PigPen Theatre Co. – Broadway's Best Shows

Broadway’s Best Guide to Spring 2024

It is an absolutely packed spring ahead on Broadway, with 18 new plays and musicals set to open in March and April ahead of the cutoff date for this year’s Tony Awards!

Here is Broadway’s best guide to all the first previews, opening nights, and closing nights in the near term:

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Water for Elephants

Where: Imperial Theatre

Opening: March 21

This circus-centric musical, based on the best-selling novel, combines emotional highs and lows of musical theater with the literal highs and lows of trapeze and aerial stunts. Starring Grant Gustin and Isabella McCalla, with direction by Jessica Stone and music by PigPen Theatre Co. For more information, click here.

The Who’s Tommy

Where: Nederlander Theatre

Opening: March 28

The rock opera that changed music history. The Who’s Tommy arrives on Broadway, pushing the boundaries of musical theater to the tunes of ‘Pinball Wizard,’ ‘Amazing Journey,’ and more iconic classic rock. For more information, click here.

The Outsiders

Where: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

Opening: April 11

The all-American tale comes to the stage. Set in 1967 Tulsa, this thrilling musical portrays the battle between the Greasers and the affluent Socs. A story of friendship, family, and self-discovery, with a Roots Rock-infused score by Jamestown Revival. For more information, click here.

Lempicka

Where: Longacre Theatre

Opening: April 14

A sweeping musical portrait of Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka, who changed art and culture forever. Directed by Tony winner Rachel Chavkin and starring Eden Espinosa as the title artist. For more information, click here.

The Wiz

Where: Marquis Theatre

Opening: April 17

A reimagined version of the beloved musical, following Dorothy’s journey through Oz. Soulful music, vibrant characters, and a fresh twist on a classic tale starring Wayne Brady and Nichelle Lewis. For more information, click here.

Suffs

Where: Music Box Theatre

Opening: April 18

A captivating exploration of the women’s suffrage movement, set against a backdrop of courage and determination. Written by and starring Shaina Taub, this historical retelling is transferring to Broadway following its sold-out run at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater (sounds familiar…). For more information, click here.

Stereophonic

Where: John Golden Theatre

Opening: April 19

Closing: July 7

Blending song and story in a totally new way, Stereophonic by David Adjmi chronicles the making of our central band’s new album. Very Fleetwood Mac/Daisy Jones & The Six-coded, the play is every music lover’s dream. A limited engagement, so catch it while you can! For more information, click here.

Hell’s Kitchen

Where: Shubert Theatre

Opening: April 20

A gritty, intense semi-autobiographical musical set in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, written by one of our biggest pop stars. Exploring loyalty, betrayal, and survival, Alicia Keys combines her hits with new music to tell her own story, in her own words. For more information, click here.

Cabaret

Where: August Wilson Theatre

Opening: April 21

The iconic Kander & Ebb musical set in pre-World War II Berlin, featuring memorable songs and captivating characters, is back on Broadway ten years after its latest revival. Starring Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee reviving the role following its run across the pond, Gayle Rakin joins as Sally Bowles for the Broadway transfer. For more information, click here.

The Heart of Rock and Roll

Where: James Earl Jones Theatre

Opening: April 22

A high-energy celebration of rock music, love, and chasing dreams, this brand new musical features the music of Huey Lewis and the News. For more information, click here.

Patriots

Where: Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Opening: April 22

Closing: June 23

Set in post-Soviet Russia, this history play portrays the power struggle between billionaire Boris Berezovsky and the rising politician Vladimir Putin. Tony and Emmy Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Berezovsky, with direction by Rupert Goold. For more information, click here.

Mary Jane

Where: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Opening: April 23

Closing: June 2

Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams leads this compassionate story of a single mother facing impossible family circumstances. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog, it explores inner strength, friendship, and unflagging optimism. For more information, click here.

Uncle Vanya

Where: Vivian Beaumont Theater

Opening: April 24

Closing: June 16

Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece comes back to life in this new adaptation from Heidi Schreck, starring Steve Carrell alongside a who’s who of top-notch Broadway talent. It delves into unrequited love, aging, and disappointment. For more information, click here.

