Looking for New Musicals This Season? You'll Find Them Off-Broadway
This season includes new works by Jennifer Nettles, Drew Lachey, Todrick Hall, John Legend, and more.
Do you have a burning Broadway question? Dying to know more about an obscure Broadway fact? Broadway historian and self-proclaimed theatre nerd Jennifer Ashley Tepper is here to help with Broadway Deep Dive. BroadwayWorld is accepting questions from theatre fans like you. If you're lucky, your question might be selected as the topic of her next column!
Submit your Broadway question here!
Much has been written and expressed about how few new Broadway musicals—six—hit the boards last season. The Broadway landscape is experiencing several challenges at the moment, largely tied to the American economy as a whole. In addition, the number of new musicals per season always fluctuates. In particular, the post-pandemic seasons stuffed with productions that were waiting in the docket were bound to cause a few course-correcting smaller slates in subsequent years.
That said, a perspective shift is valuable here. While off-Broadway is experiencing many similar economic obstacles, it’s worthwhile to note just how many off-Broadway musicals producers and theatre companies are making happen anyway this season. These new works are just as worthy of viewing as any new show on Broadway—and might even become your new favorite musical. The summer has already been filled with new musicals off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway—some of which you can still catch—and the season has barely begun!
One of the first new musicals of the season, Cable Street, which played at 59E59, was a British import based on a true story. In Tim Gilvin and Alex Kanefsky’s new musical, ordinary British citizens of varied backgrounds come together in 1936 to stand up against fascism, a tale with reverberating meaning for audiences today.
With its starry creative team and cast, Girl, Interrupted gained attention at the Public earlier this summer. Original songs by pop singer-songwriter Aimee Mann provided the score for this adaptation of the Susanna Kaysen novel which became a hit film. Girl, Interrupted starred Juliana Canfield (Stereophonic) in the title role.
Another award winning-writer, Heather Christian, premiered one of her newest musicals at the Signature this summer: Animal Wisdom. Christian, like several other writers on this list, questions the word “musical” to define her work, and defined the piece as more of a musical seance. Kenita Miller gave an astonishing performance in the center of this work about ancestors, memory, and the line between life and death, given mystical and collective voice.
A more traditional take on ancestral stories, A Walk on the Moon, which premiered at the Laura Pels this summer, brought audiences back to the era of Jewish summer camps for adults that once dotted the northeast. Pamela Gray, who penned the screenplay of the 1999 film also penned the book of this musical with score by AnnMarie Milazzo. A Walk on the Moon starred Talia Suskauer (Wicked, Parade) as a woman who is caught between traditional family life and the emerging alternative culture of the 1960s.
Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo welcomed yet another voice from the pop songwriting world to the New York musical theatre this summer. Jennifer Nettles wrote the score and starred in this re-telling of a true story about a brave woman in 17th century Italy who defied society to help other women. Giulia was an apothecary who used science and smarts to aid when women were abused or coerced into dangerous situations. The show played the Perelman Performing Arts Center, the new theater downtown where Cats: The Jellicle Ball also premiered.
Currently still in performances at The Culture Club in Chelsea is the delightful Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Parody Musical. The sub-genre of parody musicals has indeed heated up in recent seasons; this one, written by Dylan MarcAurele, competes with the best of them. Stars Jay Armstrong Johnson and Jimin Moon (soon to be replaced by Troy Iwata) in the central roles win hearts just as their counterparts on the popular television show do and everyone leaves the quirky space singing the tunes.
The Potluck, which was produced by Soho Rep and INTAR at Playwrights Horizons earlier this summer, is the brainchild of writer César Alvarez. Alvarez was born to parents who were deeply involved with the activist group who were killed during the 1979 Greensboro Massacre. (In fact, Alvarez is named after two of the victims.) The piece juxtaposes an exploration of the events of the massacre with the events of Alvarez’s own life, including a perceived responsibility to carry on their parents’ political messages. The musical employs a deeply intentional and original voice to address white supremacy, the inherent contradictions in activism, and the challenges of making change with art. If The Potluck returns, rush to get a ticket.
A few blocks east, Drew Lachey and Lea Lachey presented Label.less this summer. At the Duke, a cast of young artists asked a swath of questions about identity, community, and self-love. Utilizing pop songs to paint a portrait about the issues affecting youth today, Label.less was a tapestry of individuals all fighting to be seen as such.
