The 10 best Broadway shows of 2024 (and 3 worst)

It’s time for the curtain to fall on another year of theater, one full of surprises, heartbreak (we hardly knew ye, Swept Away), invigorating new work, enchanting revivals, and everything in between.

While Broadway still thrives on tourists who flock to see marquee-worthy movie stars, familiar titles, and jukebox musicals, that doesn’t mean the Great White Way doesn’t have plenty of gems to offer. 2024 was a helluva year for new work that challenged its audiences (whether it be the AI conceit of Maybe Happy Endings, the gender-bending riot of Oh, Mary! or the three-plus hour running time of Stereophonic). But the year in theater also breathed new life into familiar properties (Our Town, Sunset Blvd., An Enemy of the People, Uncle Vanya, Doubt) and found ways to make I.P. feel like vital art rather than mere cash grabs (Hell’s Kitchen, The Outsiders, The Notebook). Here are our picks for the best and worst Broadway shows of 2024, as chosen by members of EW’s theater bureau.

The 10 best Broadway shows of 2024

10. The Notebook

With a Nicholas Sparks-penned novel and film starring the Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as its backbone, The Notebook could’ve easily rested on its laurels and doled out a safe, simple musical that pulled all the best bits from its well-loved predecessors. Instead, writer Bekah Brunstetter made Noah and Allie’s romance feel grounded and endlessly charming, allowing both characters to wrestle with their own desires and the space to grow apart and together throughout its runtime. Throw in stellar performances by its six knockout leads playing three different versions of its central couple throughout their shared lifetimes, swoon-worthy ballads and triumphant anthems from Ingrid Michaelson, and plush scenic design, and it’s easy to see why The Notebook was simultaneously one of the most heartwarming and heartbreaking musicals of the year — so much so that it even sold its own branded box of tissues. —Emlyn Travis

Read our full review here.

9. Our Town

If there was ever a question about the durability of art, Our Town is the answer. Throughout its 86 years, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer prize-winning play has proven itself resonant time and time again, and its latest Broadway production, helmed by Tony winner Kenny Leon, is no exception. Star-studded as ever, this visit to Grover’s Corners welcomes such familiar faces as  Zoey Deutch, Katie Holmes, Billy Eugene Jones, and of course, Jim Parsons, who guides the story as our omniscient Stage Manager. It’s 1901, we are somewhere, nowhere, and everywhere, as two families go about their day, two teenagers fall in love, and eventually, many cope with the concept of loss. The three act classic is brisker than ever, raw in its emotion and sincere in its sentimentality. Wilder’s words are simple, striking, fraught. The theater feels immense and each viewer oh so small, because life is huge and weighty and brief, and that is as true as ever; need you a reminder, Our Town can provide, packing the same punch as it always has. —Shania Russell

Read our full review here.

8. Swept Away

Some Broadway shows just aren’t given the time and space they deserve. That long list now tragically includes Swept Away, the Avett Brothers’ jukebox musical penned by John Logan that follows four shipmates — Captain (Wayne Duvall), Mate (Tony award-winner John Gallagher Jr.), Big (Stark Sands) and Little Brother (Adrian Blake Enscoe) — as their faith, morality, and lives are tested after getting lost at sea. In a theatrical ocean filled with multiple revivals and adaptations of well-established books and films, Swept Away was a pearl: an intensely dark, original tale that wasn’t created to leave theatergoers with warm fuzzy feelings by its conclusion, but rather to throw them into the deep end and have them come out the other side horrified, electrified, and incredibly moved. Swept Away may not have gotten its proper time to frolic in the sun, but its message of love, sacrifice, and brotherhood will resonate with those who were fortunate enough to see it long after it sets sail on its final voyage Dec. 29. —ET

Read our full review here.

7. An Enemy of the People

Living in our current era, where basic science is questioned at even the highest levels of government, 2024 seemed like a good time to revisit Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 tragic tale of a doctor with proof of local contaminated bath water who must fight against political and financial interests determined to stop him. Enemy was a perfect combination of star (Tony award winner Jeremy Strong was so committed he did not even break character when protesters interrupted a performance), story (updated with a deft touch by writer Amy Herzog) and staging (director Sam Gold — who would return to the same Circle in the Square space later in the year with Romeo + Juliet — made perfect use of the intimate setting and 360 degree stage).  —Dalton Ross

Read the full review here.

6. Sunset Blvd.

“I’m big. It’s the pictures that got small.” Perhaps the pictures have always been too small, if they have no place for a woman like Nicole Scherzinger’s radiant Norma Desmond, who at 40 (gasp!) has been cast aside by the industry she helped build. In director Jamie Lloyd’s electric and minimalist Broadway update of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1990s musical based on a ‘50s movie, the former Pussycat Doll nails the comedy of a camp diva — inhabiting former ingenue Norma’s delusion and ego without ever losing sight of her sincerity. —Kathryn Vandervalk

Read the full review here.

5. Hell’s Kitchen

Irresistible. That’s the best wort to describe this rousing, high-energy musical loosely based on the life of superstar Alicia Keys. While the teen angst story itself is nothing special, everything else about the show bursts off the stage. That includes the scene-stealing choreography by Camille A. Brown as the talented ensemble pops, locks, kicks, and bounds across the stage. Hell’s Kitchen also smartly tweaks the jukebox musical formula by handing off many of the Keys hits to other characters, including a jazzy duet reinterpretation of “Fallin’” handled expertly by Shoshana Bean and Brandon Victor Dixon. The not-so-secret weapon, of course, is newcomer Maleah Joi Moon as the young Ali, who made a Broadway introduction so spectacular she walked away with a Tony. This girl truly is on fire. —DR

Read the full review here.

