The original cast of ‘Mean Girls.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)
By Cleo Aukland
Looking to broaden your horizons with the best picks for NYC Broadway Week and 2-for-1 tickets? Don’t miss our top picks, including a fresh crop of new shows, award-winning crowd-pleasers, and soon-to-close longtime favorites. Don’t worry… you’ve got more than a week (as long as tickets are available). NYC Broadway Week runs January 21 – February 11.
(l to r) Grey Henson, Barret Wilber Weed, and Erika Henningsen in ‘Mean Girls.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Mean Girls
Been waiting for the chance to sit with them? Here’s your in! Catch the punchy reboot of Tina Fey’s 2004 cult classic about Cady Heron (Erika Henningsen), a girl just trying to fit into her new high school, who clashes then joins the meanest clique in town.
With a new book by Fey herself and music and lyrics written by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, respectively, the musical is complete with dance numbers to make your inner high schooler pine for North Shore. But be careful — with great talent comes the terrifying Plastics, played by Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park, and Kate Rockwell. Barrett Wilbert Weed and Grey Henson play Cady’s guiding stars.
Quinn Carney (center) and the cast of ‘The Ferryman.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)
The Ferryman
Step out of the American political climate and find yourself back in time in Jez Butterworth’s Olivier-winning play about 1980s Northern Ireland.
The play boasts a cast of nearly two dozen, as well as live animals and babies, and puts forth an absolutely authentic air of a large yet close family. Weaving intimate conversations, arguments, and family dinners around an annual harvest celebration, Butterworth’s work is an epic and an unmissable look into the impact of civil unrest as seen through the eyes of the Carney brood.
The cast of ‘The Prom.’ (Photo: Deen van Meer)
The Prom
Inspired by true happenings, The Prom details the story of a Midwestern town, which attempts to cancel prom instead of banning a lesbian couple from attending. Broadway actors breeze in to try to save the day (along with their careers) including a longtime dancer from Chicago, two self-involved lead performers so self-involved trying to recover from an opening night flop, and a long-ago Julliard graduate touring in a non-union tour of Godspell.
Hailed as an ode to beloved fundamentals of musical theater comedy, The Prom offers a blissful mix of relevant societal issues with a dash of brash and bawdy Broadway favorites.
NFL legend Tiki Barber joins ‘Kinky Boots’ through March 4. (Photo courtesy of DKC O&M)
Kinky Boots
Don’t miss your last chance to catch the long-running Tony Award-winning musical, which closes April 7! The Tony Award-winning musical features a book by Harvey Fierstein and music by Cyndi Lauper.
Kinky Boots tells the story of a shoe factory on the brink of collapse, which finds a new market in the production of sexy boots thanks to the inspiration of the fabulous Lola. David Rockwell’s scenic design and plenty of thigh-high boots by costume designer Gregg Barnes offer visual eye-candy in a show that also delivers a story of acceptance.
Choir Boy
A stunning revival of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play about a group of students at Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys tackles race, sexuality, grief, and other sweeping topics — all framed with a capella spirituals that shake the rafters of Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Jeremy Pope as the resilient Pharus Jonathan Young delivers a must-see performance of the season before he rejoins the company of Aint Too Proud: The Temptations Musical opening March 21.
Cleo Aukland is a New York City-based writer with a focus on theater. Read more of her work here. Additional contributions by Broadway Blog editor Matthew Wexler.
