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Broadway shows opening in 2023

Check out all the must-see upcoming Broadway shows this year, including world-premiere musicals and plays alongside revivals of time-honored shows.

Gillian Russo
Gillian Russo

Wondering what Broadway shows are premiering in 2023? There's certainly a wide array, from new plays to classic musical revivals to new twists on time-honored stories. New Broadway shows for the spring continue to be announced, and for those who like to plan way ahead, there are even some shows scheduled for the summer and fall to look forward to.

Many 2023 Broadway shows feature star-studded casts, too, with many famous stage and screen actors making long-awaited returns to the New York stage. And even those that don't promise thrilling stories and performances, with scripts and songs by award-winning writers.

Here are all the Broadway productions that opened in 2023, some of which are still running.

Discover more about all upcoming Broadway shows.

Get tickets to a Broadway show on New York Theatre Guide.

How to Dance in Ohio

You need not go to Ohio to experience this new musical — just the Belasco Theatre. Following its premiere at Syracuse Stage, this show — about seven autistic adults stepping into new phases of their lives as they prepare for a formal dance — comes to Broadway. The seven lead actors from the world-premiere production, all autistic, now make their Broadway debuts as they reprise their roles.

Prayer for the French Republic

This acclaimed play by Joshua Harmon premiered off Broadway in 2021, and now Manhattan Theatre Club brings it to Broadway. The show about multiple generations of a Jewish family grappling with their safety 70 years apart won 2022 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Appropriate

Emmy Award winner Sarah Paulson returns to Broadway for the first time in over a decade to star in the Broadway-debut play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The Pulitzer-nominated writer's drama centers around a patriarch's death, which leads to a family reunion where long-buried secrets and tensions boil over.

I Need That

Danny DeVito stars alongside his daughter, Lucy DeVito, in this new play by Theresa Rebeck. He plays a reclusive hoarder who must reckon with his many things when faced with eviction if he doesn't clean up.

Spamalot

Broadway has found its holy grail. Spamalot, the Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, returns to Broadway for its first revival in the fall. In this irreverent retelling of Arthurian legends, the nobles are far from upstanding and there's a laugh a minute. Keep an eye and ear out for the many references to other Broadway shows within the songs and dialogue!

Harmony

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman know how to work together in harmony. They've put together multiple Manilow concerts on Broadway, wrote songs for a musical comedy called The Madwoman of Central Park West — and now, after working on their musical Harmony for more than 25 years, it's finally making its Broadway bow. The show tells the true story of how the Comedian Harmonists, a German-Jewish music and comedy group, were torn apart amid the rise of Nazism. It's tough to juggle humor with such horrors, but this show, whose 2022 Off-Broadway premiere earned critical acclaim, balances both in perfect harmony.

Gutenberg! The Musical!

Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells exploded onto the Broadway scene when they starred together in the original Book of Mormon cast, and now, the acclaimed comedy duo is back to star together in Gutenberg! The Musical! This comedy about the inventor of the printing press earned Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Lortel Award nominations when it premiered off Broadway in 2006.

Jaja's African Hair Braiding

The Drama Desk Award-winning playwright Jocelyn Bioh, known for School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play, Nollywood Dreams, and more, makes her Broadway debut with a new comedy set at a Harlem salon. A group of women there trade stories of love, hope, and secrets during one day there, but they also face the reality of feeling like outsiders in their own tight-knit neighborhood. The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre hosted this show.

Merrily We Roll Along

The sold-out, critically acclaimed Off-Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along is rolling onto Broadway on September 19, for the first time since the show premiered in 1981. The story of how three friends' bond disintegrates over the course of 20 years is told in reverse in this Stephen Sondheim and George Furth show. The three starry leads from the Off-Broadway production move to the big stage with the show: Daniel Radcliffe, Lindsay Mendez, and Jonathan Groff.

Purlie Victorious

Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton) makes his grand return to the Broadway stage on September 7. He stars in the first revival of Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious, taking on the title role the playwright himself first played in 1961. The show is set in Jim Crow-era Georgia, where preacher Purlie sets out to liberate plantation workers and his church community.

Melissa Etheridge: My Window

The Grammy Award-winning singer bared her soul and vocals to audiences like never before off Broadway last year, when she sold out her self-titled concert residency. Now, she brings her show to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre for two months only. Hear her greatest hits, deep cuts, and plenty of songs in between, intertwined with heartfelt stories that provide a window into Etheridge's life.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tony, Grammy, and Emmy nominee Josh Groban and Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford make a deliciously dastardly duo in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. From February 26, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre becomes Fleet Street, home to the title character's barber shop and Mrs. Lovett's meat pie shop. Together, they carry out a murderous revenge plot — first on a judge who wronged Sweeney, and soon on anyone who wanders through the barber shop's doors.

