. Wrapped in a joyful and deliriously fun score that could only come from Elton John, with lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, a book by Olivier Award-winning playwright James Graham, and directed by Olivier Award winner Rupert Goold, Tammy Faye shines a sparkling light on the generous, loving, often lonely soul behind the illustrious lashes. Reprising her celebrated West End performance, the divine cast is led by two-time Olivier Award winner Katie Brayben as Tammy Faye, two-time Tony Award winner Christian Borle, and Two-Time Tony Award Winner Michael Cerveris.
A WONDERFUL WORLD
Opening: November 11
Theatre: Studio 54
Join Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart and a talented ensemble cast as they bring Louis Armstrong’s incredible journey to life, from New Orleans to worldwide fame. This full-scale musical features a rich tapestry of characters, including the extraordinary women who helped shape his remarkable life and career. Be captivated by Armstrong’s timeless hits like “What a Wonderful World” and “When You're Smiling,” performed by a large, dynamic cast. Don’t miss this spectacular celebration of music, filled with vibrant dance numbers, stunning sets, and unforgettable performances.
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