Broadway Buying Guide: July 31, 2023

Looking for the best deals on Broadway shows? Welcome to our new weekly guide to the most popular shows listed on BroadwayWorld.

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This Week's Top Broadway Shows

1) Here Lies Love Buy Tickets Tickets from: $83 - “The groundbreaking, floor-shaking Here Lies Love is like no Broadway show ever.” (Time Out New York, ★★★★) From David Byrne (Academy Award®, Grammy® Award, and Tony Award® winner) and Fatboy Slim (Grammy Award winner), Here Lies Love is “a truly fabulous piece of visual theater with a soundscape more beautiful, more exciting, and more surprising than any score on Broadway.” (Chicago Tribune) This revolutionary new musical about former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos’ astonishing rise to power and subsequent fall at the hands of the Philippine People Power Revolution has been hailed as “a political chiller that’s also a red-hot adrenaline rush” (Ben Brantley) “that makes you believe you could dance all night.” (The Washington Post) Developed and directed by Alex Timbers (Tony Award winner) and choreographed by Annie-B Parson (Olivier Award nominee), Here Lies Love is a “roof-raising, disco-infused extravaganza that turns the theatre into a dance floor with thrilling results.” (The Guardian) Following sold-out, critically acclaimed runs at The Public Theater, London’s National Theatre, and Seattle Rep, “Here Lies Love is the most entertaining new show on Broadway right now” (ABC7). Ticket buyers can experience this “undeniably enjoyable show” (New York Post) in two ways: seated or standing immersed within the action. “Summer 2023 feels like the perfect time for Here Lies Love.” (Entertainment Weekly)

2) Purlie Victorious Buy Tickets - Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy & Emmy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr. will star in a new Broadway production of the classic American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by the legendary Ossie Davis. Purlie Victorious will be staged by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon who directed the critically acclaimed productions of Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog earlier this season. This play, scheduled to begin in late summer 2023, will mark Odom’s return to Broadway after winning the Tony for his iconic performance as “Aaron Burr” in Hamilton.

3) Jaja's African Hair Braiding Buy Tickets - This dazzling world premiere from Jocelyn Bioh welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling hair braiding salon in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.

4) I Need That Buy Tickets - Sam doesn’t get out much. Actually, he doesn’t get out at all, opting instead for the safety of his house in the company of his things—his many, many things. But when a notice from the government arrives alerting Sam that he must clean up his property or face eviction, he’s forced to reckon with what’s trash, what’s treasure, and whether we can ever know the difference between the two. Danny DeVito returns to Roundabout Theatre Company in I Need That, starring alongside his daughter, Lucy DeVito, and Ray Anthony Thomas in a deeply human new comedy from playwright Theresa Rebeck and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel, the team behind Bernhardt/Hamlet.

5) Melissa Etheridge: My Window Buy Tickets - Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Melissa Etheridge has lit up airwaves and arenas across the world for more than two decades with instant classics like “I’m the Only One,” “Come to My Window,” “I Want to Come Over”, and more. Now, the Grammy and Academy Award-winning rockstar arrives on Broadway with her acclaimed event, Melissa Etheridge: My Window, an intimate experience like never before, inviting theatergoers into an exhilarating evening of storytelling and music. From tales of her childhood in Kansas to her groundbreaking career highlights – with all of life’s hits and deep cuts between – Etheridge opens her heart and soul on stage to fearlessly dazzle audiences of all generations. The New York Times calls it, “honest and searing. The smoky-voiced, out-and-proud trailblazer finds her own way in ‘My Window’…. pairing completely charming tales with staggeringly beautiful renditions of her songs.” Theatermania says My Window is “A GREAT Party. Etheridge delights us with a dry sense of humor and a whole lot of tremendous music as she recounts her life. She’s an amazing performer – had me in the palm of her hand!” Queerty declares, “Etheridge’s star power is undeniable, she delivers the emotional ferocity that is the very definition of rock ‘n roll. And her stories have the well-crafted arc and casualness of sitting at your favorite bar with a bestie.”

6) Back to the Future: The Musical Buy Tickets Tickets from $79 - Welcome to Hill Valley! Marty McFly is a rock 'n' roll teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown. But before he can return to 1985, Marty must make sure his high school-aged parents fall in love in order to save his own existence. Based on the beloved film of the same name, Back to the Future is directed by John Rando. Set your destination time, New York and get ready to make musical theater history.

7) Doubt Buy Tickets - Doubt: A Parable, John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award®-winning Best Play, returns to Broadway for the first time in nearly two decades. “An inspired study in moral uncertainty” (The New York Times), this modern classic stars Tony Award winners Tyne Daly and Liev Schreiber in a staggering new Roundabout production directed by Scott Ellis. Sister Aloysius, the prickly principal of an all-boys Catholic school in a working-class part of the Bronx, is feared by students and colleagues alike. But when she suspects nefarious relations between the charismatic priest Father Flynn and a student, she’s forced to wrestle with what’s fact, what’s fiction, and how much she’ll risk to expose the difference—all the while wrestling with her own bone-deep doubts.

8) The Book of Mormon Buy Tickets - Hello! You simply won't believe how much this musical will change your life. From the creators of South Park comes The Book of Mormon, the musical that lovingly breaks all of Broadway's rules. The nine-time Tony-winning musical is collaboration Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, and was co-directed by Parker and Casey Nicholaw. In The Book of Mormon, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, a mismatched pair of Mormon missionaries, are sent to a place that's about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get.

9) Sweeney Todd Buy Tickets Tickets from: $40 - Attend the tale! Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's landmark musical tells the tale of a resourceful pie shop owner and a vengeful barber out for blood. After he's sent away by a corrupt judge, Sweeney returns to London years later seeking his long-lost family, and forms an unlikely partnership with Mrs. Lovett, who serves up pies underneath his former shop. Together, they wreak havoc on Fleet Street and serve up the hottest - and most unsettling - pies in London. Director Thomas Kail helms the return of this musical thriller starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford.

