7 New Musicals I Can’t Wait To See

    

  No one who loves Broadway and Musicals can say that this 2023-2024 season was not an avalanche of art and hard work. There were SO! MANY! shows that closed early and closed with limited engagements and so many nominations that were snubbed.

(*cough* Spamalot Should Have Been Nominated for Best Revival, you cowards. *cough*). 

   But among the time-traveling cars, the third Sondheim revival, and four (count 'em!) Four! book-to-musical adaptations, there are so many musicals that are either currently running or are about to open that have me like the Fry from Futurama meme.

  So with that, I want to talk about the musicals that I cannot wait to see whether it be on Broadway right now or could transfer to Broadway. Let's jump right into it! 

Honorable Mention: Lempicka

(Closes May 19th)

    I will admit, before this year I'd never heard of Tamara De Lempicka, a Polish painter who's best known for her Art Deco-style paintings. But, when a little song called 'Woman Is' sung by the masterful Eden Espinoza [who has not been on Broadway in ten years, btw!] was dropped...I was in love.

    Unfortunately, the show closes on May 19th, and I can only get there if a tour is announced [Which is unlikely]. So, I won't ever be able to see this show. But if you live closer to NY than I am and are free before May 19th, I recommend seeing this show that so many have worked on for many years. It's unfathomable to me how this original show wasn't given a chance. But, that's another topic, which I *may* do an article.

7. Smash The Musical 

(Maybe Opening on Broadway 2025)

    Confession Time! I've never seen the show Smash. I was too young to watch it, and now I'm just too busy. But, I can appreciate the original Bombshell cast/sound recording, and when I heard that many Broadway vets were going to be in a workshop to mount it for a Broadway stage in the future, I was hooked. I haven't heard much about it since the full orchestra workshop closed, but it's still slated for a 2024/2025 season, so I hope that it comes to 45th and Broadway soon.

6. The Great Gatsby

(Currently Running On Broadway)

    Not to be confused with Rachel Chavkin and Florence & The Machine’s Gatsby musical which is currently mounting at the American Repertory Theatre, The Great Gatsby was a Papermill Playhouse Theater production starring its current Broadway vets, Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada.

    I don't particularly like the story of The Great Gatsby, but I would see Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada play in a summer stock show with paper bags on their heads as long as I can get a ticket. Though I don't hear great things about the show itself the praise JJ and EN get every night is worth it for me. I truly hope I get to see it before the run is over.

5. Gun and Powder

(Now closed. Hopeful to be a Broadway Transfer)

    Until the musical, I had never heard of The Clarke Sisters, a pair of black twins who posed as white to rob a bank to save their family from debt. But, after I heard not only a few songs from the little snippets on Instagram but also learned that Ciara Renee was one of the leads, I was head over heels. My problem is that the Papermill Playhouse is about 81 miles too far, and the show has now closed, but if the praise that keeps coming from the audience is anything too lean into, I'm hoping that Gun and Powder will find itself on a Times Square billboard sometime soon.

4. A Wonderful World, A Louis Armstrong Musical

(Premieres in October at Studio 54)

    I will admit, I'm tired of jukebox biopic musicals. I really am. However, if you come up to me and ask me who would I rather have a jukebox musical about, Louis Armstrong or Neil Diamond, I'd say Louis Armstrong. Well, in October, everyone who can travel to New York City will be able to see it. Starring the prolific, amazing, talented, and versatile, James Monroe Iglehart just off his run in Spamalot, A Wonderful World is about the jazz singer and his life from New Orleans to fame. I'm excited about this musical and seeing how much James Monroe Iglehart changes himself to be Louis. It's opening at Studio 54 in October, and I hope it has a long run into 2025 and wins a Tony.

3. Death Becomes Her

(Currently Running at the Cadillac Theatre in Chicago until June 2nd)

    Once again, I don't know about you but I'm kind of tired of cult-hit-turned-musical, but I'm curious to see how Death Becomes Her defies expectation. With a dark comedy like Death Becomes Her, having Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep's characters belt out high A's and C's (It's Jennifer Simard and Meagan Hilty playing those respective roles, you know they will,) is an idea that I can get behind. I wonder how they'll heighten the hijinks and laughs, and I wonder how they'll deal with the iconic ending...

    It'll be at the Cadillac Theatre until June 2nd, and like Papermill, Chicago is 780 miles too far, so I hope someone closer can see this musical before it goes away, and I hope it comes to Broadway by next year.

2. The Devil Wears Prada

(Closed in Chicago but Premieres in September on the West End)

    The Devil Wears Prada The Musical is something I still don't know if it will work, but I'm curious to see if it does for myself. When the show closed in Chicago with middling to negative reactions, I was really disappointed and it made me realize that it probably didn't work for more than just actual musical reasons.

    So when the creative team said they would take a break, revamp the show, and try again, and then later announced its run in the West End with iconic Diva herself, Vanessa Williams, I was hooked, line and sinker. I SO! Want to see this with Vanessa Williams as Miranda Priestly. The show opens in the West End in the fall, and I hope my English friends can go and see it for me. You lucky fishes!

1. Betty Boop The Musical

(Rumored to be premiering on Broadway 2025)

    Betty Boop was an icon in my house growing up, hell my mother's teasing nickname was Betty Boop (for reasons I won't get in here), so when I learned that the iconic character would be given her own musical--with a cultural spin-- I was intrigued. If you didn't know, Betty Boop was actually modeled and inspired by a black flapper named Baby Esther, and with that knowledge, the creative team made Betty Boop for the musical a black woman, a choice I of course love to high heavens.

    But that does not mean the character is Baby Esther, not at all. It's still the Fleischer character, and it's about the character of Betty Boop going from her animated world into ours. That premise sounds so camp, and I love it to pieces! Boop! The Musical was tried out in Chicago in December of 2023 to rave reviews though most had some story critiques. I can't wait for it to come to the stage. I want to see it so badly!

What are some Broadway shows you can't wait to see? Are any of mine on your list? Let me know down below.