The Winter 2018 Broadway Preview

On December 17, Farinelli and the King marked the last opening of 2017, but less than a month later Broadway picks right back up with the first opening of the season in January. From solo shows with big stars to two-part epic dramas, from the long-awaited returns of classic musicals to the grand entrance of buzzworthy new fare, Winter 2018 packs a punch on the Main Stem.

(Note: The dates below indicate the scheduled first preview performance of each Broadway production.)

JANUARY

January 11: While preview for John Lithgow: Stories By Heart began previews December, official opening is January 11 at Roundabout Theatre Company’s American Airlines Theatre. The intimate evening features the two-time Tony winner as he embodies a cast of characters from classic tales by Ring Lardner and P.G. Wodehouse. Click here for tickets and information.

FEBRUARY

February 16: Before the March 15 opening of the Jimmy Buffett jukebox musical Escape to Margaritaville, the show begins previews February 16 at the Marriott Marquis Theatre. After originating the role in the musical’s world premiere, Paul Alexander Nolan (Bright Star) leads a cast that includes Alison Luff (Les Misérables), Lisa Howard (It Should Been You), and Rema Webb (The Color Purple). Click here for tickets and information.

February 22: Elsa brings the chill when she and her sister Anna come to the St. James Theatre for Frozen, the eagerly anticipated stage adaptation of the wildly successful Disney animated film. Music and lyrics are written by the original film’s writers, Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit) and Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon). Caissie Levy (Hair) and Patti Murin (Lysistrata Jones) star. Look for previews to start February 22 with an official opening March 22. Click here for tickets and information.

February 23: The National Theatre revival of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America will transfer to Broadway with Tony winner Nathan Lane and Tony nominee Andrew Garfield starring. Tony winner Marianne Elliott—who staged the epic in London—directs again for Broadway. Beginning previews February 23 and officially opening March 21 at the Neil Simon Theatre, both plays that comprise Angels will play in repertory. Click here for tickets and information.

February 27: Tony winner Laurie Metcalf, Oscar winner Glenda Jackson, and Tony nominee Allison Pill will star in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women at the John Golden Theatre. Directed by Joe Mantello, this production, which begins February 27 and opens March 29, marks the Broadway premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Click here for tickets and information.

February 28: After 24 years, Carousel returns to the Broadway stage with Tony winner Jack O’Brien at the helm. The revival begins previews on February 28 and officially opens April 12 at the Imperial Theatre starring Tony winner Jessie Mueller and Tony nominee Joshua Henry as Julie Jordan and Billy Bigelow. This classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical features iconic songs such as “Mister Snow” and “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over.” Click here for tickets and information.

MARCH

March 1: Michael Cera and Chris Evans make their Broadway debuts, in Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, about four people waiting in a lobby during a murder investigation. The show marks the first production of Second Stage Theatre’s inaugural Broadway season. Rounding out the cast are Emmy nominee Brian Tyree Henry (The Book of Mormon) and Bel Powley. Directed by Trip Cullman (Six Degrees of Separation), the play begins previews March 1 for a March 26 opening at the Helen Hayes Theatre. Click here for tickets and information.

March 6: The highly anticipated stage play that will take Broadway audiences inside the magical world of Harry Potter arrives at the Lyric Theatre, with previews beginning March 6 and an official opening April 22. Transferring directly from London (where it will continue its West End run), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 and 2 will be presented in two parts with the original cast. Click here for tickets and information.

March 12: Live from New York—Emmy winner Tina Fey makes her Broadway playwriting debut when Mean Girls, the musical adaptation of Fey’s hit 2004 film, begins previews on March 12 and opens on April 8 at the August Wilson Theatre. Rounding out the writing team is Fey’s husband Jeff Richmond (music) and Nell Benjamin (lyrics). Taylor Louderman (Kinky Boots) takes on the infamous queen bee Regina George and Erika Henningsen (Les Misérables) is North Shore’s newest student, Cady Heron. Click here for tickets and information.

March 15: My Fair Lady, the classic Lerner and Loewe adaptation of Pygmalion, begins previews on March 15 and officially opens on April 19 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher and Tony-winning choreographer Christopher Gattelli reunite after their work on The King and I. Emmy nominee Lauren Ambrose and London stage vet Harry Hadden-Paton (Downton Abbey) star as Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins, joined by Norbert Leo Butz and Diana Rigg. Click here for tickets and information.

March 20: Rock meets classical music in Rocktopia, the live concert that fuses the artistic influences of Mozart, Queen, Beethoven, Journey, and more. The limited engagement begins March 20 at the Broadway Theatre and ends April 29. Click here for tickets and information.

March 22: The revival of Tony-winning Children of a Lesser God—about the relationship between a deaf woman and a hearing speech teacher—begins previews at Studio 54 March 22 and opens April 11. Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff will make their Broadway debuts, with Kenny Leon directing. Click here for tickets and information.

March 22: Oscar and Tony winner Denzel Washington returns to Broadway in The Iceman Cometh. The fourth revival of the Eugene O’Neill classic will begin previews March 22 at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with an official opening on April 26. Click here for tickets and information.

March 28: From the director of Jersey Boys, comes another jukebox musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Co-written by director Des McAnuff, Colman Domingo, and Robert Cary and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, the new musical about the life of disco queen Donna Summer features over 20 hits from the singer’s catalog. Preview begin March 28 with an opening set for April 23 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Click here for tickets and information.

March 29: The first-ever revival of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties transfers to Broadway from the West End with direction by Tony nominee Patrick Marber. The Roundabout Theatre Company production will play at American Airlines Theatre, beginning previews March 29 and an official opening April 24. Click here for tickets and information.

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