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See Michael R. Jackson's new musical satire, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and more
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Broadway isn't the only destination for exciting new musicals this spring. On NYC's smaller stages you can catch three new musicals by two Pulitzer Prize winners, a new tuner from The Light in the Piazza Tony winner Adam Guettel and a revisal of a popular show. Bonus: a half dozen must-see musical revivals.
In terms of COVID-19 safety protocols, rules vary by venue. While we are trying to keep this article up to date, be sure to double-check the protocols before purchasing tickets so you arrive prepared.
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New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Already open. Closes April 30. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are optional.
Rent changed the lives of myriad musical theatre-loving youth, none more so than Anthony Rapp. He was working at a Starbucks in the early '90s when he was invited to audition for a new East Village-set rock opera inspired by La Bohème. Soon he found himself centerstage on Broadway starring in a cultural phenomenon. But at the same time, his beloved mother was dying of cancer. Inspired by his memoir of the same name, Without You interweaves stories and songs, including iconic numbers from Rent, as Rapp shares his moving tale of love and loss, and why we should all live like there's no day but today.
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The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in the East Village
Previews begin February 16. Opens March 15. Closes April 9.
Masks are required at Tuesday evening and weekend matinee performances only.
The Public Theater presents Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks' new musical adaptation of the 1972 movie The Harder They Come about Ivan, a young singer who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, eager to become a star. After falling in love and cutting a record deal with a powerful music mogul, Ivan soon learns that the game is rigged. Featuring Grammy Award winner Jimmy Cliff's hits "You Can Get It If You Really Want" and "Many Rivers to Cross," this new musical is co-directed by Tony Taccone and Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo.
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Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street in Soho
Previews begin February 23. Opens March 9. Closes April 8. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are optional.
Family dysfunction gets the musical comedy treatment in I Love My Family, But..., Brandon Lambert and Lauren Gundrumm's tuneful take on the embarrassing conversations we all have with our parents. In this 80-minute show, Timmy, his mom and dad and their quirky neighbor sing about all kinds of loaded subjects, including sex, death and divorce with honesty and humor.
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Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Begins March 1. Closes March 26.
Masks are optional.
Comedic musical trio Lewberger, of America's Got Talent and TikTok fame, is behind this campy and irreverent romp about the power of friendship. When the three guys (Keith Habersberger from The Try Guys, Alex Lewis and Emmy-winning songwriter Hughie Stone Fish) get into a fight, they break the heart of the Wizard of Friendship and are forced to go on a healing quest at the behest of a giant sausage man. Yes, it's as silly as it sounds, but that's just how Lewberger's fans like it.
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New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin March 4. Opens March 13. Closes April 30.
Masks are optional.
Dav Pilkey's immensely popular graphic novel series for kids becomes a family musical courtesy of multitalented Broadway star Kevin Del Aguila (Frozen, Some Like It Hot) and Brad Alexander. The one-act tuner centers on the title character, a crime-fighting canine-human hybrid, who's always ready to take a bite out of the bad guys. Developed by TheaterWorksUSA and seen briefly pre-pandemic, Dog Man: The Musical is the cat's meow for middle schoolers.
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Tony Kiser Theater, 305 West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin March 15. Opens April 10. Closes May 21.
White Girl: Masks are required for March 21, March 28 and April 4 evening performances and all Wednesday matinee performances beginning April 12.
Michael R. Jackson's last show, the sui generis A Strange Loop, won a Pulitzer Prize and multiple Tony Awards, so there's incredible buzz around his new musical White Girl in Danger. A co-production between the Vineyard Theatre and Second Stage, it's a satirical soap opera set in the town of Allwhite, where white residents get the best story lines while Black folks are relegated to the so-called Blackground. Then Keesha Gibbs decides she's going to grab the spotlight at all costs, despite the killer on the loose. Tony nominee Lileana Blain-Cruz (The Skin of Our Teeth) directs an ensemble cast that includes Obie-winning Strange Loop alum James Jackson Jr.
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The York Theatre Company at Theatre at St. Jean's, 150 East 76th Street near Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side
Previews begin March 22. Opens March 30. Closes April 22.
Masks are required.
