See these Broadway shows in anticipation of Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl'

Can't wait for Swift's latest album to drop on October 3? Get your fix with these plays and musicals featuring pop music and spectacular showgirl energy.

Gillian Russo
Written byGillian Russo

Taylor Swift is nothing if not theatrical. Her monumental Eras Tour was a feast of costume changes, elaborate sets, and storytelling to rival any Broadway show. She's trademarked the term "Female Rage: The Musical" and mentioned musical writing offhand in an interview, sparking tons of fan theories about her own possible stage ambitions. On and off stage, everything Swift does — up to and including her long-anticipated engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce — has an audience.

All that makes The Life of a Showgirl a very apt title for her latest studio album, releasing October 3. It's also catnip for theatre fans, who were quick to point out the references to Shakespeare's Hamlet in the album cover and opening track, "The Fate of Ophelia." While you wait to hear the album in full — and comb the lyrics for even more showbiz Easter eggs — you can get your fix with a pop-fueled, glamorous Broadway show with plenty of Showgirl energy. Check out our picks below!

Get Broadway musical tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

1.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

2.

& Juliet

3.

Oh, Mary!

4.

Mamma Mia!

5.

Cabaret

6.

Death Becomes Her

7.

The Great Gatsby

8.

The Queen of Versailles

9.

Buena Vista Social Club

10.

John Proctor Is the Villain

11.

Sabrina Carpenter and more NYC concerts

1.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Broadway
Jukebox musical
Screen to stage
Award winner

Moulin Rouge! The Musical's Satine knows what it's like to live the life of a showgirl. She's the star of the spectacular Paris nightclub, and she's fallen into a forbidden romance with an American writer named Christian — if a jealous Duke doesn't threaten to take it all away.

No Taylor Swift songs are featured in this pop-packed jukebox musical, but it is stuffed with hits from other chart-topping stars like Katy Perry, Tina Turner, Adele, Rihanna, and Sia. And the ultimate showgirl song, "Lady Marmalade," of course.

Get Moulin Rouge! The Musical tickets now.

Get tickets
Moulin Rouge! The Musical

2.

& Juliet

Broadway
Jukebox musical

Renowned music producer Max Martin, who's behind The Life of a Showgirl alongside Shellback and Swift, wrote and/or produced every song in this empowering jukebox musical. Martin has been called "the Shakespeare of pop," so his tunes are set to a reimagined riff on the Bard's Romeo & Juliet where Juliet puts down the dagger and sets out to find new romances, new friends, and herself. Songs by pop princesses like Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion are all in the karaoke-worthy lineup.

Get & Juliet tickets now.

Get tickets
& Juliet

3.

Oh, Mary!

Broadway
Play
Award winner
Stars on stage

Did you know Mary Todd Lincoln's biggest dream in life was to be a showgirl? Well, it is in Cole Escola's Tony Award-winning comedy play, anyway. This hilarious, irreverent historical spoof sees a repressed Mary yearn to break free from White House rules and be a cabaret performer — complete with a ready-made "madcap medley" of songs she's just eager to break out. When she finally gets to, it's a treat.

Get Oh, Mary! tickets now.

Get tickets
Oh, Mary!

4.

Mamma Mia!

Broadway
Jukebox musical
Stage to screen

Donna and the Dynamos are the original showgirls — I mean, how many girl bands can say they fit into their old disco costumes decades later? You're going to want to get up on stage and join in with all the high-energy performances of ABBA pop hits in Mamma Mia!, from "Dancing Queen" to "Super Trouper" to the title track and more. Truly, no one's more karaoke-worthy than ABBA — besides Taylor Swift, of course.

Get Mamma Mia! tickets now.

Get tickets
Mamma Mia!
Jukebox musicals
Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Al Hirschfeld Theatre
& Juliet

& Juliet

Stephen Sondheim Theatre
MJ The Musical

MJ The Musical

Neil Simon Theatre
Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!

Winter Garden Theatre
Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
Hell's Kitchen

Hell's Kitchen

Shubert Theatre
Just in Time

Just in Time

Circle in the Square Theatre

Unlock your 24-hour New York City itinerary

Unlock your exclusive guide, full of the best attractions, food, free events and more.

