Fall Preview 2023 | Playbill

Playbill proudly presents our special 2023 Fall Preview. Here, we take a deep dive into some of the most anticipated shows coming up in NYC. The short versions of these articles appear in our September print Playbill, but be sure to read the much longer versions below for more backstage stories, and original photography. Check back here as the month progresses for exclusive video performances.


Video: See Madison Kopec Sing 'Unlikely Animals' From How to Dance in Ohio
Vi Dang

Video: See Hadestown's Newest Eurydice, Solea Pfeiffer, Sing 'Flowers'
Vi Dang

Hey, Old Friend: Lindsay Mendez Returns to Broadway With Merrily We Roll Along
Photo by Joan Marcus, Graphic by Vi Dang

After 3 Decades, Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's Harmony Is Finally on Broadway
Photo by Julieta Cervantes, Graphic by Vi Dang


Leslie Odom, Jr. and Kara Young Continue the Story for Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
Photo by Kareem Black, Graphic by Vi Dang

Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells Are Ready to Make You Laugh With Gutenberg! The Musical!
Photo by Mandee Johnson, Graphic by Vi Dang


How Jocelyn Bioh Is Balancing a Broadway Play, and a Newborn
Photo by Joshua Bright, Graphic by Vi Dang


Broadway Shows Opening Fall 2023

Purlie Victorious

First Preview: September 7, 2023
Opening Date: September 27, 2023

A black man dreams of being a preacher and works to take control of the church in his small Georgia community despite the community's difficult relationships with neighboring whites, in Ossie Davis's comedy.


Jaja’s African Hair Braiding

First Preview: September 12, 2023
Opening Date: October 3, 2023

Welcome to Jaja’s bustling hair braiding salon in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.


Melissa Etheridge: My Window

First Preview: September 14, 2023
Opening Date: September 28, 2023

Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Melissa Etheridge has lit up airwaves and arenas across the world for more than two decades with instant classics like “I'm the Only One,” “Come to My Window,” “I Want to Come Over,” and more. Melissa Etheridge: My Window is an intimate experience like never before, inviting theatergoers into an exhilarating evening of storytelling and music. From tales of her childhood in Kansas to her groundbreaking career highlights – with all of life’s hits and deep cuts between – Etheridge opens her heart and soul on stage to fearlessly dazzle audiences of all generations.


Gutenberg! The Musical!

First Preview: September 15, 2023
Opening Date: October 12, 2023

It’s the story of two best pals named Bud and Doug who put on a show together because they just love each other so damn much. It’s art imitating life imitating art! And it’s the funniest thing to come to Broadway since 1448! (Which is the year the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg, who is the subject of the musical that Bud and Doug write, but that’s not important right now.)



Merrily We Roll Along

First Preview: September 19, 2023
Opening Date: October 10, 2023

The story of how a composer's idealism and friendships were corrupted by success is told backwards, starting with the disillusioned present and ending with their optimistic college years, in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical, which is suggested by the George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play.

I Need That

First Preview: October 13, 2023
Opening Date: November 2, 2023

Sam doesn’t get out much. Actually, he doesn’t get out at all, opting instead for the safety of his house in the company of his things—his many, many things. But when a notice from the government arrives alerting Sam that he must clean up his property or face eviction, he’s forced to reckon with what’s trash, what’s treasure, and whether we can ever know the difference between the two.


Harmony

First Preview: October 18, 2023
Opening Date: November 13, 2023

In the 1920s and 30s, The Comedian Harmonists sold millions of records, made dozens of films, and sold-out the biggest theaters around the world. Their heavenly harmonies and musical comedy antics catapulted these six talented young men from singing in the subway tunnels of Berlin to international superstardom.

What happened next is the story of Harmony


Spamalot

First Preview: October 31, 2023
Opening Date: November 16, 2023

Lovingly ripped from the film classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot has everything that makes a great knight at the theatre, from flying cows to killer rabbits, British royalty to French taunters, dancing girls, rubbery shrubbery, and of course, the lady of the lake.



Fallen Angels

First Preview: November 6, 2023
Opening Date: November 6, 2023

Sparkling, dizzying, and deliciously potent, Noël Coward’s Champagne-fresh comedy of bad manners shocked and delighted audiences in its 1925 premiere. Now Emmy nominee Rose Byrne and Tony winner Kelli O’Hara head a star-studded cast to bring Coward’s unmatched wit to life once again, for one night only, under the direction of Roundabout Interim Artistic Director Scott Ellis.


How to Dance in Ohio

First Preview: November 15, 2023
Opening Date: December 10, 2023

Based on the award-winning HBO documentary, How to Dance in Ohio

is a heart-filled new musical exploring the need to connect and the courage it takes to step out into the world. At a group counseling center in Columbus, Ohio, seven autistic young adults prepare for a spring formal dance–a rite of passage that breaks open their routines and sets off hilarious and heartbreaking encounters with love, stress, excitement, and independence. How to Dance in Ohio is a story about people standing on the cusp of the next phase of their lives, facing their hopes and fears, ready to make a very big first move…and dance.




Appropriate

First Preview: November 29, 2023
Opening Date: December 18, 2023

It’s summer, the cicadas are singing, and the Lafayette family has returned to their late patriarch’s Arkansas home to deal with the remains of his estate. Toni, the eldest daughter, hopes they’ll spend the weekend remembering and reconnecting over their beloved father. Bo, her brother, wants to recoup some of the funds he spent caring for Dad at the end of his life. But things take a turn when their estranged brother, Franz, appears late one night, and mysterious objects are discovered among the clutter. Suddenly, long-hidden secrets and buried resentments can’t be contained, and the family is forced to face the ghosts of their past.


Prayer For The French Republic

First Preview: December 19, 2023
Opening Date: January 9, 2024

In 1944, a Jewish couple in Paris desperately awaits news of their missing family. More than 70 years later, the couple’s great-grandchildren find themselves facing the same question as their ancestors: “Are we safe?” Following five generations of a French Jewish family, Prayer For The French Republic is a sweeping look at history, home, and the effects of an ancient hatred.

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