2023 Broadway fall season preview of musicals includes revivals of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ and ‘Spamalot’

Jeffrey Kare
·5 min read

Major film and TV productions are currently on hold due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but the New York theater scene is still as active as ever. A new Broadway season is upon us, and there are five musicals set to open this fall (three new, two revivals). Will they contend at next year’s Tony Awards? Below, we give you a preview of the plot of each musical as well as the awards history of its author, cast and creative teams, plus the opening and (where applicable) closing dates.

“Merrily We Roll Along” (opens October 10; closes March 24, 2024)

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The first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1981 musical adaptation of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart‘s 1934 play spans three decades in the entertainment industry and charts the relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two friends — writer Mary and lyricist and playwright Charley. The original production directed by Hal Prince only ran for 16 performances, but was remembered with a Tony nomination for Sondheim’s score.

This production follows a successful run at Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop last season, where it won the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The cast includes two-time Tony nominee Jonathan Groff (“Spring Awakening,” 2007; “Hamilton,” 2016), Emmy nominee Daniel Radcliffe (“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” 2022), Tony winner Lindsay Mendez (“Carousel,” 2018), Krystal Joy Brown (“Big Fish,” 2013), Katie Rose Clarke (“Miss Saigon,” 2017) and Tony nominee Reg Rogers (“Holiday,” 1996). It is directed by two-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress Maria Friedman (“Passion,” 1997; “Ragtime,” 2004).

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“Gutenberg! The Musical” (opens October 12; closes January 28, 2024)

The main stem premiere of this musical by Tony nominees Scott Brown and Anthony King (“Beetlejuice,” 2019) follows a pair of aspiring playwrights pitching to investors their new, hilariously ill-advised project: a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johannes Gutenberg.

“Gutenberg! The Musical” originally debuted at Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters in 2006, where it earned a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical. This production reunites the Tony nominated stars of “The Book of Mormon” (2011), Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells. It is directed by Tony winner Alex Timbers (“Moulin Rouge!,” 2021).

“Harmony” (previews begin October 18; opens November 13)

This new musical by Grammy winner Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, who sold millions of records, made dozens of films, and sold out theaters across the globe in the 1920s and 1930s.

This production follows a successful run at Off-Broadway’s National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene last year, where it received a Lucille Lortel nomination for Best Musical. The cast includes Chip Zien (reprising a role that earned him a Drama Desk nomination), Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, Steven Telsey, Drama Desk nominee Sierra Boggess (“The Little Mermaid,” 2008), Julie Benko (“Funny Girl,” 2022) and Allison Semmes. It is directed by Tony-winning choreographer Warren Carlyle (“After Midnight,” 2014).

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“Monty Python’s Spamalot” (previews begin October 31; opens November 16)

The first Broadway revival of John Du Prez and Eric Idle’s 2005 stage musical adaptation of Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones’s 1975 film, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” is a spoof of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The original production directed by Mike Nichols won three Tony Awards including Best Musical.

This production follows a successful run at the Kennedy Center Theater earlier this year. The cast includes Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart (“Aladdin,” 2014), three-time Drama Desk nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Off-Broadway’s “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” 2006; “A Catered Affair,” 2008; “Beetlejuice,” 2019), three-time Tony nominee Christopher Fitzgerald (“Young Frankenstein,” 2008; “Finian’s Rainbow,” 2010; “Waitress,” 2016), Tony nominee Ethan Slater (“SpongeBob SquarePants,” 2018), Jimmy Smagula, Drama Desk winner Michael Urie (Off-Broadway’s “Buyer and Cellar,” 2013) and Nik Walker. It is directed by Drama Desk nominated choreographer Josh Rhodes (“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” 2013).

“How to Dance in Ohio” (previews begin November 15; opens December 10)

In this stage musical adaptation of Alexandra Shiva’s 2015 Peabody Award-winning documentary of the same name, seven autistic individuals at a group counseling center in Columbus, Ohio, get ready for a spring formal dance.

This project features music by Jacob Yandura as well as book and lyrics by Rebekah Greer Melocik. The cast includes Haven Burton, Darlesia Cearcy, Desmond Edwards, Amelia Fei, Madison Kopec, Liam Pearce, Imani Russell, Conor Tague and Ashley Wool. It is directed by Sammi Cannold.

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