11 of the best new and upcoming shows on Broadway, NYC

When it comes to live theater, New York City sets the gold standard with splashy new musicals and edgy Off-Broadway plays. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for high-octane toe-tappers, star-studded dramas, revivals of revered classics or boundary-breaking productions. You’ll find them all under Broadway’s bright lights and at intimate theaters across the city. The only hard part? Deciding what to see. 

There are plenty of shows from last season worth checking out. If you love spoof shows like Spamalot or Something Rotten, you’ll get a kick out of Schmigadoon!, winner of the 2026 Tony Award for best musical, running through January 3. For serious spectacle, catch the musical adaptation of cult 1980s horror flick The Lost Boys – the flying vampires give Cirque du Soleil acrobats a run for their money. For last year’s best revivals, act fast. Ragtime, a sweeping musical about the American Dream at the dawn of the 20th century, closes August 16. Cats: The Jellicle Ball serves tens across the board in the vogue-tastic reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s kitty parade through August 8. 

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Don’t overlook the long-running shows, either. See the latest stars donning Cole Escola’s bratty curls in Oh, Mary!, including “prettiest girl in America” Meg Stalter (through September 12). Wow at the vocal spectacle of Keri René Fuller, the latest girl to don green for Wicked. Cheer for the well-coiffed boys at The Book of Mormon – the South Park creators’ musical just celebrated its 15th year on Broadway. 

But if you truly want to keep up with NYC’s theater cognoscenti, now’s the time to snag tickets to new shows that have yet to start previews. Here are some of the buzziest productions debuting in late 2026 and early 2027 – plus a guide to scoring tickets and how to attend performances like the most culture-savvy New Yorker.

New Broadway musicals to see this fall and spring

The Fantasticks 

Previews begin October 22; opens November 16
Hayes Theatre

The world's longest-running musical, which opened Off-Broadway in 1960 and ran for 42 years, is finally taking a Broadway bow, and it’s queerer than ever before. The fable of a boy and a girl tricked into falling in love by their meddling fathers gets a contemporary rewrite – it’s now two young men and their scheming mothers pulling the strings. Original book writer and lyricist Tom Jones completed the script's revisions before his death in 2023. Schmigadoon! director Christopher Gattelli helms the production. 

Dolly: A True Original Musical

Previews begin December 7; opens January 19, 2027
St. James Theatre

Dolly Parton, America's favorite Backwoods Barbie, is hightailing it from Tennessee to Broadway with a bio-jukebox musical chronicling her life and career. Expect to hear her biggest hits – Coat of Many Colors, Jolene, I Will Always Love You and 9 to 5 – plus a slate of brand-new songs. Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher directs, with three actresses set to portray Parton as she ages from her humble Smoky Mountain upbringing to rhinestone-studded, country-singing superstardom. It’s bound to be a lot like Dolly: a slightly campy, over-the-top, super sweet night at the theater. The musical officially opens on January 19, Parton’s 81st birthday.

Evita 

Previews begin February 27, 2027; opens March 25 
Winter Garden Theatre 

Talk about “star quality”: Rachel Zegler already won an Olivier Award for her silver-voiced portrayal of Argentina’s controversial First Lady Eva Perón in this lauded rock opera revival by Andrew Lloyd Webber. If you saw director Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard, you know what’s in store. No splashy sets here – just dark, minimalist designs that lend greater focus to the score and performances. In the West End staging, Zegler sang the 11 o’clock number Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from an outdoor balcony, generating a social media frenzy. Lloyd has promised audiences a different stunt on Broadway, sure to cause just as big of a buzz. 

Warriors

Previews begin March 2027
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is finally returning to Broadway with his first new musical since 2015. Inspired by the 1979 cult film classic The Warriors, the show follows a New York City gang desperately trying to make it home from the Bronx to Coney Island as rival crews close in. Miranda's version, co-written with Eisa Davis, reimagines the story with an all-female gang, trading turf-war machismo for a story about sisterhood.  The musical arrives with some serious hip-hop pedigree: a 2024 concept album featuring Nas and Ms Lauryn Hill hints at another genre-bending milestone in the making.

