The fall theater season in New York City is full of gems. From new Broadway productions like Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Purlie Victorious to long-running Off-Broadway hits like Little Shop of Horrors and Titanique, there is something onstage for everyone. Here, we are breaking down the top five most exciting new works coming to the Off-Broadway stage in the next couple of months!
Pal Joey
For one week only in November, New York City Center Encores! will present a reimagined take on the 1941 Rodgers & Hart musical as part of their annual gala. The musical is directed by Tony Goldwyn and Savion Glover, and stars Ephraim Sykes, Elizabeth Stanley, Aisha Jackson, Loretta Devine, Brooks Ashmanskas, and more. With an all-new book, jazzy arrangements of classics pulled from across the Rodgers & Hart catalog, and percussive tap choreography by the legendary Savion Glover, this one is not to be missed.
Photo by Chelcie Parry
Stereophonic
The latest play from David Adjmi is set entirely inside a recording studio, taking its inspiration from 1970s rock acts like Fleetwood Mac, where tempers, egos, and love affairs threaten to destroy, or maybe enhance, musical genius. The production features original music by Will Butler of the band Arcade Fire, and actors such as Will Brill and Juliana Canfield will be playing their musical instruments live on stage.
I Can Get It For You Wholesale
Classic Stage Company presents a revival of this rarely-seen musical about 1930s Jewish garment workers. In 1961 it gave Barbra Streisand her Broadway debut and her first Tony nom at age 19 for a featured role as a beleaguered secretary. Directed by Trip Cullman and with a revised book by John Weidman (Assassins, Pacific Overtures), the cast features Santina Fontana, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Julia Lester, Adam Chanler-Berat, Judy Kuhn, Sarah Steele, and Joy Woods.
Photo by Emilio Madrid
Here We Are
You can now see the final work of Stephen Sondheim onstage at The Shed. Information about the show remains sparse, but we know it’s based on two surrealist Luis Buñuel films that satirize the upper class. It features direction by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello and a murderer’s row of theater stars, including Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O’Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos.
Danny and the Deep Blue Sea
Aubrey Plaza is set to star in this new production of John Patrick Shanley’s 1984 romance, directed by Jeff Ward. The Parks& Recreation and White Lotus star makes her stage debut opposite Girls’ Christopher Abbott. Playing for 10 weeks only beginning October 30 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, rumor has it this won’t be the last we see of this production on the island of Manhattan…
Most of us know Ossie Davis as an actor and an activist. That is about to change with the opening tonight of his play “Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch”.
Perhaps best known for the work that inspired the popular musical “Purlie”, “Purlie Victorious” stands on its own as a major achievement. It is also a rediscovery, since it hasn’t been seen in a commercial production since 1961 when it opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre.
The plot may seem simplistic. Purlie has come home to Cotchipee County (locale: somewhere in the Deep, Deep South) to reclaim an inheritance owed to his family and purchase the church called Big Bethel. However, the machinations that involve this reclamation are anything but. And Davis’s sharp-witted script, embellished with delicious one-liners, is a comic feast of Machivellian twists and turns that result in one of the freshest and funniest play that that we’ve seen in years. The side-splitting shenanigans that transpire in the fast-paced 95 minutes are complemented by unexpected surprises. When Purlie welcomes his soon-to-be disciple Lutiebelle into his home, you think he will be effusively greeted by Aunt Missy, his sister-in-law. And that’s just when the fun begins, courtesy of the expert staging of Kenny Leon. Leon’s stagings of such powerhouse plays as “Fences,” “A Raisin in the Sun”, last season’s “TopDog UnderDog” and “Ohio State Murders” have cemented his reputation as one of our most accomplished directors. Hitherto, he’s not been able to establish his mark in comedy. That mark is made indelibly with this production. And what an ensemble has been assembled: Leslie Odom radiates charm, charisma and conviction as our protagonist who specializes in “white folk psychology”; Kara Young, nominated for back-to-back Tonys the past two seasons in “Clydes” and “The Cost of Living”, surprises as the most engaging comedienne Broadway has seen since Annaleigh Ashford captivated in “You Can’t Take It With You”; Bill Eugene Jones, seen earlier this season in “Fat Ham”, is uproarious as Gitlow, the “deputy for the colored”; Jay O. Sanders is bombastically hilarious as the Ol Cap’n, the symbol of the Old South; Noah Robbins, in the role that Alan Alda originated, is a wonderfully amusing antagonist to his father, the ol Cap’n; Vanessa Bell Colby’s “That’s the Biggest Lie Since the Devil Learned to Talk” line brings down the house with her exquisite comic timing and the sheriff and deputy of Bill Timoney and Noah Pyzik are goofily expert. It’s a terrific ensemble.
