Broadway Productions Opening and Reopening in 2021-2022
The Broadway season is gearing up to open bigger, better, safer. All live show performances will abide by www.NYC.gov Covid-19 rules which will require proof of ID and proof of vaccination. Below is an alphabetical listing of all Broadway shows. Time to enjoy the THEATRE!
1776 – scheduled for spring 2022
The Roundabout Theatre Company rescheduled this revival for spring 2022, exact dates to be determined. This musical about the founding of our nation will be directed by Tony winner Diane Paulus and feature an all female-identifying cast at the American Airlines Theatre.
Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations – begins performances October 16, 2021
This bio-musical about the legendary Motown group resumes performances October 16, 2021 at the Imperial Theatre.
Aladdin – begins performances September 28, 2021
This Disney family favorite will reopen on September 28, 2021 at the New Amsterdam Theatre for a magic carpet ride.
The Book of Mormon – begins performances November 5, 2021
Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s irreverent, Tony-winning smash will reopen on November 5, 2021 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
Birthday Candles – begins performances March 18, 2022
The Roundabout Theatre Company rescheduled Noah Haidle’s play about a woman who ages from 17 to 101 for next spring, with previews starting on March 18, 2022 and an official opening of April 10 at the American Airlines Theatre. Debra Messing stars.
Caroline, or Change – begins performances October 8, 2021
The Roundabout Theatre Company rescheduled this revival of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s musical to fall, with previews starting on October 8, 2021 at Studio 54, with an official opening of October 27, 2021. Sharon D. Clarke, who won an Olivier Award in London for her searing turn as the title character, stars.
Chicago – begins performances September 14, 2021
Producers announced that this long-running revival of Kander and Ebb’s musical will resume performances September 14, 2021 at the Ambassador Theatre.
Chicken & Biscuits – begins performances September 23, 2021
Douglas Lyons’ rollicking comedy about the skeletons that emerge at a Black family funeral is coming to Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre, with previews beginning on September 23, 2021 and an official opening date of October 10, 2021. Zhailon Levingston directs an ensemble cast that includes Tony nominee Norm Lewis and Michael Urie.
Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes – begins performances November 5, 2021
Clyde’s – begins November 3, 2021
Second Stage Theater has added Clyde’s to its fall lineup, a new play by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined, Sweat), directed by Kate Whoriskey. The dramedy, about a truck stop sandwich shop with a formerly incarcerated kitchen staff, premiered under the title Floyd’s at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater in 2019. This new limited-run production begins previews on November 3, 2021 at the company’s Broadway house, the Helen Hayes Theater, with an official opening date of November 22, 2021.
Come From Away – begins performances September 21, 2021
This uplifting tale of how a small Newfoundland community welcomed stranded strangers on 9/11 will resume performance on September 21, 2021 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. There’s also a recording of the stage production in the works to be released on Apple TV+ on September 10, 2021.
Company – begins performances November 15, 2021
This gender-swapped revival of Stephen Sondheim’s landmark musical resumes performances November 15, 2021 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with an official opening of December 9, 2021 (these are new, earlier dates than originally announced in the spring). Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone still star.
Dana H. – begins performances October 1, 2021
The Vineyard Theatre’s acclaimed production of Lucas Hnath’s one-woman play about his mother’s real-life abduction transfers to Broadway’s Lyceum Theater, where it will play in repertory with Is This A Room. Stage vet Deirdre O’Connell will reprise her harrowing performance, for which she lip-syncs to recordings of candid interviews with Hnath’s mom. Previews begin on October 1, 2021 with an official opening on October 17, 2021.
David Byrne’s American Utopia – begins performances September 17, 2021
David Byrne’s acclaimed concert spectacle ended its original Broadway run about a month before the shutdown, but it planned to return in fall 2020. It’s back September 17, 2021 for a limited engagement until March 6, 2022 at the St. James Theatre. In the meantime, you can watch a movie version directed by Spike Lee on HBO!
Dear Evan Hansen – begins performances December 11, 2021
Winner of the 2017 Tony Award for best musical, this tale of a high school misfit who accidentally gets everything he ever wanted will return to Broadway’s Music Box Theatre on December 11, 2021, starring Jordan Fisher, who was playing the title role when Broadway shut down.