It's a musical almost a half century in the making! Jack Heifner's popular 1976 dramedy Vanities, chronicling the ups and downs of a trio of girlfriends, was one of the longest-running Off-Broadway plays of all time. Decades later, the playwright collaborated with songwriter David Kirshenbaum to turn it into a musical, which ran Off Broadway at Second Stage in 2009. Now they're revisiting the material for the York Theatre's new production, billed as a revisal. It still centers on the three gal pals, who start out as high school cheerleaders in Texas in 1963. But now it traces their lives through 1990 as they grow up and apart. Will Pomerantz directs.
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Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in the East Village
Begins April 5. Closes April 30.
Masks are optional.
When theatres shut down in March 2020, Suzan-Lori Parks went to work. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright penned a playlet and/or song every day and the result is Plays for the Plague Year, a three-hour, music-filled fantasia channeling the hope, fear and resilience of our collective lockdown experience. Ironically, this musical was scheduled to premiere last fall but COVID-19 had other ideas. Now it's back for an official premiere at The Public Theater's intimate Joe's Pub. Niegel Smith (Hir) directs a cast that includes Parks rocking out with her guitar!
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Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, 304 West 47th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Begins April 20. Closes May 7.
Masks are optional.
One of NYC's premiere Latinx companies, Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, is behind this new hip-hop musical exploring mixed-heritage identity. Written by Gabriel Hernández, Quarter Rican centers on new dad Danny, who visits the playground with his super-cute, multicultural kid and connects with a fellow parent. As they chat, Danny's musical alter egos, MC Plátano and the Beatboxer, comment on the conversation. Inspired by the creator's experiences as the Puerto Rican father of a white-passing child, the show is performed in English with Spanish supertitles.
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Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea
Previews begin May 5. Opening date June 5. Closes July 16.
Masks are required.
The Atlantic Theater Company has an impressive history of premiering musicals that end up on Broadway—see Tony winners Spring Awakening and The Band's Visit, as well as the recently opened Kimberly Akimbo. We suspect Days of Wine and Roses, a musical adaptation of the 1962 movie of the same name, may have the same journey. With songs by The Light in the Piazza Tony winner Adam Guettel and a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Craig Lucas, it's the story of a '50s married couple (Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James) and their harrowing descent into alcoholism. Michael Greif directs the show, which is practically sold out. But we predict an extension and, quite possibly, a transfer.
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Theater 71, 152 West 71st Street between Broadway and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side
Previews begin May 9. Opens May 15. Closes May 28.
Masks are optional.
Three distinctly different moms try to find common ground in this new musical about overcoming the social media voices in your head. Written by Nico Juber and directed by Broadway favorite Ciara Renée (Waitress, Frozen), the show centers on Brenda (Dear Evan Hansen's Kristolyn Lloyd), a single millennial mom who envies another mother at her kid's school. But when Brenda's younger influencer sister shows up eight months pregnant, these parents need to find a way to work together IRL to fulfill their dreams. This developmental production is presented by Out of the Box Theatrics, a company best known for its inventive musical revivals, including recent reinventions of The Last Five Years and Baby.
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Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, 304 West 47th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Begins June 1. Closes June 18.
Masks are optional.
Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater is also behind Torched!, a history-inspired musical about the infamous era when the Bronx was burning and how the borough is being revitalized today. Directed and cowritten by the company's artistic director, Rosalba Rolón, it's a salsa-and-disco-filled exploration of the arson-for-profit scourge that impacted so many residents, workers and firefighters.
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Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Begins June 1. Closes July 1.
Masks are optional.
For a quarter century, Prospect Theater Company has been incubating intriguing new musicals (The Hello Girls was my personal favorite, but there have been 34 others). The company's latest offering is Lizard Boy, an offbeat charmer about a young man with scaly green skin whose first-ever date may end up destroying the world. A hit at last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lizard Boy is the brainchild of Justin Huertas, who also stars.
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Bonus Musical Revivals
New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Just as it does every spring, Encores! presents three revivals of undersung musicals featuring big stars, barely there sets and a glorious on-stage orchestra. This season's lineup is:
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Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Like Encores!, J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company revives rarely performed musicals, though admittedly with smaller budgets. This season's lineup is:
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Top image: Kelli O'Hara, who's starring in a musical adaptation of Days of Wine and Roses at Atlantic Theater Company.
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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her on Facebook at @Raven.Snook. Follow TDF on Facebook at @TDFNYC.
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