Broadway Buying Guide: August 5, 2024- See Robert Downey Jr.'s Debut in MCNEAL

Looking for the best deals on Broadway shows? Welcome to our new weekly guide to the most popular shows listed on BroadwayWorld.

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This Week's Top Broadway Shows

1) Hamilton Buy Tickets - A revolutionary story of passion, unstoppable ambition, and the dawn of a new nation. HAMILTON is the epic saga that follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. HAMILTON features book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. In addition to its 11 Tony Awards, it has won Grammy®, Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

2) McNeal Buy Tickets - Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Jacob McNeal (Robert Downey Jr.) is a great writer, one of our greatest, a perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. But McNeal also has an estranged son, a new novel, old axes to grind and an unhealthy fascination with Artificial Intelligence. Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar’s new play is a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity – and increasing inhumanity – of the stories we tell.

3) Wicked Buy Tickets - Before Dorothy, before the flying house, and before the yellow brick road, there was Elphaba and Galinda. Born with emerald-green skin, Elphaba is smart, fiery, misunderstood and possesses extraordinary talent. When circumstances force her to room with the bubbly blonde and exceptionally popular, Galinda, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships. From the first electrifying note to the final breathtaking moment, Wicked tells the story of Oz that you've never heard.

4) Moulin Rouge! Buy Tickets from $74 - Enter a world of splendor and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment. Pop the champagne and prepare for the spectacular spectacular. Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage, remixed by director Alex Timbers and choreographer Sonya Tayeh in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. A celebration of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and — above all — Love, Moulin Rouge! is more than a musical — it is a state of mind.

5) The Lion King Buy Tickets - The circle of life continues on! In one of the most thrilling visual experiences to ever hit Broadway, giraffes strut, birds swoop, gazelles leap - the entire Serengeti comes to life. This adaptation of Disney's iconic film transports you to a dazzling world that explodes with colors, stunning effects and enchanting music. Relive the story of Simba and his journey from wide-eyed cub to finally reclaiming his crown as the king of the Pridelands. Celebrating over 25 landmark years on Broadway, The Lion King continues ascendant as one of the most popular stage musicals in the world.

6) Hadestown Buy Tickets - In Hadestown, a song can change your fate. This Tony-winning new musical by Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin is a love story for today, and always. Intertwining two mythic Greek tales - that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and of King Hades and his wife Persephone - Hadestown invites you on a journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell's alluring melodies and Chavkin's poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love, with art perhaps being the one thing that can save it all. Hadestown is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.

7) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Buy Tickets - From page to stage to screen, the magic is real at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. Prepare to see the characters that you've known and loved in a thrilling new adventure that begins 19 years after the events of The Deathly Hollows. The entirety of the Lyric Theatre has been transfigured to immerse you in this magical world where epic duels, extraordinary spells and beloved characters come to life. Filled with unprecedented stage magic and thrilling storytelling, this Tony Award-winning show, Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, is a unforgettable experience unlike anything else you will ever see.

8) Death Becomes Her Buy Tickets - Madeline Ashton is the most beautiful actress (just ask her) ever to grace the stage and screen. Helen Sharp is the long-suffering author (just ask her) who lives in her shadow. They have always been the best of frenemies…until Madeline steals Helen’s fiancé away. As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn, a mysterious woman with a secret that’s to die for. After one sip of Viola’s magical potion, Madeline and Helen begin a new era of life (and death) with their youth and beauty restored…and a grudge to last eternity. Starring Tony Award® nominees Megan Hilty (Wicked, “Smash”), Jennifer Simard (Company, Disaster!), and Christopher Sieber (Spamalot, Company), with Grammy® Award winner Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child, Chicago), Death Becomes Her, based on the classic 1992 film, is a drop-dead hilarious new musical comedy about friendship, love, and burying the hatchet…again, and again, and again. Life’s a bitch and then you die. Or not!

9) Aladdin Buy Tickets - You won't need a magic lamp to experience this crown-pleasing musical. Disney's beloved story about the Diamond in the Rough is brought to thrilling theatrical life in this exciting new Broadway musical. Just as it has on screen for decades, Aladdin's journey sweeps you into an exciting world full of daring adventure, classic comedy and timeless romance. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw, this stage adaptation of the beloved animated classic features the iconic film score by the legendary team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, with new lyrics by Sir Tim Rice, along with book and additional lyrics by Chad Beguelin.

10) & Juliet Buy Tickets - What if Juliet didin't die? That should almost be the start of the play! & Juliet is a multi-generational story of self-discovery, empowerment and love, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn't ended it all over Romeo, and got a second chance at life and love - on her terms. Juliet's new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name, all written by Max Martin and his collaborators. The musical features a book by David West Read, direction by Luke Sheppard and choreography by Jennifer Weber.

This Week's Top Off-Broadway Shows

1) CATS: The Jellicle Ball Buy Tickets from: $74 - Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" is a radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic dance musical based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Inspired by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and still rages on runways around the world. Staged as a spectacularly immersive competition by Zhailon Levingston (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Chicken & Biscuits) and PAC NYC Artistic Director Bill Rauch (All the Way), with all new Ballroom and club beats, runway ready choreography, and an edgy eleganza makeover that moves the action from junkyard to runway.  Come one, come all, and celebrate the joyous transformation of self at the heart of Cats and Ballroom culture itself.

