It’s that time of year when the famous RENT lyric pops into our heads: “How do you measure a year?” Whether you measured yours in daylights, sunsets, midnights, cups of coffee, or even Playbills, it certainly was a year for the history books. As we wrap up 2024, we’re looking back at Broadway’s most memorable moments from the last 525,600 minutes (well, 527,040, since it was a leap year).
The Love for the Wicked Movie Is Unlimited
Fellow Ozians, rejoicify! One of Broadway’s most beloved and longest-running musicals finally made its way to the big screen. Broadway fans have been waiting for a film adaptation of Wicked for years, and anticipation grew to a frenzy once Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winner Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande were announced to star as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. Directed by Jon M. Chu (In the Heights, Crazy Rich Asians), the first of two installments was released on November 22 and boasted a supporting cast of all-stars, including Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Bridgerton star and Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey, and Oscar nominee Jeff Goldblum. Of course, theater kids did what we do best since the release: fully immerse ourselves in the wonderful world of Oz by dressing in Wicked-inspired outfits, posting videos re-creating the choreography, and offering analysis of the text and the creative team’s choices. Critics and fans alike have exploded with love for the movie, with the movie breaking several box office records since its opening weekend — most notably, passing 1978’s Grease to become the highest-grossing movie of all time based on a Broadway musical. It’s safe to say Wicked: Part One is very, very popular, and Glinda would be proud.
Meta Mean Girls (Musical) Movie
At the beginning of 2024, another movie musical danced and sang its way into theatres. Mean Girls, adapted from the Tony-nominated musical, which was adapted from the 2004 film Mean Girls (still with us?), was released January 12. The cast featured several faces and voices familiar to Broadway fans, including A Strange Loop’s Jacquel Spivey as Damian, Cabaret and Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho as Janis, and Reneé Rapp, who reprised her role as Regina George from the stage musical. Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin’s Broadway score was maintained for the movie, though 10 songs were cut for the film. Tina Fey once again penned the script (as she did with the 2004 film script and the stage musical’s book), and provided a few cameos from past versions of Mean Girls, including Tony nominee Ashley Park, who originated the role of Gretchen on Broadway, and Lindsay Lohan, the 2004 film’s Cady.
Broadway’s Biggest Night at the 77th Tony Awards
History was certainly happening in Manhattan at this year’s Tony Awards! The ceremony took place (for the first time ever) at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theatre on June 16.
Shaina Taub carried the banner in a major way for history-making women during the Tony Awards ceremony. The writer and star of Suffs, Taub was the first solo woman to win both Best Book of a Musical and best score (Bella Spewack and Betty Comden both won previously with male cowriters). Dede Ayite also made history on the creative side. After receiving three nominations this year, she was the first Black woman to win an award for best costume design, for her work on Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.
Even before the ceremony took place, women made history when the nominations were announced on April 30. For the first time, there were more women than men nominated in the Best Direction of a Musical and Best Direction of a Play categories. With seven out of the 10 directing nominees (across both categories) identifying as women, many felt like a glass ceiling had been broken. Though Best Direction of a Play went to Stereophonic’s Daniel Aukin, Best Direction of a Musical went to The Outsiders’s Danya Taymor, making her the sixth woman to win the award in Tony Awards history.
Speaking of Stereophonic, the play about a 1970s band on the cusp of stardom became the most nominated play in Tony Awards history, surpassing the previous record held by Slave Play’s 12 nominations. The 13 nods included three best featured actors, two best featured actresses, best costume design, best lighting design, best scenic design, best sound design, best original score, Best Orchestrations, best direction, and Best Play. They took home four awards: the aforementioned win for Aukin’s direction, Will Brill for best featured actor, Ryan Rumery for best sound design, and David Adjmi for Best Play.
Merrily We Roll Along was a highlight of the Broadway season, making a remarkable return to Broadway after becoming an infamous flop in the 1980s. The revival took home four awards including Best Revival and awards for two of its stars: Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe.
Beyond the awards, this year’s ceremony had memorable moments with its star-studded performances and introductions. From Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performing from Hell’s Kitchen to former U.S. Secretary of State and producer Hillary Clinton being greeted with a standing ovation when introducing Suffs, the 2024 Tony Awards was the place to be. Dive into more highlights here.
A Complete Roundup of Every Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical
Andrew Lloyd Webber is beloved for his many works, from the very popular long-running musicals to…
A Triple Whammy for Andrew Lloyd Webber
This year felt as if we never said goodbye to legendary musical theater composer and lyricist Andrew Lloyd Webber. When his juggernaut and Broadway’s longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera, took its final bow after nearly 14,000 performances in April 2023, and Bad Cinderella closed in June, Webber’s historic 44-year streak of having a musical running on Broadway came to an end. However, in 2024, three prominent revivals of his musicals opened in New York and London.
A reinterpreted Cats opened downtown at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in June and became the hottest ticket in town. Codirected by Zhailon Levingston and PAC Artistic Director Bill Rauch, this production was set in the world of drag and ballroom culture in 1980s Harlem, with all of the numbers transformed from cats introducing themselves to ballroom competition categories, whether it was Tag Team Vogue Fem (“Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer”) or Runway (“Mr. Mistoffelees”).
The reimagined Sunset Boulevard (which even had its name adjusted to Sunset Blvd.) opened at Broadway’s St. James Theatre on October 20, transferring from the 2023 Olivier-winning West End run, with Olivier Award winners Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis reprising their roles. Director Jamie Lloyd, who also earned an Olivier Award, gives the musical a minimalist makeover that heavily involves video components for its cinematic approach. The title song’s live video sequence received so much attention that fans started gathering to watch the action in Shubert Alley. Scherzinger’s bloody finale costume also developed its own fan base — Rachel Zegler even re-created it as a Halloween costume!
Across the pond, the Starlight Express revival opened at Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on June 30, 40 years after its original West End premiere. Helmed by & Juliet director Luke Sheppard, the musical about anthropomorphic trains has been extended four times as of October 24. Though there is no word on a New York transfer, you can listen to the new cast recording on Spotify.
There have been rumors that an immersive Phantom of the Opera might open Off-Broadway in the spring of 2025, but with no official confirmation.
We Come to Broadway Theatres to Laugh, to Cry, to Care
Curtain up and light the lights! Broadway’s 41 theatres all offer their own distinct personalities and history. Three theatres had significant moments this year.
In June 2023, Roundabout Theatre Company announced that the American Airlines Theatre would be renamed the Todd Haimes Theatre in honor of its late artistic director, who had passed away in April of that year. On January 31, 2024, the new marquee was revealed bearing his name. Broadway theatre name changes are not necessarily common, though this renaming made the third since 2020, the other two being the Cort Theatre being renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre, and the Brooks Atkinson being renamed the Lena Horne Theatre, both in 2022.
Here she is, boys … here she is, world … here’s the Majestic! Following in the footsteps of The Phantom of the Opera’s historic 35-year run at the Majestic Theatre is a tall order, and Broadway fans were eager and curious to see what would be the show to reopen it. The highly anticipated revival of Gypsy, starring six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, opens December 19 after beginning previews November 21.
The Palace Theatre’s history is long and extensive, being the 11th theatre built of the currently existing theatres. Many famous artists have headlined the Palace, including An Evening With Diana Ross in 1977, which earned her a Special Tony Award; Liza Minnelli’s 1999–2000 concert Minnelli on Minnelli: Live at the Palace; and her mother, Judy Garland, who considered the Palace Theatre home after her 1951 residency and recorded her sixth album, Judy Garland at Home at the Palace: Opening Night, there. During SpongeBob SquarePants’s run in 2017– 2018, it was announced the Palace Theatre would undergo renovations. On May 28, 2024, the Palace Theatre reopened with Ben Platt: Live at the Palace.
