April on Broadway, to borrow a phrase from a showtune classic, is coming to an end with no less than 14 new plays and musicals opening before the April 25 Tony Awards eligibility cutoff date. The final weeks of the 2023–24 theater season are so crowded that two shows will open every three days, a Broadway rarity.
Each show will be impacted by the time limit. Whether you use this page as a guide or an invitation to debate, come back often for the latest offerings from Broadway. And indeed there will be a lot of offers – here is the schedule of April openings: foreigner (11 April), Lempicka (14 April), The Wiz (April 17), victim (April 18), stereophonic (April 19), hell’s Kitchen (April 20), Cabaret (April 21), Patriot (22 April), heart of rock and roll (22 April), mary jane (23 April), Illinois (April 24), Uncle Vanya (April 24), play mom (25 April), the great Gatsby (25 April).
Below is a summary of our reviews. Keep checking back as the list updates.
who is tommy
Ali-Louis Bourzagui in ‘The Who’s Tommy’
liz lauren
opening night: 28 March 2024
venue: Netherlands Theater
Director: Des McAnuff
Book: Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Music and Lyrics: pete townshend
Choreography: lorin latar
Mould: With Ali Louis Bourgegui, Alison Luff, Adam Jacobs, John Ambrosino, Bobby Conte, Christina Sajous, Haley Gustafson, Jeremiah Alsop, Ronnie S. Bowman Jr., Mike Cannon, Tyler James Eisenreich, Sheldon Henry, Aphra Hines, Aliyah James, David Paul Kidder, Tassie Kirbas, Lily Crain, Quinton Kusheba, Reese Levin, Brett Michael Lockley, Nathan Lucrezio, Alexandra Mateo, Mark Mitrano, Reagan Pender , Cecilia Ann Popp, Daniel Quadrino, Olive Ross-Kline, Jenna Nicole Schoen, Dee Tomasetta, and Andrew Tufano.
running time: 2 hours 10 minutes (including interval)
Conclusion of Deadline: who is tommy There’s a nonstop surge of electrified energy, a darting pinball of a production that syncs visual panache with 55-year-old songs that sound as vital today as they should have at Woodstock. To read the full review, click on the show title above,
water for Elephants
‘water for Elephants’
Matthew Murphy
opening night: 21 March 2024
venue: Imperial Theater
Director: jessica stone
Book: Rick Ellis, based on the novel by Sarah Gruen
Music and Lyrics: Pigpen Theater Company
Mould: With Grant Gustin, Isabelle McCalla, Greg Edelman, Paul Alexander Nolan, Stan Brown, Joe De Paul, Sarah Gettelfinger and Wade McCallum, Brandon Block, Antoine Boissereau, Rachel Boyd, Paul Castree, Ken Wolf Clark, Taylor Colleton, Gabriel Oliveira de Paula Costa, Isabella Luis Diaz, Samantha Gershman, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Nicholas Zelmoni, Caroline Kane, Harley Ross Beckwith McLeish, Michael Mendez, Samuel Renaud, Marissa Rosen, Alexandra Gail Royer, Asa Somers, Charles South, Sean Stack, Matthew Varvar and michelle west
running time: 2 hours 40 minutes (including intermission)
Conclusion of Deadline: water for Elephants is an enjoyable, visually pleasing show led by the cast shineGrant Gustin’s sweet-voiced Broadway debut, which injects some charm into a slim book by Rick Ellis that’s perhaps too close to the novel for its own good. Click on show title above to read full review,
public enemy
Michael Imperioli in ‘An Enemy of the People’
emilio madrid
opening night: 18 March 2024
venue: circle in the square
written by: Henrik Ibsen, in a new edition by Amy Herzog
director: Sam Gold
Mould: Jeremy Strong, Michael Imperioli, Victoria Pedretti, Katie Broad, Bill Buell, Caleb Eberhart, Matthew August Jeffers, David Patrick Kelly, David Matter Merton, Max Roll, Thomas J. Ryan, Alan Trong
running time: 2 hours (including a break)
Conclusion of Deadline: see jeremy strong (inheritance) and Michael Imperioli (the Sopranos) Going face to face for two hours is a treat, as if the stars of your favorite HBO dramas have crossed some crazy timeline to see each other. To read the full review, click on the show title above,
Notebook
Joey Woods and Ryan Vasquez in ‘The Notebook’
liz lauren
opening night: 14 March 2024
venue: Gerald Schoenfeld Theater
Director: Michael Greif and Skelley Williams
Book: Becca Brunstetter
Music and Lyrics: ingrid michaelson
Mould: With Jordan Tyson, Joey Woods, Maryanne Plunkett, John Cardoza, Ryan Vasquez, Dorian Harewood, Andrea Burns, Yasmin Allers, Alex Benoit, Chase Del Rey, Hillary Fisher, Jerome Harman-Hardeman, Dorcas Leung, Happy McPartlin, Julieta Ojeda, Kim Ona, Carson Stewart, Charles E. Wallace, Charlie Webb
running time: 2 hours 10 minutes (including interval)
Conclusion of Deadline: Based on the 1996 bestselling book by Nicholas Sparks, about a young – then older, then much older – couple who struggle through life’s hardships (until they don’t), Notebook Muzak’s theatrical counterpart, comforting in its unapologetically manipulative manner and fearless in its disregard for anything approaching real-world seriousness. Click on show title above to read full review,
Doubt
Liev Schreiber and Zoe Kazan in ‘Doubt’
john marcus
opening night, 7 March 2024
venue: Todd Haymes Theater
written by: John Patrick Shanley
director: Scott Ellis
Mould: Amy Ryan, Liev Schreiber, Zoe Kazan, Quincy Tyler Bernstein
running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)
Conclusion of Deadline: The play remains as good today as it has been since its 2004 premiere – and it really does – due in large part to the top-tier cast assembled by the Roundabout Theater Company, a group that keeps us enthralled from beginning to end. Keeps guessing. Click on show title above to read full review,