2) Pre-Existing Condition Buy Tickets - In the aftermath of a life-altering event, Pre-Existing Condition explores the challenges, shared community and everyday indignities of learning to move forward. The production will star, in the rotating role of “A,” Emmy Award® winner Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Tony Award® nominee Maria Dizzia (In the Next Room), Tavi Gevinson (“American Horror Story”), Tony Award ® winner Deirdre O’Connell (Dana H.) and Julia Chan (Uncle Vanya) in select performances. Ms. Maslany will be the first “A,” beginning on June 7.

3) someone spectacular Buy Tickets - Once a week, six recently bereaved strangers gather for group therapy. It’s a stable routine — until one day, their grief counselor is inexplicably MIA. The group’s typical session quickly goes off the rails, offering an open-ended meditation on loss, with revelations that are at once beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking. Domenica Feraud’s newest play examines the complicated emotions that accompany grief, while exploring universal and personal truths that are sure to stay with you for a lifetime.

4) On Beckett Buy Tickets - Bill Irwin still can’t escape Samuel Beckett. The MacArthur Fellow has spent a lifetime captivated by the Irish writer’s language. In this intimate 90-minute evening, Irwin will explore a performer’s relationship with Beckett, mining the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic, and every side of Beckett’s work—including Waiting for Godot, Texts for Nothing, and more—will allow audiences to experience the language in compelling new ways. Whether you’re encountering the Nobel Prize winner’s writing for the first time or building on a body of Beckett knowledge, this dynamic showcase is not to be missed.

5) Drag: The Musical Buy Tickets - In DRAG: The Musical, two Drag Houses, both alike in indignity, vie for supremacy in a wig-snatching journey of fashion, family, and forgiveness. After a bitter split, two estranged queens bring their already simmering tensions to a boiling point when they open competing clubs. In this queen-eat-queen tale of spite and survival, there’s only one rule: No Lip Synching Allowed. Entertainment Weekly calls it, “drag at its best” and BroadwayWorld raves, “They hit the ball out of the park. Rowdy fun with the glamor of a Broadway musical.” The “epic cast of drag, theater, and LGBTQ+ icons” (Entertainment Tonight) features Alaska Thunderf*ck (through 1/11/25), Jujubee, Jan Sport, Lagoona Bloo, J. Elaine Marcos and features New Kids on the Block’s, Joey McIntyre (through 11/24/24).

6) Six Characters Buy Tickets - When some trifling citizens storm a renowned cultural center where they’re not meant to be, all hell breaks loose. Wigs go flying. Wounds get opened. An archive explodes. Will the audience make it out alive? Abolition takes on fresh meaning in SIX CHARACTERS, Phillip Howze’s new play on power, belonging, and the institutions we build.

7) The Sabbath Girl: A New Musical Buy Tickets - Angie Mastrantoni has a lot going on: her own art gallery, a new apartment, but not much time for romance... until her divorced Orthodox Jewish neighbor, Seth, unexpectedly knocks on her door. A sparkling new musical about big-city life and the possibility of finding love when you least expect it – maybe even right down the hall.

8) Cellino v. Barnes Buy Tickets from: $53 - Cellino v. Barnes is a darkly comedic play following the tumultuous partnership between infamous lawyers Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes, documenting their rise and fall as the top injury attorneys in the country. Through the 90's, 2000's, and 2010's, we witness our pals navigate the ethical ambiguities of the law, grapple with personal demons (and fax machines), and aspire to world domination. They're a couple of bros with big dreams and loose morals, trying to make it in the cut throat world of ambulance chasing.

9) Ain’t Done Bad Buy Tickets - "Ain't Done Bad" is the remarkable story of coming out, falling in love, and finding one’s true voice as a queer person in the South, all told without speaking a word. The show features the revelatory music of Orville Peck and stars creator/choreographer Jakob Karr ("So You Think You Can Dance") with ten of the most sought-after professional dancers in the industry. The cast embodies a unique celebration of self-love and acceptance. Since its critically-acclaimed premiere at the Orlando Fringe Festival in 2021, where the show took the festival's highest honor, "Ain't Done Bad" has astounded sold-out audiences during workshop runs in Orlando and North Carolina through 2022 and 2023. Now, the production makes its New York City debut at the Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, larger than ever before.

10) Table 17 Buy Tickets - If your ex wanted to meet up again, would you? Previously engaged, Jada and Dallas reunite for dinner to hash out the good, the bad, and the ugly from their romantic past. Despite the intrusion of sassy waiters, complicated memories, and their best efforts to keep things casual, the estranged couple find themselves cornered by the truth. From the author and director of Chicken & Biscuits (Douglas Lyons & Zhailon Levingston), this world premiere play is a hilarious and sweet open letter to love found, lost, and possibly reignited. This new romantic comedy stars three-time Tony Award nominee Kara Young (MCC’s All the Natalie Portmans, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, Clyde’s, The Cost of Living), Biko Eisen-Martin (MCC’s soft) and Michael Rishawn (Ain’t No Mo’).