Upcoming Broadway Season.

Robert M. Massimi.

What will the fall bring to Broadway? After a disastrously bad 2022 fall, Broadway came out with some pretty good shows. "Some Like it Hot" was excellent and "Shucked" surprised everyone! "Bad Cinderella", "1776" and "Once Upon A One More Time" were awful and as such, closed early (1776 remained due to subscriptions). Another huge surprise was "Kimberly Akimbo"; winning the Tony was a big shot in the arm for this very good musical. "Sweeney Todd" too was a big upside surprise as was "A Beautiful Noise", the Neil Diamond musical.

The season last saw "The Life of Pi", a creative piece that is still running, the very bad "Ohio State Murders" and a weak "The Sign Inside Sydney Burstein's Window". "Parade" broke records and "Leopoldstadt" to me was fair at best. Audiences either loved this work, or they hated it. "Good Night, Oscar" did better than most expected and so did "Between Riverside and Crazy". Another fan favorite was "Top Dog/ Underdog". Winning Tony awards, this piece garnered respect amongst the theater community.

The fall season, however, is even more promising. "Harmony" which played last season off Broadway is coming uptown and if it is anything like the past performances, it will be a Tony contender. Melissa Ethridge who also played off Broadway is coming back to Circle in the Square. This show too was a winner last season. "Merrily We Roll" which played at NYTW was fantastic and had a great cast. These three right out of the gate should be well received. Another show that ran well when it originally came out was "Spamalot". This too will run this season. Danny DeVito will play in "I Need That" at the American Airlines Theatre. "Doubt", the Tony winner will play there right after "I Need That". "Guttenberg" is showing some early promise as it will be one of the first shows to enter the new season.

As we look forward to the new season, the question is... how woke will the shows be? Will mixed casting hurt these performances? "The Notebook" has promise but will the audiences like the diversity? Will political plays like "Prayer for The French Republic" be well received? What about "Enemy of The People"?

In a sense, Broadway is playing it somewhat safe. With the producing pool shrinking, it cannot afford any real disasters like "New York, New York". The hype for this musical far exceeded what the musical was, a weak, mis directed, miscast horror. Broadway needs more "Into the Woods" and "Shucked". These two shows really surprised last season. Unlike "The Kite Runner", these two ran with the plot and kept audiences entertained. In "Runner", we expected the story as well as the direction to carry the play to glory but it never got to the trough. "The Kite Runner" would never gain traction and would close on a whimper.

At the West End Theater, "Arcadia" is being revived. In the 90's this show ran well at Lincoln Center. "Cabaret" too is coming back. This musical had a great West End Run. This one maybe the blockbuster of the season. "Pal Joey", "Sing Street" and "Like Water for Chocolate" all stand to have the potential to be great.

Last season in my opinion was better than the season before. Even though there were some disasters, the season was optimistic for this upcoming season. I'm hoping that the shows listed, the one's that I saw last season off Broadway, come to The White Way and knock it out of the park. It will help restore a weak box office if it does.

Broadway, Tony awards, "Harmony", "Cabaret", Pal Joey, Sing Street, "Back To The Future", "Prayer For The French Republic", "Enemy of The State", "Good Night, Oscar", "The Kite Runner", "The Life of Pi", "Like Water for Chocolate", "Arcadia", West End Theater, Hamilton, "Funny Girl"