Summer 2018 Broadway Preview

Check out our guide to the theatrical highlights of the summer...

Now that the 2017-2018 Broadway season has rode off into the sunset, it's time to look ahead at the new productions that will be heating up the Great White Way this summer. Although traditionally most new productions tend to wait until the fall or the following spring to begin performances, there's a handful of new shows opening over the next couple of months to whet our appetites and keep Broadway aficionados happy in the sunshine. From star turns to Broadway premieres, we've got the lowdown for you on what promises to be a sizzling summer in New York City...

Firstly, we'd like to remind you that a handful of last season's extraordinary productions are fast approaching their final curtain on the Great White Way and that means it's last chance saloon for you folks!

The Roundabout Theatre Company's acclaimed revival of Tom Stoppard's Travesties, starring Tony Award nominee Tom Hollander, closes this Sunday, June 17 at the American Airlines Theatre.

Your last chance to see the magnificent Glenda Jackson in her Tony Award-winning performance in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, alongside Laurie Metcalf & Alison Pill, at the Golden Theatre is June 24!

If you wanna catch Tony and two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington commanding the stage of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre as Hickey in Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, you've only got until July 1!

July 1 also marks your last chance to sail off into the sunset with a margarita in one hand and a cheeseburger in paradise in the other, as Jimmy Buffett's jukebox musical Escape to Margaritaville plays its final performance at the Marquis Theatre. 

And finally, the epic Tony Award-winning revival of Angels in America, starring Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, is set to play its final prophetic performance at the Neil Simon Theatre on July 15.

The first production of the 2018-2019 season is already firing on all cylinders, having officially opened to great acclaim on May 31. The 50th Anniversary production (and Broadway premiere) of Mart Crowley's landmark play The Boys in the Band continues its strictly limited engagement at the Booth Theatre through to August 11, 2018. Boasting a star-studded cast of nine openly gay actors, including Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer & Andrew Rannells, and helmed by an openly gay director in Joe Mantello, the comic-drama once again showcases gay culture and lifestyles unashamedly and unapologetically through the bonds of friendship and the trials and tribulations that still face the gay community fifty years later. Why not celebrate this Pride month of June with a trip to this superbly acted and piercing piece of theatre?

The Boys in the Band Tickets are available now for performances through to August 11, 2018.

We'd also like to give you a quick reminder about a number of star turns this summer and we'll begin by reiterating the joyous news that Tony Award winner Bette Midler is coming back to town and will be right back where she belongs for the final six weeks of the astounding Broadway run of Hello, Dolly! at the Shubert Theatre. The Divine Miss M, along with original cast member and co-star David Hyde Pierce, will be back in the saddle from July 17 through to August 25. That also means that your final chance to catch the legendary two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters as Dolly and four-time Tony Award nominee Victor Garber as Horace Vandergelder is July 15! Whatever you do, secure your tickets for this lavish revival "Before the Parade Passes By" for good!

Hello, Dolly! Tickets are available now for performances through to August 25, 2018!

Is it a bird?... Is it a plane?... No! It's Supergirl and she's currently making a supercharged Broadway debut as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Melissa Benoist, who original shot to fame as Marley Rose on Fox's hit musical series "Glee," continues her run in the acclaimed bio-musical through to August 4, 2018! Why not get yourselves down to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and feel the earth move under your feet?

Alternatively, head down to the diner to catch "Smash" and "American Idol" star Katharine McPhee serving up a delicious performance as Jenna in hit musical Waitress! Her Broadway debut engagement ends this Sunday, June 17, but fear not because Ms. McPhee will be back for a second shift from July 5 through to August 19 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Sugar, butter, flour... and a new, bona fide Broadway star are the key ingredients to this sweet treat of a musical!

Waitress Tickets are available now for performances through to March 31, 2019.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Tickets are available now for performances through to December 30, 2018.