Derek McLane’s set transformation for the epilogue wins applause and it deserves to. And the epilogue itself is so memorable…combining ,as much as “Purlie Victorious” does, humor with power resulting in uplifting joyousness.
Verdict: You’ll have a great time. Purlie not only emerges Victorious but this is a triumphant return to Broadway of a wonderful play.
Already seen everything Broadway has to offer? Ahead of this year’s autumn equinox, here’s Broadway’s Best Shows’ picks for what you should catch around New York City this fall. These shows are currently running, and some only have a few performances left, so grab your tickets now!
Little Shop of Horrors
The long-running hit revival of Alan Menken & Howard Ashman’s horror-comedy-musical at the Westside Theatre is still going strong. With the introduction of new stars Corbin Bleu and Constance Wu as Seymour and Audrey, respectively, now is a great time to catch the show, or even return for a repeat viewing!
Photo by Ahron R. Foster.
Infinite Life
Atlantic Theatre Company presents Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker’s latest work, Infinite Life. The dramedy, which was extended through October 14, is set at a water-fasting retreat in Northern California where a group of women of a certain age are hoping to cure their bodily pains and disorders.
Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors
If you’re looking for a laugh that will also get you in the Halloween spirit, this monstrous farce now running at New World Stages ought to do the trick. In a fresh and sexy take on the classic vampiric tale, James Daly stars as the fabled foe alongside Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Jordan Boatman, Arnie Burton, and Ellen Harvey. The new play by Steve Rosen (The Other Josh Cohen) and Gordon Greenberg–who also directs–is now making its New York debut after regional productions at Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Florida, Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, and Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal.
Photo by Emilio Madrid.
Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Show
From the creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, this new musical comedy looks death squarely in the eye. Don’t let her “everybody pretend it’s 2019” top of show message fool you–Bloom brings her signature brand of intelligent, raunchy, thoughtful comedy to tackle pandemic grief and confusion. The strictly limited run ends September 30 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
Titanique
Céline Dion (as homaged by a roster of mostly former Elphabas) continues to sail through the story of the Titanic at the Daryl Roth Theatre! In this gay fantasia, which opened at Asylum NYC in June 2022 before moving to its current home, Céline uses her own discography to conjure her memory of the iconic ship, confusing fact with James Cameron’s fictional filmic telling.
(R-L) Brent Carver, Chita Rivera and Anthony Crivello in a scene from the Broadway production of the musical "Kiss Of The Spiderwoman".
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs September 15 to October 15, we’re taking a look at the history of Hispanic and Latinx theater artists on Broadway, both onstage and off, including some lesser-known projects beyond beloved hits like In The Heights and On Your Feet!
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Manuel Puig, a queer Argentinian writer and dissident, grew up obsessed with the glamor of Hollywood leading ladies. He turned these experiences into his 1976 novel El beso de la mujer araña, or The Kiss of the Spider Woman. Terrence McNally collaborated with Kander and Ebb to turn it into a dark, sensual musical set in an Argentine prison, with Latina trailblazer Chita Rivera as the fantastical Spiderwoman. It won 6 Tonys in 1994, and rumors continue to circulate about a possible revival.
A Chorus Line
You’re probably familiar with this 1975 mega-hit musical. You might not know how the show, with a cast reflecting the diversity of New York City, has important connections to the Latino community. Puerto Rican New Yorker Nicholas Dante co-wrote the book with James Kirkwood Jr., making him both the first Latino to write a Broadway musical and the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Fellow Nuyorican Priscilla Lopez was Tony-nominated for her role as Diana Morales. While there were many Latino dancers and performers in New York at the time, there were very few roles specifically written for them outside of West Side Story (and, a widespread practice of casting non-Latinos in that show, including in the 1961 movie.) Morales’ identity was prevalent in the storytelling (“hey, they don’t have bobsleds in San Juan”), but it was not her only character trait, and she wasn’t the sole Latinx person onstage. Equally groundbreaking was the character of Paul, a queer Puerto Rican who worked on Broadway and as a drag queen, closely based on Nicholas Dante’s own life.
