We peek at the new Broadway season, which promises Cate Blanchett’s Broadway debut; the last remaining play from August Wilson’s celebrated American Century Cycle to make it to Broadway; the return of some fan-favorite musicals; and a couple of groundbreaking Off-Broadway hits transferring to the Great White Way.
Updated March 28, 2017
For shows from previous seasons check out Broadway’s Longest Running Shows and Biggest Hits
Also check out my monthly New York theater calendar, which includes openings on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway.
Below is a list of Broadway shows that have nailed down their opening dates and theaters in the 2016-2017 season. This list, which is organized chronologically by opening date, will be updated periodically, because the schedule is sure to change – shows will be added, especialy in the Spring; some will drop out; opening dates will be delayed or moved up. If theater is evanescent, this list is even more so.
Check out last season: Broadway 2015-2016 Season Guide
MAY
Paramour
Theater: Lyric
Authors: “creative guide” Jean-François Bouchard, music by “Bob and Bill”
Director: Philippe Decouflé
Opened: May 25, 2016
Cast: Jeremy Kushnier, Ruby Lewis, Ryan Vona and dozens of aerialists, acrobats and jugglers.
website
Tweeter feed: @ParamourBway
Cirque du Soleil grafts their signature high-flying circus acts onto a conventional Broadway musical about a Hollywood triangle.
JUNE
An Act of God
Theater: Booth
Playwright: David Javerbaum
Director: Joe Mantello
Opened: June 6, 2016
Closing: September 4, 2016
Cast: Sean Hayes
website
Tweeter feed:@ActofGodBway
God in the person of Sean Hayes has rewritten the Ten Commandments in a joke-filled comedy begat by the author of the Twitter feed @TweetofGod. This is a return of the musical that opened last year starring Jim Parsons. My review of the original production.
JULY
Motown the Musical
Theater: Nederlander
Author: Book by Berry Gordy, score by Motown recording artists
Director: Charles Randolph-Wright
First preview: July 12, 2016
Opening: July 21, 2016
Closing: November 13, 2016
Cast: Chester Gregory, Allison Semmes, Jesse Nager, Jarran Muse, J.J Batteast, Leon Outlaw Jr. leading a 33-member ensemble cast.
website
Tweeter feed: @Motownmusical
A return of the surprise hit jukebox musical using the music of the 1960s record label Motown, featuring performances by persuasive impersonators of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and a whole slew of their artists. The book is by Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, who paints himself as a hero.
Update: “Motown” closed ten days after it opened. My review
CATS
Theater: Neil Simon
Authors: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by T.S. Eliot
Director: Trevor Nunn
First preview: July 14, 2016
Opening: July 31, 2016
Cast: Leona Lewis and some three dozen others
website
Tweeter feed: @CatsBroadway
First Broadway revival of the long-running musical, with new choreography by Hamilton’s Andy Blankenbuehler.
SEPTEMBER
Black to the Future
Theater: Marquis
Written and performed by Lewis Black
Four Mondays September 12 – October 10
The political comic will do a stand-up routine Monday nights when On Your Feet is dark.
website
Twitter: @TheLewisBlack
The Encounter
Theater: John Golden
Playwright: Simon McBurney
Director: Simon McBurney
First preview: September 20, 2016
Opening: September 29, 2016
Closing: January 8, 2017
Cast: Simon McBurney
website
Tweeter feed: @EncounterBway
The Encounter is a solo show written and performed by Simon McBurney: Twenty years ago Simon McBurney was given a book written by a Romanian who escaped the Ceaușescu regime to reinvent himself as a Los Angeles screenwriter. Amazon Beaming tells the story of photographer Loren McIntyre, who in 1969 found himself lost amongst the remote people of the Javari Valley, on the border between Brazil and Peru. It was an encounter that changed his life: bringing the limits of human consciousness into startling focus.”
