Broadway is having a huge spring. Here are the shows you can’t afford to miss

With another busy spring on and off Broadway in the books, it can be difficult to decide which productions to see — especially with limited time and resources.

After seeing nearly two dozen productions, Caitlin Hornik rounds up the must-see shows that have opened since the start of the year
B roadway in spring has a particular kind of electricity, the sense that everything is opening at once, all vying for attention before the Tony Awards cutoff — and this year is no different.

A starry lineup — featuring the likes of Taraji P.

Henson, Ayo Edebiri , Adrien Brody, Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss‑Bachrach, among others — has powered a season rich in revivals, with fresh takes on Arthur Miller , Noël Coward, August Wilson and David Auburn works, as well as a handful of new-to-Broadway productions .

Musicals, by contrast, have leaned heavily on familiar IP, with a slate dominated by adaptations of films and television hits.

Off-Broadway, as usual, has been a mixed bag of plays, musicals, revues, one-person productions, and more.

For audiences, the sheer volume can feel overwhelming .

Add in the churn of social media hot takes and the annual Tony Awards frenzy — nominations for the 2025–2026 season will be announced May 5 — and choosing what to see becomes its own kind of performance.

The Independent ’s New York culture team compiled a list of the spring’s standout Broadway and off-Broadway productions that have opened since January.

All shows included on the list have been seen by at least one person on the team.

Whether you’re after a marquee revival, a buzzy new play or something more offbeat, there’s plenty here worth your time.

Every Brilliant Thing (Broadway)
Daniel Radcliffe’s earnestness and authenticity shine throughout his nearly 90-minute performance in Every Brilliant Thing , which offers a candid exploration of mental health as a man crafts a list of “brilliant” everyday moments (many of which are read aloud by audience members on cards handed to them personally by the show’s star ).

Radcliffe is magnetic onstage; he’s genuine yet charismatic in his delivery (which you would hope is the case for a one-man show with no intermission), and has the captivated audience hanging on his every word, even during the darker moments — of which there are quite a few.

There’s a certain thrill in seeing the Harry Potter star step back onto a Broadway stage — a love for which has shadowed him since his Hogwarts days, now reframed with the weight (and sheen) of a Tony Award, earned for his turn in the 2023 revival of Merrily We Roll Along .

Law and Order star Mariska Hargitay takes over for Radcliffe starting May 26.

Lithgow gives a gripping performance layered with nuance in this highly anticipated transfer of the West End’s Olivier Award-winning production .

It’s eerily timely despite being set in 1983, which some might find disconcerting.

Still, that very unease is part of its power.

This production is not to be missed.

While Lithgow’s towering presence pulls focus, the supporting cast — including Aya Cash, Elliot Levey and Rachael Stirling — does a tremendous job commanding the stage in their respective standout moments — especially in the final minutes of the first act.

Gotta Dance revives original choreography from classic musicals, including West Side Story , Singin’ in the Rain , Pippin and A Chorus Line, complete with a cast of true triple threat performers.

Don’t let the title fool you (as it almost did me) — these dancers are singing their hearts out, often while simultaneously pirouetting, leaping and sashaying around the stage.

In one number, Broadway veteran Jessica Lee Goldyn shimmies so hard, a cloud of white dust from her fringed costume is left in her wake.

Goldyn is an absolute standout in this production and brought the house down with an emotional and expertly executed rendition of “The Music and The Mirror” from A Chorus Line.

Other show-stopping moments included the act one finale, “Cool” from West Side Story, with its impressive push-pull dynamic and explosive choreography, and the intricate tap number “Moses” from Singin’ in the Rain, which was superbly done.

“Sometimes lying is the most humane thing you can do,” Tony Award winner Lauren Patten’s Suzie says in Becky Shaw.

This line is just one of the undercurrents that hum throughout two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Gina Gionfriddo’s dark comedy.

The play tackles a myriad of complex issues — love, lying, feminism, power dynamics, emotional manipulation — all woven into a compelling tale of a blind date gone horribly wrong and the chaotic (and frightening at times) aftermath.

Audiences might be psyched to see The Pitt actor Patrick Ball in the flesh, but it’s Alden Ehrenreich of Weapons and Solo: A Star Wars Story fame who steals the show in a thrilling and terrifying performance.

