38 Thoughts: A Recap of the 2023-2024 Broadway Season
Gayle Rankin in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre. Photo by Marc Brenner.
This story is based on the 32 Thoughts column by NHL writer Elliotte Friedman in which he shares one thought per NHL team roughly once a week as the hockey season progresses. This Broadway season, 38 new shows graced the stage, so let’s look back on each and every one of them, one thought at a time.
Grey House
Horror isn’t exactly unheard of on Broadway, but it’s rare. It’s a tough genre to pull off on stage, and the audience game for a horror play is undoubtedly smaller than one looking for a feel-good musical comedy. Grey House made a valiant effort, but the timing may not have been on its side. It ran (and closed) over the summer. Maybe it would have fared better during Spooky Season.
Once Upon a One More Time
I’m notoriously a jukebox musical hater, so a fairytale plot set to the music of Britney Spears sounded like my worst nightmare. Thankfully the musical was self-aware enough to lean into the silly, over-the-top vibe it needed to win over the haters, myself included. Sometimes you just need a show that’s not that deep, especially one that has Jennifer Simard singing “Work Bitch” as the wicked Stepmother.
Just For Us
Part solo show, part standup special, Just For Us is Alex Edelman’s magnum opus in which he tells the story of how he, a Jewish man, came to attend a white supremacist meeting in Queens. It’s profound and, at times, unsettling but packed with laughs, and the story of how his devoutly Jewish family came to celebrate Christmas is a highlight. And though its Broadway run has come to an end, it’s available for streaming on Max. It is a luxury afforded to very few Broadway shows and something I’d love to see more of.
Here Lies Love
Truly immersive Broadway still remains just out of reach, but Here Lies Love may have gotten as close as we’re going to get. A portion of the audience stood on the floor level as actors performed on elevated, moving platforms around them. The audience in the mezzanine got a more traditional seated experience. I chose to sit in the mezz because I didn’t want to stand for the duration, and watching ushers awkwardly herd the crowd to new spots as the platforms moved made me glad I was stationary, even if I missed out on the more immersive aspects of the production.
The Cottage
A star-studded cast of Eric McCormack, Laura Bell Bundy, Lilli Cooper, Nehal Joshi, and Alex Moffat headlined this affair-laden farce, yet the most memorable aspect of it was Paul Tate dePoo III’s scenic design. Hidden cigarettes popped out of the most unsuspecting places, always ready for whichever stress-smoker was due for one. A winding staircase was ripe for falling down, and a window bench found characters stuffed inside more than once. Taking full advantage of the scenery was Alex Moffat, who transformed taking a seat into a laugh-riot every time he found a chair.
Back to the Future: The Musical
It’s Back to the Future! You know exactly what you’re getting when you walk through the door. And the spectacle is worth the price of admission. It was the first onstage car of an oddly onstage-car-heavy season — The Outsiders, Lempicka, and The Great Gatsby also feature them — but BTTF’s is by far the coolest. Projections, lighting, and theater magic all come together to nail the illusion of the famous Delorian doing all the things the famous Delorian does. It’s a show to take the kids to if you want them to fall in love with the magic of Broadway.
The Shark Is Broken
“Oh my God! He looks just like him,” was the popular refrain among the audience at the John Golden Theater. Ian Shaw had genetics on his side as he portrayed his father Robert in a play he co-wrote about the elder Shaw’s experience filming Jaws. But Alex Brightman and Colin Donnell certainly looked their parts too. Brightman’s portrayal of a young, insecure Richard Dreyfuss relied more on mannerisms to establish the resemblance. Donnell’s signature calm coolness and a choice pair of wireframed glasses did the trick to resurrect Roy Scheider.
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
This is Kara Young’s third Broadway show in three seasons. It’s also her third Tony nomination. That’s right: Every time Kara Young has touched a Broadway stage, she’s earned a Tony nod for it. She’s yet to take home a trophy, however. Could this be her year? Either way, she’s surely cemented herself as one to watch.
Melissa Etheridge: My Window
Does putting an event in a Broadway theater automatically make it a Broadway show? I always have trouble counting residencies like this as part of the Broadway season, but they technically are. Where do you draw the line between a solo theater performance and a concert with some storytelling mixed in? I felt similarly about Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway residency a few years back and I’m sure I’ll feel the same about Ben Platt’s coming up next season.
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Wig and hair designer Nikiya Mathis is being deservedly honored with a Special Tony this year for her work on Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. This will be just the second time wig and hair design has been honored at the Tonys in its 77-year history, following wig and hair designer Paul Huntley’s Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater in 2003. Former executive director of the American Theatre Wing, Howard Sherman, once stated that the Tonys considered wig and hair design to be part of the costume design category, but wig and hair designers have typically not shared in that award. Could Mathis’s honor open the door to a wig and hair design category? There is currently a petition going around that has garnered over 2,500 signatures asking the Wing to make the award permanent.
Merrily We Roll Along
Sondheim’s show about three Old Friends has gotten an ever-increasing dose of friendship realism the longer the trio of Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez perform together. Their offstage joy and love for one another has been evident in their press tour, and at Mendez’s recent wedding, Groff served as the officiant and Radcliffe as the ringbearer, a reference to a scene in the musical. What a shame that their characters’ friendship begins — er, ends — as it does.
Gutenberg! The Musical!
The night I attended Gutenberg!, a couple seated in the front row decided to leave about 20 minutes in. And you know stars Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells couldn’t let them get away with it. Gad stopped the show to silently wave goodbye to them during their long march out of the theater. Audience laughter prompted the deserters to turn around to see what was so funny. They were good sports and waved back and indeed exited never to return, but the incident became a running off-script joke for the rest of the evening. You’ve got to love a show where there’s room for some shenanigans.
I Need That
Danny DeVito and his daughter Lucy DeVito played an onstage father-daughter duo with charming success, but the real strength of the play was its reliability at almost every life stage. I Need That explored the difficult dynamic of caring for a stubborn aging parent — or being that aging parent. I found the play successful no matter which lens you viewed it through.
Harmony
In a sea of jukebox musicals, I always appreciate when a bona fide celeb musician writes an original musical instead of falling back on their existing discography. Harmony, with music by Barry Manilow, also had one of the longest roads to Broadway of the season. Premiering at La Jolla Playhouse, a famous Broadway incubator, in 1997, Harmony originally eyed a Broadway run back in 2004, but the plug was pulled due to lack of funds. Twenty years later, it finally made the leap after a successful off-Broadway run in 2022. It’s never too late to dust off an old script.
Spamalot
Was Ariana Grande’s fandom for her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, welcome hype or a distraction? She was notoriously a repeat attendee. The night I was there, she brought SNL star, Bowen Yang, and music producer, Max Martin, as her guests — along with a couple of lowkey bodyguards. I know I spent some time eying her and her crew rather than the stage.
How to Dance in Ohio
Though it didn’t run for long, How to Dance in Ohio made the most of its 99 performances, profoundly impacting Broadway with its authentic representation of the autistic community. The musical highlighted various experiences of autism and all the autistic characters were portrayed by autistic actors. It earned a special Drama Desk Award for its Authentic Autistic Representation Team. I hope it opens the door for more generous disability representation onstage.
Appropriate
Appropriate made me feel things I’ve never felt in a theater before. The revelation that closes Act I sent a physical shockwave through my body that felt like being struck by lightning. And that’s to say nothing of the scenic reveals throughout the show’s epilogue. It’s a masterclass from playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and director Lila Neugebauer. Pay special attention to the sound design too.
Prayer for the French Republic
Francis Benhamou’s 20-minute monologue about the complexities of Jewish oppression throughout history was a show-stopper, a scene-stealer, a career-maker, and other hyphenated adjectives of that nature. But I couldn’t help but compare Prayer for the French Republic to last season’s Best Play winner, Leopoldstadt. Both time-hopping, family-tree dramas address the horrors of anti-Semitism and the generational trauma that results. For me, Leopoldstadt was the more successful of the two.
Days of Wine and Roses
In a season full of toxic, enabling couples (see also: Stereophonic, Cabaret, Here Lies Love, The Great Gatsby), Kirsten and Joe might just top the list. As they both battle with addiction, we watch their marriage come together and fall apart, and both Kelli O’Hara and Brian d'Arcy James walk away from the heart-wrenching piece with a bundle of awards nominations — including Leading Actor/Actress Tony noms.
Doubt: A Parable
You never want to see an actor pull out of a play because of their health, but the day previews for Doubt were set to begin, Tyne Daly was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and had to withdraw from the play. Her understudy, Isabel Keating, heroically went on for the first week of performances as Amy Ryan learned the role as a last-minute replacement. Though she says the effort struck her with “sheer terror,” she earned a Tony nod for her troubles. Thankfully, it was reported that Tyne Daly would make a full recovery.
The Notebook
One of the most creative pieces of merchandise this season has to be The Notebook’s branded box of tissues, and what a genius move that was. My God, you’re going to need them. The Nicholas Sparks novel turned 2004 film turned Broadway musical is just as much of a tearjerker as its predecessors.
An Enemy of the People
You’d think a play headlined by Succession’s Jeremy Strong and The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli would make headlines of its own accord, but some of the biggest buzz surrounding the Henrik Ibsen revival was generated by climate protestors who interrupted a preview performance. An Enemy of the People centers on a doctor trying to warn a small town of an impending public health crisis — a nice mirror for climate protestors to warn of an even larger one effecting all of humanity.
Water for Elephants
This season is packed with books-turned-movies-turned-musicals, and Water for Elephants adds the intrigue of circus acrobatics and animal puppetry — including the star of the show, an enormous elephant that is revealed to the audience slowly, body part by body part over a sequence of 20-minutes.
The Who’s Tommy
Tommy has held legendary status in my mind since I was a kid. My mom bought a T-shirt from the original Broadway production in 1992 and wore it constantly. The bright yellow shirt imprinted upon my memory until one day as an adult I asked her if she still had it. She did — and she gave it to me. When I heard rumblings of a Tommy revival, I couldn’t wait to see the show behind the shirt. The original album also featured heavily in my childhood, and hearing Ali Louis Bourzgui transform the music with such sinister power and mysteriousness cemented the show as one of my favorites of the season. Though, I’ll admit it will seriously help your enjoyment of the show if you have some nostalgia for the music.
The Outsiders
If you’re detecting a country twang to The Outsiders score, you have Americana folk duo Jonestown Revival to thank. Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance worked with Broadway veteran Justine Levine to pen the music and lyrics to their first Broadway show. The Tulsa-set story is the perfect home for a Broadway/country crossover, and Brody Grant nails the soulfulness of the music in his Broadway debut as Ponyboy. Top it off with some of the most crisp and engaging fight choreography I've ever seen, and you’ve got the building blocks of a seriously great new musical.
Lempicka
Lempicka undoubtedly took the biggest swing of the season. It wasn’t exactly a home run, but it gained a queer cult following almost immediately. During the Act I finale, “Woman Is,” in which Eden Espinosa’s Tamara de Lempicka rejoices in her budding queerness, my eyes wandered from the stage to the audience around me. I settled on a pair of queer women in the front row who were absolutely hypnotized by the performance, holding hands and watching Espinosa belt with tears in their eyes. Moments like those remind us that imperfect shows can still deeply touch the right audiences. I wish this show had more time to reach those who would have found themselves in it.
The Wiz
I walked out of The Wiz humming Wicked. It’s impossible not to compare the two — unfortunately for The Wiz. But that Act II opening dance number was a true showcase of talent for choreographer JaQuel Knight.
Suffs
When I talked to Hannah Cruz earlier this year about her role in The Connector, we also touched on her taking over the role of Inez Millholland in Suffs. She teased that “almost nothing that existed of Inez [off-Broadway] still exists.” Suffs has indeed undergone significant revisions since its 2022 run at The Public. It boasts an entirely new design team, adds several new songs, and trims some of what bogged it down before. A musical that felt like it was cramming too much information into a too-long run time now feels much more streamlined yet somehow goes deeper in its storytelling.
Stereophonic
The more I learn about Stereophonic, the more I fall in love with it. I interviewed Tony nominee and Stereophonic star Will Brill for TDF Stages, and he shared that the cast is having entire conversations that the audience can’t hear during the play in the sound-proof booth. They tell each other secrets and leave each other notes. Brill also shared that the play is full of easter eggs, including a line that reflects a real-life circumstance of writing the music. As the fictional band is writing the song “Seven Roads,” Brill’s character Reg is fiddling with a new bassline, and Peter (Tom Pecinka) tells him it’s great and he has to keep it in the song. Brill actually wrote that bassline himself. Will Butler, who wrote Stereophonic’s music, heard him playing it at rehearsal one day, and Butler thought Brill’s bassline was better than the one he’d originally written. He asked him to keep it, the same way Peter does in the script.
