In the spring, I wrote that we were in the most electrifying season we’ve had on Broadway in years, and it was capped by a magnificent Tony Awards telecast hosted by Cynthia Erivo. This fall, I’m dizzied by the array of works in front of us — both on Broadway and off, and also in the worlds of opera, dance and experimental theater. I might even urge you to trek to … Brooklyn!

Some of these plays and musicals are totally new, untested even by out-of-town tryouts, so their inclusion here is a measure of advance buzz and pure enthusiasm (on my part). Others are revivals of beloved works or adaptations of books or movies. If you need help planning your fall (or you need a date for a show), here’s what I’ll be booking.

'Punch'

Based on the memoir "Right From Wrong" by Jacob Dunne, which details the author’s life before and after he drunkenly threw a single punch that killed a man outside a bar, this play was a sensation in London. Playwright James Graham ("Dear England," "Make It Happen") weaves together poverty, class tensions, the prison system and redemption in a surprisingly high-octane script that critics in London called “powerful” and “shattering.” Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, ongoing

'Masquerade'

So many of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sumptuous 1980s and ’90s hits have been reinvented recently (see also Jamie Lloyd’s "Sunset Boulevard" and "Evita," plus "Cats: The Jellicle Ball") that it was only a matter of time before his beloved "Phantom of the Opera" joined the list. Tony-winning director Diane Paulus is behind this reimagining as an immersive experience, which asks audience members to show up masked and allow themselves to be swept in timed waves through a sprawling, lush labyrinth of a set. Depending on your arrival time, you’ll be dazzled by one of multiple Phantoms and Christines who perform each evening. 218 W. 57th St., through Nov. 9

'Saturday Church'

This new musical, premiering at New York Theatre Workshop, is like a pop-culture Mad Libs gone mad: music by Sia and dance hall DJ Honey Dijon? Words by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames ("Fat Ham")? A cast that includes Bryson Battle, from the most recent season of "The Voice," plus Tony-winning chanteuses Joaquina Kalukango ("Paradise Square") and J. Harrison Ghee ("Some Like It Hot")? Sign me up! Writer-producer Damon Cardasis, who wrote the original film about a conflicted queer kid who finds solace in a church support group, penned the script with Ijames. New York Theatre Workshop, ongoing

'Bat Boy'

Yes, this kooky musical with a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming, and music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe, is based on that old Weekly World News tabloid obsession. It’s being brought to Broadway for the first time, by inventive director Alex Timbers ("Moulin Rouge!"), with all-new songs by O’Keefe and choreography by Connor Gallagher ("Beetlejuice"). Broadway legend Kelli O’Hara, who starred in the off-Broadway production more than 20 years ago, is back in this short run. The first-act closer, "Comfort and Joy," is one of the greats of all time. City Center, Oct. 29 through Nov. 9

'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay'

The Metropolitan Opera hasn’t exactly blown me away with its new adaptations of beloved books (see last year’s sleepy "Moby Dick"), but it’s hard not to get amped up about this megawatt production of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer-winning novel about two Jewish cousins creating an antifascist comic book superhero. With a score by Mason Bates (a symphonic composer and electronic music DJ), a towering set and video projections by Studio 59 ("Stranger Things: The First Shadow"), the opera, directed by Bartlett Sher ("To Kill a Mockingbird"), spans Nazi-occupied Prague, pre-World War II New York and the fantasy world within the boys’ minds. Metropolitan Opera, Sept. 21 through Oct. 11

'Ragtime'

Although this fall will feature many exhilarating musical moments, it will be almost impossible to top the absolute aural euphoria of listening to Joshua Henry and Nichelle Lewis belt out "Wheels of a Dream." Following a smash short run at City Center in 2024, the pared-down revival of "Ragtime" features an all-star cast that also includes Tony winners Brandon Uranowitz and Shaina Taub. The central themes of the source material, E.L. Doctorow’s novel about oppression and opportunity in America, will no doubt resonate as freshly urgent for audiences. Lincoln Center, from Sept. 26

'Oh Happy Day!'