OCTOBER
Holiday Inn
Theater: Roundabout’s Studio 54
Authors: Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge
Director: Gordon Greenberg
First preview: September 1, 2016
Opening: October 6, 2016
Cast: Bryce Pinkham, Corbin Bleu, Lora Lee Gayer
website
Twitter feed: @RTC_NYC
A stage adaptation of the 1942 film that introduced White Christmas and other Irving Berlin hits.
Oh, Hello
Theater: Lyceum
Authors: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney
Director: Alex Timbers
First preview: September 23, 2016
Opening: October 10, 2016
Closing: January 8, 2017
Cast: Nick Kroll and John Mulaney
website
Twitter: @ohhelloshow
The comedy duo portray their alter egos Gil Faizonand George St. Geegland, “outrageously opinionated, 70-something, bachelors born and bred in New York.”
Heisenberg
Theater: MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman
Playwright: Simon Stephens
Director: Mark Brokaw
First preview: September 20, 2016
Opening: October 13, 2016
Closing:
Cast: Denis Arndt, Mary-Louise Parker
Tweeter feed: @MTC_NYC
The playwright of A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time penned this play, which debuted Off Broadway last year. “Amidst the bustle of a crowded London train station, Georgie spots Alex, a much older man, and plants a kiss on his neck. This electric encounter thrusts these two strangers into a fascinating and life-changing game.”
The Cherry Orchard
Theater: Roundabout’s American Airlines
Playwright: Anton Chekhov, adapted by Stephen Karam
Director: Simon Godwin
First preview: September 15, 2016
Opening: October 16, 2016
Closing: November 27, 2016
Cast: Diane Lane
website
Tweeter feed: @RTC_NYC
“A family on the edge of ruin—and a country on the brink of revolution.”
My review of The Cherry Orchard
The Front Page
Theater: Broadhurst
Playwright: Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Director: Jack O’Brien
First preview: September 20, 2016
Opening: October 20, 2016
Closing: February 5, 2017
Cast: Nathan Lane, John Slattery, John Goodman, Jefferson Mays, Rosemary Harris, Sherie Rene Scott
website
Tweeter feed:
The fifth Broadway revival of the 1928 comedy about old-time reporters who would do anything for a scoop.
Falsettos
Theater: Walter Kerr
Authors: Music and lyrics by William Finn, book by James Lapine
Director: James Lapine
First preview: September 29, 2016
Opening: tentatively October 27, 2016
Cast: Christian Borle, Stephanie J. Block, Andrew Rannells, Brandon Uranowitz
website
Tweeter feed:
A revival of the 1992 Tony-winning musical about a middle-aged man named Marvin and his decision to leave his wife, Trina, for a man, Whizzer. “Falsettos” combined two early Off-Broadway musicals, the 1981 “March of the Falsettos,” and the 1990 “Falsettoland.”
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Theater: Booth
Playwright: Christopher Hampton
Director: Josie Rourke
First preview: October 8, 2016
Opening: October 30, 2016
Closing: January 22, 2017
Cast: Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber
website
Tweeter feed: @LiaisonsBway
A production from the Donmar Warehouse of the 1985 plays about sexual intrigue in 18th century France.
My review of Les Liaisons Dangereuses
NOVEMBER
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
Theater: Imperial
Author: Music, lyrics and book by Dave Malloy
Director: Rachel Chavkin
First preview: October 18, 2016
Opening: November 14, 2016
Cast: Josh Groban, Denee Benton
website
Tweeter feed: @GreatCometBway
Broadway transfer of a much-praised musical adapting a sliver of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. My review when it was in its own home in the hip Meatpacking District.
My review of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
DECEMBER
A Bronx Tale
Theater: Longacre
Authors: Music by Alan Menken, book and lyrics by Chazz Palminteri and Glenn Slater
Director: Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks
First preview: November 3, 2016
Opening: December 1, 2016
Cast:
website
Tweeter feed: @BXTaleMusical
The Bronx Tale, about a youth in the Bronx who against the wishes of his father gets involved in organized crime, began life as a one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri. It was then made into 1993 directed by and co-starring Robert De Niro. De Niro is co-directing the musical with Jerry Zaks, marking De Niro’s Broadway directorial debut.