Straight White Men

Thanks to Second Stage Theater, playwright Young Jean Lee is set to make history as the first female Asian-American playwright to ever be produced on Broadway, when performances of Straight White Men begin at The Hayes Theater on June 29. The play enjoyed a successful run downtown at the Public Theater in 2014, but the Broadway premiere has enlisted a stellar cast and a healthy dose of star power for the Great White Way, including Hollywood heavyweight Armie Hammer, Emmy Award winner Tom Skerritt and Golden Globe and two-time Emmy Award nominee Josh Charles. Rounding out the cast are Paul Schneider, Kate Bornstein, and Ty Defoe, and aside from Mr. Skerritt, all the company will be making their respective Broadway debuts with the production. Billed as "a hilariously ruthless look at the classic American father-son drama" and set during Christmas Eve, Straight White Men promises to be a "white" Christmas you won't soon forget! An official opening is set for July 23.

Straight White Men Tickets are available now for performances from June 29 through to September 9, 2018.

Head Over Heels

The first new musical to officially open in the 2018-2019 is the raucous musical comedy Head Over Heels, based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney and featuring the hits of the most successful all-female rock band of all time... The Go-Go's! And if songs such as "We Got the Beat," "Get Up and Go," "Cool Jerk," "Vacation," "Our Lips Are Sealed," "Lust to Love," and, of course, "Head Over Heels," weren't enough for you already, they've also thrown in the solo hits of Go-Go's member Belinda Carlisle for good measure, so you can expect Broadway's Hudson Theatre to personify the motto "Heaven is a Place on Earth" when performances begin on June 23! And if you're still not satisfied, the cherry on the cake is the casting of popular "Ru Paul's Drag Race" star Peppermint! So, get ready for a tall tale of "mistaken identities, jealous lovers, romance and scandal"... An official opening is set for July 26.

Head Over Heels Tickets are available now for performances from June 23, 2018 through to February 17, 2019.

Gettin' the Band Back Together

Following hot on the heels of Head Over Heels is another new musical comedy, but this time with an original score by Mark Allen. Gettin' the Band Back Together promises to do exactly that, when performances begin at the Belasco Theatre on July 19, but can this band of now middle-aged Misfits with a capital 'M' - aided by a 16-year-old Jewish rapper - achieve a childhood dream and win the "Battle of the Bands"? Also - look out for the five-time Golden Globe-nominated star of "Taxi" Marilu Henner, who plays Sharon Papadopolous, Mitch's Mom, in the musical and who may or may not have had a dalliance with Aerosmith's Joe Perry! An official opening night is set for August 13.

Gettin' the Band Back Together Tickets are available now for performances from July 19, 2018 through to July 14, 2019.

Pretty Woman: The Musical

The final Broadway premiere of the summer, walkin' down the street and beginning performances at the Nederlander Theatre on July 20, will be Pretty Woman: The Musical. Since the pre-Broadway engagement at Chicago's Oriental Theatre this past spring, there's been some good news and some bad news... Unfortunately, Tony Award winner Steve Kazee (pictured) who starred as Edward Lewis (immortalised on film by Richard Gere) has withdrawn from the Broadway premiere due to family reasons. The good news, however, is that three-time Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Andy Karl (whose wife Orfeh also stars in the cast as Kit De Luca) has stepped in and will undoubtedly be equally as dashing as Edward. He joins British rising star Samantha Barks, who played Ã‰ponine in the 2012 film adaptation of "Les Misérables" and now steps into Julia Roberts' high heels as Vivian Ward. The musical boasts a score by Grammy Award-winning superstar Bryan Adams, along with his longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance, and a book by the late great Garry Marshall (who directed the movie) and J.F. Lawton (who wrote the screenplay). An official opening is set for August 16.

Pretty Woman: The Musical Tickets are available now for performances from July 20, 2018 through to March 10, 2019.

So, there's plenty to set your summer off to a sizzling start, Broadway fans! Be sure to check our What's On page for full listings... and make sure you all apply that sun cream generously!