At last, fall is here. In addition to long-awaited foliage, cooler weather, and pumpkin-spiced whatever, autumn also means the onslaught of the new theater season’s openings. And this fall in particular, theater both on and Off-Broadway is especially robust, with far more productions announced so far than what is slated for the usually-more-prolific spring. The excellent news is, each of these plays and musicals is as singular as it is worthwhile.
Whether you’d like to be dazzled by a television or film star (Bryan Cranston, Ethan Hawke, Glenn Close), see a classic from another medium come to life onstage (“King Kong,” “To Kill a Mockingbird”), or experience the thrill of a wholly original new musical (“The Prom”), these are the 2018 fall theater productions you don’t want to miss.
“Bernhardt/Hamlet,” a new Broadway play at the American Airlines Theatre
Opens: Now running
The incendiary new comedy from Theresa Rebeck brings Janet McTeer back to Broadway depicting the actor Sarah Bernhardt—regarded as one of the greatest to ever live—in the role of a lifetime: Hamlet. Also starring Dylan Baker, the limited engagement is helmed by Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel.
“The Nap,” a new Broadway play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Previews: Sept. 5
Opens: Sept. 27
Kicking off Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2018–19 season, this is Broadway’s latest U.K. import from the endlessly amusing Richard Bean (writer of “One Man, Two Guvnors”), taking a rollicking look at the game of snooker, aka the British version of pool.
“The Lifespan of a Fact,” a new Broadway play at Studio 54
Previews: Sept. 20
Opens: Oct. 18
While some theater is meant as escapism, you can file this one under “holds a mirror up to society.” Based on the book by John D’Agata, the new play, helmed by Leigh Silverman, stars Daniel Radcliffe, Bobby Cannavale, and Cherry Jones in a scathing indictment of fact, fiction, and what happens when the line between the two is blurred.
“Mother of the Maid,” a new Off-Broadway play at the Public Theater
Previews: Sept. 25
Opens: Oct. 17
It’s pretty simple: Six-time Oscar nominee and three-time Tony winner Glenn Close is starring in a brand-new Off-Broadway play. If that’s not enough to convince you, then the fact that Close will portray Joan of Arc’s mother certainly will be. Audiences can expect a cinematic spin, as the sweeping drama comes courtesy of Jane Anderson (who penned the Emmy-winning “Olive Kitteridge” series) and is helmed by Emmy-nominated “The Sopranos” director Matthew Penn.
“The Waverly Gallery,” a new Broadway play at the John Golden Theatre
Previews: Sept. 25
Opens: Oct. 25
A recent mainstay of the Great White Way with “Lobby Hero” and “This Is Our Youth,” Kenneth Lonergan returns this season with “The Waverly Gallery,” starring his frequent collaborator Michael Cera along with Lucas Hedges, Joan Allen, David Cromer, and the grand Broadway return of Elaine May. Lila Neugebauer, in her Broadway directorial debut, helms the distinctly Lonergan dramatic comedy (or is it a comedic drama?).
“Oklahoma!,” an Off-Broadway musical revival at St. Ann’s Warehouse
Previews: Sept. 27
Opens: Oct. 7
Though it premieres at the Brooklyn enclave on the 75th anniversary of the Rodgers + Hammerstein classic, this production is not your grandmother’s “Oklahoma!” Featuring “a seven-piece band playing all-new arrangements,” director Daniel Fish has reimagined the golden age tuner as a “chamber production,” during which actors and audiences alike will share food in addition to that celebrated story and score.
“The Ferryman,” a new Broadway play at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
Previews: Oct. 2
Opens: Oct. 21
Another London import, this Jez Butterworth drama set in 1980s rural Ireland was one of the most rapturously received to ever run in the West End. It won the 2018 Olivier Award for best new play and now transfers to NYC with most of its original London cast intact.
“King Kong,” a new Broadway musical at the Broadway Theatre
Previews: Oct. 5
Opens: Nov. 8
The musical adaptation of the 1933 film wreaks havoc on Broadway this fall—but make no mistake, the cinematic classic will get a distinctly 21st-century treatment thanks in part to the new-media construction of that titular monster, who will clock in onstage at 20 feet tall and a cool 2,000 pounds. Christiani Pitts will portray distressed movie star Ann Darrow, a gig that will likely make a star of her, too.