The Film adaptation of Short Eyes.
Short Eyes
Premiering at the Vivian Beaumont in 1974, Short Eyes was the first Broadway play by a Latino playwright. An indictment of the racial injustices in New York’s prison system, it was written by Miguel Piñero during his sentence at Sing Sing. Joseph Papp shepherded the production first to the Public Theater and then to Broadway, where it was nominated for the Tony for Best Play.
Latin History for Morons
Colombian-American comedian and actor John Leguizamo turned his own frustrations and lack of knowledge of his own history into a one-man Broadway show, which premiered at the Public Theater downtown in 2017 before moving to Broadway. Sparked by his son getting bullied for being Latino, Leguizamo parses through forgotten history and unkind stereotypes to find role models and heroes. The show was also filmed as a Netflix special, and Leguisamo received a Special Tony Award.
Anna in the Tropics
Cuban-American Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece premiered on Broadway in 2003. The original production starred Jimmy Smits, Priscilla Lopez, and Daphne Ruben-Vega as workers in a cigar factory in Tampa. Smits’ character Juan Julian reads Anna Karenina to the workers as they roll cigars, and the drama of the novel bleeds into their own lives. It was also nominated for Best Play at the Tonys.
Zoot Suit
Starring Edward James Olmos, Zoot Suit was the first Latino-written and -directed musical on Broadway. The title refers to the wide-lapelled suits popular among young Chicanos in the 1940s. It had a wildly successful run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1979, where it told the true story of the World War II era L.A. Chicano community, including the famous ‘Zoot Suit’ riots of 1943. While its Broadway run in 1980 was short-lived, Olmos was nominated for his first Tony award for it.
This weekend we welcome the Jewish New Year and kick off the High Holiday season! In celebration, we are bringing you a list of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows that you can see this year featuring Jewish stories and themes. Here’s to a sweet year of theater-going ahead!
Harmony
This new musical from Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman premiered last season Off-Broadway at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s home theater in the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Now it’s getting its Broadway debut at the Barrymore Theatre this fall, with Broadway favorites Chip Zien and Sierra Boggess reprising their roles, and Julie Benko (of Fanny Brice standby fame) joining the cast! The show follows the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, a group of singers, some of them Jewish, as they rose to prominence and toured Europe during the rise of Nazism in the early 1930’s.
Prayer for the French Republic
Also a transfer from a successful Off-Broadway run, Prayer for the French Republic is playwright Joshua Harmon’s (Bad Jews, Significant Other) latest examination of modern Jewish themes. Manhattan Theatre Club presents the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre beginning in December 2023, with David Cromer back at the helm. The play covers several generations of a Jewish family in France, moving between two distinct eras of Jewish/French history in an exploration of everlasting antisemitism and questions of Jewish identity and its place in the world.
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
The story of the life and career of singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, famously a nice Jewish boy from Flatbush, is retold in this bio-musical using his own catalog of hits. Stereotypical parents, Yiddish slang, and reference to his Eastern European family’s “coming to America” give this Broadway musical a nice Jewish flair. Will Swenson plays the music icon, with Shirine Babb set to join the company in the role of Diamond’s psychiatrist, who helps him recount the story.
I Can Get It For You Wholesale
Classic Stage Company will present a revival of this 1962 musical Off-Broadway this Fall, with Santino Fontana, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Adam Chanler-Berat, Judy Kuhn, Joy Woods, and more in the cast. Set in 1930s New York, in the Jewish-dominated garment industry, nearly every character in the show is Jewish, and the score is inflected with klezmer melodies. Julia Lester plays Miss Marmelstein, the role in which Barbra Streisand made her Broadway debut!