The Great Gatsby

Where: Broadway Theatre

Opening: April 25

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, this new musical features music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, and stars Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada. Follow the impassioned tale of eccentric millionaire Jay Gatsby and his tragic pursuit of Daisy Buchanan. For more information, click here.

Mother Play

Where: Hayes Theater

Opening: April 25

Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel brings her latest to Broadway in a new production for the non-profit Second Stage. The memory play stars Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, and Celia Keenan-Bolger for this limited run. For more information, click here.

Freedom and Flight: Spotlighting the Work of Water for Elephants Circus Designer Shana Carroll

by Ben Togut

Through her work as a circus designer, Shana Carroll strives to tell deeply human stories. When she was approached to collaborate on Water for Elephants, Carroll jumped at the chance, embracing the opportunity to accomplish meaningful storytelling using the visual language of circus.

“I felt like there was potential to have deep and powerful work with circus language,” Carroll said. “Partly because of the story, but also because of the composing team [PigPen Theatre Co.]. They also have a grit and a depth and a humanity to their work [that] I felt was similar to how I approach the circus and my work.”

The depth and humanity of circus are the reasons why Carroll was drawn to the art form in the first place. She recalls the moment she fell in love with the circus—newly eighteen, stepping into the old church where the Pickle Family Circus rehearsed, transfixed by the aerialists that dangled before her.

“I walked in and saw the trapeze artists 10 feet from me,” Shana said. “Seeing it so close up and seeing them with training clothes and messy hair, I suddenly saw the human being inside of it and just how moving and beautiful it was and how real it was. In theatre, we’re always trying to find metaphors for freedom and flight or stakes, and these were like very real stakes and very real feelings of freedom and flight.”

From then on, Carroll decided to devote her life to becoming a trapeze artist. She attended circus school in Montreal and was later involved with the Cirque du Soleil show Saltimbanco. While performing as a trapeze artist, Carroll was deeply involved with directing and coming up with new acts. Soon after founding the circus collective The Seven Fingers in 2002, Carroll shifted focus, committing herself to directing and choreographing full-time.

“I really just got so much more out of being able to work with other people and watch their progress and try to find the artist in them and the brilliance in them and the beauty in them and then also write shows,” Carroll explained.

Shana Carroll in rehearsal with the cast of *Water for Elephants*. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

A pivotal step in Carroll’s creative process for Water for Elephants was determining how circus functions as a narrative device in the musical. By looking through the script and spending time with the characters, Carroll came to see Water for Elephants as a memory play, where the “surreal capacity of circus language” allows the protagonist Jacob Jankowski to revisit the memories of his youth.

One scene in the show that illustrates the work Carroll strives to achieve through circus language happens during the raising of a circus tent soon after Jacob joins the traveling company.

“It’s the moment he’s falling in love with the circus, and so we want to make that feel sparkly and exciting and spectacular,” Carroll explained. “But also the sense of family and community which is so much why we fall in love with the circus. You need to throw someone and catch someone and hold them on your shoulders, and so it sort of speaks to the family element, just in the pure mechanics of circus language.”

Cast members celebrate the first preview performance of *Water for Elephants* at the Imperial Theatre. Photo by Tyler Gustin for MurphyMade.

Helping establish this feeling of interdependence among performers is a critical part of Carroll’s work as a circus designer. While actors and dancers are accustomed to working as an ensemble, performers often face a steep learning curve when real risk is involved as they must prioritize the safety of their castmates above their own.

“Everyone needs to adopt that feeling that everyone has everyone’s lives in their hands,” Carroll said. “Even if you’re not catching someone, you have their life in your hands. I think that’s one reason there’s been this really incredible camaraderie and bonding and spirit in the cast, because they have absorbed that.”

For Carroll, one of the most rewarding parts of working on Water for Elephants has been watching members of the cast and creative team appreciate the circus she treasures, the circus she fell in love with seeing trapeze artists all those years ago.

“I like the circus when we identify with the human on stage and then connect to the human on stage,” Carroll explained. “We care about the fact they’re hanging by one foot or standing on someone’s head and we care for them and their safety because we’ve somehow connected to them as a human.”

Water for Elephants is now playing at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre.