Theatre Thursday: 10 New Shows Coming to Broadway this Year

Starring the insanely talented Lupita Nyong’o, Eclipsed is transferring to Broadway this year following a highly successful run at the Public Theatre (the birthplace of 2015 game changers Fun Home and Hamilton.) Eclipsed is the story of five women brought together by the turmoil in their home country, Liberia. This tale of hope and resilience in the only new play by a woman on Broadway this season.

 

Arthur Miller’s classic dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials is coming to Broadway early this spring. The show is open as a strictly limited engagement, so be sure to catch it in the short 20 weeks it will be open.

 

Based on the amazing books about a 1980s banker that spawned the iconic 2000 film, American Psycho follows banker Patrick Bateman as he goes on a deranged murder spree. After a massively successful run in London, the musical by Spring Awakening writer Duncan Sheik begins Broadway performances March 24th.

 

Based on the 2007 film, a new musical by Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson is coming to Broadway. The story follows a pregnant waitress name Jenna in an unhappy marriage and living in the Deep South. She falls into an unlikely relationship with a newcomer in town. Following a summer 2015 run at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA, Waitress comes to Broadway this spring.

 

Winnie Foster’s world has been limited to the confines of the fence around her house. Yearning for something more, Winnie runs deep into the woods where she meets the Tuck family and discovers a secret they’ve been keeping for a long time, they cannot die. This musical opens in April and is sure to be a hit. If you’re interested you should also read the book by Natalie Babbitt and watch the 2002 movie starring Alexis Bledel.

 

This may sound strange, but bear with me because this AMAZING show is making waves in the theatre world. Natasha Pierre is a musical adaptation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, in the form of an electropop opera. It is focused on the Volume 2, Part 5 section of the extensive novel highlighting Natasha’a affair with Anatole. Starting with a 2013 off-broadway run, then a 2015/16 A.R.T. production, Natasha Pierre 

and The Great Comet of 1812 is projected to open on Broadway this September.

 

“In May 1921, the new musical Shuffle Along became the unlikeliest of hits, significantly altering the face of the Broadway musical, as well as that of New York City. By the time Shuffle Along stumbled into town after a back-breaking pre-Broadway tour, it was deeply in debt and set to open at a remote Broadway house on West 63rd Street. But with an infectious jazz score and exuberant dancing, Shuffle Along ignited not just Broadway, but all of New York City. Because of Shuffle Along, Uptown and Downtown met — and became one.” [Broadway.com]

Opening in April 2016, Shuffle Along is created anew brining the original show back to life, while incorporating the previously unknown backstage saga about the creation of the hit. Starring superstars Audra McDonald and Billy Porter, Shuffle Along is sure to make a splash this year.

 

In the mountains of North Carolina between 1923 and 1945, Billy Cane, a young soldier just home from the war, meets Alice Murphy, the brilliant editor of a literary journal. They discover a powerful secret that changes their lives. Bright Star premiered at San Diego’s Old Globe in 2014 and recently finished a run at the Kennedy Center in Washington, and will hit Broadway this spring.

 

Blackbird explores that relationship between a middle-aged man named Ray and the now 27-year old Una. They last saw each other 15 years earlier when Ray was arrested following a sexual affair between the two (Una was 12.) Una tracks him down to confront him. The play stars Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams and opens in March.

 

 

Staring Zachary Levi and Laura Benanti, She Loves Me follows two coworkers who aren’t friends butting heads at work. Little do they know, the anonymous pen pals they’ve been falling for are each other. She Loves Me opens March 17th.