As a follow-up to our pre-theater dinner recommendations, here are our recommendations for where to eat dinner before a Broadway show on the cheap. Our criteria: they must have entrees for under $20, a meal there can’t take longer than 30 minutes, and no national chains. (And we promise, we’d never send Broadway’s Best Shows readership to any establishment without an A from the Health Department.)
Everyone orders at the counter at this authentic and efficient taco spot, which also offers quesadillas and tostadas, which are open-faced tacos on a crunchy tortilla. They make the masa for the tortillas from scratch every day, and gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options abound for all preferences. Make sure to ask your server for “con todo,” so you get all the toppings– guacamole is no extra charge.
Lucky’s has been a Hell’s Kitchen institution since 2005, arguably even essential infrastructure – they’re open until 4:30 in the morning on Friday and Saturday nights. They offer the menu of a big fast food chain even though 52nd street is their sole location, and you can order combos like the #1, a burger with fries and a drink.
This outpost of the legendary Chinatown noodle shop features the same menu, with its signature options for noodle thickness and shape– it’s in the name, they really do pull the noodles fresh by hand for each order. Unlike the downtown location, the Hell’s Kitchen shop accepts credit cards!
Designed to look like a 1950’s burger counter, Lovely’s opened in early 2023. The Charlotte’s Special cheeseburger with special sauce is just $8.50. They’re open until 1 am on weekends, and while they don’t sell milkshakes, they do offer a killer chocolate pistachio Bundt cake.
There are a million slice counters in Midtown, but Capizzi offers something a bit more elevated– every pie is made from scratch, and is personal-pizza sized. It’s very quick and unpretentious, so you can avoid the line over on 40th street at Joe’s and try something new, like a white artichoke pie, or an egg, pancetta, and provolone pie.
When Hamilton opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in the summer of 2015 it set Broadway ablaze, triggering a cultural phenomenon not seen in the theater for quite some time before then (or since). Given the musical’s zeitgeisty success, it also skyrocketed the profiles of its leading players, many of whom have launched top-notch careers in the years since, both on and off the stage. Here’s our recap of what those original cast members have been up to since starring in Hamilton, one of Broadway’s Best Shows.
Photo by Marc J. Franklin
Lin-Manuel Miranda
The Pulitzer and Tony-winning writer-star of Hamilton has been exceptionally busy since departing the Broadway cast of his hit show. Miranda has lent his talents to several film & TV projects, both on and off screen, having written songs for Moana, Mary Poppins Returns, Vivo, Encanto, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, 2023’s The Little Mermaid remake, and more! He made his feature film directorial debut with Tick, Tick… Boom!, the adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s rock monologue musical.He also appeared onscreen in the Mary Poppins sequel, His Dark Materials, as well as in guest appearances on several long-running TV series. The proshot of Hamilton landed on Disney+ in 2020, featuring the full original cast, and his first Broadway musical, In the Heights, was adapted into a film in 2021 (he even made a cameo appearance!). His freestyle group, Freestyle Love Supreme, had a Broadway run at the Booth Theatre, for which he made multiple guest appearances. He made his Broadway writing return in the spring of 2022, contributing additional for the musical New York, New York, alongside iconic composer John Kander, based on the songs of Kander and his longtime collaborator Fred Ebb.
Leslie Odom, Jr.
Leslie’s star has been on the rise in the years since Hamilton, appearing in several films including Knives Out: Glass Onion, One Night in Miami (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), and the upcoming reboot of The Exorcist. He has also made television appearances in hit shows Central Park, Abbott Elementary, and more! Six years later, he has made his grand return to Broadway in the titular role of the first ever Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by Ossie Davis.
Phillipa Soo
After making her Broadway debut as Eliza in the original Broadway cast, Soo has appeared in four Broadway productions, including the play The Parisian Woman, and musicals Amélie, Into the Woods, and most recently, Camelot. She has also appeared onscreen recently in TV series Dopesick and Shining Girls.
Girls5Eva.
Renée Elise Goldsberry
Goldsberry has not yet made a Broadway return since playing Angelica in Hamilton, but appeared on the New York stage in the summer of 2023 leading the Public Theater’s musical adaptation of The Tempest at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. She has also starred in several television series, including Peacock’s Girls5Eva, and Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Wonder.