Ben Platt’s Bosom Buddies
Ben Platt: Live at the Palace, the Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winner’s three-week residency that reopened the Palace Theatre, saw a bevy of award-winning stars. Platt reunited with several of his past costars, like Parade’s Micaela Diamond to perform the musical’s “All the Wasted Time,” Pitch Perfect’s Skylar Astin for a rendition of Rent’s “What You Own,” and Dear Evan Hansen’s Laura Dreyfuss for “Only Us.” Tony winners Adrienne Warren, Alex Newell, Cynthia Erivo, Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, and Leslie Odom Jr. all graced the stage with Platt, and Broadway favorite, and Platt’s husband, Noah Galvin joined him for Beyoncé’s duet with Miley Cyrus, “II Most Wanted.” Fans looked forward to seeing the performances on Platt’s Instagram; you can watch them here.
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From Screen to Stage
This year saw a lot of stars from the screen make their Broadway debuts. The debuts covered quite the range, from long-running musicals to new plays. Take a look at the list below and see who you know:
- Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix as Roxie Hart in Chicago
- Max’s Euphoria star Barbie Ferreira as Loren Montgomery in Cult of Love
- TikTok star Charli D’Amelio as Charmion in & Juliet
- Netflix’s Heartstopper star Joe Locke as Tobias in Sweeney Todd
- Netflix’s Heartstopper star Kit O’Connor as Romeo in Romeo + Juliet
- West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler as Juliet in Romeo + Juliet
- The Summer I Turned Pretty star Lola Tung as Eurydice in Hadestown
- Emmy winner Michael Imperioli as Peter Stockmann in An Enemy of the People
- TVLand’s Younger star Molly Bernard as Rachel Dahl in Cult of Love
- Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond Sunset Blvd.
- Mean Girls and The Notebook star Rachel McAdams as Mary Jane in Mary Jane
- Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. as Jacob McNeal in McNeal
- Emmy nominee Shailene Woodley as Diana Dahl Bennett in Cult of Love
- Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Haunting of Hill House, and You star Victoria Pedretti as Petra Stockmann in An Enemy of the People
- Film and TV star Zoey Deutch as Emily Webb in Our Town
You can see more stars who are performing on Broadway here.
In Memoriam
Every year, we must lift up those who made an impact on us when they pass away. There were many artists who helped shape Broadway in some way who we lost in 2024, including Tony winner Chita Rivera; EGOT winner James Earl Jones; Adrian Bailey; Oscar, Emmy, and Tony winner Maggie Smith; three-time Tony winner Hinton Battle; and Tony winner Gavin Creel.
Chita Rivera will be forever known as one of the musical theater greats. She originated roles such as Anita in West Side Story, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, and the Kiss of the Spider Woman’s titular role. She won two competitive Tony Awards and was nominated 10 times, a record she shares with Julie Harris and Audra McDonald. She was the first Latine woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2009, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2018, she received the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.
James Earl Jones is one of the 27 artists to achieve the EGOT — earning all four of entertainment’s top prizes: three Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, one honorary Oscar, and three Tony Awards. Though his Oscar was honorary, there is no question the impact Jones has had on the film industry, portraying roles such as Star Wars’s Darth Vader and The Lion King’s Mufasa. On Broadway, Jones became the first Black man to win the Tony Award for best actor in a play for his role in 1969’s The Great White Hope. In 1985, Jones was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Adrian Bailey made his Broadway debut in the 1976 musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God. He went on to become a true Broadway triple threat for the next three decades, performing in musicals like Jelly’s Last Jam, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and Sophisticated Ladies.
With a career spanning 50-plus years, Maggie Smith is one of the few actors to earn the “Triple Crown of Acting”: winning two Oscar Awards, four Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. Smith played a variety of roles across stage and screen, becoming most well-known for her performances as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey.
Hinton Battle earned three Tony Awards over the course of his career, all in the category of best featured actor in a musical, making him the most awarded actor in the category’s history. He won for his performances in Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid, and Miss Saigon. He made his Broadway debut originating the role of the Scarecrow in The Wiz.
Gavin Creel won the 2017 Tony Award for his role in Hello, Dolly!, but he had been charming audiences since his Broadway debut in the 2002 musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. He was Tony-nominated for his role in Hair and won an Olivier Award for his performance in the West End production of The Book of Mormon.
We honor all of those who passed away this year, thankful for their service and dedication to our industry.
Broadway Direct looks forward to all the new memories we’ll make in 2025!