It’s around the time for entertainment to take up the stage. Old, new, and improved Broadway musicals will be touring nationwide. Some of these musicals date back to decades ago and are now being revived again. Some are brand new and have never been performed before but are now making their Broadway debut for the first time. A few of these musicals aren’t as popular and well-known as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, or Hamilton, but a few people might show an interest in them. Here are the five musicals that soon will, or already have, hit the stage.
Gutenberg! The Musical! is a chaotic, comedic musical developed from 2005-2006 by Scott Brown and Anthony King. The musical is about two best friends named Bud and Doug who create and put on a musical based on Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printing press in 1448. American Film Actor Andrew Rannells, along with Actor and Comedian Josh Gad, who both got their start on Broadway, will be the stars of this show. The show will run from October 12th, 2023, through January 28th, 2024.
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical comedy written in 1981 by George Furth, an American librettist and playwright, with song lyrics written by American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. This musical is about a composer who lost his two closest friends due to his success. The musical is told backward by opening with how things gradually fell apart within the friendship in the present time. Then, it goes all the way back to the beginning when their friendship blossomed in college. Starring in the show is well-known Harry Potter Actor Daniel Radcliffe and American Actors and Singers Lindsay Mendez and Jonathan Groff The show plays from October 10th, 2023, up until March 24th, 2024.
The Notebook, originally a movie made back in 2004, was announced to be an upcoming musical in 2019. It was officially performed in the fall of 2022 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The movie was developed into a musical by Multi-platinum Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. The Notebook is a love story between a passionate young man named Noah and a rich young woman named Allie. Noah reads from a book that retells the love story between him and his wife. Due to Allie’s dementia, she has no recollection of their past. This musical delves through the years they have been together. The show opens on March 14th, 2024, with an unknown ending date.
Shucked originally began production in 2022. The musical was created by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. It is also being made into a book by Robert Horn. The musical officially opened on April 4th, 2023. The musical is based around corn. It is set in a place called Cobb County, where everyone there is trying to find a solution to their shortage of corn. Though this whole musical is based around corn, it sends a very important message of keeping an open mind and working through division to achieve unity. The show has been running since April 4th, 2023.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a remake of the classic 1979 musical. The very first writing and physical print of Sweeney Todd was published in 1846 and created by James Malcome Rymer. Then, in 1979, it was turned into a musical. A few decades later, in 2007, it was made into a movie starring American Actor Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. Now, in the present time, it has been put back on the stage with Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd and Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett. This musical is a tale about the English barber and serial killer, Sweeney Todd, who seeks revenge on Judge Turpin, who had convicted him of petty larceny. This led the judge to revoke custody of Sweeney Todd’s child, Johanna Barker. His goal is to seek vengeance towards all the people who have done him wrong. This show opened on March 26th, 2023. There is no information on the closing dates.
Old Broadway musicals being revived and put on the modern stage is a wonderful sight to see, as it brings a broader audience to the theater. As completely new musicals are being written and revised, it shows the creativity of art and song being expanded as the years go on.