Lachey, of 98 Degrees fame, again wasn’t the only pop artist involved in the off-Broadway game this summer. Music City, currently playing at St. Luke’s Theatre, refers to the country music capital of Nashville and includes songs written by one of its Billboard-charting writers, JT Harding. The show, a transfer from Bedlam, now stars the golden-throated Lauren ‘Lolo’ Pritchard (Spring Awakening) and is a chance to enjoy country music within a theatre tale.
Lovable comedian Cat Cohen has gone legit this summer, bringing her unique brand of millennial musical humor to the Lucille Lortel. Directed by Alex Timbers, Broad Strokes explores Cohen’s unexpected health turmoil with all of the oversharing one could hope for. Co-composed by David Dabbon, the show gives voice to the struggles of the instagram generation, blending real health trauma with hilarious observational comedy.
For those counting, that’s ten new off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway musicals that have hit New York City already this season—and we’re just a few months in! What’s coming up next?
The York Theatre, a home for new musicals off-Broadway for several decades, is next serving up Truly, Howard Hughes. Like Cable Street, The Potluck, or Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo, Truly, Howard Hughes seeks to musicalize real people and real events. The cast of 16 will share the tale of Hughes, a revolutionary figure in aviation and cinema who amassed massive wealth but struggled with personal fulfillment and connection.
Much anticipated this fall is Midnight, a new musical with book, music, lyrics, direction, and choreography by Todrick Hall, who also stars. Midnight is an original story set in the American south in the 1800s, following both Black and white characters as their lives interconnect.
The much buzzed-about musical Slam Frank makes a commercial transfer to the Orpheum this fall, following a run last year at Asylum. Written by Andrew Fox and Joel Sinensky, Slam Frank is a response to a question that went viral on social media in 2022: “Did Anne Frank ever acknowledge her white privilege?” The satirical show about a progressive theatre company attempting to tell the story of Anne Frank skewers modern woke culture, particularly its affects on art and artists.
Also a transfer from off-off-Broadway to off-Broadway is Soon, which will jump up a few flights to open this fall at the Loft at St. Luke’s following a run last year at the East Village Basement. With a score by Nick Blaemire, Soon addresses the personal struggle of a girl named Charlie who has limited time left—while also reflecting on our collective struggle to live in a world where apocalyptic challenges are more real than ever.
Duncan Sheik has several new productions opening this season, including the new off-Broadway musical, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen. The show will play the same building as Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Parody Musical, but not the same space. Amorous Gentlemen is moving into the venue formerly occupied by Sleep No More, which is now called The Night Egg. Based on a Japanese manga series, with score by Sheik and book by Leah Nanako Winkler, the show stars Sophia Anne Caruso (Beetlejuice) as a prostitute who becomes a keen observer of those around her.
Bobby Conte (A Bronx Tale, The Who’s Tommy) headlines a new musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield. Like previous stage musical adaptations of the iconic tale, including the 1981 Broadway musical version, this one is simply titled Copperfield. A large cast joins Conte for the re-telling of the semi-autobiographical story of one man’s entire epic life.
Girl, Interrupted isn’t the Public’s only musical this season. Later this fall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button premieres at the Newman Theater. Andrew Durand (The Rocky Horror Show, Dead Outlaw) has been announced for the title role of the adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story about aging in reverse. The show is by the Olivier Award-winning team of Jethro Compton (book, lyrics) and Darren Clark (music, lyrics).
On the more modern side, The Heart is a new musical featuring an electronic music score, about a heart transplant. Based on the novel by Maylis de Kerangal, The Heart, with book and additional lyrics by Kait Kerrigan and music and lyrics by Anne Eisendrath and Ian Eisendrath, is directed by Roundabout’s new artistic director Christopher Ashley. The show, presented by Roundabout at their Laura Pels Theatre, will be choreographed by Mandy Moore (Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour).
Another off-Broadway new musical with sparkly names attached is Imitation of Life. Premiering at The Shed this fall, the adaptation of the novel by Fannie Hurst and subsequent popular film versions has a book by Lynn Nottage and an original score by John Legend. Whitney White will direct the high profile musical about single mothers and their daughters, both Black and white.
Of the nineteen new musicals highlighted in this piece, how many will you see..?
We’ll undoubtedly get at least a dozen more new musicals off-Broadway before the season is out, which haven’t been announced yet… meaning you could see over 30 new musicals off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway this season! And for those keeping track, nearly all of the 19 new musicals here that have already happened or been announced have brand new scores written for the stage.
No matter how robust each Broadway season is (or isn’t), a focus on the plethora of new New York musicals outside of Broadway is also recommended for every theatergoer!
Comments
To post a comment, you must register and login.