The upcoming Broadway spring season is studded with highly-anticipated productions and returns of old favorites we can’t wait to see, including a long-overdue revival of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center Theater, Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s troubled and resplendent Carousel.
Playbill took a look at some of the season’s biggest titles and considered out-of-town buzz, casting, and the title itself to gauge which tickets we expect to be the most sought-after by theatregoers this spring season.
This is by no means a definitive list, and there are several productions that make the top of our personal must-see lists, but the following list is about supply and demand, and what we recommend theatregoers act on now.
The following list is in order of the start of previews.
1. Frozen
Crowned as the most successful animated movie of all time after breaking box office records across the globe, Disney’s Frozen—an empowering re-imagining of The Snow Queen—premieres on Broadway with a deepened origin story, new characters, and a host of new songs that join the Oscar-winning hit “Let It Go.” Broadway stalwarts Caissie Levy and Patti Murin lead the cast as Elsa and Anna, the two sisters whose game-changing fairytale ending rewrites the definition of Princess Power. With spectacle galore, the promise of Disney magic, and a dyed-in-the-wool creative team of Broadway pros including Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez all eyes are on Frozen, which begins previews February 22, 2018, at the St. James Theatre. Get Tickets here.
2. Angels in America
Hot from London where it played a sold-out run at the National Theatre, Tony Kushner’s award-winning two-part epic about the dawn of the AIDS crisis returns to Broadway this February for a limited 18-week engagement. Led by a cast including Tony Award winner Nathan Lane and Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield, tickets to the landmark drama (Part One, Millennium Approaches and Part Two, Perestroika) are sold together. Previews begin February 23, 2018, at the Neil Simon Theatre. Get tickets here.
3. Mean Girls
The musical version of Tina Fey’s 2003 film Mean Girls hits Broadway this spring after generating major buzz out of town in Washington, D.C. Fey, a self-proclaimed theatre kid, adapted the film herself for the stage, writing the book alongside her husband Jeffrey Richmond (the show’s composer) and Tony Award-nominated Legally Blonde lyricist Nell Benjamin. Previews begin March 12, 2018, at the August Wilson Theatre. Get tickets here.
4. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 and 2
The young wizards of Hogwarts are all grown up in J.K. Rowling’s two-part, hit London stage play that reunites with Harry, Hermione, and Ron 19 years after The Deathly Hallows left off. The first round of available tickets are already sold out, but a new block of tickets will be released in February. You must be a Ticketmaster Verified Fan to gain access to tickets. The production will also release 40 tickets for some of the very best seats in the theatre at $40 ($20 per part) for every performance as part of the “Friday Forty” program that will launch during previews via the show’s official website. Previews begin March 16, 2018, at the Lyric Theatre. Stay up to date at harrypottertheplay.com/us.
5. The Boys in the Band
Mart Crowley’s drama caused a sensation in 1968 when it opened the closet door to reveal an unflinching look at a group of gay men living in New York City. Filled with blistering and, at times, brutal barbs, the play is—in many ways—a time capsule in terms of gay theatre and style, as well as the mindset of the gay community at the dawn of the LGBTQ rights movement. It makes its Broadway premiere with an all-star cast including Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Tuc Watkins. The cast of big names and big talent put this one on the list. Previews begin April 30, 2018, at the Booth Theatre. Get tickets here.