Broadway Shows 2017 2018: Opening Night Dates (List)
Classic musicals, major play revivals, screen-to-stage adaptations and a blockbuster new two-part play about a globally beloved wizard are among contenders for the 72nd Annual Tony Awards.
June 5, 2017 5:00am
Modified on July 4, 2018, Published on June 5, 2017
Bruce Springsteen, Chris Evans, Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Wilde, Uma Thurman, Joshua Jackson and even Michael Moore are some of the boldface names that made their Broadway debuts in the 2017-18 season, which also included the stage adaptations of Frozen, Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants, and revivals of beloved musicals Carousel, Once on This Island and My Fair Lady. Among major-name stars who returned in new projects are Denzel Washington, Andrew Garfield and two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson, back on Broadway for the first time in 30 years.
The Hollywood Reporter rounds up the full season, with reviews of each new production.
The Iceman Cometh
A Tony winner for Fences, Denzel Washington returns to Broadway to take on Eugene O'Neill's barroom epic The Iceman Cometh. He stars as Theodore Hickey, a colorful traveling salesman whose garrulous manner appears to bring relief to the discouraged patrons of a down-market New York watering hole. George C. Wolfe directs the drama, one of the playwright's most demanding works, with full stagings running nearly five hours. The large ensemble cast also includes Colm Meaney, Bill Irwin, David Morse, Dakin Matthews, Tammy Blanchard, Neal Huff, Michael Potts, Danny Mastrogiorgio, Reg Rogers and Frank Wood.
Previews: March 23
Opening: April 26Related Stories
Saint Joan
Three-time Tony nominee Condola Rashad stars in this new production of George Bernard Shaw's tragedy about Joan of Arc. Set in 15th-century France, the play follows the country girl whose mysterious visions propel her into elite circles. When the nation’s rulers become threatened by her popularity and influence, they unite to bring her down and she finds herself on trial for her life. Daniel Sullivan directs an ensemble that also includes Walter Bobbie, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jack Davenport, John Glover, Patrick Page and Daniel Sunjata.
Previews: April 3
Opening: April 25Related Stories
Travesties
Tom Stoppard’s historical brain-teaser, a Tony winner for best play in 1976, returns in a transfer of the hit London revival directed by Patrick Marber. It stars Tom Hollander as Henry Carr, an elderly man reminiscing about his encounters in Zurich during the First World War with James Joyce while he was writing Ulysses, Tristan Tzara at the dawn of the Dada movement and Lenin during the buildup to the Russian Revolution.
Previews: March 29
Opening: April 24Related Stories
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Tony winner LaChanze, Ariana DeBose and Storm Lever star as three different faces of the one-woman hit machine, who shot from a Boston gospel choir into the disco stratosphere in the 1970s, becoming the reigning queen of the dance floor. Co-written by Colman Domingo and Robert Cary with director Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys), the show features 20-plus Summer hits, including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls," "I Feel Love,” "She Works Hard for the Money" and “Hot Stuff.”
Previews: March 28
Opening: April 23Related Stories
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 and 2
The eighth story in J.K. Rowling's massively popular wizardry saga, this two-part play opens on Broadway on the heels of a continuously sold-out West End run and a record nine Olivier Awards. John Tiffany directs from Jack Thorne’s script, which centers on the adult Harry, now an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic. As his youngest son, Albus, struggles with the family legacy, Harry wrestles with his own past and new threats of darkness.
Previews: March 16
Opening: April 22Related Stories
My Fair Lady
The classic Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical returns to Broadway after a 25-year absence, in a new staging directed by Bartlett Sher, who has specialized in finding fresh dramatic hues in such vintage shows as South Pacific and The King and I. Based on the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion, it centers on a cockney flower girl who is passed off as aristocracy as part of a bet between phonetics scholar Professor Henry Higgins and his chum Colonel Pickering. The beloved 1964 film adaptation starred Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. This time around, the cast is headed by Lauren Ambrose as Eliza Doolittle, Harry Haddon-Paton as Professor Higgins, Norbert Leo Butz as Alfred P. Doolittle, Allan Corduner as Pickering and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins.