Dear Evan Hansen
Theater: Music Box
Authors: Score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, book by Steven Levenson
Director: Michael Greif
First preview:
Opening: December 4, 2016
Cast: Ben Platt, Laura Dreyfuss, Rachel Bay Jones, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Mike Faist, Will Roland, Kristolyn Lloyd and Michael Park.
website
Tweeter feed: @DearEvanHansen
A high school student pretends to have been best friends with a classmate who committed suicide in this musical by the songwriters of A Christmas Story: The Musical. This was nearly a cult favorite Off-Broaway.
My review of Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway
Theater: Lunt-Fontanne
First preview: November 25, 2016
Opening: December 4, 2016.
Closing: January 1, 2017
Cast: Dana Daniels (The Charlatan), Charlie Frye (The Eccentric), Mark Kalin (The Showman), Jinger Leigh (The Conjuress), Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass (The Clairvoyants), Justo Thaus Jin (The Grand Carlini), Rick Thomas (The Immortal) and Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil).
website
Tweeter feed:@Illusionists7
On Broadway for the third holiday season in a row, The Illusionists will present magic from the early 20th century, at the Lunt-Fontanne November 25, 2016 to January 1, 2017.
In Transit
Theater: Circle in the Square
First Preview: November 10, 2016
Opening: December 11, 2016
Written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez (“Frozen”), James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth
Director: Kathleen Marshall
Broadway’s first a capella musical — no orchestra — chronicles the intertwining lives of 11 subway riders. It was a hit Off-Broadway in 2010
My review of In Transit on Broadway
JANUARY
The Present
Theater: Ethel Barrymore
Playwright: Andrew Lipton
Director: John Crowley
First preview: December 17
Opening: January 8, 2017
Closing: March 19
Cast: Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh
A new play based on Anton Chekhov’s Platonov, with the action transposed to the 1990s.
Twitter feed: @thepresentbway
Jitney
Theater: MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman
Playwright: August Wilson
Director: Ruben Santiago-Hudson
First preview: December 28, 2016
Opening: January 19, 2017
website
Tweeter feed: @MTC_NYC
Broadway premiere of Wilson’s first play, the only work from his The American Century Cycle never previously seen on Broadway. Set in the early 1970’s, the story follows a group of men who drive unlicensed cabs or jitneys.
February
Sunset Boulevard
Theater: The Palace
First Preview: February 2, 2017
Opening: February 9, 2017
Written by Christopher Hampton and Don Black (book/lyrics), and Andrew Lloyd Webber (music)
Director: Lonny Price
Cast: Glenn Close
Revival of the 1994 musical based on the 1950 Billy Wilder movie about a faded Hollywood silent film goddess who tries to make one last comeback. This production was seen in a spring 2016 revival in London.
Buy tickets to Sunset Boulevard
Sunday in the Park With George
Theater; Hudson
First Preview: February 2, 2017
Opens: February 23
Closes: April 23
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; book by James Lapine
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford
Transfer of the New York City Center‘s fall 2016 concert version of the Pulitzer-winning 1984 musical about pointillist painter George Seurat.
Buy tickets to Sunday in the Park with George
March
Significant Other
Theater: Booth
Previews: February 14, 2017
Opens: March 2, 2017
Playwright: Joshua Harmon
Director: Trip Cullman
Cast: Gideon Glick, Barbara Barrie and Lindsay Mendez
Transfer of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2015 Off-Broadway hit about a gay bachelor looking for love in the big city.
@SignificantBway
Buy tickets to Significant Other
The Glass Menagerie
Theater: John Golden
Playwright: Tennessee Williams
Director: Sam Gold
First preview: February 14, 2017
Opening March 9, 2017
Cast: Sally Field, Joe Mantello, Finn Witrock, Madison Ferris
The eighth production of Tennessee Williams play on Broadway.