10) The Shark Is Broken Buy Tickets Tickets from: $48.50 - Martha’s Vineyard, 1974: shooting on ‘Jaws’ has stalled. The film’s lead actors – Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss – are stuck on a boat, at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Awash with alcohol and ambition, three hammered sharks start to bare their teeth…Directed by Guy Masterson, THE SHARK IS BROKEN reveals the hilarious behind-the-scenes drama on one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.

This Week's Top Off-Broadway Shows

1) Sesame Street the Musical Buy Tickets - The hit musical returns to New York City! Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Rosita, Ernie, Bert, The Count, Gabrielle and a whole host of Honkers, Martians and other Sesame Street favorites have ventured onto the stage to appear in their very own musical – starring… well, themselves. Featuring classic Sesame Street songs and new numbers by Broadway’s brightest songwriters. Directed by Jonathan Rockefeller and produced by Rockefeller Productions.

2) The Great Gatsby Buy Tickets - You are invited to one of Jay Gatsby's infamous parties. As invites go, this is the hottest ticket in town. A world of red-hot rhythms, bootleg liquor, and pure jazz age self-indulgence awaits. Spend the evening dancing and clinking glasses with Nick Carraway, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jay Gatsby himself. As the champagne flows, all the drama unfolds. Dress to the nines and immerse yourself in this heart racing adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal tale. Welcome back to the roaring twenties!

3) Here We Are Buy Tickets - Here We Are, legendary composer Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, features a book by Tony Award–nominee David Ives. It is inspired by Luis Buñuel’s films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel. Here We Are is directed by Tony Award–winner Joe Mantello. The cast will include Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O’Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos. The understudies for Here We Are are Bradley Dean, Adam Harrington, Bligh Voth, Adante Carter, Mehry Eslaminia, and Lindsay Nicole Chambers. Produced by Tom Kirdahy, its executive producers are Sue Wagner, John Johnson, and Jillian Robbins. Co-presented by The Shed. Performances begin in September 2023.

4) The Play That Goes Wrong Buy Tickets - Co-written by Mischief company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, The Play That Goes Wrong is a riotous comedy about the theatre. The play introduces The 'Cornley University Drama Society' who are attempting to put on a 1920s' murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong...does, as the accident-prone thespians battle on against all odds to get to their final curtain call.

5) Little Shop of Horrors Buy Tickets Tickets from: $61.50 - Seymour is a down-on-his-luck florist with a crush on his co-worker Audrey. When he discovers a mysterious – and voracious – plant, suddenly Seymour and Audrey are thrust into an epic battle that will determine the fate of the entire human race. Little Shop of Horrors made its highly-anticipated return home to Off-Broadway, in an intimate new production directed by Michael Mayer that offers an unprecedented opportunity to get close — maybe too close — to an incredible plant with an insatiable appetite.

6) Blue Man Group Buy Tickets - Blue Man Group combines music, technology and comedy to create a form of entertainment that defies categorization and appeals to people of all ages. Blue Man Group's shows have been described by critics as "innovative," "energetic" and "wildly entertaining." But the only way to truly understand Blue Man Group's global popularity is to see the show for yourself.

7) Unentitled Buy Tickets - Set in the heady days of late 2008, with the Obama campaign as a backdrop, an upper-middle class African American family wrestles internalized racism, class anxiety, and each other when a sudden job loss and a revelation about their shared past threaten to upend their comfortable lives. Tempers and tensions boil over at a cherished Long Island vacation home that becomes the focal point of an intense family drama. Unentitled explores the nature of risk – how much someone would risk to get what they want, and how hard it is to make that choice when history, tradition, and family all hang in the balance.

8) Flex Buy Tickets Tickets from: $61.50 - FLEX tells the story of a girls’ high school basketball team from Plainnole, Arkansas. It’s 1997, and the women of the Lady Train team are inspired by the successes of the WNBA. With aspirations of going pro, they must first navigate the pressures of being young, Black, and female in rural Arkansas. Will their fouls off the court tear their team apart? Or can they keep their pact to stick together through hell or high water? This powerful new play by Candrice Jones celebrates the fierce athleticism of women’s basketball with all the adrenaline and swagger of a four-quarter game. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz (The Skin of Our Teeth, Pipeline, Marys Seacole).

9) The Doctor Buy Tickets - Having amazed Armory audiences with his adaptations of Aeschylus’s ORESTEIA (2022), Shakespeare’s HAMLET (2022), and Ibsen’s ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE (2021), visionary director and playwright Robert Icke returns with the North American premiere of this gripping moral thriller following lauded runs at London’s Almeida Theatre and in the West End. This scorching examination of our age, a striking reimagining of the 1912 play Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler, utilizes the lens of medical ethics to examine urgent questions of faith, identity, race, gender, privilege, and scientific rationality. Olivier Award-winner Juliet Stevenson stars as the doctor at the center of the drama where nothing is quite what—or who—it seems. A galvanizing piece of theater, the production serves as a stark health warning for an increasingly divided nation, where clashing views about the way we see ourselves and the world we live in today only magnify the complexities of life.

10) Rock & Roll Man Buy Tickets Tickets from: $61.50 - ROCK & ROLL MAN is the original musical about a musical original. Alan Freed was a Cleveland DJ who heard the future—and knew he had to let it sing. He named the genre “Rock & Roll,” bringing music to the masses and integrating artists and audiences on the airwaves and in concerts for the first time in history. Along the way, he became an icon to the nation’s youth—and a target for the nation’s establishment.

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