Previews: March 15
Opening: April 19Related Stories
Carousel
Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry, Renee Fleming and Lindsay Mendez star in this revival of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by New York City Ballet resident Justin Peck. One of the most complex and darkest works in the R&H canon, the show centers on a New England mill worker who falls for and marries a hot-tempered carnival barker with stormy results.
Previews: Feb. 28
Opening: April 12Related Stories
Children of a Lesser God
Joshua Jackson makes his Broadway debut in a revival of Mark Medoff’s landmark play, which centers on a speech teacher at a school for the deaf who falls in love with the janitor, a deaf woman who is speechless by choice. Kenny Leon directs the new staging, which also stars newcomer Lauren Ridloff and Anthony Edwards.
Previews: March 22
Opening: April 11Related Stories
Mean Girls
Tina Fey pens the stage adaptation of her beloved 2004 big-screen comedy, which starred Lindsay Lohan as a new student who, though initially clueless about the social mores of the high school caste system, aims to take down the popular female clique. Casey Nicholaw directs the show, featuring music by Fey’s husband Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Erika Henningsen steps into Lohan's shoes as Cady Heron, while Taylor Louderman rules the Plastics as Regina George.
Previews: March 12
Opening: April 8Related Stories
Three Tall Women
Glenda Jackson, Laurie Metcalf and Alison Pill star in the Broadway premiere of Edward Albee’s drama — a beautifully wrought portrait of a woman in life's final act, and the playwright's most personal work. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1994, it received the New York Drama Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards for best play. Joe Mantello directs the staging.
Previews: March 1
Opening: March 29Related Stories
Lobby Hero
Chris Evans makes his Broadway debut opposite Michael Cera, Brian Tyree Henry and Bel Powley in Manchester By the Sea Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan’s 2001 play, directed by Trip Cullman, which inaugurates Second Stage's Broadway home at the newly refurbished Helen Hayes Theatre. The play centers on a murder investigation in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building, charting the conflicts among an ambitious young security guard, his stern boss, an intense rookie cop and her unpredictable partner.
Previews: March 1
Opening: March 26Related Stories
Angels in America
Tony Kushner’s game-changing two-part opus, subtitled A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, returns in a limited engagement of Marianne Elliott’s acclaimed revival from the National Theatre in London. Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, Lee Pace, James McArdle and Denise Gough star in the sui generis Pulitzer- and Tony-winning drama about two couples in Reagan’s America, breaking apart under the pressures of the AIDS virus and a hollow marriage, respectively.
Previews: Feb. 23
Opening: March 25Related Stories
Frozen
The Oscar-winning 2013 animated hit becomes a full-fledged Disney musical, with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (expanded from their film score) and a book by Jennifer Lee, who wrote and co-directed the movie. Directed by Michael Grandage and choreographed by Rob Ashford, the show stars Caissie Levy as Elsa, a princess whose uncontrollable icy powers trap her kingdom in eternal winter, and Patti Murin as Anna, who undertakes an epic journey to find her troubled sister and reverse the magic.
Previews: Feb. 22
Opening: March 22Related Stories
Escape to Margaritaville
The new Jimmy Buffett musical, featuring both new tracks and the singer’s classics, is set on a tropical island resort and centers on a charming resident entertainer with a "License to Chill," who falls for a beautiful, career-minded tourist from Cincinnati. TV veterans Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley penned the book for the breezy show, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse; it's directed by Christopher Ashley, a 2017 Tony Award winner for Come From Away, and choreographed by Kelly Devine.
Previews: Feb. 16
Opening: March 15Related Stories
John Lithgow: Stories By Heart
The seasoned stage actor, a recent Emmy winner for Netflix's The Crown, stars in this solo show. He's been developing Stories by Heart since 2008, when he told a story each night in a special repertory presentation at New York's Lincoln Center Theater. The unique, intimate evening sees him recalling family memories, exploring the limits of the actor’s craft and masterfully playing a cast of characters from classic short stories by Ring Lardner and P.G. Wodehouse. Daniel Sullivan directs.
Previews: Dec. 21
Opening: Jan. 11
Closed: March 4Related Stories
Farinelli and the King
Three-time Tony winner (and Oscar winner for Bridge of Spies) Mark Rylance returns to Broadway in this new play written by his wife, Claire van Kampen, who also composed original 18th century-style music for the work about a famed court castrato whose voice had the power to soothe a troubled insomniac monarch. Rylance will play King Philippe V of Spain, who forces the singer to choose between a life of solitude and fame in the great opera houses of Europe — a role he played in the hit London run. John Dove directs.
