Is Broadway Back? The Question Haunting the 2025-26 Season

In 2025, The New York Times ran two major articles within four months that seemed to describe very different theatrical landscapes. The first, “George Clooney and Denzel Washington Power Broadway to Prepandemic Heights,” reported the news that Broadway had just had its most financially successful season since 2019. The second, “The Broadway Musical Is in Trouble,” suggested that the economic model of the business is irrevocably broken.

As the 2025-26 season kicks off, it seems Broadway producers are struggling as much as ever with the balance between art and commerce as they fumble their way towards a formula for success that will make the pandemic feel as far away as possible. While some of their efforts fall flat, truly creative shows, no matter how unlikely, can often find success on Broadway.

To make their dire predictions about the future of the theater, some savants cite the fact that only three original musicals have fully recouped their investment since the pandemic: “MJ,” “& Juliet,” and “Six.” None of these shows have achieved the mainstream cultural relevance of, say, “Hamilton” or “Dear Evan Hansen,” but they have successfully brought in the combination of family and tourist audiences that Broadway hits must attract to recoup their investment. The success of these pop hits speaks to one long-term sign of the health of Broadway: its continued power to bring in young audiences and, hopefully, turn them into lifelong theatergoers.

Since the success rate is so low, it makes sense that producers would turn their attention elsewhere: only four original musicals (“The Lost Boys,” “Schmigadoon!,” “The Queen of Versailles,” and “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”) have been announced for the 2025-26 season so far. Of those, one is powered by Kristin Chenoweth’s star appeal and two are based on known intellectual property; only one, “Two Strangers,” is completely original. That being said, new musicals are not always announced far in advance, and many other original shows have their sights firmly set on Broadway stages.

Last season’s “Maybe Happy Ending,” which brought home the Tony Award for Best Musical, provides an inspiring story for would-be Broadway hits. Despite starring “Glee” star Darren Criss, the show didn’t have many obvious selling points, and struggled for quite a few months when it first opened on Broadway. However, producer Jeffrey Richards refused to close the show and it ultimately found a devoted audience and enormous success. Similarly, “Oh, Mary!,” starring comedian Cole Escola, continues to pack in the crowds despite the absurd premise in which former cabaret star Mary Todd Lincoln languishes in her marriage to a closeted Abe.

A safer way to make money is with a star-studded revival. This season, Broadway audiences are being treated to a production of Yasmina Reza’s “Art” starring James Corden, Bobby Cannavale, and Neil Patrick Harris, a transfer of the London revival of “Oedipus” featuring Lesley Manville and Mark Strong, and a minimalist “Waiting for Godot” that reunites the stars of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

Critics don’t always appreciate these revivals, evidenced by lukewarm reviews of many of last years’ star vehicles, including “Othello,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and “The Roommate.” However, the productions are at least guaranteed to draw in some first-time theatergoers and raise general awareness of Broadway as a must-see destination.

Not all revivals, however, can bring back legendary properties like “Othello” or “Oedipus.” A less surefire, but often successful method in the last few years has been to attempt to “fix” a musical that didn’t initially catch on, either through starpower or actual revisions. Maria Friedman’s revival of “Merrily We Roll Along,” which starred Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff, is a prime example, taking a musical that initially ran for only 16 performances and making it so successful that a live recording of the production is being commercially released. “Chess,” with music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA, is being given the “Merrily” treatment this fall with a major Broadway revival starring Lea Michele and Aaron Tveit and featuring a revised book.

The “Encores!” series at New York City Center, which presents revivals of underappreciated musicals, is a major pipeline for Broadway revivals under the artistic directorship of Lear DeBessonet. So far, their productions of “Into the Woods,” “Once Upon a Mattress,” “Ragtime,” and “Parade” have all reached the Great White Way. This success is, at least in part, due to the lack of spectacle, and thus the lower costs, involved in these glorified concert readings. While it’s always a pleasure to hear great scores performed by the best of Broadway, some of these productions could have shined more brightly with enhanced production values.

The “Encores!” approach doesn’t work for all productions. Simon Rich’s “All In: Comedy About Love” received criticism for bringing the same kind of minimalism to Broadway. The play consisted of a rotating cast of celebrities reading a selection of Rich’s short stories from binders while standing on a Broadway stage. Many audiences felt that the content of this presentation did not justify its exorbitant ticket prices. Success doesn’t lie, though — a sequel to the play, called “All Out: Comedy About Ambition,” is coming to the Hudson Theatre later this spring.

Smaller Broadway theaters are in high demand for off-Broadway transfers like this season’s “Liberation” and “Marjorie Prime,” which tend to be artistically successful, and yet producers seem intent on building spaces designed for large-scale experiences. Most notably, the newly renovated Palace Theatre has struggled to find its footing, hosting modest productions like “Tammy Faye” and a solo concert by Ben Platt thus far.

A solution for filling venues like the Winter Garden and the Palace, with over 1,700 seats each, is to bring touring productions of a beloved property to Broadway. Often, these revivals feature reduced spectacle and orchestrations and lack recognizable theater actors. This season, “Mamma Mia” and “Beetlejuice” are the two national tours that have made Broadway one of their stops. Ideally, these shows will prove the axiom that “a rising tide lifts all boats” by selling tickets to their ample fanbases.

One trend has remained constant regardless of any financial or political setback: the significant contributions of Harvard affiliates to various Broadway and off-Broadway musicals. This year, Bill Rauch ’84 is a co-director of the highly anticipated “CATS: The Jellicle Ball,” “Heathers” — by Laurence O’Keefe ’91 and Kevin Murphy — is the subject of a hit off-Broadway revival, and Cambridge’s American Repertory Theater is bringing their US premiere production of “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” to Broadway.

In 1938, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart coined the term “The Fabulous Invalid” to describe Broadway — always on the verge of failure, and always coming back better than ever. Those who express anxiety about the current state of Broadway would do well to remember how rare a hit Broadway musical truly is, and focus on supporting those original and creative shows that are able to break through. The 2025-26 season could mark the debut of the proverbial “next ‘Hamilton.’” This writer would be happy with the next “Maybe Happy Ending.”