Buy tickets to The Glass Menagerie
Come From Away
Theater: Schoenfeld
Previews: February 18, 2017
Opens: March 12, 2017
Book, music and lyrics by the Canadian husband-and-wife team Irene Sankoff and David Hein.
Director: Christopher Ashley
Cast: Chad Kimball, Jenn Colella, Joel Hatch, Rodney Hicks and Caesar Samayoa.
New musical that explores the lasting connection forged between a group of travelers whose planes were diverted to a small Newfoundland town on Sept. 11, 2001.
The show had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in summer 2015,
The Price
Theater: Roundabout’s American Airlines
Playwright: Arthur Miller
Director: Terry Kinney
First preview: February 16, 2017
Opening: March 16, 2017
Cast: Danny DeVito, Jessica Hecht, Tony Shalhoub, John Turturro
website
Tweeter feed: @RTC_NYC
A revival of the 1968 drama about two estranged brothers who reunite to sell their the remainder of their parents’ estate.
Miss Saigon
Theater: Broadway
Previews: March 1, 2017
Opens: March 23, 2017
Written by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (lyrics), Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (book)
Director: Laurence Connor
Cast: Jon Jon Briones and Eva Noblezada
An American soldier named Chris marries Kim in Vietnam before departing for the US. Three years later, he returns to find Kim still alive and raising Tam, a boy he fathered. With the Viet Cong closing in on the city and two women wanting the only place in his heart, Chris has big decisions to make.
Sweat
Theater: Studio 54
First previews: March 4, 2017
Opens: March 26, 2017
Playwright: Lynn Nottage
Director: Kate Whoriskey
Cast: Carlo Albán, James Colby, Khris Davis, Johanna Day, John Earl Jelks, Will Pullen, Miriam Shor, Lance Coadie Williams, and Michelle Wilson
Broadway transfer of the hit Public Theatre production of Nottage’s drama about blue-collar workers in a Pennsylvania town at the turn of the millennium.
Twitter: @SweatBroadway
My review of Sweat off-Broadway
APRIL
The Play That Goes Wrong
Theater: Lyceum
First preview: March 9, 2017
Opens: April 2, 2017
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields
Director: Mark Bell
Cast: Matthew Cavendish, Bryony Corrigan, Rob Falconer, Dave Hearn, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, and Nancy Zamit.
Olivier Award-winning comedy about an amateur university production that goes hopelessly awry
Twitter: @BwayGoesWrong
Buy tickets to The Play That Goes Wrong
Amelie
Theatre: Walter Kerr
First preview: March 9, 2017
Opens: April 3, 2017
Written by Dan Messé (music), Nathan Tyson (lyrics), Craig Lucas (book)
Director: Pam MacKinnon
Cast: Phillipa Soo and Adam Chanler-Berat
A musical adaptation of the 2001 film, which starred Audrey Tautou as a shy waitress with a wild imagination.
Present Laughter
Theater: St. James
Target Previews: Early spring 2017
Opening: April 5, 2017
Playwright: Noël Coward
Director: Moritz von Suelpnagel
Cast: Kevin Kline
Revival of the 1940s comedy about the tribulations of a popular matinee idol.
Buy tickets to Present Laughter
War Paint
Theater: Nederlander
Previews: March 7, 2017
Opening: April 6, 2017
Writers: Book by Doug Wrights; music and lyrics by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie
Director: Michael Grief; choreographer: Christopher Gattelli
Cast: Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole
Musical based on the rivalry of cosmetics titans Helena Rubenstein (LuPone) and Elizabeth Arden (Ebersole)
Premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in summer 2016.
Oslo
Theater: Vivian Beaumont
Previews: March 23, 2017
Opens: April 13, 2017
Playwright: J.T. Rogers
Director: Bartlett Sher
Cast: Jennifer Ehle, Daniel Jenkins, Jefferson Mays and Daniel Oreskes
Transfer of Lincoln Center Theater’s Off-Broadway production of the play about the top-secret, high-level meetings between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that culminated in the signing of the historic 1993 Oslo Accords.
