The 2016-2017 Broadway season goes into full swing soon. There are new shows and old favorites coming to the Great White Way. Here is what you need to know about this season's most anticipated shows!
1. "Hello, Dolly!"
This classic musical is back where it belongs...on the stage. Legendary performer Bette Midler takes on the role of matchmaker Dolly Levi with David Hyde Pierce as Horace Vandergelder, the cynical store owner Dolly has her eye on. Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin round out the cast as Cornelius Hacket and Irene Molloy. The show opens in April and starts previews in March.
2. "The Cherry Orchard"
If you can't wait for April, have no fear, The Cherry Orchard starring Diane Lane opens in October and is currently in previews. The Anton Chekhov play is about an aristocratic Russian actress who returns to her family home just before it is auctioned off to pay the mortgage. Classic theater nerds rejoice!
3. "Falsettos"
Don't you love a story about relationships? Well, Falsettos is the perfect show for you. The story involves Marvin, his ex-wife Trina, his psychiatrist Mendel, his son Jason, and his gay lover Whizzer Brown. The knockout cast includes Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, and Stephanie J. Block had been cast as Marvin, Whizzer, and Trina, respectively. Take a trip to Falsettoland this fall. Previews start September 29.
4. "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812"
Josh Groban makes his Broadway debut in this transfer of the Off-Broadway musical adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Denée Benton joins him in the role of Natasha and is set to open in November.
5. "A Bronx Tale: The Musical"
Robert De Niro & Jerry Zaks co-direct the musical based off of the Chazz Palminteri's solo show, which tells the story of Calogero Anello, a young boy from a working class family who gets involved in the world of organized crime. Award-winning composer Alan Menken takes on the music with Chazz Palminteri and Glenn Slater write the book and lyrics. The cast includes Nick Cordero, Ariana DeBose and Richard H. Blake. Previews are early November with the opening set for December 1.
6. "Dear Evan Hansen"
This musical is for anyone who as ever felt invisible. Evan felt invisible to his peers, to the girl he loves, sometimes even to his own mother. But that was before he wrote the letter — that led to the incident— that started the lie — that ignited a movement – that inspired a community — and changed Evan's status from the ultimate outsider into the somebody everyone wants to know. With music written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, this 2016 Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Best New Off-Broadway Musical takes the stage December 4 and is sure to leave you feeling all the feels.
More openings are set for the spring. These shows include Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Anastasia with more shows set to be announced later in the year.