Daveed Diggs
The actor, rapper, writer, and producer has also been busy since his Hamilton days, appearing in films like Wonder, Ferdinand, The Little Mermaid, Soul, and Blindspotting (which he also wrote alongside collaborator Rafael Casal). He has also had recurring roles in Apple TV+’s Central Park, Netflix’s The Get Down, TNT’s Snowpiercer, and ABC’s Black-Ish, among cameos and guest spots on several series.
Anthony Ramos
Ramos led the 2021 adaptation of In the Heights as Usnavi, appeared as Lady Gaga’s best friend in A Star is Born, and has since become the face of the blockbuster Transformers franchise, starring in its latest installment, Rise of the Beasts. Also a burgeoning recording artist, Ramos has released two albums, and a slew of singles in the years since his Broadway run.
Photo by Emilio Madrid.
Okieriete Onaodowan
“Oak” has been on Broadway twice since Hamilton, with a brief run as Pierre in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, and more recently, a supporting role in the 2023 revival of A Doll’s House alongside Jessica Chastain under his belt. Onscreen, he is a lead of the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off series Station 19, and appears in the fourth season of Amazon Prime’s action series Jack Ryan.
Photo by Jose Corella.
Jasmine Cephas-Jones
Cephas-Jones has mostly turned her attention to film and television, appearing with her Hamilton co-star Daveed Diggs in his film Blindspotting, and in the television series based on the film. She also appeared in Marriage Story, Mrs. Fletcher, and #Freerayshawn, for which she won an Emmy in 2020. As a recording artist, she released her EP Blue Bird in 2020. She will next be seen in Ava DuVernay’s upcoming film Origin, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews in September 2023. A wide release date has not been set.
Spring Awakening Reunion Concert. Photo by Sarah Shatz.
Jonathan Groff
Groff returns to Broadway in fall 2023 in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along, opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez. Immediately post-Hamilton, he starred in David Fincher’s Netflix series Mindhunter for two seasons. He returned to voice Kristoff in 2019’s Frozen 2, and played one of the villains in 2021’s The Matrix: Resurrections. On the stage, he was the original Seymour in the still-running 2019 revival of Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway.
Photo by Kevin Mazur.
Ariana DeBose
DeBose appeared in the ensemble of Hamilton as “The Bullet,” the dance soloist during the duel scenes. She graduated to Broadway principal status in 2018’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, but her huge break came when Steven Spielberg cast her as Anita in his West Side Story redux. She became the second Latina ever to win an acting Oscar in 2022 for that role, and hosted the Tony Awards in 2022 and 2023. She also voices the main character in Disney’s animated 2023 film Wish, and will appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film in 2024.
As Labor Day approaches, when we acknowledge and honor organized labor’s contributions to this country, Broadway’s Best Shows is looking back at stories of the labor movement onstage, of which there are many. Perhaps it’s only natural that Broadway feature union stories, since so much of the industry is unionized – actors and stage managers, directors, designers, and stagehands each have their own unions. And what could be more dramatic than a union showdown? It’s ample fodder for storytelling, given its high stakes and everyman heroes.
Newsies
“Now is the time to seize the day…” In 2012, Alan Menken turned his Disney movie about the newsboy’s strike of 1899 into a stage musical. Its young, energetic cast performed high-flying choreography from Christopher Gatelli, and it turned Jeremy Jordan into a star. It developed a passionate fanbase, which meant thousands of teenage girls now know about the union-busting tactics of William Randolph Hearst. The rousing songs, particularly “Seize the Day,” have even been sung on the picket lines for the 2023 Writer’s Guild strike.
Waiting for Lefty
A parable about workers on the verge of strike that captured the anger and anxiety of workers during the Depression, Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets is one of the most important plays of the 20th century. It had a ripped-from-the-headlines immediacy, as New Yorkers were still processing the 1934 taxicab drivers’ strike, the ensuing rioting, and Mayor LaGuardia’s staunchly pro-labor position. It premiered at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre in 1935. Odets directed the production, and performed in the role of Dr. Benjamin. While Odets’ other plays Awake and Sing, Golden Boy, and Country Girl have each been revived multiple times on Broadway, Waiting for Lefty was performed at hundreds of theaters across America during the Depression, but has not yet been revived for Broadway.