His Max is blunt and biting, yet familiar, which makes him all the more exciting to watch — especially in the play’s final minutes.

To put it candidly, Titanique is unhinged in the best way; a balm for the soul in troubling and turbulent times.

Marla Mindelle’s Celine Dion is uproariously funny, as are the majority of the bits she and co-creators Constantine Rousouli (who plays Jack Dawson) and Tye Blue (directing the Broadway mounting) have concocted.

What makes Titanique even more special is that it doesn’t have a juke box musical feel; Dion’s iconic songbook is woven into the narrative in a (mostly) cohesive way without feeling forced.

Without giving too much away, the 90-minute musical has a singing-dancing iceberg, an iconic Dion/Streisand duet sung to a prop eggplant, and off-the-charts vocals, including a standout moment from Deborah Cox as (the unsinkable) Molly Brown.

Dive in headfirst and embrace this spoof in all of its “kooky krazy” glory — it’s worth it.

One of the best parts of this production is the chemistry between Tony winner Kelli O’Hara and recent Oscar nominee Rose Byrne ; they pull you in with their magnetic presence and bounce off of one another with such ease.

Their individual comic timing is excellent, and only strengthened by the other’s reaction (acting is reacting, after all).

Coward’s plays are notoriously wordy with intricate phrasing, requiring a certain rhythm that the two lead actors nail; their mojo is interrupted only by bits from the hilarious Tracee Chimo as the maid, Saunders, who is excellent.

David Rockwell’s ornate set provides the perfect playground for the physical comedy hijinks that ensue, including an especially funny routine O’Hara does on the stairs and Byrne’s late-in-the-show antics.

As the evening builds, Byrne leans ever more gleefully into the theatrical, reaffirming her status as one of the stage’s most reliably magnetic comic performers.

You don’t need to have seen the Apple TV series to crack a smile during the 2.5-hour love letter to Broadway that is Schmigadoon .

In an age of screen-to-stage adaptations, this is one of the better.

Created by film producer Cinco Paul, it was originally written as a stage musical before heading to streaming, but has now landed on Broadway, where it belongs.

Playfully steeped in musical theatre tropes, the production is knowingly self-aware, gleefully winking at its own conventions while drawing clear lineage from Golden Age touchstones like The Sound of Music and Oklahoma!

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It also arrives at a moment when Broadway has been relatively light on full-throated Golden Age revivals — the last notable example being Camelot in 2023 — making Schmigadoon feel like both homage and revival.

With its earworm score, polished choreography and classic love-triangle mechanics, it reintroduces that old-school theatricality for a new audience, without losing its sense of fun.

Over its 65-minute runtime, the piece shifts between early exuberance and more reflective passages, tracing lovers’ quarrels, tangled romantic dynamics and the shifting rhythms of friendship, all set against a blend of recognizable pop tracks and everyday sonic textures.

Dance here isn’t illustrative so much as expressive in its own right — a language the production uses with intelligence and intent.

In a season of flashy and over-the-top musicals, this small off-Broadway show was a breath of fresh air and a reminder that simplicity and authenticity in storytelling will always be powerful.

“Isn’t it remarkable?” Willy Loman muses throughout Death of a Salesman — a revival that is, indeed, excellent.

Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf are delivering performances that will keep you on the edge of your seat, hanging on every word.

Lane skillfully plays a tortured Willy, and Metcalf’s Linda is unwavering in her devotion to him; together, they have exactly the right amount of chemistry.

The show hits two emotional peaks; first with Metcalf’s gripping scene in the first act and later in the second when tensions erupt between the Loman parents and sons (played by standout Christopher Abbott and Ben Ahlers).

Both are enthralling, interrupted only by the sniffles of audience members.

The haunting set design and lighting beautifully enhance the storytelling here; it’s stripped back in a way that allows the flashback moments to shine and also really hones in on Willy’s relentless desperation to achieve the American Dream.

If you can look past the fact that this is another rung in controversial producer Scott Rudin’s ladder climb back to the top of the industry, you’ll have a night at the theater that is sure to stay with you long after the final curtain call.

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