Broadway Road Trip! Where You Should Go and What You Should See Before Summer Is Over
From world-premiere musicals to star-studded summer engagements, here’s what’s happening across the country.
Before the 2026-27 Broadway season officially kicks off with the first opening since this year’s Tony Awards, there is plenty to see this summer. Broadway’s best are playing on stages across the country over the next two months, plus there are some exciting new plays and musicals happening regionally that you could catch before they possibly make their way to Manhattan.
BroadwayWorld breaks down what to see this July and August.
The Festival
If you’re a Broadway nerd at heart but also thrive in a Coachella-like environment, The Festival is calling your name! Designed for the ultimate Broadway fan, The Festival will feature Broadway artists for an entire weekend of performances, panels, musical theater raves and more. The three-day outdoor event will be held from Friday, August 14-Sunday, August 16, at Hutton Brickyards in Kingston, New York, which is about a two-hour drive from Manhattan. There will be plenty to do and see for theatergoers, and BroadwayWorld has you covered with a complete guide to the entire weekend of programming here.
The Muny
Each and every summer, The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, brings together the biggest Broadway stars for strictly limited weeklong engagements of fan-favorite musicals. While this season’s productions of Hairspray and Shrek the Musical have already concluded, there’s plenty of time to catch South Pacific, starring Paulo Szot and Taylor Louderman (through July 12); Newsies, starring Jack Roden and Kayla Pecchioni (July 16-22); Ain’t Too Proud, starring James T. Lane, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Jawan Jackson, Elijah Ahmad Lewis and Daniel Yearwood (July 22-August 2); Meet Me in St. Louis, starring husband-and-wife duo Colin Donnell and Patti Murin (August 6-13); and Something Rotten!, starring Matt Doyle, Jacob Dickey and more (Aug. 17-23).
Broadway and Vine
If you’re looking for a classy weekend away in Wine Country, you can also catch some of Broadway’s best at the annual Broadway and Vine concert series held in Napa Valley, California, throughout the summer. Up next at Broadway and Vine is the world-premiere concert of Spaceborne: A Vineyard Concert Evening of Sights and Songs from Our Planet and Beyond featuring Loren Allred, Natalie Tenenbaum, Omari Tau and Avishai Rozen with Projections of Space photography by NASA astronaut Don Pettit (July 15). Other performers who will offer concerts throughout the summer are Santino Fontana (July 23), Lauren Blackman (August 18), Andrew Rannells and Nikki M. James (August 28), Diego Andres Rodriguez (September 16) and Jelani Remy (September 27).
Arena Stage
If you’re looking to take a road trip this summer to see some exciting new theater, hop in the car and head to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., which is about a four-hour drive from Manhattan. Currently playing the Kreeger Theater, where the Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen made its world premiere in 2015, is the new musical CrazySexyCool – The TLC Musical. Inspired by the Grammy Award-winning 1990s girl group featuring Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, performances are currently scheduled through August 9.
Provincetown, Massachusetts
A popular summer getaway located at the tip of Cape Cod, P-town offers plenty to do throughout the season. As part of the Town Hall Concert Series, Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson will perform on August 2, and Tony Award nominee Melissa Errico is scheduled to take the stage on August 23. Plus, the series will also include performances from RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Alyssa Edwards (July 12) and Bianca Del Rio (August 16), Joy Behar and Judy Gold (August 9), Broadway arranger and cabaret star Billy Stritch (August 23) and cabaret icon Marilyn Maye with Tedd Firth (August 30).
Goodspeed Opera House
If you’re in search of a quick trip out of the city, head to the Tony Award-winning Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, which is only about two-and-a-half hours from Manhattan. Playing this summer through August 16 is the Gershwin classic Crazy for You. And just before summer is over, the world premiere of The Snow Goose, based on the novel by Paul Gallico and written by 2025 Jonathan Larson Grant recipients Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, will begin performances August 28.
Fire Island
For those of you already planning to be on Fire Island this summer, there will be opportunities to catch some theater while out on the Pines! Broadway vet and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess headlines Fire Island Pines Arts Project on July 25 before Broadway Names with Julie James, featuring SiriusXM’s Julie James, returns on August 15. At the end of the summer, FIPAP will present a benefit reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, directed by Leigh Silverman with casting by Benton Whitley, in support of Broadway for Arts Education — and Labor Day Weekend will welcome Avenue Q to the Pines on September 5 and 6.
Berkshire Theatre Group
The Berkshires offer a perfect summer escape, and there are plenty of theatrical happenings over at the Berkshire Theatre Group. While there are only a few performances left of the regional premiere of The American Five, BTG’s season continues with 1776 (July 2-16), Abi Morgan’s play Lovesong (July 22-August 29) and The Legend of Georgia McBride (July 31-August 16), plus concerts featuring Norm Lewis and Seth Rudetsky (August 8), Lillias White and Rudetsky (August 22) and Idina Menzel (August 28).
The Old Globe
If you’re in the mood for some Shakespeare, the Tony Award-winning Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, has you covered. This summer, William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure plays through July 12, and his Much Ado About Nothing is slated for August 2-30. Also this summer, Emma Rice brings her inventive take on the Alfred Hitchcock classic North by Northwest to the Globe from July 3-August 2, and Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers’ Cyrano will play from July 18-August 9.
La Jolla Playhouse
Also on the West Coast is San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse, which will present the world premiere of The Family Album this summer, running from July 17-August 16 at the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre. Broadway actors Marc delaCruz, Claire Kwon and Courtney Reed are among the cast of the new musical, which tells the story of a young singer-songwriter desperate to break through in the music industry. Julia Masli’s solo work, titled ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, will also play La Jolla’s Mandell Weiss Forum from July 28-August 9.
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