Diana – begins performances November 2, 2021
Producers announced that Diana would begin previews at the Longacre Theatre on November 2, 2021, with an opening night of November 17, 2021. In addition, a filmed version of the musical, which was shot live on stage in fall 2020, will premiere on Netflix on October 1, 2021. Royal family fans have two ways to see this history-inspired show, which is directed by Tony winner Christopher Ashley and stars Jeanna de Waal as the title princess, Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles and two-time Tony winner Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth.
Freestyle Love Supreme – begins performances October 7, 2021
Since Lin-Manuel Miranda is one of Broadway’s biggest champions, it’s not that surprising that he and his rapping pals have decided to bring back Freestyle Love Supreme for a limited engagement at the Booth Theatre from October 7, 2021 to January 2, 2022. This improvised hip-hop comedy troupe has been around since the mid-’00s and had a successful Broadway run in fall 2019. Hamilton director Thomas Kail will once again helm the anything-can-happen show. The company consists of Andrew Bancroft a.k.a. Jelly Donut, Tarik Davis a.k.a. Tardis Hardaway, Aneesa Folds a.k.a. Young Nees, Arthur Lewis a.k.a. Arthur the Geniuses, Kaila Mullady a.k.a. Kaiser Ro¨ze´, Chris Sullivan a.k.a. Shockwave and Veneziale a.k.a. Two-Touch, with special guest appearances by Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, James Monroe Iglehart and Wayne Brady.
Flying Over Sunset – November 11, 2021
Lincoln Center Theater’s musical about celebrities taking LSD in the ’50s will begin previews on November 11, 2021 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, with an official opening night of December 13, 2021. With a book and direction by James Lapine, and songs by Tom Kitt and Michael Korie, the show stars Harry Hadden-Paton as writer Aldous Huxley, Carmen Cusack as playwright and politician Clare Boothe Luce and and Tony Yazbeck as movie star Cary Grant.
Girl from the North Country – begins performances October 13, 2021
Producers announced that this poetic evocation of life during the Great Depression set to Bob Dylan songs will resume performances at the Belasco Theatre on October 13, 2021. The musical was the last production to open on Broadway before the shutdown, on March 5, 2020. Most cast members are set to return, including Todd Almond, Robert Joy, Marc Kudisch, Luba Mason, Jay O. Sanders and Mare Winningham.
Hadestown – begins performances September 2, 2021
Producers announced that this 2019 Tony Award winner for best musical would resume performances on September 2, 2021 at the Walter Kerr Theatre, making it the first Broadway show to reopen post-shutdown. Love clearly overcomes all!
Hamilton – begins performances September 14, 2021
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner phenomenon will reopen on September 14, 2021 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre to blow us all away, again. Miguel Cervantes leads the cast as the young, scrappy and hungry title character, alongside Krystal Joy Brown and Mandy Gonzalez as the non-Peggy Schuyler sisters; Tamar Greene as George Washington; Jin Ha as Aaron Burr; James Monroe Iglehart as Thomas Jefferson and Euan Morton as King George III.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – begins performances November 12. 2021
It’s magic: This two-part Tony-winning epic will reopen on Broadway as one streamlined play, reimagined and restaged by the original creative team, including playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany. This new version of the show starts performances on November 12, 2021 at the Lyric Theatre.
How I Learned to Drive – begins performances March 29, 2022
Manhattan Theatre Club announced that the postponed revival of Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned to Drive will open at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on March 29, 2022, with an official opening date of April 19, 2022. Stars David Morse and Mary-Louise Parker, who are reprising the roles they originated Off Broadway in 1997, remain with the production and Mark Brokaw directs.
Is This A Room – begins performances September 24, 2021
The Vineyard Theatre’s acclaimed production of Tina Satter’s Is This A Room transfers to Broadway’s Lyceum Theater, where it will play in repertory with Dana H. The script is a verbatim transcript of the FBI’s initial interrogation of Reality Winner, a 25-year-old Air Force linguist arrested in 2017 for leaking classified information to the media. Emily Davis will reprise her breathtaking performance. Previews begin on September 24, 2021 with an official opening on October 11, 2021.