Hell’s Kitchen
Jukebox musical hater, reporting for duty once again. This time, Alecia Keys’s oeuvre couldn’t win me over. Maleah Joi Moon, however, did. Her leading role in Hell’s Kitchen should skyrocket her to Broadway stardom. Go see this if you want to be able to say, “I knew her when.” Her vocal power alone is a sight to behold. In fact, vocal power is on full display from the entire principal cast that includes Shoshana Bean, Kecia Lewis, and Brandon Victor Dixon.
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Watching Gayle Rankin’s Sally Bowles completely melt down while singing the title song was a highlight of the season for me. Also, the bourbon cocktail was pretty delicious as was the entire Kit Kat Club pre-show experience. I’d like to petition all Broadway theaters to add drink rails to their seating configurations from here on out.
The Heart of Rock and Roll
If you’re in the mood for over-the-top ‘80s cheese and you’re a fan of Huey Lewis and the News, then by all means, have a ball at The Heart of Rock and Roll. It chooses silly over serious every opportunity it gets, and for that, we should probably be grateful. Just a quick example: The lead character, Bobby, played by Corey Cott, works in a cardboard box factory — a detail that helps shoehorn “It’s Hip to Be Square” into the songlist.
Patriots
The West-End-to-Broadway pipeline is one I’m always keeping an eye on, and this season it gave us The Shark is Broken, Cabaret, and Patriots, a play that fictionalizes the rise of Vladimir Putin as aided and abeted by Russian oligarch, Boris Berezovsky. There’s something about the British imports that always pique my interest, especially when they take the form of character-driven intimate productions, even on the biggest stages. I’m already looking forward to the West End transfers announced for next season, Sunset Boulevard and The Picture of Dorian Gray. And there are bound to be more brewing.
Mary Jane
Several films are dubbed “Oscar bait” every season, but you hear the term “Tony bait” much less frequently. You might be tempted to tag Mary Jane, a play about a single mother caring for her terminally ill child, with that title. That’s not to belittle Rachel McAdams, who takes on the title role in her Broadway debut, but such an emotionally demanding role should earn some accolates — though only if it’s performed well. McAdams did, indeed, earn a Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play nomination and the play itself got a Best Play nomination. To make the story even more gutting, it’s a semi-autographical one from playwright Amy Herzog, who lost her own daughter to a chronic illness just last year.
Illinoise
Illinoise made the rare and bold choice to skip preview performances in pursuit of Tony eligibility. Fresh from an off-Broadway run at the Park Avenue Armony, the dance-forward musical began Broadway performances and opened on April 24, one day before the April 25 eligibility cutoff. Though any staging or technical tweaks had to be made on the fly, potentially in front of critics and awards nominators, it was a gamble that paid off. The Sufjan Stevens musical walked away with four Drama Desk nominations, six Outer Critics Circle nominations, and four Tony nominations, including Best Musical. It’s a dark horse that’s easy to root for to win top honors, but I’d be surprised if voters chose the 90-minute, dialogue-less show over a more traditional offering.
Uncle Vanya
As I sat in the audience watching miserable characters be miserable, I realized something quite surprising. I couldn’t relate. Not because the acting was poor or the script inaccessible. The star-studded ensemble led by Steve Carrell, William Jackson Harper, and Alison Pill all played their roles admirably. The new translation by What the Constitution Means to Me playwright Heidi Schreck was contemporary and lithe. I think I’m just too satisfied with my life to be moved much by Vanya’s lamentations. It’s an interesting realization to come to during a Chekhov play — that I am happy. I don’t think it was his original intent, but I’ll sure take it.
The Great Gatsby
It’s almost poetic that The Great Gatsby on Broadway is all flash, no substance. Whether that’s a fair characterization of Jay Gatsby himself has long been a subject of high school literature class debate. But this production removes all doubt. This Gatsby is an unlikable, neurotic, lovesick mess surrounded by yeasayers in perfectly tailored period costumes. And when the production resorts to pyrotechnics in the opening number, it might be trying to compensate for a lack of entertainment factor elsewhere.
Mother Play
Jessica Lange undoubtedly falls into the “legends” tier. Though age is but a number and Lange appears as formidable as ever, you have to wonder, at age 75, if this could be her last turn on a Broadway stage. It’s something that always enters my mind when someone of her caliber announces a starring role. If you’re waffling on buying a ticket, it might be worth considering.
