Popular Broadway Shows

Recently turned into a two-part major motion picture, Wicked has been adored by fans since it opened in 2003. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, it follows the story of two unlikely friends—later famously known as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West—whose bond is tested when reputation and morality are put at odds. The production was the winner of three Tony Awards including Best Costume Design and Best Scenic Design as well as six Drama Desk Awards. It features direction by Joe Mantello, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwatz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The musical features songs like “Defying Gravity,” “Popular,” and “For Good.”

The Lion King has been mesmerizing audiences since it opened on Broadway in 1997 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Countless audiences around the world have been transported to Pride Rock with tantalizingly creative puppetry by Julie Taymor and dynamic music by Elton John. Based on the 1994 Disney animated film, the musical follows the story of a lion cub prince, Simba, who goes on an emotional hero’s journey after his father, Mufasa, is murdered by his power hungry uncle, Scar, and he is made to believe that his father’s death is his fault. It is a tale of love, friendship, and redemption that inspires and moves people of all ages. The show transferred to the Minskoff Theatre in 2006, where it continues to run today.

Lin-Manuel Miranda sparked a musical revolution on Broadway when he showed audiences how “a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by Providence impoverished in squalor gr[e]w up to be a hero and a scholar” with Hamilton. The production swept the 2016 Tony Awards, winning eleven of the fifteen awards it was nominated for including Best Musical. It grew into a worldwide phenomenon, winning seven Laurence Olivier Awards when it opened on the West End in London, and touring not only all over North America but the United Kingdom, Australia, and even in Germany. This musical has forever altered the landscape of musical theater, famous for utilizing rap and inclusive casting to draw in audiences of all backgrounds to learn about the life of the incredible Alexander Hamilton.

This hot musical, playing at the Neil Simon Theatre, offers audiences a closer look into the creative genius of pop legend Michael Jackson. Along with all of your favorite Michael Jackson songs is a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage who is also the writer of Sweat. The production won four Tony Awards including Best Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical by Myles Frost, Best Lighting Design of a Musical by Natasha Katz, and Best Sound Design of a Musical by Gareth Owen.

Aladdin is a family favorite with incredible music by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice. Whether you are a long time fan of the 1992 animated film, 2019 live action movie, or excited to be introduced to lovable characters like Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, and Genie for the first time, you are sure to be introduced to a whole new world teeming with color and magic at the New Amsterdam Theatre! It is a story about love and friendship revealing to characters their true potential despite society’s expectations for them.

The experience of Moulin Rouge! on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theater is nothing short of spectacular! From the moment you walk in the house doors, your eyes will devour a red extravaganza adorned with countless lights, a giant heart, a windmill, and the unmistakable blue elephant, to set the scene of the 19th century nightclub. Based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, this hit musical continues to entrance audiences both in New York City and in London at the Piccadilly Theatre. This one-of-a-kind jukebox musical directed by Alex Timbers received ten Tony Awards in 2020.

For lovers of the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter books, this hit Broadway play is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Based on a new original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, audiences are entranced by the story of a surprising friendship between Harry’s son, Albus, and the son of Harry’s arch rival growing up, Draco Malfoy. The production won six Tony Awards, including Best Play, as well as five Drama Desk Awards. Magic is brought to the stage of the Lyric Theatre like never before, leaving audiences in awe of wonderful things that truly seem created by magic.

This hilarious musical is one of the most successful musicals of all time, setting ticket sales records at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. It won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and five Drama Desk Awards. The book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone follows two missionaries belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. One is used to being the golden boy from Salt Lake City, Utah and the other is more of an underdog with a tendency towards compulsive lying. The two of them are faced with the challenge of preaching the gospel to a Ugandan village whose inhabitants are preoccupied with issues like HIV/AIDS, female genital mutilation, famine, and a local warlord. The show is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is often considered one of the funniest shows on Broadway.

From the Emmy winning writer of Schitt’s Creek comes a jukebox musical that flips the classic Shakespearean tragedy on its head. Featuring songs like “Roar,” “I Want It That Way,” and “Baby One More Time,” this musical follows the story of Juliet in an alternate reality where she does not decide to commit suicide upon finding Romeo dead, but instead goes on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. The production was nominated for nine Tony Awards. Since November of 2022 it has played at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Sixteen-time Grammy Award Winner Alicia Keys has made her way to Broadway with Hell’s Kitchen. This coming of age musical is loosely based on the life of the singer songwriter growing up in New York City. The book is by Kristoffer Diaz while the music and lyrics are by Alicia Keys. The production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards and brought home two. It is currently playing at the Shubert Theatre.

The 2024 winner for Best Musical is an adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s famous 1967 novel and the popular 1983 film by Francis Ford Coppola. The story is told from fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis’s perspective. During the 1960s in Tulsa, Oklahoma two gangs find themselves at odds, Ponyboy and his friends belonging to the working class “Greasers”, their rivals the affluent “Socs.” It is a story of belonging, friendship, and hope. Playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, the Broadway show was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won four. Additionally it won two Drama Desk Awards and a Theatre World Award.

Nearly five hundred years after the death of the infamous King Henry VIII (known for divorcing and beheading his wives), Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss decided to give his six wives not just a voice, but a stage to tell their side of the story in Six. The six Tudor queens –  “Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.” – come back as modern day pop icons competing in a singing competition to determine who suffered the most while married to Henry VIII.  Audiences get to learn their “her-story” at the Lena Horne Theatre in New York City.

The Tony Award winning revival of Cabaret on Broadway crossed the pond from the London theatre scene and landed in the August Wilson Theatre, where the production team has worked to make audience members feel like they have traveled back in time to the Kit Kat Club of Berlin in the 1930s. An article in Associated Press describes the atmosphere of the show as, “welcom[ing] the guests with neon-lit hallways leading to a vibrant, reimagined Kit Kat Club. The production centers on a round stage with audience members on all sides, no sets and few props, which [Bebe Neuwirth} says puts the focus on the iconic story and music.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard returns to Broadway for its second revival, directed by six-time Olivier winning and Tony Award nominated director Jamie Lloyd. Nicole Scherzinger is captivating audiences with her performance as Norma Desmond, a silent movie star haunted by the ghost of her own success, wishing to revive it. Based on the 1950 film, the story revolves around her path crossing with one Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter. It seems to be kismet but their tumultuous relationship leads to complications and tragedy neither of them could have anticipated.

Loosely based on the 1957 Memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a strip tease artist, Gypsy has a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and music by Jule Styne. The story follows a mother, Rose, who will do nearly anything to make stars out of her two daughters, June and Louise; the question becomes whether it is their dream or hers. Broadway legend Audra McDonald stars as Rose in the Broadway revival directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Camille A. Brown playing at the Majestic Theatre.

Death Becomes Her is a popular new musical comedy based on the 1992 film by the same name. It has a book by Marco Pennette and music and lyrics by Julia Mattison and Noel Carey. Audiences are enjoying the performances by Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Christopher Sieber and others. Featured songs include “If You Want Perfection,” “For The Gaze,” and “Tell Me, Ernest.” It is playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Directed by Sam Pinkleton, Cole Escola’s hilarious new play has found its way to the Lyceum Theatre. Audiences will find their sides hurting from laughing as they watch this comedy about President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary.  It features music by Daniel Kluger and musical arrangements by David Dabbon. The show is playing a limited run, so get your tickets now!