09:00

Breakfast at Liberty Bagels

Regularly named one of the city’s best bagel shops, the unassuming Liberty Bagels is the perfect spot to get a classic NYC breakfast sandwich.

10:00

Macy’s Herald Square

One of the world’s largest stores, Macy’s is a sight to behold, especially when it’s decked out for the holidays.

5.

Cabaret

Broadway
Musical
Stars on stage
Award winner

"Mama doesn't even have an inkling that I'm working in a nightclub in a pair of lacy pants!" Sally Bowles sings in "Don't Tell Mama," her intro song in Cabaret. The classic musical spotlights a dark side of showbiz — where the rise of Nazism upends the patrons and performers of Berlin's 20th-century Kit Kat Club — and the latest Broadway revival is semi-immersive, bringing audiences right into the show.

Get Cabaret tickets now.

Get tickets
Cabaret

6.

Death Becomes Her

Broadway
Musical
Screen to stage
Award winner

We wouldn't be surprised if the many Life of a Showgirl covers were actually inspired by Madeline Ashton, who has half a dozen glittery costume changes in the the Death Becomes Her musical's opening number alone. Adapted from the cult classic Meryl Streep/Goldie Hawn movie, the show follows frenemies Madeline (Megan Hilty) and Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) who use supernatural means to one-up each other for eternity — and wear fabulous outfits while doing it. Along with mesmerizingly mysterious potion-hawker Viola Van Horn (Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams), they're showgirls through and through.

Get Death Becomes Her tickets now.

Get tickets
Death Becomes Her

7.

The Great Gatsby

Broadway
Musical
Page to stage
Award winner

Taylor Swift has made multiple references to F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic book in songs like "happiness" and "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things." It remains to be seen whether she'll continue the trend in The Life of a Showgirl, but in the meantime, you can experience the first Broadway musical adaptation of the Jazz Age story, with themes of love, heartbreak, excess, and obsession set against Roaring Twenties glamour.

Get The Great Gatsby tickets now.

Get tickets
The Great Gatsby

8.

The Queen of Versailles

Broadway
Musical
Screen to stage
Stars on stage

When it comes to Broadway showgirls, Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth is an all-time great. In her first return to Broadway in a decade, she plays socialite Jackie Siegel, whose lavish lifestyle and mansion-in-progress threaten to fall apart when the 2008 recession hits. One could call Siegel's musicalized story "the life of a girl whose fortune might all be for show" — but Chenoweth never stops sparkling.

Get The Queen of Versailles tickets now.

Get tickets
The Queen of Versailles

9.

Buena Vista Social Club

If you don't know the name Omara Portuondo, you should — she's a music legend as much as Taylor Swift is. The iconic Cuban singer is the central character in Buena Vista Social Club, which jumps between multiple musicians' early careers and their post-retirement 40 years later, when Portuondo has left her showgirl life long behind — but is convinced to record one final album that will change music history.

Get Buena Vista Social Club tickets now.

Get tickets
Buena Vista Social Club

10.

John Proctor Is the Villain

Broadway
Play
Stars on stage
Award winner

This list wouldn't be complete without the play that literally quotes Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" during a pivotal scene. Swift, Lorde, Harry Styles, and more loom large for the teenage girls at the center of John Proctor Is the Villain, where pop music and Arthur Miller's The Crucible help them find their voices in a changing MeToo-era world. The award-winning play is on Broadway through September 7 only!

Get John Proctor Is the Villain tickets now.

Get tickets
John Proctor Is the Villain

11.

Sabrina Carpenter and more NYC concerts

Live entertainment

We don't have any details on a Life of a Showgirl tour yet, but in the meantime, why not see another music superstar on stage? In October, you can catch Sabrina Carpenter, featured on the title track of Swift's album, on her Short n' Sweet Tour (and maybe hear Carpenter, who's also about to drop a new album, perform some fresh music of her own). Or see Stevie Nicks, the original queen of breakup anthems, in November.

There are so many concerts to explore in the city, with musicians of all genres and, ahem, eras represented on stage. Check out all our listings below!

Get NYC concert tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Get tickets