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Broadway’s Best Shows’ Best Shows of 2024

As we at Broadway’s Best Shows celebrate the start of another wonderful year of theater, we want to take a moment to reflect on some of the Best Shows of 2024. So without further ado, here is Broadway’s Best Shows’ Best Shows of 2024 (in alphabetical order)…

All In

A series of hilarious short stories written by Simon Rich, performed by a rotating cast of some of the funniest people in show biz, with direction from Alex Timbers, and you get a wonderful evening of theater. Playing through February 16th at the Hudson Theatre.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

One of the hottest tickets of the summer was the radically reimagined production of one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most famous works at PAC NYC. Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch’s retelling of Cats within the context of ballroom culture was a revelation and has a well-deserved spot on this list.

Elf the Musical

The musical adaptation of the beloved movie played a limited engagement on Broadway through the holidays. The high energy, hilarious musical comedy with a delectable score from Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin was a festive standout of the year. 

Mary Jane

MTC’s production of Mary Jane was a standout of the 2023-2024 season. With seamless direction by Anne Kauffman, Rachel McAdams gave one of the most emotional stirring performances of the year in her Broadway debut.

Maybe Happy Ending

The new musical that is taking Broadway by storm. Will Aronson and Hue Park’s Robot Romcom Adventure opened in November to resounding critical acclaim. Expertly directed by Tony Award winner Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending perfectly balances humor and heart in a way few Pixar movies even achieve.

Oh, Mary!

The new comedy from Cole Escola broke the box-office record in its first full week at the Lyceum theater. The hilarious, entirely fictional, portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln as a wannabe cabaret star was one of the funniest performances of the year and remains one of the hottest tickets of the season.

Our Town

From Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, the revival of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play that played at the Barrymore Theatre was a masterful reimagining of a timeless classic. With Jim Parsons as the iconic Stage Manager, the cast of 28 also featured Katie Holmes, Zoey Deutch, Billy Eugene Jones, Ephraim Sykes, Richard Thomas, Michelle Wilson, and more.

Table 17

The new play from playwright Douglas Lyons kicked off MCC’s 2024-2025 season.  Starring Tony Award winner Kara Young, the romantic comedy about two exes reflecting on their relationship over drinks was the perfect addition to a stacked year of Off-Broadway plays.

The Outsiders

Dark, gritty, and full of gravel, the musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age novel is the reigning winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical. Directed by Danya Taymor, who won the Tony for Best Direction of Musical, The Outsiders is intimate and yet larger than life.

Ragtime

New York City Center’s production of the Flaherty & Ahrens musical as part of their Encores! Series was a resounding success, masterfully balancing the massive ensemble and orchestra, which created the most beautiful wall of sound emanating from the stage.

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Broadway's Best

Broadway’s Best Debuts this Season

There is an undeniable energy in the theater when a performer is making their Broadway debut. Something about witnessing a hardworking artist achieve their dream and do their thing on such a coveted stage is unlike anything else. Broadway is lucky enough to welcome new entrants to the roster of performers’ past and present every season. Here are some of the most exciting new performers to grace the stage in the 2024-2025 Broadway season!

Helen J Shen

Maybe Happy Ending, the brand new musical about Helperbots in love, also introduced audiences to newcomer Helen J Shen, who plays Claire. Shen’s crystal clear vocals and emotional range made her a breakout star of the season, after years of developing and performing new musicals Off-Broadway.

George Clooney

Hollywood man George Clooney is set to make his debut this year in a peculiar fashion. Clooney will reprise his screen role as Walter Cronkite in a stage adaptation of the 2005 film Goodnight and Good Luck, which he wrote, directed and starred in.

Charli D’Amelio

TikTok breakout star Charli D’Amelio brought her dance skills to the dance-heavy hit & Juliet this fall! 

Dez Duron

Fans of The Voice season 1 saw it first, but Broadway has welcomed Dez Duron’s classy crooning by way of Gil Brentley, his character in Maybe Happy Ending. His buttery voice on those jazzy tunes will have any theatergoer swooning.

Zoey Deutch

Known previously for her onscreen work, Zoey Deutch brought her rom-com know-how to the stage as Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. She fulfilled a lifelong dream by being on a Broadway stage, and particularly in this role in this play, which has been on her bedside table since her early teenagedom. 

Lizzy McAlpine

Popstar Lizzy McAlpine will join Jeremy Jordan in the upcoming production of Floyd Collins, fulfilling a prophecy that she tweeted years ago about performing alongside him one day.

Sarah Snook

Succession’s Sarah Snook will follow her onscreen siblings to the Broadway stage this spring, transferring her one-woman adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Grey following its smash success in the UK and Australia.

Bill Burr

Rolling Stone named him one of the 50 Best Standup Comics of All Time, and now he has his sights on the Broadway boards. Bill Burr is set to star as Dave Moss in the revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross.

The cast of English

After its Pulitzer Prize-winning premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company, the full Off-Broadway cast of English will transfer to Broadway, all making their Broadway debuts together.

Michelle Williams

Kicking off the Destiny’s Child to Broadway pipeline is Michelle Williams, who stars in Death Becomes Her this season. Maybe Beyonce is next?