“Come from Away” is the most-produced work of theater in the United States this season, according to American Theatre Magazine — the first time the magazine’s annual list has included the 2017 feel-good Broadway musical about small-town Canadians helping airline passengers grounded because of 9/11. “Primary Trust,” Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize winning play about a small-town lovable loser is the second most produced.
The list below (with titles linked to my New York reviews, when available) was culled from 1,446 planned productions at 293 non-profit theaters throughout the United States that are members of the magazine’s parent organization, Theatre Communications Group, plus 156 productions at non-member and commercial theaters. As usual, they don’t count anything by Shakespeare or “A Christmas Carol,” because those would top the list.
1. Come From Away, book, music & lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein (23 productions)
2. Primary Trust by Eboni Booth (21)
3. Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector (14)
4. Fat Ham by James Ijames (9)
5. Frozen by Jennifer Lee (book) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez (music & lyrics) (9)
6. The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh (8)
7. Ain’t Misbehavin’ by Murray Horwitz & Richard Maltby Jr. (book), various (music & lyrics) (7)
8. Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson (book), Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (music & lyrics) (7)
9. Little Women, original novel by Louisa May Alcott, in versions by Heather Chrisler, Lauren Gunderson, Kate Hamill, and Allan Knee (7)
10. The Roommate by Jen Silverman (7)
The magazine also calculated this season’s top 20 most produced playwrights:
Lauren Gunderson (24 productions)
Irene Sankoff & David Hein (23)
Eboni Booth (21)
Jonathan Spector (15)
August Wilson (13)
James Ijames (13)
Kate Hamill (13)
Jen Silverman (11)
Ken Ludwig (11)
Rajiv Joseph (10)
Lloyd Suh (10)
Henrik Ibsen (9)
Arthur Miller (9)
Jennifer Lee (9)
Jeffrey Hatcher (8)
Richard Maltby Jr. (8)
Sandy Rustin (8)
Tennessee Williams (8)
Katori Hall (7)
Joe DiPietro (7)
Sanaz Toossi (7)
Steven Levenson (7)
Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer (7)