“American Son,” a new Broadway play at the Booth Theatre
Previews: Oct. 6
Opens: Nov. 4
After seven seasons leading ABC’s “Scandal,” Kerry Washington returns to Broadway in a brand-new play from Christopher Demos-Brown about an interracial couple (Steven Pasquale will play Washington’s husband) who find themselves in the cross hairs of the national divide when their son goes missing in the middle of the night. Jeremy Jordan rounds out the cast.
“Days of Rage,” a new play Off-Broadway at the Tony Kiser Theater
Previews: Oct. 9
Opens: Oct. 30
As the U.S. president fans the flames of racism, responsibility falls to a generation of young people to rise up in the name of change. The year is 1969. So goes the prescient plot of “Days of Rage,” a new drama that brings Steven Levenson, the Tony-winning book writer of “Dear Evan Hansen,” back to his playwriting roots—and back to Second Stage Theater, where that musical began. Tavi Gevinson and fellow “Evan Hansen” alum Mike Faist lead the cast.
“Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song,” a Broadway play revival at the Hayes Theater
Previews: Oct. 9
Opens: Nov. 1
After an acclaimed mounting Off-Broadway last year, Second Stage brings the trilogy uptown to Broadway, restructured in two parts by director Moisés Kaufman. The still-poignant heartstring-tugger—about the families we’re given, the families we choose, and the neuroticism in between—will again star Michael Urie (already garnering Tony buzz) and fiery-as-ever stage legend Mercedes Ruehl.
“School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play,” an Off-Broadway play revival at the Lucille Lortel Theatre
Previews: Oct. 16
Opens: Oct. 22
The play so nice, they’re doing it twice. After a successful 2017 stint, this mouthful of a title is back again for another run at MCC Theater this fall—and for good reason. Jocelyn Bioh’s “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play” will be directed again by Tony winner Rebecca Taichman and offer a brilliant and moving 75 minutes of theater. The Ghana-set dark comedy examines the universality of beauty standards and is riotous if not equally heartbreaking.
“The Prom,” a new Broadway musical at the Longacre Theatre
Previews: Oct. 23
Opens: Nov. 15
In “The Prom,” a rare original musical helmed by Casey Nicholaw, Emma (Caitlin Kinnunen) is banned from taking her girlfriend to prom in her small Indiana hometown. To save the day, a slew of washed-up Broadway stars (played by actual Broadway stars, including Beth Leavel) descend upon the town—and if their names end up splashed across front pages nationwide, so be it!
“The Cher Show,” a new Broadway musical at the Neil Simon Theatre
Previews: Nov. 1
Opens: Dec. 3
Telling the story of her life through her songbook, the titular superstar will be depicted at three distinct points in her career by three separate actors: Micaela Diamond, Teal Wicks, and two-time Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block, who may finally actually nab that statue as the most senior incarnation of the diva. The sell here, though, can be summed up in a single word: Cher.
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” a new Broadway play at the Shubert Theatre
Previews: Nov. 1
Opens: Dec. 13
To call this play “new” approaches oxymoronic, as the Harper Lee novel on which it’s based is, of course, one of the most storied in American literature. Yet when it debuts this fall, led by Jeff Daniels, it will mark the first sanctioned stage adaptation. Thankfully, the Bartlett Sher–helmed production rests in the peerless hands of Aaron Sorkin and will feature a cast that also includes Celia Keenan-Bolger and Gideon Glick.
“Network,” a new Broadway play at the Belasco Theatre
Previews: Nov. 10
Opens: Dec. 6
Fresh off an Olivier Award for his performance in the play’s West End run, Tony and Emmy winner Bryan Cranston brings the stage adaptation of “Network” to New York, playing a newscaster who melts down live on air during what’s meant to be his final broadcast. Based on the Oscar-winning film, Ivo van Hove directs the caustic comedy that also stars Tatiana Maslany.
“Choir Boy,” a new Broadway play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Previews: Dec. 27
Opens: Jan. 22, 2019
The only other of the fall’s Off-Broadway transfers, this production thrillingly marks the Broadway debut of playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Moonlight.” Set in a school for young black men, “Choir Boy” will feature themes similar to his 2016 film (the alike pronunciations of “choir” and “queer” will arise) and will be directed by Trip Cullman.
“True West,” a Broadway play revival at the American Airlines Theatre
Previews: Dec. 27
Opens: Jan. 24, 2019
A tour de force from the late Sam Shepard, “True West” returns to Broadway with a cast and creative team befitting its legacy. Tony and Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke will play one half of the at-odds brothers at the play’s center, starring opposite Paul Dano.
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