A tidal wave of new productions flooded Broadway this spring — some captivating, some confounding, some that have already folded. As we head into summer, here’s a guide to those that rose to the top of the crowded theatrical marketplace. Added to the list are exciting arrivals making the leap from off-Broadway to Times Square, and a crop of inventive shows found around town.
Stereophonic
The must-see off-Broadway hit of the fall became the most Tony-nominated play in history. Set in a recording studio over the course of a year, David Adjmi’s play with songs follows the artistic and interpersonal roller-coaster of a Fleetwood Mac-like band laying down an era-defining album in 1970s California. (The convincing original songs are by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire.) A humorous, painful meditation on the creative process, this captivating mini-marathon of a show largely justifies its three-hour running time. At the Golden Theatre through Aug. 18; More information
The Outsiders
The musical-adapted-from-a-film has become a bemoaned feature of modern Broadway. This season brought a quartet of fresh attempts, including The Notebook and Water for Elephants. But The Outsiders, based on S.E. Hinton’s proto-YA novel of teenage malaise, emerged as the most popular and fully realized. It has a sweet and soaring score by the folk duo Jamestown Revival, explosive and inventive choreography by brothers Rick and Jeff Kuperman, and a big, attractive ensemble of young emerging talent. Ongoing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre; More information
Illinoise
Justin Peck is best known for making ballets, but Broadway has always been in his DNA. He won a Tony Award for his work on a Carousel revival in 2018, then reimagined Jerome Robbins’ moves for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake in 2021. Now he’s adding director to his résumé with Illinoise, the season’s most unconventional new musical. A dance fantasia set to Sufjan Stevens’s seminal 2005 album Illinois, Peck’s moving meditation on grief, community and the catharsis of storytelling is visually and sonically beautiful. At the St. James Theatre through Aug. 10; More information
Mary Jane
A highlight of last season was an austere revival of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, which drew power in part from Amy Herzog’s sharp translation. She repeated the feat this season with a bold tinkering of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. But she’s also an accomplished dramatist in her own right. Her tender 2017 play Mary Jane is currently breaking hearts on Broadway with a nuanced and dignified central performance by Rachel McAdams, who plays the unfailingly spirited mother of a tragically ill young son. At the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre through June 30; More information
Little Island
This gorgeous waterside park boasts perhaps the city’s most picturesque amphitheater. This summer it will be populated with an impressive roster of artists, beginning with the renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp and revered musicians T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield, all of whom collaborated on the new musical How Long Blues (through June 23). Other intriguing events include a dance by Pam Tanowitz (July 17-21), a live radio hour (July 31-Aug. 4) and performances by opera stars Davóne Tines (Robeson, June 26-29) and Anthony Roth Costanzo (The Marriage of Figaro, Aug. 30–Sept. 22). Through Sept. 22 at Little Island, Pier 55 at Hudson River Park; More information
The Comedy of Errors
With Central Park’s open-air Delacorte Theater out of commission for renovations, the Public Theater decided to take its popular Free Shakespeare program on the road. It will send its so-called Mobile Unit around town for pop-up performances of the Bard’s farce of mistaken identity throughout June. This 90-minute bilingual musical adaptation will visit parks and plazas in all five boroughs. It features actor-musicians and an original score drawing on Latin American musical styles. Various locations through June 30; More information
Titanic and Once Upon a Mattress
City Center’s long-running Encores! series, which presents edited, minimally staged productions of adored but often under-appreciated musicals, has emerged as one of the most exciting pipelines to Broadway. The latest to take the leap is Once Upon a Mattress, an audience favorite starring a delightfully bawdy Sutton Foster as the uncouth Princess Winnifred; it’ll play the Hudson Theatre after its short run this winter at City Center. The next big Encores! project is a remount of 1997’s Tony-winning Titanic, anchored by the charismatic belter Bonnie Milligan and Here Lies Love star Jose Llana, which begins performances on June 11. Previews of OUAM begin July 31 at the Hudson Theatre; More information. Titanic runs June 11-23 at NYCC; More information
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved, bewildering musical about a pageant of dancing felines gets an inspired makeover at New York’s newest arts venue. This intimate production transposes the prancing kitties from junkyard to the catwalk, drawing on the vibrant underground ballroom culture (hence the subtitle) that developed in Harlem in the 1980s by queer people of color. Both that scene and this musical celebrate artful self-presentation, physical prowess and a healthy dose of fantasy. At the Perelman Performing Arts Center from June 13-July 14; More information
Oh, Mary!
Despite all the new shows arriving on Broadway this spring, all that New Yorkers could talk about was Cole Escola’s wacky 80-minute romp about a whiny, delusional Mary Todd Lincoln, her bumbling, repressed husband and his dashing would-be assassin. After consistently selling out a small theater in the West Village, this irreverent piece of revisionist history moves uptown, bringing a refreshing dose of shrewd indecency to Broadway. Previews begin June 26 at the Lyceum Theatre; More information
Job
There’s a particular thrill in watching a “two-hander,” a play with only two actors. And an extra special thrill when that play is, well, thrilling. That’s the case with Job (as in work you get paid for, not the prophet) by Max Wolf Friedlich, which arrives on Broadway after a pair of well-received off-Broadway runs. In this chilling portrait of millennial angst with a shocking twist, Peter Friedman (familiar to Succession fans) is a psychologist, and Sydney Lemmon (doing Grandpa Jack proud) is his disturbed patient. Begins July 15 at the Hayes Theater; More information
Brian Schaefer, Bloomberg , 2024-05-31 16:58:21
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