Previews: Dec. 5
Opening: Dec. 17
Closed: March 25Related Stories
The Children
Lucy Kirkwood's new three-hander is set in a remote cottage on the lonely British coast, away from the chaotic world following a devastating series of events. However, the quiet life of a couple of retired nuclear engineers is interrupted when an old friend unexpectedly turns up at their door. Directed by James Macdonald, the Manhattan Theatre Club drama transfers from London, complete with its original cast, Francesca Annis, Ron Cook and Deborah Findlay.
Previews: Nov. 28
Opening: Dec. 14
Closed: Feb. 4Related Stories
SpongeBob SquarePants
Bikini Bottom hits Broadway in the new musical based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series. Directed by Tina Landau, the show features a book by Kyle Jarrow, and music supervision by Tom Kitt, plus original songs by Yolanda Adams, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Sara Bareilles, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, John Legend, Lady Antebellum, Cyndi Lauper, Panic! At the Disco, T.I., and David Bowie, among others.
Previews: Nov. 6
Opening: Dec. 4Related Stories
Once on This Island
This popular 1990 musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty centers on Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl who falls in love with a wealthy boy from the other side of the island and embarks on a quest to reunite with him. A Tony nominee for Spring Awakening, Michael Arden directs the revival, choreographed to the Caribbean tunes by Camille A. Brown. Newcomer Hailey Kilgore, discovered through an international casting call, stars alongside Lea Salonga and Alex Newell, who are among those playing the island gods.
Previews: Nov. 9
Opening: Dec. 3Related Stories
The Parisian Woman
Uma Thurman makes her Broadway debut as a Washington socialite coming to terms with politics, her past, her marriage and her uncertain future. Inspired by French dramatist Henri Becque's 1885 farce La Parisienne, the new play — written by House of Cards creator Beau Willimon and directed by Pam MacKinnon — unfolds after the 2016 election, when powerful friends have become more important than ever. Thurman's Chloe is an unfaithful wife irresistible to everyone in her circle, who faces a pivotal moment in her life at the same time the country is undergoing momentous change. She stars opposite Josh Lucas, Marton Csokas, Phillipa Soo and Blair Brown.
Previews: Nov. 7
Opening: Nov. 30
Closed: March 11Related Stories
Meteor Shower
Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key make their Broadway debuts in Steve Martin's new play, also starring Laura Benanti and Jeremy Shamos. Jerry Zaks directs the absurdist comedy, which charts the anxieties lurking beneath the surface of modern marriage. It's set on a hot night in Ojai, Calif., when Corky (Schumer) and her husband Norm (Shamos) are having another couple over for dinner. Laura (Benanti) and Gerald (Key), though, aren't looking for a casual evening of polite small talk with new friends. Eventually, the two couples find themselves in a marital free fall matched in velocity and peril only by the smoldering space rocks tearing through the sky.
Previews: Nov. 1
Opening: Nov. 29
Closed: Jan. 21Related Stories
Latin History for Morons
John Leguizamo's latest one-man show jumps to Broadway after a hit run at the Public Theater. Directed by Tony Taccone, the comedy is based on Leguizamo's observation that the Latino contribution is essentially overlooked in the standard American history curriculum. Therefore, the show aims to school the performer's son — and the audience — in the vital roles that Spanish-speaking immigrants have played in building the nation. Covering 3,000 years over the course of 95 uncensored minutes, the show spans from a satirical recap of Aztec and Incan history to stories of Latin patriots in the Revolutionary and Civil War and beyond, delivered in the writer-performer's trademark irreverent style.
Previews: Oct. 19
Opening: Nov. 15
Closed: Feb. 25Related Stories
The Band’s Visit
Tony Shalhoub and Katrina Lenk lead the transfer of this new musical, which picked up a string of awards in its hit off-Broadway debut at the Atlantic Theatre Company. With a score by David Yazbek and book by Itamar Moses, based on the film of the same name, the show traces the beguiling cultural collision when an Egyptian police band, scheduled to play at the opening of an Arab cultural center in Israel, find themselves stranded overnight in an isolated desert town. David Cromer directs.
