Empire: The Musical 2024
Run Time:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Opened: July 11, 20242 hours, 30 minutes
Closing: September 22, 2024
Empire: The Musical - 2024 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
New World Stages Stage I
340 West 50th Street New York, NY 10019
Told through the lens of three generations of dreamers and doers spanning New York City in the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Bicentennial Year of 1976, this original story shines new light on one of history’s greatest feats of will and desire. With a desperate city pinning its hopes on this seemingly impossible project, only skyscraper-high levels of grit and determination can keep it climbing. Discover the dramatic tales of derring-do through spectacular choreography, foot-tapping music, and colorful, timeless characters. Take the thrilling ride to the sky with the brave Mohawk Skywalkers, industrialist visionaries, and can-do immigrants, all of whom had the guts to go up when everyone else was down. Witness the extraordinary resilience and optimism that built a landmark that still inspires today.
Empire: The Musical - 2024 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Empire: The Musical
'Empire: The Musical' review — New York's most famous building gets the musical treatment
5 / 10
The construction of the Empire State Building, flaws and all, makes for great theatrical material so long as the show knows how to handle the scale of the effort. Empire: The Musical attempts to memorialize the five workers’ lives lost during construction, while also highlighting the Indigenous Americans on the job, but it lacks precision and fun. Too many characters don’t get fleshed out, and the show's preoccupation with making secretary “Wally” Wolodsky a proto-feminist manager for architect Charles Kinney (Albert Guerzon) and politician Al Smith (Paul Savatoriello) sinks when Wally’s actual role is revealed in the last act.
EMPIRE: A TIRED ‘NEWSIES MEETS NEW YORK, NEW YORK’ MASHUP
4 / 10
There’s really no main character in Empire, but they all have songs. If you have a name, you get a song! Musically, Sherman and Hull were clearly inspired by Kander and Ebb; lyrically, they seem to be influenced by Hallmark and Successories. “We get to love the greatest love/ We get to climb the highest heights”: That’s from “Nothing Comes for Free,” the American Idol–ready ballad for star-crossed lovers Rudy Shaw (Kabeary), a Mohawk woman, and Joe Pakulski (Devin Cortez), a white man. “My whole life I gave my all/ Now my back’s against the wall”: That’s from “Al’s Moxie”—not to be confused with “Moxie,” an earlier song—sung by Wally’s boss, ex–New York Governor Al Smith (Paul Salvatoriello, who’d be aces in a revival of Fiorello!). In “Lookahee,” a cringe-fest in which all the newsboy cap–clad laborers—ethnic stereotypes, every last one of them—show off their pickup skills, there’s “I can make you smile like the Mona Lisa”; is that supposed to be a compliment…or just a clumsy setup for a rhyme about the tower of Pisa? And in Sylvie and Wally’s “We Were Here”: “The risks of those who came before us were taken out of love/ To give us all a future, they still guide us from above.” A phrase better suited to an inscription than an incantation.
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EMPIRE: THE MUSICAL to Release Original Cast Album
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 18, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 18, 2024
EMPIRE: The Musical Original Off-Broadway Cast album will be released this winter. The story is told through the lens of three generations of dreamers and doers spanning New York City in the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Bicentennial Year of 1976. Learn more about the show and about the album.
Photo: Brooke Shields Visits EMPIRE: THE MUSICAL Off-Broadway
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 17, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 17, 2024
See a photo of Brooke Shields visiting Empire: The Musical Off-Broadway. This original production shines new light on one of history’s greatest feats of will and desire. Learn more about the production!
Review Roundup: EMPIRE Opens Off-Broadway
by Nicole Rosky - July 12, 2024
by Nicole Rosky - July 12, 2024
EMPIRE: The Musical just celebrated its opening night at New World Stages. The production, with Book, Music & Lyrics by Caroline Sherman & Robert Hull, is directed by Tony Award winner Cady Huffman. Check out what the critics are saying about the new musical!
Photos: EMPIRE Celebrates Opening Night at New World Stages
by Jennifer Broski - July 12, 2024
by Jennifer Broski - July 12, 2024
EMPIRE: The Musical just celebrated its opening night at New World Stages. The production, with Book, Music & Lyrics by Caroline Sherman & Robert Hull, is directed by Tony Award winner Cady Huffman. BroadwayWorld was there for the big night. Check out photos here!
Video: EMPIRE: THE MUSICAL at New World Stages
by Chloe Rabinowitz - July 11, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - July 11, 2024
Get a first look at Empire: The Musical at New World Stages! Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.
Photos: Get a First Look at EMPIRE: THE MUSICAL at New World Stages
by Chloe Rabinowitz - July 1, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - July 1, 2024
Get a first look at photos of Empire: The Musical at New World Stages! Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.
Photos: Meet the Cast of EMPIRE: THE MUSICAL
by Jennifer Broski - June 20, 2024
by Jennifer Broski - June 20, 2024
EMPIRE: The Musical, is getting ready to premiere in its hometown, New York City, July 1 for a 12-week limited engagement at New World Stages. Check out photos of the cast in rehearsals!
EMPIRE: THE MUSICAL to Premiere at New World Stages in July
by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 30, 2024
by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 30, 2024
EMPIRE: The Musical, will premiere in its hometown, New York City at New World Stages. Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.
Empire: The Musical History
Other Productions of Empire: The Musical
| 2024 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
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