It’s officially 2026, which means the books are open on your new year of theatre. The first show you go see may just set the tone for the 12 months ahead, so to help you choose wisely, we’re looking at five shows—some new titles and some older favorites—that will definitely set your 2026 up for success.
And don’t worry—if you’ve already seen something this year, you’re allowed to make the second (or third!) show set the tone for your 2026.
Is there anything better than starting off the new year with a good laugh? Lots of those are to be found at the Lyceum in Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary!, currently starring Jane Krakowski through January 4 (Jinkx Monsoon is waiting in the wings for an encore run January 8-February 1, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch writer-star John Cameron Mitchell will star February 3-April 26). Even if you’ve seen Oh, Mary! before, this is a play that does really well with repeat viewings, whether it’s to check out a new Mary you haven’t seen yet, or just revisit a particular favorite. And if you haven’t seen Oh, Mary! yet, put this article down and get your tickets now. You can thank us later.
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This Lynn Ahrens-Stephen Flaherty musical tells a huge, epic, and sometimes heavy turn-of-the-century story, tracking our country’s struggle to be a diverse melting pot of people and the myriad of ways that grand experiment is such a challenge. It’s been moving and inspiring audiences since it premiered in 1998, and this sublime (and specifically sublimely cast) revival at Lincoln Center Theater is an unmissable opportunity to see a first-rate staging of it. The music and the dramaturgy soars, delivering a big catharsis that matches the scale of the musical’s epic story. Ragtime is one of those shows that sticks with you, and will speak to you in new and surprising ways as you go about your life after leaving the theatre. There’s no better way to head into the year ahead.
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Anaïs Mitchell’s concept album-turned stage musical has been a bonafide, Tony-winning hit since it opened on Broadway in 2019, partially thanks to a string of expert star casting that has continued to attract both new and returning audiences to the Walter Kerr. Journey all the way down to the underground now with Jack Wolfe, Allison Russell, Kurt Elling, and Morgan Dudley. It’s a musical that, particularly in the deft hands of director Rachel Chavkin, is uniquely theatrical, the kind of show that is incredibly special to get to see in a theatre like the Kerr, one of Broadway’s most intimate houses. Go into 2026 inspired by the mythological story and Mitchell’s breathtaking folk-rock score.
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Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
If you like to stay up on Broadway’s newest titles, there’s no time like the present to get caught up before the spring opening season ramps up. This charming new musical, an import from London’s West End, is the perfect choice for anyone who loves rom coms and the genre’s trademark of meet cutes and sappy feels. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the Broadway iteration of this two-hander features a truly stellar cast, including Christiani Pitts and, reprising his work from the U.K. run, Sam Tutty. This is definitely one to make sure you get to before Tony nominations are out, when you may just see tickets became exponentially harder to score.
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Speaking of romance, how about a nice love story between robots? I know that sounds cringey, but then this musical was the 2025 Tony winner for Best Musical, and it’s just not at all hard to see why if you catch a performance. With one of the most exciting new scores to hit the stage in years (both writers, Hue Park and Will Aronson, making their Broadway debuts with it, no less!) and a story as unusual as it is moving, Maybe Happy Ending is yet another Broadway show that is the kind you will enjoy just as much the first time you see it as every time you’re lucky enough to go back. And you can currently see the show’s stellar original cast, too, including 2025 Tony winner Darren Criss and Helen J Shen!
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