Shucked

Get ready to have a shuck-ton of fun at Shucked, a new musical comedy worth keeping your ears out for come March. A couple puts their wedding on hold to help their rural town and meets a fun bunch of country characters. There's one thing, though, that brings them all together: corn. Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally wrote the music for Shucked; they've written country hits for Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, and more.

Here Lies Love

Broadway musicals are rarely immersive, with the audience existing among, and even interacting with, the performers. But Here Lies Love is an exception, turning the Broadway Theatre into a disco dance club from June 17. The story of Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos's fall from power is set to infectious music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. Ten years after premiering to acclaim at The Public Theater, Here Lies Love is finally grooving onto Broadway.

Back to the Future: The Musical

How much plutonium will it take to time-travel to June 2023? Back to the Future: The Musical is set to land at the Winter Garden Theatre on June 30, whisking audiences back to 1985. From there, go along with teenager Marty McFly to 1955, where he almost messes up his parents' first meeting and therefore his entire future existence. With the help of Doc Brown, the scientist who invents a time-traveling DeLorean, can Marty fix the past? Great Scott, there's only one way to find out.

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The Cottage

Take a summer getaway to The Cottage, a new farce by Sandy Rustin beginning performances July 7. Eric McCormack, Laura Bell Bundy, and Lilli Cooper star in this story, set in the English countryside circa 1923, about a woman who reveals her affair to her husband and her lover's wife. The show is directed by Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, making his Broadway directorial debut.

The Shark Is Broken

They're gonna need a bigger theatre. The Shark Is Broken takes audiences behind the scenes of Jaws, where filming delays, malfunctioning mechanical sharks, and feuding between the lead actors – Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider — meant there was as much drama off camera as there was on it. Ian Shaw, Robert Shaw's son, plays his father in this hilarious play that's already made waves in London, Edinburgh, and Toronto. Broadway performances begin July 25 at the Golden Theatre — like Jaws, The Shark Is Broken is the perfect summer blockbuster.

Once Upon a One More Time

The 2023-24 Broadway season begins with Once Upon a One More Time, and you'll wanna go. Get a piece of this musical about Cinderella, Rapunzel, and more fairytale princesses realizing there's more to life than princes and true love's kiss after reading Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This original story is set to the hit songs of Grammy Award winner Britney Spears, and they'll have you dancing 'till the world ends at the Marquis Theatre.

Pictures From Home

This new play by Sharr White has a picture-perfect trio of stars: Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein, and Zoë Wanamaker. Pictures From Home is based on the same-named memoir by Larry Sultan, a photographer, about the family secrets and truths he uncovered when he interviewed and took photos of his parents. Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher (To Kill a Mockingbird) directs. The show has a limited engagement at Studio 54, so catch Pictures From Home before it's gone in a flash.

A Doll's House

Oscar winner Jessica Chastain stars in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, the play's first Broadway revival since 1997 and Chastain's return to Broadway after 10 years. Pulitzer-nominated playwright Amy Herzog has adapted Ibsen's play for this production, retaining the classic story of a 19th-century housewife looking to escape her seemingly perfect life. Performances begin on February 13 at the Hudson Theatre.

Bad Cinderella

Don your finest clothes and have a ball at Bad Cinderella, on Broadway from February 17. In this version, written by Oscar winner Emerald Fennell and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cinderella is the one resident of Belleville who doesn't conform to the town's beauty standards. Eventually, she gets a makeover to impress her best friend, but will a new look be her ticket to love, or will she realize looks aren't everything?

Parade

Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond are leading the Parade. This musical, by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown, is back on Broadway for the first time since its 1998 premiere, following a limited run in fall 2022 at New York City Center. Based on a true story, Parade follows how the marriage of Jewish Americans Leo and Lucille Frank gets tested when Leo gets accused of a horrific crime.

Bob Fosse's Dancin'

Chicago, Cabaret, and Pippin fans will love Bob Fosse's Dancin', which celebrates the choreographer behind all those shows: Bob Fosse. This revival, directed by original Dancin' cast member Wayne Cilento, preserves Fosse's choreography from the show's 1978 premiere. Various dance routines blend his signature style with multiple dance genres, all together making a celebration of Fosse and the evolution of dance.

Camelot

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table comes to the stage once more. Lincoln Center Theater is reviving the beloved Lerner and Loewe musical from March 8, this time with an updated book by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin (To Kill a Mockingbird). All the classic songs, like "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" and "If Ever I Would Leave You," remain, as does the central story: a love triangle between King Arthur, Queen Guenevere, and the knight Lancelot.

