In 2017, many new musicals premiered on and off Broadway, most of them being a success. This article summarizes the major hits and talks about the good and the bad.
Dear Evan Hansen (DEH) was a major highlight of the Broadway season this year. This critically acclaimed musical won 6 Tony Awards and is pending a Grammy nomination. This show premiered on December 26, 2016 on Broadway. This show depicts a teen with social anxiety getting himself caught up in the aftermath of a suicide. As the plot suggests, it intensifies but is handled well. This show still manages to be funny at some points even with a serious plot. A lot of people call DEH one of the greatest shows of 2017, and I believe it’s for all the right reasons.
Anastasia made its official Broadway debut on April 24, 2017. This show is a musical remake of the 1997 20th Century Fox movie under the same title. This musical depicts a Russian princess who escapes the execution of her family. She later suffers from amnesia and believes she is an orphan without a family. This plot is based on real-life events of the Russian Communist movement in 1918. This musical stars Christy Altomare as Anastasia and Derek Klena as Dmitry. Personally, I think this musical has beautiful songs, the highlights being Once Upon a December and Journey to the Past. I hope this show still has success in 2018.
Come From Away is another show based on true events. This musical depicts the true story of the week after 9/11 attacks when 38 planes landed in Gander, Canada. The musical is highly acclaimed for its perception of this serious event in history. This show isn’t my personal favorite, but I still think it was a great addition to the 2017 season.
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 debuted on Broadway in November of 2016. This show is a sung-through musical of a segment of the book War and Peace. The main roles include Natasha Rostova (portrayed by Denée Benton) and Pierre Bezukhov (portrayed by Josh Groban.) This show closed on September 3, 2017.
This show was the center of a lot of drama during 2017. In July of 2017, Groban left the show replacing him with Okieriete Onaodowan, an African American actor, previously from Hamilton. There was a decrease in ticket sales when he went on, which left him to be replaced with Mandy Patinkin. The change from an African American to a Caucasian lead role caused a serious amount of controversy. Due to this, the show quickly ended just three weeks after this dilemma. I think this show is still great despite what happened, and it should’ve had a longer run.
Spongebob Squarepants was one of the last shows that premiered to end 2017. This show made its debut on December 4th, 2017. This musical is about the life of the sea creatures in the Bikini Bottom. But one day, a volcano erupts and it’s up to Spongebob to save the day. The cast includes Ethan Slater as Spongebob, Danny Skinner as Patrick, and Gavin Lee as Squidward. By the plot of this show, people may assume it is a show only children can like. However, this musical is suitable for all ages and anybody can enjoy. I highly recommend going out and supporting this production.
The 2017-2018 Broadway season looks promising. One of the hyped shows for this season is Mean Girls, a musical based on the 2004 hit Paramount movie. This musical will start previews on March 12th, 2018. Another show to look forward to is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II.
