Broadway always blooms with new musicals in the spring as shows make sure to beat the April 30 deadline for Tony Award consideration, and this year is no exception.
Seven new musicals will open between now and the end of April ranging from big-cast revivals to intimate original works. Here’s the list:
The Story of My Life
A new, original musical from a writing team’s first Broadway effort. The Story of My Life tells how life-long friends make us who we are. It stars Will Chase and Malcolm Gets
Previews Start: February 3Opening Night: February 19
Where Playing: Booth Theatre, 225 West 45th Street
Guys and Dolls
A revival of this classic Broadway musical with a new twist. Often set in the 1950s, this version will be set in the ’30s. It stars Craig Bierko, Oliver Platt, and Lauren Graham, from TV’s Gilmore Girls. Unlikely love blossoms between a reformer and an unrepentant New York gambler.
Previews Start: February 4Opening Night: March 1
Where Playing: Nederlander Theatre, 208 West 41th Street
West Side Story
The Tony- and Oscar-winning musical is back with its tale of love among the gangs in 1950s New York. Leonard Bernstein’s music and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics, what more do you need?
Previews Start: February 23Opening Night: March 19
Where Playing: Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway
Happiness
Another new, original musical, this time from the team that wrote music and lyrics for Grey Gardens, with a book by John Wiedman. Susan Strohman directs. It’s the story of New Yorkers stuck on a subway and finding something none of them expected.
Previews Start: February 27Opening Night: March 30
Closing Night: June 7
Where Playing: Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street at Lincoln Center
Hair
The Public Theater brought us Hair in the 1960s and called it a “tribal, love-rock musical." Then they brought it back in a hit production in Central Park last summer directed by Diane Paulus. Now, the “Age of Aquarius” returns to Broadway.
Previews Start: March 6Opening Night: March 31
Where Playing: Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45th Street
Rock of Ages
So far, we have musicals from the 1950s and ’60s, why not the ’80s? Rock of Ages debuted off-Broadway last year and now transfers to Broadway. It’s a loving send up of the ’80s “hair bands” and power ballads, with all the songs you know from the era wrapped around a “save Sunset Boulevard” plot.
Previews Start: March 20Opening Night: April 7
Where Playing: Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 West 47th Street
9 to 5
Get ready. Dolly Parton has topped just about every field she entered: country music, pop music, TV, movies. Now she’s written music and lyrics for this stage version of the movie. It’s a fantasy-come-true revenge story of three hard-working women who’ve had enough of their sexist boss.
Previews Start: April 7Opening Night: April 30
Where Playing: Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway