Frontmezzjunkies reports: From Paddington to Prince, Rebels to Rhinestones, the next Broadway season is becoming wonderfully impossible to resist
By Ross
Just when I finally convince myself that I should probably spend a little less time thinking about NYC (for a few obvious orange reasons), Broadway responds with a tease, hanging another extraordinary season before me like a big juicy NYC apple. Every month delivers another tempting production capable of sending me back to those airline websites to examine prices and schedules, and the increasingly unrealistic belief that I can navigate it all without missing a beat.
First up, at least in my mind, is one of my all-time favorites. Raúl Esparza, fresh from The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, returns to Broadway in Galileo, one of the shows I have been following since its earliest development. With previews beginning November 10 and opening night scheduled for December 6, the show is set to be a glorious return to the Broadway musical stage for Esparza, and after listening to him sing that one song from the show on a social media post, I’m convinced that I need to be there. Also arriving, sprinkled with anticipation, is a reworking of The Fantasticks, which I have also been following with considerable curiosity since its queer stance was announced, finally making its Broadway debut in October. It’s a show I’ve never seen in its entirety, after all these years, and I’m itching to hear that music sung inside a framing that might better align with my romantic heart.
But if next season needed a mascot center stage, it might very well be a polite little bear wearing a blue duffle coat. Paddington The Musical, fresh from its Olivier Award-winning triumph in London’s West End, officially arrives on Broadway next spring. I’ve been fascinated ever since footage of that remarkable puppet began circulating online. I wasn’t exactly intrigued at first, but now, hearing all the positive buzz, I find myself leaning into the excitement that is building within me and the Broadway community. If ever there were a character capable of bringing kindness to Broadway, and our troubled world, at exactly the right moment, it is surely Paddington. The Broadway production is scheduled to begin previews March 30, 2027, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, with opening night set for April 18.
Then there is Purple Rain, one of the announcements that immediately made me stop in my tracks. Prince’s legendary music finally finds its Broadway home under the direction of Saheem Ali, whose work on Buena Vista Social Club made such an impression on me. Hearing songs like “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain” every evening feels like one of those theatrical events that has to be experienced live and in person. I never did get in to see MJ The Musical on Broadway, so with this one, I’m paying a bit more attention. Previews begin March 12, 2027, at the Majestic Theatre, with opening night set for April 12.
Then there are the musicals whose names tell us exactly how we should feel about them. Wanted, inspired by the story of Mary and Martha Clarke, arrives in November. Two sisters standing side by side, not yet legends, not yet outlaws, just two people about to decide whether they will live inside the life they were given or step outside of it. That moment, that split second before everything changes, feels like the heart of this new musical, now making its way onto a Broadway stage. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis’s Warriors is heading toward Broadway in spring 2027, based on the 1965 novel by Sol Yurick and the 1979 cult classic film by Walter Hill. The new musical follows a Coney Island gang trying to make it back home after being framed for murder; that sounds like the kind of tightwire adrenaline adventure I could get into, with Miranda and Davis bringing some rebel energy to the forefront.
Fulfilling a dream any musical junkie has nightly, Dreamgirls is also aiming for fall 2026. This major revival is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony nominee Camille A. Brown (Broadway’s for colored girls), with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson joining the production team as a producer. And then there is the much-hyped revival of Evita, with Rachel Zegler stepping back into the role of Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s production following its acclaimed West End run. And after Lloyd’s Sunset Blvd strutted itself through the streets of Times Square, one can’t help but be curious if we might get a glimpse of that Argentinian diamond on a balcony nearby (it seems we won’t, if the reports are to be believed).
But the real news is around the legendary Dolly Parton, who decided now is the time that Broadway needed a little more of her exquisite brand of country sparkle. Dolly: A True Original Musical is scheduled to begin performances on December 7, with its official opening set for January 19, 2027, Parton’s 81st birthday. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those Broadway openings that feels like an event before the curtain even rises (and I hope it waits for me to return to NYC sometime in March).
And I haven’t even mentioned the return of The Sound of Music at the Lincoln Center Theater, The Full Monty at Roundabout, or the arrival of Paddington itself. At this point last year, the landscape for new Broadway musicals felt remarkably sparse, with only a couple of new titles on the horizon, depending on when Schmigadoon! entered the conversation. But this year feels like the theatrical universe has decided to answer that scarcity with a flood. New musicals are arriving from every direction, with original stories, beloved properties, pop music, classic revivals, and ambitious adaptations all staking their claim to the season.
And this is still only a portion of what is coming. There are Broadway plays to talk about, an entire Off-Broadway season waiting in the wings, and plenty of productions that have yet to announce themselves. For now, though, I am happy to stand in the middle of this wonderfully unruly Broadway season and take it all in. From Paddington to Prince, from rebels and warriors to rhinestones and country sparkle, there is an extraordinary amount of theatre waiting on the other side of that curtain. I may not know exactly how I am going to see it all, but that feels like a very good problem to have. Stay tuned for a companion article on the upcoming Broadway plays, followed by a third looking at the Off-Broadway productions heading our way. Apparently, one Broadway list was nowhere near enough.