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The Best Reviewed Broadway Shows of 2024
Which Broadway shows got the best reviews in 2024?
By: Sidney Paterra Dec. 31, 2024
44 Broadway shows opened in 2024, and while not all of them were loved by the critics, there were plenty of standouts all year long. We're breaking down the best Broadway shows of 2024 by month, as reviewed by New York City theatre critics and rounded up right here at BroadwayWorld.
Review them all below and don't forget to check out year-end favorites and study up on what's coming in 2025!
Note: No Broadway shows opened in February and June.
January
Prayer for the French Republic
Opening Night: January 9, 2024
"Over the past year, there have been a number of plays and musicals dealing with anti-Semitism, some more powerfully than others. Harmon (whose prior works include the comedies “Bad Jews,” “Significant Other” and “Admissions”) takes the genre to the next level by not just depicting anti-Semitism or warning against it but in earnestly trying to wrestle with how to respond to it, including the limits of intellectually analyzing it, and whether to fight it or flee for safety." - Matt Windman, amNY
March
The Who's Tommy
Opening Night: March 28, 2024
"With a superb cast headed by Broadway newcomer Ali Louis Bourzgui as Tommy, the “deaf, dumb and blind kid” – most of whatever language less-than-acceptable by today’s standards has been retained – and Alison Luff as his mom Mrs. Walker, Tommy feels less like a stick-to-what-works revival than a top-to-bottom reimagining. Nearly all of it works beautifully." -Greg Evans, Deadline
April
Stereophonic
Opening Night: April 19, 2024
"David Adjmi’s intimately epic behind-the-music drama Stereophonic has now moved to Broadway after a hit fall run at Playwrights Horizons. At the smaller venue, the audience felt almost immersed in the room where the show takes place: a wood-paneled 1970s recording studio—decked out by set designer David Zinn as a plush vision of brown, orange, mustard, sage and rust—where a rock band is trying to perfect what could be its definitive album. Some fans of the play have wondered if it could work as well on a larger stage,but that question has a happy answer: Daniel Aukin’s superb production navigates the change without missing a beat. The jam has been preserved." -Adam Feldman, Time Out New York
June
Home
Opening Night: June 5, 2024
"It may take a while for audiences to tune in to the play’s rollicking rhythms. Mr. Williams’s language is a dense, clipped, sometimes incantatory vernacular that can be hard to parse, particularly when flung at dizzying velocity in the early going. Trying to appreciate the language’s richness and lyricism is challenging enough; teasing out the thread of the narrative from the onrushing tides of words seems at times nearly impossible, especially as the chronology jumps back and forth. While one can appreciate the desire to bring heated life to Mr. Williams’s vigorous language, which almost seems to prefigure rap, Mr. Leon would have been wise to allow a few pauses for everyone to breathe." -Charles Isherwood, The Wall Street Journal
July
Oh, Mary!
Opening Night: July 11, 2024
"The most controversial cabaret in town might be happening at the August Wilson Theatre, but the best one is at the Lyceum. There, Cole Escola’s riotous, extremely faux-historical farce, Oh, Mary!, has begun its Broadway run, and long may it reign. Oh, Mary! took the West Village deliriously captive in its big gay pirate ship back in the spring, and while the wickedly clever Escola — who made their name first on YouTube playing wonderfully unhinged characters, then as a scene-stealer on shows like Search Party and Difficult People — is on record calling the uptown transfer “a mistake,” they and director Sam Pinkleton have wisely left funny enough alone. Really, far more than enough — Oh, Mary! is hilarious and, underneath the mayhem, both structurally rock solid and sneakily moving. It may be playing the palace now, but it’s confident enough in its own skin to have resisted any sort of unnecessary makeover." - Sara Holdren, Vulture
August
Once Upon a Mattress
Opening Night: August 12, 2024
"What saves the musical from veering into childishness is its sly attitude toward what lurks behind Dauntless and Fred’s exuberant naïveté. Anticipating the joys of being a bride, the princess lists perks like new socks and getting to do gymnastics. Then she muses, “And you get a pal. Someone who thinks you’re funny and calls you a nickname. And you get to go places, and you do everything together, which makes the yearly showers way more fun.” When it comes to this particular couple, Urie and Foster make you believe in a happy future that may include all kinds of calisthenics." -Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times
September
The Hills of California
Opening Night: September 29, 2024
"Jez Butterworth’s ambitious, captivating and richly rewarding domestic drama “The Hills of California” straddles dual worlds of dreams and reality as it shuttles between two pivotal time periods in the lives of the Webb women. Though this densely-packed, 17-actor play is more family-focused in its themes than Butterworth’s previous, stunning epics “Jerusalem” and “The Ferryman,” “The Hills of California” — also directed by Sam Mendes, who staged the Tony-winning “Ferryman” — strikes societal notes, too, as it details women with limited choices and plenty of obstacles in an ever-changing world." - Frank Rizzo, Variety
October
Sunset Blvd.
Opening Night: October 20, 2024
"Scherzinger’s roof-raising vocal power, especially on the musical’s signature songs, “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” is astonishing, literally stopping the show with her soaring money notes and dramatic key changes. She’s the rare Norma who has the supple dance moves, too. Her command is never in doubt, and Lloyd provides unimpeded access to her every emotion by frequently giving Norma what she craves most — a camera and a closeup." -David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
November
Maybe Happy Ending
Opening Night: November 12, 2024
"What “Maybe Happy Ending” asks, even in its ambivalent title, is whether that’s a good thing, for them and for us, their mirror images. When Oliver fully realizes that Claire’s “shelf life” will end before his, he asks in real pain, “How can people do this?” — meaning survive the death of others. If the start of love is the start of loss, is it perhaps better to erase one’s memories (which these Helperbots can do because they have their own passwords) or even to avoid the journey altogether? A good question for robots and, as posed by this astonishing musical, maybe the most deeply human one of all." -Jesse Green, New York Times
December
Gypsy
Opening Night: December 19, 2024
"Sixty-five years after it first premiered on Broadway, “Gypsy” is still known as one of the greatest theater masterpieces of the 20th century. There have been stellar productions of the play from New York to London, led by icons including Angela Lansbury and Imelda Staunton. However, the latest revival, shepherded by legendary director and playwright George C. Wolfe and starring Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, is an electric and truly unique production that will undoubtedly become a crowning jewel in the canon of “Gypsy.” - Aramide Timubu, Variety
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