Life of Pi

Life of Pi captivated audiences on the page and on screen, and now a play adaptation is roaring to life on the New York stage. This adventure story centers on Pi, the only human survivor of a shipwreck. He and the four wild animals who also made it out are still fighting against time to keep surviving and make it out of the ocean. Yann Martel's novel was a bestseller, the film was a four-time Oscar winner, and Life of Pi on Broadway, which follows an acclaimed London premiere, is sure to be just as big of a hit.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Follow the second star to the right and straight on 'till morning to the Barrymore Theatre to see Peter Pan Goes Wrong. This spoof on J. M. Barrie's tale, from the creators of The Play That Goes Wrong, sees an amateur theatre troupe try to put on Peter Pan and run into a whole host of mid-show mishaps. Audiences are sure to be hooked thanks to the nonstop laughs.

Fat Ham

Revenge is a dish best served hot off the grill in Fat Ham, the Pulitzer-winning Hamlet adaptation by James Ijames. He turns Shakespeare's tragedy into a 90-minute comedy, in which the Black college student Juicy wonders whether violence is the only way to get justice for his father's murder. Fat Ham's Off-Broadway premiere at The Public Theater in 2022 received critical acclaim, with the four-star New York Theatre Guide review calling it "by turns hilarious, chaotic and weirdly lovely."

The Thanksgiving Play

Thanksgiving season comes early with the arrival of The Thanksgiving Play on Broadway, at the Hayes Theater this spring, beginning March 23. Larissa FastHorse becomes the first Indigenous female Broadway playwright with this show, which follows an all-white theatre troupe as they try to devise a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving pageant to perform for elementary schoolers. A whole cornucopia of problems, and laughs, ensue.

New York, New York

If you can make it to New York, New York on Broadway, you can make it anywhere. This new Kander and Ebb musical, co-composed with Lin-Manuel Miranda, is loosely based on the iconic 1977 Martin Scorsese film. The post-war NYC setting is the same, but the musical features a completely new plot, so get ready to see New York as you never have. The show begins performances at the St. James Theatre on March 24.

Good Night, Oscar

Sean Hayes, known for playing Jack McFarland on Will & Grace, returns to the Broadway stage in Good Night, Oscar. He plays the title character of Oscar Levant, a pianist who become better known for his wit after his appearances on the Jack Paar Show. The play is set on the night Levant made his first appearance, making audiences laugh, censors work overtime, and America rethink what flies on television.

Prima Facie

Emmy Award winner Jodie Comer reprises her acclaimed performance from London in Prima Facie, a one-woman drama. Comer plays Tessa, a defense lawyer at the top of her game. When she becomes the victim of a crime, she sees the courtroom from the other side and looks at her career differently. Tessa discovers all the ways a lawyer like her could undermine her and keep her from getting justice. This show is set to begin on April 11 at the Golden Theatre.

Summer, 1976

Four-time Emmy Award winner and two-time Tony Award nominee Laura Linney leads this new show by Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright David Auburn. It's summer in Ohio, and two women — a naive young housewife and a free-spirited artist — develop an unlikely friendship that changes both their lives, helping each other become truly independent. Manhattan Theatre Club was supposed to premiere the show off Broadway, but Linney's star power propelled Summer, 1976 right to the Broadway stage. Performances are at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

Lorraine Hansberry’s lesser-known work returned to New York for the first time in 50 years this past February — and now, the rare revival is moving from the Brooklyn Academy of Music to Broadway. See Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan as Sidney and Iris Brustein, a couple whose unattainable ideals strain their marriage in 1960s Greenwich Village. The play is at the James Earl Jones Theatre for 10 weeks only beginning April 25.

Grey House

Do you dare enter? The Lyceum Theatre becomes a mysterious, eerie cabin for Grey House come April 29. Levi Holloway's horror play follows a couple who start to question their safety and reality while staying at a cabin with seemingly friendly hosts. Not only is the show sure to bring chills and thrills, but it brings a star-studded cast featuring Laurie Metcalf, Tatiana Maslany, and Paul Sparks, with Joe Mantello (Wicked) directing.

Alex Edelman: Just For Us

Good things come in threes, and Alex Edelman: Just For Us has proven that. The stand-up comedy show has played three Off-Broadway runs, all of which met critical acclaim and popular demand. And the show has appeared in New York in three separate years: The first Off-Broadway run kicked off in 2021, the others in 2022, and the latest encore — a Broadway transfer — kicks off in 2023 for a strictly limited engagement. Edelman tells the hilarious and harrowing story of how he faced his anti-Semitic haters in real life to see if he could change their minds.

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