My review of “Oslo” Off-Broadway
Groundhog Day
Theater: August Wilson
Previews: March 2017
Opening: April 17, 2017
Music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, book by Danny Rubin
Director: Matthew Warchus
Cast: Andy Karl
A musical adaptation of the 1993 Bill Murray film about a cynical Pittsburgh TV weatherman who is sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, PA, when he finds himself caught in a time loop, forced to repeat the same day again and again…and again. Will he ever unlock the secret and break the cycle?
Produced in London in summer 2016.
Indecent
Theater: Cort
Opening: April 18, 2017
Playwright: Paula Vogel
Director: Rebecca Taichman
Cast: TBA
A behind-the-scenes look at the true story of the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance” — “a play seen by some as a seminal work of Jewish culture, and by others as an act of traitorous libel,” in part because of its lesbian lovers.
My review of Indecent Off-Broadway
The Little Foxes
Theater: MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman
Playwright: Lillian Hellman
Director: Daniel Sullivan
First preview: March 29, 2017
Opening: April 19, 2017
Closing:
Cast: Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon
The fifth Broadway production of the 1930 drama about a ruthless Southern belle.
Buy tickets to The Little Foxes
Hello, Dolly
Theater: Shubert
Authors: Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart
Director: Jerry Zaks, choreographer Warren Carlyle
First preview: March 13, 2017
Opening: April 20, 2017
Closing:
Cast: Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce
website
Tweeter feed: @HelloDollyBway
The fifth Broadway production of the 1964 musical about a matchmaker who sets out to find a match for herself at the turn of the 20th century.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Theater: Lunt-Fontanne
First Preview: March 28, 2017
Opening: April 23, 2017
Written by David Greig (book), Marc Shaiman (music & lyrics), Scott Wittman (lyrics), Roald Dahl (novel)
Director: Jack O’Brien
Cast: Christian Borle as Willy Wonka
When Charlie wins a golden ticket to the weird and wonderful Wonka Chocolate Factory, it’s the chance of a lifetime to feast on the sweets he’s always dreamed of. But beyond the gates astonishment awaits, as the five lucky winners discover not everything is as sweet as it seems.
Buy tickets to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Anastasia
Theater: Broadhurst
First Preview: March 23, 2017
Opening: April 24, 2017
Music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book by Terrence McNally
Director: Darko Tresnjak
Cast: Christy Altomare, Derek Klana, Ramin Karimloo, Mary Beth Peil, John Bolton, and Caroline O’Connor
Inspired by the 1997 film about a young woman who may be the last surviving member of the Russian royal family. The score includes songs from the movie, including the Oscar- nominated “Journey to the Past,” plus an entirely new score from the Tony Award-winning team.
The musical had its world premiere at Hartford in 2016.
Six Degrees of Separation
Theater: Barrymore
Opening: April 25, 2017
Playwright: John Guare
Director: Trip Cullman
Cast: Allison Janney and John Benjamin Hickey
Revival of the 1990 drama about a young con man who is embraced by wealthy New Yorkers after passing himself off as Sidney Poitier’s son.
Buy tickets to Six Degrees of Separation
Bandstand
Theater: Bernard Jacobs
First Preview: March 31, 2017
Opening: April 26, 2017
Music by Richard Oberacker and book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker
Director/Choreographer: Andy Blankenbuhler
Cast: Laura Osnes and Corey Cott
This “big-band musical” chronicles a mismatched band of WWII veterans who join forces to compete in a radio contest.
The show debuted in 2015 at Paper Mill Playhouse
A Doll’s House, Part 2
Theater: Golden
First Preview: April 1, 2017
Opening: April 27, 2017
Playwright: Lucas Hnath
Director: Sam Gold
Cast: Laurie Metcalf, Chris Cooper, Jayne Houdyshell, Condola Rashad.
Sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s play, following up after Nora has left her husband and children.
Buy tickets to A Doll’s House, Part 2
