Center Stage

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There has been a significant shake-up of the theater world. Live performances were some of the first events to shutter at the start of the pandemic—and audiences have yet to return en masse. People got used to streaming from the couch; older viewers remain concerned about packing into auditoriums; and many city centers are no longer the bustling business districts they once were. At the same time, staff shortages and rising costs of building materials have added to the financial strain that production companies face.

But amid this uncertainty are glimmers of optimism. Younger generations are showing a renewed enthusiasm for the stage, surpassing the 55-plus audience. And what was previously a fairly affluent crowd is expanding to be more socioeconomically diverse. Changing audience demographics have coincided with a fresh burst of creativity. As directors are taking greater risks and A-listers are building their artistic bonafides on stage, literary and Hollywood adaptations are leveling up in sophistication. Here are a few of the shows bringing new life to the stage over the next year.

Back to Future: The Musical

Now on Broadway

The 2022 Olivier winner for best new musical is traveling back in time to the 1980s in Doc Brown’s infamous DeLorean.

To Kill a Mockingbird

On tour through May 2024

Academy-Award winner Aaron Sorkin adapts Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book into a timely masterpiece as relevant today as it was in the 1960s.

Hadestown

On tour through April 2024

Winner of eight Tony Awards, including best musical, this is a classic love story reimagined through a modern lens.

The Wiz

Opening on Broadway spring 2024

This creative reinterpretation of The Wizard of Oz bends all the genres with a little bit of soul, gospel, rock, and funk.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

On tour through August 2024

The bio-jukebox story of one of Rock ’n’ Roll’s great icons as she rises from humble beginnings to international stardom.