Jagged Little Pill – begins performances October 21, 2021
This politically charged musical inspired by Alanis Morissette’s seminal album of the same name reopens on October 21, 2021 at the the Broadhurst Theatre. Casting has not yet been announced.
Lackawanna Blues – begins performances September 14, 2021
Lauded actor-writer-director Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who was appointed as an artistic advisor to Manhattan Theatre Club last fall, brings his autobiographical solo show to the nonprofit’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway this fall, with previews starting September 14, 2021 and an official opening date of September 28, 2021. Previously seen Off Broadway 20 years ago, the play celebrates the powerful and empathetic woman who raised Santiago-Hudson in a ’50s boarding house outside Buffalo, New York.
The Lehman Trilogy – begins performances September 25, 2021
This theatrical epic about the meteoric rise and catastrophic downfall of a financial dynasty resumes performances at the Nederlander Theatre September 25, 2021, with an official opening of October 14, 2021. The critically acclaimed London transfer was still in previews when the shutdown hit. Original cast members Simon Russell
The Lion King – begins performances September 14, 2021
This Disney juggernaut will come roaring back at the Minskoff Theatre on September 14, 2021.
The Minutes – begins performances March 2022
After initially moving the production to spring 2021, the producers rescheduled it again, with previews starting in March 2022 at Studio 54 and an official opening date of April 7, 2022. Most of the original cast members of Tracy Letts’ caustic small-town comedy, which was in previews when the shutdown hit, are hoping to return, including Tony winner Jessie Mueller. However,Armie Hammer has withdrawn due to personal issues.
MJ The Musical – begins performances December 6, 2021
This jukebox musical about the King of Pop starring newcomer Myles Frost will begin previews on December 6, 2021 at the Neil Simon Theatre, with an official opening date of February 1, 2022.
Moulin Rouge! – begins performances September 24, 2021
A sexy spectacle jam-packed with pop hits, this stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s movie resumes performances on September 24, 2021 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Original cast members Aaron Tveit, Danny Burstein, Sahr Ngaujah, Tam Mutu, Ricky Rojas and Robyn Hurder are set to return, but not Karen Olivo, who quit the show because of Broadway’s myriad issues. Natalie Mendoza will take over her role.
Mrs. Doubtfire – begins performances October 21, 2021
After being shut down during previews in 2020, this musical based on the beloved 1993 Robin Williams comedy is set to resume on October 21, 2021 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, with an official opening date of December 5, 2021. Rob McClure still stars as the cross-dressing dad.
The Music Man – begins performances December 20, 2021
The producers of this buzzy revival of The Music Man starring Tony winners Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster announced the production was rescheduled for late 2021, with previews beginning on December 20, 2021 and opening night set for February 10, 2022 at the Winter Garden Theatre.
Paradise Square – begins performances February 22, 2022
The first new Broadway musical to be announced since the onset of the pandemic, Paradise Square is a music-and-tap-filled portrait of Five Points, an integrated 19th-century New York City neighborhood. With a book by Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan, and direction by Moisés Kaufman, the show stars Joaquina Kalukango, Chilina Kennedy and John Dossett and begins previews at the Barrymore Theatre on February 22, 2022, with an official opening date of March 20, 2022.
Pass Over – begins performances August 4, 2021
A critically acclaimed hit at Lincoln Center Theater’s smallest house in 2018, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s searing examination of racism and brutality against Black bodies transfers to Broadway this summer, beginning previews on August 4, 2021 at the August Wilson Theatre, with an official opening date of August 22, 2021. Inspired by the Exodus story and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, the show premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and was filmed on stage by Spike Lee. But the NYC iteration of the play featured important changes that will presumably carry over to the Broadway production, which features the original Lincoln Center cast, Jon Michael Hill, Namir Smallwood and Tony winner Gabriel Ebert, and director Danya Taymor.
The Phantom of the Opera – begins performances October 22, 2021
The longest-running Broadway show ever (since 1988!) will resume performances October 22, 2021 at the Majestic Theatre.
Plaza Suite – begins performances February 25, 2022
This Neil Simon revival starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick is set to begin previews at the Hudson Theatre on February 25, 2022, with an official opening date of March 28, 2022. Tony-winning actor John Benjamin Hickey directs the A-list couple in this romp.
