2019 Wrap-Up: Broadway.com Picks the Best Shows of the Year

We are privileged to see the abundance of Broadway offerings every year, so choosing five favorites out of dozens can be daunting. After much consideration, vote tallying and hardly any bickering at all, we are pleased to reveal the Broadway.com picks for the best shows of 2019.

5. Slave Play
Jeremy O. Harris’ gleefully outrageous play explores the legacy of slavery through three modern interracial couples as they engage in “antebellum sexual performance therapy.” The provocative piece showcases Harris’ sharp eye for both controversy and comedy. Slave Play takes risks, breaks taboos and sparks conversation. If that isn’t exciting theater, what is?

4. The Inheritance
Inspired by E.M. Forster’s Howards End, Matthew Lopez’s engrossing two-part play grapples with the long shadow of the AIDS epidemic and (as the play puts it) “the responsibility between gay men from one generation to another.” Sprawling yet intimate, The Inheritance is a fast seven hours of theater; its humanity lingers for far longer.

3. Moulin Rouge!
The stunning stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge! is a treat for audience members from the moment they enter the tricked-out Al Hirschfeld Theatre (there's an elephant!). In the hands of director Alex Timbers, this age-old love story—told through freshly arranged pop songs, dazzling choreography and pitch-perfect performances—feels brand-spanking new.

2. What the Constitution Means to Me
Ever been a debate club nerd or—oh, I don’t know—functioning member of American society? Heidi Schreck’s take on the 230-year-old document is for you. In fact, it’s for everyone. Whether recounting autobiographical details or drawing parallels from the 14th Amendment to her own grandmother, Schreck powerfully reminds us the political is personal and vice versa.

1. Hadestown
Anaïs Mitchell’s haunting musical weaves the Greek mythological characters Orpheus, Eurydice, Persephone and Hades into a meditation about how to sustain hope in a cold world. With Rachel Chavkin’s electric direction, the show's New Orleans-infused vibe, and the raw appeal of the performers (ranging from puckish to poetic), Hadestown could make anyone want to go to hell.