Source: New York Public Library
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It For You Wholesale is a fascinating text about intracommunity conflict and labor actions by garment workers in Depression era New York. The plot kicks off when protagonist Harry Bogen tries to scab around striking workers. Streisand stole the show as Harry’s overworked receptionist Miss Marmelstein. I Can Get It For You Wholesale will be produced in New York in fall 2023, directed by Trip Cullman downtown at Classic Stage Company and starring a stacked cast, including Santino Fontana, Judy Kuhn, Joy Woods, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Sarah Steele, and Adam Chanler Berat, with Julia Lester as Miss Marmelstein.
The Pajama Game
This classic Golden Age musical takes a lighthearted look at unionized garment workers in Iowa. Its central romance is two star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of a strike–the head of the Union Grievance Committee, Babe Williams, and Sid Sorokin, the new management. The show is notable for being Bob Fosse’s choreography debut. His legendary choreography for “Steam Heat” takes place at the Union rally!
Ragtime
Ahrens’ and Flaherty’s 1997 historical-fiction musical, with a book by Terrence McNally adapting E.L. Doctorow’s novel, touches on nearly every hot button issue in America–racism, sexism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant hatred, and religious tension–and through its sweeping scale, demonstrates how these different issues are connected, and how the political debates and social problems of 1900 connect to today. Audience members are often surprised by the world of 1900s New York the show portrays, especially the militant, mobilized, and very large labor union movement. Two of the show’s protagonists, wealthy Mother’s Younger Brother and impoverished Jewish immigrant Tateh, have their lives turned upside down by strikes and radical ideas, personified in the show by radical anarchist Emma Goldman.
Broadway’s clearest indicator of notoriety is the Tony Awards. The annual ceremony has been celebrating excellence in New York theater since 1947 and has made actors, creators, and shows themselves become household names.
In our list, we’ll be listing which Broadway shows have won the most Tony Awards for a single production, though we’re giving shout-outs to Cabaret, Death of a Salesman, and La Cage Aux Folles as each has collected an impressive number of awards over their multiple productions throughout the years. So if awards mean the best Broadway shows to you, then see below.
Photo by Paul Kolnik
The Producers by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
It may come as a surprise but the record for most Tony wins by a single production was set over 20 years ago.
Back in 2001, Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan brought their hilarious 1967 film, The Producers, to the stage. The meta-musical about a pair of money-hungry Broadway producers who want to purposefully put on the worst show possible to fraudulently make money wowed audiences and critics. Nathan Lane starred alongside Matthew Broderick (both of whom would go on to star in the 2005 film adaptation) with Nathan Lane winning the coveted Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award.
Nathan Lane’s award is just one win of a whopping 12 as The Producers won in every single category it was nominated in, losing out only when multiple actors were nominated for the same award.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda
You’d be forgiven if you believed Hamilton was top of the list when it comes to wins as it holds the record for most Tony Award nominations for a single production. Back in 2016, Hamilton was nominated for a staggering 16 awards in 13 categories. It was believed that it would equal or surpass The Producers as the Broadway show with the most Tony wins, but alas, it came home with 11. Wins include Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Costume Design in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
Though Lin-Manuel Miranda lost the Best Actor in a Musical award to cast-mate Leslie Odom Jr., he still won two awards – one for Best Original Score and one for Best Book of a Musical.
Photo by David Schneimann
Billy Elliot by Elton John and Lee Hall
After the surprise run-away success of the independent film and considering its subject matter, it was no surprise when a stage adaptation of Billy Elliot hit the West End in 2006. Two years later, Billy Elliot the Musical came to Broadway sealing its status as “a global theatrical phenomenon” (Los Angeles Times).
In 2009, Billy Elliot the Musical was nominated for 15 awards (the same number of nominations as The Producers received) and won 11. The most notable award was that of Best Actor in a Musical as the three young actors – David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish – who shared the role of Billy shared a single nomination and win.
Photo by Joan Marcus
South Pacific by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan
If you were going to use cumulative Tony Award wins as a metric, South Pacific would be at the absolute top of the list.
