Spring Preview 2020: Get the Lowdown on the 18 Broadway Shows Opening in the Next Three Months

The weather outside may be frightful but the theater is so delightful right now. From revivals of beloved plays and musicals, to buzzworthy new works, this spring season on Broadway has a little something for everyone. Read more below about what’s coming down the pike this spring. 

WEST SIDE STORY
MUSICAL; OPENS 02/20
Tony-winning director Ivo van Hove reimagines Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins’ musical about star-crossed lovers on the opposite side of a turf war (using video projections and a lot of onstage rain). For the first time on Broadway, the Robbins choreography has been replaced. The new dance moves are by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Featuring 23 performers making their Broadway debut, this new version of West Side Story promises to be a gritty and modern take on the beloved musical. Previews December 10 / Opens February 20 / Broadway Theatre

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
MUSICAL; OPENS 03/05
If you're a Bob Dylan fan, Girl From the North Country is for you. It comes to Broadway after acclaimed runs off-Broadway and in London, garnering two Olivier Awards. The musical follows the denizens of a Depression-era boarding house in Minnesota, who use Dylan's music to illustrate their feelings. Two-time Tony nominee Conor McPherson is writing and directing what is widely considered a tearjerker (which when “Make You Feel My Love” is one of the songs, that’s pretty much a given). Previews February 7 / Opens March 5 / Belasco Theatre 

SIX
MUSICAL; OPENS 03/12
Six, a new musical from Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, is coming to Broadway with a healthy amount of buzz. After runs in London, Australia, Boston, Chicago and on a cruise ship, the musical about the six wives of King Henry VIII who form a girl group and sing pop tunes has inspired a legion of fans (who dub themselves the queendom). And at 26 years old, co-director and co-creator Lucy Moss is making history as the youngest woman to ever direct a Broadway show. Talk about girl power! Previews February 13 / Opens March 12 / Brooks Atkinson Theatre

THE MINUTES
COMEDY; OPENS 3/15
Congratulations to Tracy Letts, who gets the rare honor of having two plays on Broadway during the same season. The two-time Tony-winning playwright and actor was last represented with Linda Vista in the fall. He is putting both of his skills on display in his play The Minutes, where he performs alongside a starry cast which includes Tony winner Jessie Mueller and Armie Hammer—they portray the denizens of a fictional middle American town taking part in a local government meeting. Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro directs. Previews February 25 / Opens March 15 / Cort Theatre

HANGMEN
COMEDY; OPENS 3/19
A play about a British executioner who finds himself out of a job...it may sound like a hard sell but the dark comedy by Martin McDonagh is coming to Broadway after an Oliver-winning run in London and a sold-out run off-Broadway. It also features the Broadway return of Downton Abbey favorite Dan Stevens. Hangmen marks McDonagh's seventh play on Broadway; he's been nominated for a Tony four times. Will this new play finally get him a win? Hang around and see! Previews February 28 / Opens March 19/ John Golden Theatre

COMPANY
MUSICAL; OPENS 3/22
The hit Marianne Elliot-directed Company (which won four Olivier Awards) is en route to Broadway. This version promises to be more feminist, with the traditionally male character of Bobby now cast as a woman and played by Tony winner Katrina Lenk. The musical explores marriage and commitment, and features two-time Tony winner Patti LuPone performing “The Ladies Who Lunch.” With friends like that, who needs anything else! Previews March 2 / Opens March 22 / Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
DRAMA; OPENS 3/26
This play about the real-life American banking family who shook the global economy in 2008 was first written by Italian playwright Stefano Massini for the radio, then adapted for the stage in France, then brought to London and performed in English. Now, it’s on Broadway, starring Broadway alums Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles. Past, present and future all co-exist in The Lehman Trilogy, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Tony winner Sam Mendes. Previews March 7 / Opens March 26 / Nederlander Theatre

DIANA
MUSICAL; OPENS 3/31
David Bryan, a founding member of Bon Jovi and the composer of the Tony-winning musical Memphis, scores this new show about the life of Princess Diana. Fresh from a run at La Jolla Playhouse, Tony-winning director Christopher Ashley and two-time Tony-winning scribe Joe DiPietro, this new musical follows the tumultuous marriage of Diana Spencer (Jeanna de Waal) to the Prince of Wales (Roe Hartrampf). If you love The Crown and follow every move of Meghan and Harry, you're in for a royal treat. Previews March 2 / Opens March 31 / Longacre Theatre

MRS. DOUBTFIRE
MUSICAL; OPENS 4/5
Rob McClure left Beetlejuice to lead the cast of Mrs. Doubtfire in the new musical adaptation of Robin Williams-led 1993 movie. Written by the Tony-nommed duo of Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick and directed by four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks, Mrs. Doubtfire’s story of an out-of-work actor who poses as a nanny to stay in touch with his kids is the latest in a series of high-powered movie-to-Broadway adaptations—and not the first about a struggling actor who dresses up as a woman. Previews March 9 / Opens April 5 / Stephen Sondheim Theatre

