The fall Broadway season has already begun, with one new show that is already in previews and many more to follow.
No less than 16 plays and musicals, including both new works and classics, will open on Broadway between now and the end of December.
The Roommate: In what sounds like “The Odd Couple, Female Version,” Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow play two older women who decide to room together in a two-hander by Jen Silverman, with direction by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien (“Hairspray”). Currently in previews at the Booth Theatre, theroommatebway.com.
McNeal: Robert Downey Jr. makes his Broadway debut at Lincoln Center Theater in a new play by Ayad Akhtar (“Disgraced,” “Junk”) about a writer who becomes obsessed with artificial intelligence. Begins previews on Sept. 5 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, lct.org.
The Hills of California: Playwright Jez Butterworth and director Sam Mendes, who scored in 2018 with the Irish family melodrama “The Ferryman,” return with a new play about sisters who reunite in an English seaside town as their mother is on the verge of death. Begins previews on Sept. 11 at the Broadhurst Theatre, thehillsofcalifornia.com.
Yellow Face: David Henry Hwang’s fast and loose comedy, which was produced Off-Broadway in 2007, takes inspiration from Hwang’s vocal criticism of the casting of Jonathan Pryce in the original Broadway production of “Miss Saigon.” Begins previews on Sept. 13 at the Todd Haimes Theatre, roundabouttheatre.org.
Our Town: Jim Parsons leads a revival of Thornton Wilder’s classic American drama, with direction by Kenny Leon (“A Soldier’s Play”). The large cast also includes Katie Holmes, Zoey Deutch, Richard Thomas, and Ephraim Sykes. Begins previews on Sept. 17 at the Barrymore Theatre, ourtownbroadway.com.
Romeo and Juliet: Rachel Zegler, who previously appeared in a musical based on “Romeo and Juliet,” now co-stars in the Shakespeare play itself alongside Kit Connor (“Heartstopper”) under the direction of Sam Gold (“Fun Home,” “A Doll’s House, Part 2”). Begins previews on Sept. 26 at Circle in the Square, romeoandjulietnyc.com.
Left on Tenth: Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher lead a new romantic comedy by novelist and screenwriter Delia Ephron (“You’ve Got Mail”) based on Ephron’s memoir of the same name, with direction by Susan Stroman (“The Producers”). Begins previews on Sept. 26 at the James Earl Jones Theatre, leftontenthbroadway.com.
Sunset Boulevard: The acclaimed London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of the 1950 film noir, directed in an experimental, minimalist, multimedia style by Jamie Lloyd (“Betrayal,” “A Doll’s House”), stars Nicole Scherzinger (of the Pussycat Dolls) as the faded silent screen diva Norma Desmond. Begins previews on Sept. 28 at the St. James Theatre, sunsetblvdbroadway.com.
A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical: James Monroe Iglehart, who won a Tony Award as the Genie in “Aladdin,” plays the iconic bandleader and jazz musician Louis Armstrong in a new bio musical that features songs associated with Armstrong’s career. Begins previews on Oct. 16 at Studio 54, louisarmstrongmusical.com.
Maybe Happy Ending: “Glee” actor Darren Criss, who previously appeared on Broadway in “How to Succeed,” “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” and “American Buffalo,” leads a South Korean musical set in Seoul about two “HelperBot” robots who fall in love. Begins previews on Oct. 12 at the Belasco Theatre, maybehappyending.com.
Tammy Faye: Elton John’s newest musical, which will play the newly refurbished and restored Palace Theatre, follows televangelist Tammy Faye Messner (Katie Brayben, who played the role in London) in addition to her husband Jim Bakker (Christian Borle) and Reverend Jerry Falwell (Michael Cerveris). Begins previews on Oct. 19 at the Palace Theatre, tammyfayebway.com.
Death Becomes Her: Megan Hilty (“Smash”) and Jennifer Simard (“Company”) play two women who fight over the same man and resort to a potion that promises physical immortality in a musical adaptation of the 1992 film comedy with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. Begins previews on Oct. 23 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, deathbecomesher.com.
Swept Away: The Avett Brothers bring their folk-rock songs to Broadway in a new musical with a book by John Logan (“Gladiator”) that is set off the coast of New England circa 1888 following a violent shipwreck. Begins previews on Oct. 29 at the Longacre Theatre, sweptawaymusical.com.
Cult of Love: Playwright Leslye Headland (“Bachelorette,” “Assistance”) makes her Broadway debut with a new play about four adult children who confront old and new problems when they return home for Christmas. Begins previews on Nov. 20 at the Hayes Theater, 2st.com.
Gypsy: Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald follows in the footsteps of Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone to play the titanic Madame Rose in a new Broadway revival of what is widely considered to be one of the greatest musicals ever written. Begins previews on Nov. 21 at the Majestic Theatre, gypsybway.com.
Eureka Day: Jonathan Spector’s dark comedy, which premiered Off-Broadway right before the pandemic, depicts how a potential vaccination requirement creates chaos for the board of directors of an ultra-liberal private preschool in California. Begins previews on Nov. 25 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, manhattantheatreclub.com.