Six – begins performances September 17, 2021
This international musical sensation, which was originally set to open the day Broadway shut down, has scheduled its royal return for Friday, September 17, 2021 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, with an official opening night on Sunday, October 3.
Skeleton Crew – begins performances December 21, 2021
Tony winner Phylicia Rashad headlines the Broadway debut of Skeleton Crew, Dominique Morisseau’s Obie-winning play about embattled workers at a Detroit factory that manufactures automobile parts. A critically acclaimed hit at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2016, this new mounting is produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who helmed the show Off Broadway. Previews begin at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on December 21, 2021, with an official opening of January 12, 2022.
Springsteen on Broadway – begins performances June 26, 2021
The Boss is back! In a surprise but savvy move, the veteran rock star announced he was reviving his critically acclaimed autobiographical solo show at the St. James Theatre for a limited engagement from June 26, 2021 to September 4, 2021, making it the first show back on Broadway!
Take Me Out – begins March 9, 2022
Second Stage Theater announced that its revival of Richard Greenberg’s Tony-winning baseball play, which was in rehearsals when the pandemic hit, will begin previews on March 9, 2022 at the Helen Hayes Theater in spring 2022, with an official opening date of April 4, 2022. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jesse Williams and Patrick J. Adams are still set to star
Thoughts of a Colored Man – begins performances October 1, 2021
Previously a hit regionally, Keenan Scott II’s play fuses spoken word, slam poetry and rhythm to explore the vibrant inner lives of seven Black men in modern-day Brooklyn. Steve H. Broadnax III directs Dyllón Burnside, Keith David, Forrest McClendon, Luke James, Bryan Terrell Clark, Da’Vinchi and Tristan “Mack” Wilds in this new production, which begins previews at the John Golden Theatre on October 1, 2021, with an official opening date of October 31, 2021.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – begins performances October 8, 2021
This bio-musical about the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll will reopen on October 8, 2021 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Tony nominee Adrienne Warren plays the title role for a limited time.
To Kill a Mockingbird – begins performances October 5, 2021
One of the most financially successful plays in Broadway’s history, Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s groundbreaking novel about racial injustice will resume performances at the Shubert Theatre on October 5, 2021. Original stars Jeff Daniels and Celia Keenan-Bolger will return to their roles as crusading lawyer Atticus Finch and his precocious daughter Scout
Trouble in Mind – begins performances October 29, 2021
Tony winner LaChanze stars in Roundabout Theatre Company’s mounting of Alice Childress’ 1955 play, a groundbreaking examination of racism in the theatre industry that’s making its belated Broadway debut. The satire centers on a Black actress starring in an anti-lynching drama on Broadway who challenges the show’s all-white creative team. Talk about timely! This limited run begins previews on October 29, 2021 at the American Airlines Theatre, with an official opening date of November 18, 2021. Charles Randolph-Wright directs.
Waitress – begins performances September 2, 2021
Even though Waitress closed a few months before the pandemic began, Sara Bareilles’ Tony-nominated musical is set to return to Broadway for a limited run, with previews starting on September 2, 2021 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The songwriter herself will star in the show, about an aspiring baker trapped in an abusive relationship who longs for a different kind of life, until October 17, and the production is slated to run until January 9, 2022.
Wicked – begins performances September 14, 2021
This popular musical about the unlikely friendship between Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West will reopen on September 14, 2021 at the Gershwin Theatre.
Sandi Durell is Publisher/Editor of www.theaterpizzazz.com/
and has been writing, reviewing, producing, having a voice in the theater, cabaret and entertainment communities for over 25+ years. She is a Voting Member of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards; member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
Sandi is a producer of Broadway & Hollywood Live! Revues (www.ShaRellProductions.com); has produced numerous Songwriter Events for the American Popular Song Society (APSS – formerly New York Sheet Music Society on which she is a Board member); the benefit CD “Our Heart Sings;” is a producer on the Award winning film “Broadway the Golden Age” (with Rick McKay) and has produced a variety of entertainment events for most of her career.
She is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU – Advisory Board),100+ year old Dutch Treat Club, The Lambs; an occasional theater “angel” and has had a career as a vocalist-performer.
Her column can also be found at www.theaterlife.com