4. Oh, Mary!

How to describe the funniest stage show of the year? Well, multi-hyphenate artist Cole Escola plays Mary Todd Lincoln as an acerbic alcoholic who cares way more about achieving a career as a cabaret singer than whether her husband (Conrad Ricamora) wins the ongoing Civil War. Honest Abe, meanwhile, is struggling with his repressed homosexuality, so to get his wife off his back, he hires a certain struggling actor to teach her about stage performance. The hilarious chaos that ensues is worth experiencing without spoilers, but suffice to say that what Oh, Mary!  lacks in historical accuracy (Escola still brags that they did absolutely no research) it more than makes up for with raucous slapstick and ingenious subversion of your expectations. Escola’s upcoming replacement, Betty Gilpin, opens up exciting possibilities of new interpretation, so hopefully this play becomes a lasting American institution in its own right. —Christian Holub

Read the full review here.

3. The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton’s tale of teenage alienation and class warfare remains potent and relevant over 50 years after it was first published. Now, it’s been given fresh, vital life as a musical (and this year’s winner of the Tony Award for Best New Musical). The book by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine maintains the simple purity of Hinton’s story, while the casting choices infuse the tale with a modern edge. Levine also wrote the soaring score alongside Jamestown Revival’s Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, and its folk-rock vibe perfectly fuses the show’s Southern setting of Tulsa, Oklahoma with the harder, street edge of the greasers. But what really makes this adaptation a stunning piece of theater is Liesl Tommy’s inventive directing that pierces to the story’s narrative heart in its clarity of staging and intention. It’s most effectively rendered in the second act’s rumble — a stark, visceral, and surprising set piece that uses rain and strobe lighting and leaves both cast and audience breathless. In Tommy’s capable hands, The Outsiders remains gold. —Maureen Lee Lenker

Read the full review here.

2. Maybe Happy Ending

It’s ostensibly a dying battery and a moment of desperation that moves Claire (Helen J. Shen) to knock on Oliver’s (Darren Criss) door — and though that may not sound like the most romantic conceit, that mix of circumstance and fate kickstarts the alluring atypical love story at the center of Maybe Happy Ending. The refreshingly original sci-fi musical sees one Helperbot aid another and just like that, neighbors become reluctant friends become more. It’s a love story as sweet as can be, bolstered by easy chemistry, luminous performances, and wondrous set design. With impressively integrated technology, the musical makes clever use of time and space, tugging at our heartstrings with ease and lulling us along with its dulcet tones. It’s delightfully awkward, playfully tender, and liable to fill your eyes with tears because above all, Maybe Happy Ending leads with heart. —SR

Read the full review here.

1. Stereophonic

What would you give up for your art — your relationship? Your sobriety? Your sanity? That’s the question at the heart of Stereophonic, the new record-holder for the most Tony-nominated play in history. The story follows the troubled members of a 1970s rock band, who struggle to make an album as they teeter on the cusp of superstardom. But that description hardly does the show itself justice. With its lived-in dialogue from playwright David Adjmi and evocative score from Will Butler, Stereophonic is a blistering, magnetic dissection of the creative process. Butler’s tracks give the show a requisite ‘70s groove that pulsates beneath the tensions and triumphs of its complicated characters. But it’s the way that we’re literally brought into the recording studio, bearing witness to what it is to make art — in its frustratingly tedious idiosyncrasies and rare moments of revelation — that makes Stereophonic so captivating. There’s a wealth of themes to plumb, from familial trauma to addiction to sexism to the tyranny of genius, but its core exploration of the sacrifice required to be an artist is exhilarating, brutal, and intoxicating. It’s only shortcoming? That this band isn’t real so we can be privy to their reunion tour in another 30 years. —MLL

Read the full review here.

The 3 worst Broadway shows of 2024

The Great Gatsby

Adaptations should always be allowed the space to put their own stamp on their source material, but that doesn’t mean completely missing the mark like The Great Gatsby does. Not even an incredibly talented cast can save a musical that largely sidelines its main character to focus on a toxic love story, sees them perform songs that feel too pointed (see: “My Green Light”), and fails to reflect or expand upon any of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s thoughts on wealth, love, and the illusion of the American dream. The real Great Gatsby is a tragedy, and it’s not lost on theatergoers that this show delights in presenting the same broken facade as its titular character with about the same level of success. But hey, who cares about plot when audiences can just keep attending different Roaring Twenties ragers, watching cars speed across the stage and churned out orgy and sex jokes, right? Better luck next time, old sport. —ET

Read our full review here.

McNeal

Robert Downey Jr is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe soon enough, but to give credit where it’s due, he certainly tried different types of projects during his interregnum. The newly-minted Oscar winner brought his signature fiery charisma and silver-tongued dialogue delivery to his Broadway debut… but the rest of the material left a lot to be desired. McNeal starred Downey as a Nobel Prize-winning novelist who turns to ChatGPT to write his next book. Contrary to the popular criticism of this AI technology, McNeal posits that a machine stealing other people’s words is no different than how writers channel their real-life experiences into fiction. But not even Downey at the height of his powers could make that argument sound convincing, and the haphazard plotting didn’t help either. —CH

Read our full review here.

Tammy Faye

The problem with this musical look at the rise and fall of Tammy Faye Bakker… well, there were many problems, but the main problem is that the show did not seem to know what it even wanted to be. Was it a campy romp? A televangelism takedown? A serious look at a tragic figure? All or none of the above? Whether Tammy was a sympathetic victim or a crass criminal seemed to depend on the scene and the song, and unfortunately, those songs from a composer by the name of Elton John were not exactly praise-worthy. —DR

Read our full review here.

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