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
MUSICAL; OPENS 4/7
Caroline, or Change, scribe Tony Kushner and composer Jeanine Tesori’s musical about the contentious relationship between a Jewish boy and his African-American maid in 1963 Louisiana, first premiered off-Broadway in 2003. It transferred to Broadway for a 20-week run, and triumphed in London in 2007, when it won an Olivier Award for Best New Musical. So, it’s apt that this revival, starring Sharon D. Clarke, comes to Broadway from a 2018 acclaimed London production, which earned Clarke an Olivier Award. Previews March 13 / Opens April 7 / Studio 54

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
DRAMA; OPENS 4/9
Who’s ready for another production of the hair-raising drama about a married couple devolving into disaster? Edward Albee’s Tony-winning play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was last on Broadway in 2012, and this new version stars Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Everett. Virginia Woolf marks Metcalf’s fourth consecutive turn on Broadway since 2016, which has earned her four nominations and two Tonys. Will the Joe Mantello-helmed production continue the actress’ winning streak? We're not afraid to find out! Previews March 3 / Opens April 9 / Booth Theatre

PLAZA SUITE
COMEDY; OPENS 4/13
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick reunite on stage in this John Benjamin Hickey-directed revival of Neil Simon’s 1968 play, Plaza Suite, playing three couples who visit the same hotel room. They’ve worked together on stage only once—when Parker stepped into the Broderick-led How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 1996. They were married a year later. Broderick is a skilled interpreter of the playwright who has appeared in many of his works, including a Tony-winning performance in 1983's Brighton Beach Memoirs. Previews March 13 / Opens April 13 / Hudson Theatre

AMERICAN BUFFALO
DRAMA; OPENS 4/14
Hollywood heavyweights Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss play petty thieves cooking up an ill-conceived heist in this revival of David Mamet’s 1975 play American Buffalo. With direction by longtime Mamet collaborator Neil Pepe and headliners who, if they were to pool their acting awards, would have a pile of Oscars, Tonys, Emmys and Golden Globes, this work about a distorted vision of the American dream is in good hands. Previews March 24 / Opens April 14 / Circle in the Square Theatre

FLYING OVER SUNSET
MUSICAL; OPENS 4/16
The premise is strange but true: three American icons—movie star Cary Grant, novelist Aldous Huxley and diplomat Clare Boothe Luce—all experimented with LSD in the 1950s. Before Timothy Leary and the era of psychedelics, this new musical by James Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George), Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and Michael Korie (Grey Gardens) takes reality and adds imagination for a trip that delves into the dark corners of the past. Previews March 12 / Opens April 16 / Vivian Beaumont Theatre

SING STREET
MUSICAL; OPENS 4/19
This adaptation of John Carney’s celebrated 2016 film transports audiences to Dublin in 1982, where synth-pop reigns, the economy is tanking and a group of moody teens are using music to escape and rebel. Enda Walsh, who won a Tony Award for adapting Carney’s Once for the stage, is on board again to bring the movie’s quirky, lovable characters to life. If you’ve ever made a mixtape (like with an actual cassette), this show is for you. Previews March 26 / Opens April 19 / Lyceum Theatre

BIRTHDAY CANDLES
DRAMA; OPENS 4/21
Noah Haidle’s Broadway debut play transports audiences through the life of Ernestine Ashworth, played by Will & Grace star Debra Messing, from birthday to birthday. Starting at the age of 17 and winding up when she’s over 100, this new work offers a look at the ups and downs of life as she makes plans to “rebel against the universe.” Messing is joined by fellow Emmy Award winner Andre Braugher, known for Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Previews April 2 / Opens April 21 / American Airlines Theatre

HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE
DRAMA; OPENS 4/22
Paula Vogel’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning play reunites original stars Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse with their director Mark Brokaw 23 years after the acclaimed off-Broadway premiere. This disturbing drama is told in non-chronological flashbacks as Li’l Bit (Parker) recounts the complicated emotions she feels stemming from years of sexual abuse by her charismatic Uncle Peck (Morse). Amazingly, this is the first time the widely produced work is on Broadway. Previews March 27 / Opens April 22 / Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

TAKE ME OUT
DRAMA; OPENS 4/23
Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams, known for Grey’s Anatomy, headline this revival of Richard Greenberg’s Tony-winning play about a star baseball player who comes out of the closet. The event sets off a chain of events that broaches such hefty subjects as homophobia, racism, morality, public personas and isolation. There are also plenty of lighthearted moments and a virtuosic monologue about the game’s “noble equality.” Previews March 31 / Opens April 23 / Helen Hayes Theatre