During its first Broadway production in 1950, the Rodgers and Hammerstein masterpiece firmly cemented its place in Broadway history as one of the greatest musicals of all time. Not only did it win over audiences and critics, it also won every single Tony Award it was nominated for and a Pulitzer. In fact, it’s still the only production in history to win all four of the acting awards in the same year.
Since its premiere, there have been productions of South Pacific all over the world including multiple Broadway revivals each garnering praise and accolades in their own right. Its 2008 Broadway revival won seven further Tony Awards bringing the show’s cumulative total to an unbelievable 17.
Photo by Friedman-Abeles
Fiddler On The Roof by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein
Almost 60 years ago, Fiddler on the Roof took Broadway by storm. When it first opened in 1964, the now-classic musical wowed audiences and became the first Broadway musical to run for more than 3,000 shows. In fact, the original production won nine Tony Awards in 1965 and then received a special Tony Award in 1972 for the longest-running Musical in Broadway History bringing the total to 10.
Since its initial run, Fiddler on the Roof has had five revivals but has only received one further Tony Award.
Other shows that have been awarded 10 Tony Awards for a single production include David Yazbek’s The Band’s Visit and John Logan’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
Whether it’s long-standing shows or a limited-run production, Broadway offers the best theater New York – and the world – has to offer. With over 40 theaters and a never-ending list of shows coming and going, it’s often hard to choose what to see. So, we’re going to give you our best Broadway shows for 2023.
Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell
Greek myth is all the rage at the moment and Hadestown has added fuel to that hellfire. The musical based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice had a long road to Broadway but now it’s here, we don’t know what we would have done without it.
After workshops that started back in 2006, Hadestown finally landed a run on Broadway in 2019. It was an instant hit and garnered 14 Tony Award nominations of which it won eight.
The modern retelling of the ancient myth shows a young woman who chooses to sell her soul to Hades in a bid to ease her suffering. However, she is soon forced to work in his factory and her lover, a wannabe musician, attempts to save her from her miserable fate all set to an incredible soundtrack.
Currently playing at Walter Kerr Theater.
Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori
This year’s Best Musical winner at the Tony Awards, Kimberly Akimbo, is a touching and joyful show centring Kimberly Levaco – a 16-year-old high schooler who suffers from an incredibly rare condition that makes her age rapidly – played by 63-year-old Victoria Clark.
The show, based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play of the same name, is a clever and darkly absurd comedy about a teenager dying of old age. It’s set to a playful and uplifting score from Caroline, Or Change’s Jeanine Tesori and it’ll leave you with a newfound verve for life.
Currently playing at Booth Theater.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical by John Logan
This red-hot stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s film of the same name enchanted audiences when it opened in June 2019. Even COVID-19 couldn’t slow down its momentum. After nine months of packed audiences and rave reviews, Moulin Rouge! The Musical was forced to close due to multiple cast members contracting the virus. They hoped to reopen a few weeks later but a few weeks turned into over a year when the whole of Broadway went dark. When doors reopened, audiences flocked to the windmill for the extravagant show and they weren’t disappointed.
Winning 10 Tony Awards – including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (for Aaron Tveit) and Best Choreography – this tragic, brash, raunchy love story is filled with glitter and heart.
Currently playing at Al Hirschfeld Theater.
The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker and Matt Stone
You won’t know whether to laugh, cringe, or sing along with this dark satire that’s been winning over audiences since 2011. The Book of Mormon follows two young Mormon missionaries who are sent to Uganda to recruit local people to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Once there, they’re made to face the realities of the world and the inconceivable hardships people have to undertake resulting in their faith being rocked.
From the creators of South Park, this tongue-in-cheek, outrageous, incredibly dark comedy musical makes social commentary no one thought possible (or appropriate) to make. But with nine Tony Awards under its belt and a run that looks infinite, it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser.
Currently playing at Eugene O’Neill Theater.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
If A-listers are the name of your game, you’ll lose your head if you miss this killer revival.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is arguably one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. Written by the late-great Stephen Sondheim, it features his signature and irreplaceable sound along with a true crime story you won’t be able to resist.
The current revival has won praise from all, with much of that admiration going to the show’s stars Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, Jordan Fisher, and Gaten Matarazzo.
