10 New Broadway Shows to See This Spring in NYC

If you’re traveling to New York in the coming months, these are the new shows you can't miss.

Spring is always a wild time on Broadway. That’s because, to be eligible for this year’s Tony Awards, the show must open before April 27. But that just makes the season all the more fun for theater buffs. And there are more than a handful of promising new shows this season that sound positively award-worthy.

New shows include fresh takes on beloved fairytales and musicals, a couple of movies transformed for stage, and even a few Hollywood A-listers returning to their New York City roots. A clear highlight will be a new version of the 1960 Lerner & Lowe classic, “Camelot,” a show that director Bartlett Sher says, “came to symbolize an entire era of the early ‘60s and the tragedies of the Kennedy era.”

If you’re traveling to New York in the coming months, here are the shows to see, including and long-running production that has announced its closure after 35 years.

A Doll’s House

Address: The Hudson Theatre, 141 W. 44th St.
Opening date: March 9
Tickets: ADollsHouseBroadway.com

Oscar winner Jessica Chastain returns to Broadway in what’s described as a “radical new production” of the 1879 Henrik Ibsen classic.  Playwright Amy Herzog (“4000 Miles”) is adapting the script that explores the role of gender in marriage.  Chastain, who first appeared on Broadway in “The Heiress” in 2012, said in a statement that she is excited to finally bring the pandemic-delayed production, originally slated for 2020, to “this city that formed me...it’s immensely important to me to take care of this city and support my artist neighbors.”  The limited run is scheduled to close on June 4.

Bad Cinderella

Address: Imperial Theatre, 249 W. 45th St.
Opening date: March 23
Tickets: BadCinderellaBroadway.com

After a troubled run in London, Andrew Lloyd Webber brings his version of the fairytale to Broadway with a new title that more accurately depicts this updated version of the story. The title character is less damsel-in-distress, more outspoken goth peasant girl with a mind of her own. Oh, and Prince Charming has gone missing, meaning his brother Sebastian, Cinderella’s great friend, becomes heir to the throne. Can they find a happily ever after? Doesn’t matter. It’s all great fun.

Bob Fosse’s Dancin’

Address: Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St.
Opening date: March 19
Tickets: Dancinbway.com

Original cast member Wayne Cilento directs a revival of this production that won the late Bob Fosse his seventh Tony for choreography. Featuring some of Broadway’s best dancers, the production honors Fosse’s work with numbers from shows like “Chicago” (“Mr. Bojangles”) and “Sweet Charity” (“Big Spender”) as well as songs by Neil Diamond (“Crunchy Granola Suite) and Benny Goodman (“Sing, Sing, Sing”). The last one apparently brought the house down when the show played the Old Globe in La Jolla last year.

Camelot

Address: Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, 150 W. 65th St.
Opening date: April 13
Tickets: Camelotbway.com

Ask New Yorkers what's on their hit list for spring theater and this show comes up a lot, thanks to the promise of a "fresh take" from Aaron Sorkin, the "West Wing" writer who brought "To Kill a Mockingbird" to Broadway. Director Bartlett Sher says the show "feels like a mixture of great political drama, musical theater and 'Game of Thrones,’'" with the new version "building on the brilliant medieval world of Camelot." Asking what "Camelot" means now is an important question, he says, "especially in light of how we are changing as a country."

Fat Ham

Address: American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St.
Opening date: April 12
Tickets: FatHamBroadway.com

The Public Theater announced “Hamlet” will be the only production at this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park with an extended nine-week run. Before that, though, the Public’s production of a contemporary take on the piece“Fat Ham,” winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize, will move to Broadway. Taking place at a cookout in the American south, it’s a comedic look at the story — you know, widow marries dead husband’s brother — but has plenty of heartfelt moments that look at love, heartache, and joy.

Life of Pi

Address: Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 W. 45th St.
Opening date: March 30
Tickets: LifeOfPibway.com

Ang Lee won a best directing Oscar for his 2012 film adaptation of the Yann Martel novel,  but bringing it to the stage is no easy feat. It is, after all, the story of a young man called Pi who is trapped in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck. Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti, who did the stage adaptation, calls it a story of survival that, after the pandemic, everyone can relate to. Having seen the show at Harvard’s American Repertory Theater late last year, I can report that the show is magical, with stage craft that will blow you away, along with a powerful message of perseverance and hope. Bring tissues.

New York, New York

Address: St. James Theater,  246 W. 44th St.
Opening date: April 26
Tickets: NewYorkNewYorkBroadway.com

A new John Kander & Fred Ebb musical is always cause for celebration. This one, the first since “The Visit” in 2015,  is an adaptation of the 1977 Martin Scorsese musical. It’s set in New York following the end of World War II when, as Kander puts it, “hundreds of thousands of ex-servicemen and women —myself included — descended on New York City…with youthful energy and optimism.”  Directed by Susan Stroman (“The Producers,” “Bullets Over Broadway”), the show will feature additional lyrics by nonother than Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton”). Producers hope audiences will, as the title song goes, “want to be a part of it.”

Parade

Address: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45 St.
Opening date: March 16
Tickets: ParadeBroadway.com

A timely exploration of antisemitism, the show, with book by Alfred Uhry and songs by Jason Robert Brown, is based on the true story of Leo Frank. The Jewish factory manager was convicted — and subsequently lynched — for killing a young worker. (He was pardoned posthumously in 1986). The show won two Tonys in its brief 1998 Broadway run, but with Ben Platt (“Dear Evan Hansen”) starring in the revival, audiences seem enthusiastic to give it another shot. On the day tickets went on sale, demand temporarily crashed the Telecharge website. Take that, Taylor Swift.

Shucked

Address: Nederlander Theatre, 208 W. 41st St.
Opening date: April 4
Tickets: ShuckedMusical.com

The premise: America can’t get enough corn. Whether we’re talking about the stuff you eat off a cob or what you chortle at during a dumb movie remains to be seen. We predict a little of both in this show about the problems facing an isolated farming community — in any case, it feels like one of the most original ideas to hit Broadway in a long time.

Sweeney Todd

Address: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 205 W. 46th St.
Opening date: March 26
Tickets: SweeneyToddBroadway.com

The “demon barber of Fleet Street” prowls Broadway again this season in a revival starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. This is a story of sweet revenge, as the wrongfully jailed barber and a seemingly good-natured baker form an unlikely partnership to serve pies with, let’s just say, questionable ingredients. The original 1980 Broadway production, with its rich Stephen Sondheim score, won eight Tony awards, including best musical.

Bonus: Phantom of the Opera

Address: Majestic Theatre, 245 W. 44th St.
Closing date: April 16 (or so they say)
Tickets: ThePhantomOfTheOpera.com

When it was announced last September that the Andrew Lloyd Webber mega-hit would close in February after 35 years, ticket sales went through the roof. The show was extended to April 16, and that’s still the official closing date. Anything could happen, but if you want one more look at the spectacle, now’s the time.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.