Previews: Oct. 7
Opening: Nov. 9Related Stories
Junk
Steven Pasquale stars in the new finance-themed play from Pulitzer-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced). It centers on the rise and fall of a persuasive takeover pioneer and junk bond king — quite heavily based on infamous real-life businessman Michael Robert Milken. Doug Hughes directs the new Lincoln Center Theater production, which jumps to Broadway after debuting at La Jolla Playhouse.
Previews: Oct. 5
Opening: Nov. 2
Closed: Jan. 7Related Stories
M. Butterfly
Clive Owen stars in this first major revival of David Henry Hwang's 1988 drama, playing a married French diplomat in 1960s Beijing who has a 20-year relationship with a beautiful opera performer who spies on him for the Chinese government, played by newcomer Jin Ha. Julie Taymor, returning to Broadway for the first time since her turbulent experience with Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, directs the play, which was inspired by the real-life love affair between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and gender-ambiguous Chinese opera star Shi Pei Pu, as well as by Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly.
Previews: Oct. 7
Opening: Oct. 26
Closed: Dec. 17Related Stories
Springsteen on Broadway
Bruce Springsteen takes a deep dive into his life, his career and his country in this intimate concert memoir, carved out of his 2016 autobiography, Born to Run, and interweaving spoken excerpts with 15 songs from his celebrated back catalog. A personal reflection on both the rock superstar and the ordinary man from blue-collar New Jersey, the show sees Springsteen joined onstage in two numbers by his wife, Patti Scialfa.
Previews: Oct. 3
Opening: Oct. 12Related Stories
Time and the Conways
Downton Abbey’s Elizabeth McGovern returns to Broadway in a revival of J.B. Priestley’s 1937 play, which considers the history of Britain through the prism of a moneyed Yorkshire family and their changing fortunes. Rebecca Taichman (a 2017 Tony winner for Indecent) directs the limited engagement for Roundabout Theatre Company. The ensemble also includes Anna Camp, Steven Boyer and Gabriel Ebert.
Previews: Sept. 14
Opening: Oct. 10
Closed: Nov. 26Related Stories
Prince of Broadway
Theater legend Harold Prince co-directs the musical compilation celebrating his six-decade career. With a versatile ensemble cast featuring, among others, Broadway vets Tony Yazbeck, Chuck Cooper, Emily Skinner, Brandon Uranowitz, Karen Ziemba, Janet Dacal and Michael Xavier (last seen opposite Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard), the revue covers songs from many of the iconic productions that earned Prince a record 21 Tony Awards — including West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Evita, Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd and The Phantom of the Opera — as well as biographical material. Jason Robert Brown contributes original songs and new orchestrations, while Susan Stroman co-directs and choreographs the Manhattan Theatre Club presentation.
Previews: Aug. 3
Opening: Aug. 24
Closed: Oct. 29Related Stories
The Terms of My Surrender
Michael Moore aims to take down Donald Trump with his one-man show, in which each performance will be rendered unique by surprise guest stars and responses to the latest headlines. Michael Mayer directs the acerbic political comedy, with the Belasco Theatre's presidential box being kept free in a standing invitation for Trump and his family.
Previews: July 28
Opening: Aug. 10
Closed: Oct. 22Related Stories
Marvin’s Room
Janeane Garofalo makes her Broadway debut alongside Lili Taylor and Celia Weston in the staging of the 1990 Scott McPherson play. Directed by Anne Kaufman, the comedy-drama — which was adapted into a 1996 film with Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio and Diane Keaton — charts the tricky ties of family when one sister is diagnosed with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant, prompting a difficult reunion with her spiky sibling.
Previews: June 8
Opening: June 29
Closed: Aug. 27Related Stories
1984
Tom Sturridge, Olivia Wilde and 2016 Tony winner Reed Birney star in the new production of George Orwell’s dystopian novel, set in a future in which critical thought is suppressed by a totalitarian regime overseen by a party leader known as Big Brother. Newly adapted and directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan, the still-timely play transfers to Broadway after four hit U.K. runs as well as international tour stops, and marks Wilde’s Broadway debut.
Previews: May 18
Opening: June 22
Closed: Oct. 8Related Stories
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