The Sound of Music 

Previews begin March 23, 2027; opens April 15 
Vivian Beaumont Theater

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Think you know this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic? Think again. In this Lincoln Center revival, Jasmine Amy Rogers, the Black actress who broke out in the 2025 Broadway musical Boop!, will play Maria, the guitar-toting governess who transforms the lives of the von Trapp family in Nazi-era Austria. The role, immortalized by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film, has only been played by white women on Broadway – a sign that this production isn’t afraid to swing big. Direction is sure to be equally inspired, led by Lear deBessonet, whose recent revival of Ragtime earned rave reviews. 

New Broadway plays to see this fall

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play

Previews begin September 8; opens September 28
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

When playwright Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls… opened Off-Broadway in 2017, critics showered it with praise. The play’s form is familiar: a high-school queen bee plans to win a beauty pageant – a plotline that’s right at home in the Mean Girls–Clueless canon. But the setting is completely different: a Ghana boarding school in 1986, where a new student from the US brings up questions of colorism and Western beauty standards. The cast is stacked with New York theater royalty, including Tony-winner Patina Miller (Pippin, Sister Act, The Hunger Games), Jasmine Amy Rogers and Denée Benton (The Gilded Age). 

Other Desert Cities 

Previews begin September 29; open October 18
Hudson Theatre 

A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2012, Jon Robin Baitz's family drama about political divides and dark secrets is sure to land even harder in 2026. It’ll be brought to life by Emmy-decorated actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, making her Broadway debut opposite four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. They play a wealthy Reagan-era Republican couple whose liberal daughter (Tony nominee Lily Rabe) threatens to unearth a long-buried family cover-up. The cast is rounded out by Emmy and Oscar winner Allison Janney and Stranger Things star Joe Keery. The production runs through January 17. 

A Few Good Men 

Previews begin October 8; opens October 29
Vivian Beaumont Theater

Master wordsmith Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network) got his start on Broadway with this 1989 play (and 1992 film with Tom Cruise) about two US Marines who get court-martialed for murdering a fellow soldier. Tony Award-winning director Michael Arden, most famous for his visionary work in musical theater (see Maybe Happy Ending and The Lost Boys), will be the brains behind this revival, featuring Bradley Whitford, a West Wing alum. If you’re big on sharp dialogue and courtroom fireworks, this one is for you. The show runs for 13 weeks. 

Much Ado About Nothing

Previews begin October 31; opens November 19
Winter Garden Theatre

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is brushing up on its iambic pentameter with this hit revival of a Shakespearean comedy, arriving from London under the direction of Jamie Lloyd. Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell – better known to Marvel fans as Loki and Agent Carter– star as Benedick and Beatrice, two sharp-tongued cynics who spar their way into love. Lloyd reimagines the comedy with a 1990s club aesthetic, complete with house music and buckets of pink confetti. British critics were smitten: The Guardian gave it a five-star review. The production runs for 10 weeks. 

Off-Broadway productions to see this summer and fall

Broad Strokes 

Previews begin on July 14; opens July 27
Lucille Lortel Theatre 

Cat Cohen is one of New York’s funniest women in alt-comedy, adept at cabaret-meets-standup performances similar to the likes of Bette Midler, Bridget Everett and Rachel Bloom. This summer, she’s bringing her hit one-woman show from the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival to the West Village, regaling audiences with her real-life tale of suffering a stroke at age 30. For a taste of her talents, check out her Netflix special The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous and her podcast, Seek Treatment, hosted with stand-up comedian and TV writer Pat Regan. It’s worth seeing her now – Cohen’s comedy is destined for much bigger stages. The show runs through September 5. 

Slam Frank

Previews begin September 17; opens October 4 
Orpheum Theater

If you're easily offended, sit this one out. Slam Frank, the incendiary reimagining of Anne Frank as a Latina rapper with a Black mother, neurodivergent father and genderqueer crush named Peter, skewers identity politics with equal-opportunity irreverence. Writers Andrew Fox (music and lyrics) and Joel Sinensky (book) developed the show after a viral Twitter thread in 2022 asked whether Anne Frank, who was murdered by the Nazi regime, ever considered her "white privilege." The result is a riotous satire packed with Easter eggs for musical theater fans. During its initial sold-out run in 2025, former New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley called it “the most important show around” – high praise from a notoriously tough reviewer. The production is slated to run through November 30. 

Honorable mentions on Broadway and beyond

In March, Paddington: The Musical – about an anthropomorphized, marmalade-loving bear trying to paw his way through London – will arrive on Broadway after its successful 2025 West End debut. If you’ve got kids in tow, this is the show to see. 

Raúl Esparza (Company) returns to Broadway in November with Galileo – a new rock musical about Renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei. The out-of-town tryout at Berkeley Repertory Theatre received mixed reviews. It may be worth reading the latest reviews or message boards (try searching Reddit or All That Chat) before committing to expensive tickets. 

It’s also worth perusing out the line-up at Little Island’s alfresco amphitheater – a gorgeous space overlooking the Hudson River. Programming here tends to favor avant-garde artistry. This summer’s slate features opera divo Anthony Roth Costanzo (August 5–9), jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant (August 12–16) and out-there comedian Julio Torres (August 27–30). Tickets cost $25 – one of the best theater deals in town. 

Broadway FAQs

When should I buy tickets?

If you’re dead set on seeing a particular show, purchase tickets as soon as possible, even if it’s a few months in advance – especially for well-reviewed musicals and limited-engagement runs with A-list performers. You’re unlikely to find discounts for the hottest tickets in town, so it’s worth ponying up extra dough to ensure you don’t miss the season’s best performances. (Read reviews in the New York Times and Vulture for a sense of what’s best.)

How do I purchase tickets, and where can I find discounts?

If you’re looking for the best seats in the house or tickets to in-demand shows, try making your purchase through the show’s website. Better yet, head straight to the theater’s box office: getting tickets in person eliminates steep digital transaction fees. 

The TodayTix app is another reliable source for securing tickets, offering discounted pricing and digital lotteries. Some shows allow you to pick exact seats through the app; others only let you choose a general seat section. The Theatr app is another handy resource where you can buy and sell last-minute tickets – no price mark-ups allowed. Just set the price you’re willing to pay for a particular show, and the app will send you a notification if tickets become available. 

If you’re in NYC and want steep discounts, head to the Theatre Development Fund’s TKTS booth under Times Square’ s red steps, where you can score tickets to same-day shows and next-day matinees at up to 50% off. You won’t find major hits here – productions listed have usually been around for a while, aren’t selling well at the box office or are still in previews (before reviewers cast judgment) – but you will find plenty of options. Check the TKTS website to see what’s on sale in real time – but know that tickets might sell out before you get to the booth.

For the cheapest tickets in town, try same-day lottery and rush programs; several shows also sell standing-room tickets. Read through Playbill.com’s cheat sheet for show-by-show policies. Scoring these super-limited, day-of-performance tickets is tough – so always prepare a backup plan.

What’s the best time to see a Broadway show?

Most shows run six days a week. While schedules vary, the majority of theaters close on Monday and present matinee and evening performances on Wednesday and Saturday. Tuesday performances tend to start earlier – ideal if you like an early night. Weekend evening crowds tend to be rowdier – fantastic for laughter-fueled comedies. It’s easiest to find discounted tickets for weekday matinees.

What can I bring to the theater?

You can bring a bag, so long as it’s small enough to fit under your seat (think purse, backpack or shopping bag). Avoid suitcases and oversized items. While most theaters have a coat check for safe storage, waiting in line before and after the performance can be time-consuming.

Theaters don’t allow outside food or drink, though many allow sealed water bottles. Expect a brief bag check upon entrance as part of the security process.

What should I wear?

People dress in all sorts of attire for the theater: cocktail dresses, suits, jeans, tees and shorts are all acceptable. Opt for smart-casual to fit in with locals (wedding attire is too formal; gym clothes are too pedestrian). Don’t overthink it. Once the lights go down, no one’s focused on what you’re wearing.