From writer-director Jordan E. Cooper, who stupefied Broadway audiences in 2022 with his sketch-comedy-style meditation on the Black experience, "Ain’t No Mo," comes an equally outrageous new musical. "Oh Happy Day!" tells the tale of the Johnson family as they prepare to ride out an impending flood, in a reimagining of the Noah’s Ark story. Grammy-winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence provides original songs that will sweep you away. The Public Theater, Oct. 2-26

'Kyoto'

The trouble with the new play "Kyoto" is that a summary of the plot is, well, off-putting: The show depicts the decade’s worth of negotiations that led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, when a league of nations agreed to try to reduce carbon emissions years into the future. But please don’t let that stop you. Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson’s script, under the directorial hand of Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, is anything but dry — it’s crackling and funny. Trust the rabid audiences who sold out the runs at Stratford-upon-Avon and in London’s West End. Lincoln Center Theater, Oct. 8 through Nov. 30

'Chess'

Theater people like to say that "Chess," the pop musical about a Russian and American chess master facing off against the backdrop of the Cold War, can’t be fixed. Although the soundtrack features enduring bops by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with help from lyricist Tim Rice ("The Lion King"), the original book (also by Rice) has never quite worked. Now, under director Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening") with a new book by Danny Strong (Fox’s "Empire"), we’ll see if that old axiom is true. Having seen Lea Michele single-handedly bring "Funny Girl" back from the dead in 2022, I’m downright optimistic. Broadway’s Imperial Theatre, from Oct. 15

'The Baker’s Wife'

Theater geeks will know "The Baker’s Wife" best as the source of one of Patti LuPone’s signature cabaret songs, "Meadowlark," which she performed in 1976 opposite Paul Sorvino. That production of this warmhearted, mischievous Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked") musical never made it to New York — which means that this one, starring Oscar winner Ariana DeBose ("West Side Story") and Scott Bakula (c’mon, "Quantum Leap" hive), is all the more enticing. Classic Stage Company, Oct. 23 through Dec. 14

'Oedipus'

Lesley Manville ("The Crown") and Mark Strong ("Kingsman") headline this modern-day retelling of Sophocles’ epic Greek tragedy, which has been rewritten and directed by Robert Icke ("The Doctor"). As the famously doomed family awaits the results of a political election, the tension hypnotically rises, and Strong and Manville deliver performances that intensify to horrifying heights. Manville won an Olivier Award for the role of Jocasta in London, and the production won for best revival. Broadway’s Studio 45, from Oct. 30

'Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)'

This charming two-hander from London centers on Dougal, a cheery Brit who’s landed in New York City to attend the wedding of the dad he’s never met, and Robin, the bride’s sister, who must pick him up at the airport. As they set out on an all-important mission to get the cake to the wedding on time, the chaos and intrigue of the city that never sleeps unfold in all their glory. Written by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, it’s a refreshingly all-new musical in a sea of revivals. Broadway’s Longacre Theatre, from Nov. 1

'The Other Americans'

Ruben Santiago-Hudson ("Lackawanna Blues") directs this new play by Emmy-winning actor John Leguizamo ("Kiss My Aztec!") in a tense morality fable about family, race and destiny. Leguizamo stars as Nelson Castro, a struggling laundromat owner in Queens who must embrace his son Nick as he returns home from treatment after a trauma. Will both of their pasts threaten to annihilate their future? I don’t know! Let’s go see the show and find out! Public Theater, Sept. 16 through Oct. 19

'Oratorio for Living Things'

What’s an oratorio, you ask? It’s “a large-scale musical work, typically a narrative on a religious theme,” per Oxford Languages. Heather Christian’s oratorio isn’t large; in fact, its staging at the Signature Theatre will be relatively modest. But according to reviews from its first New York run, at Ars Nova, the music from the five-person orchestra and 12-person cast will elicit a jumbo-size emotional reaction. Christian’s classical score incorporates blues, gospel, jazz and soul — plus the spoken word — into a mesmerizing new kind of work. Signature Theatre, Sept. 30 through Nov. 16

'Anna Christie'

Oscar winner Michelle Williams returns to the stage, this time at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, where she’ll embody one of Eugene O’Neill’s boldest antiheroes. Under the direction of her husband, Thomas Kail ("Hamilton"), and alongside Tom Sturridge ("Sea Wall/A Life") and Brian d’Arcy James ("Shrek"), Williams will tell the Pulitzer-winning tale of the reformed prostitute battling her estranged father and potential husband over the course of her future. St. Ann’s Warehouse, Nov. 25 through Feb. 1

Other shows of note will be included on other lists: I’m looking at you, "Queen of Versailles" with Kristin Chenoweth, "Waiting for Godot" with the bros from "Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure," "Little Bear Ridge Road" with Laurie Metcalf and, of course, "Oh Mary!" with its newest leading lady, Jane Krakowski! God bless you if you can see them all, truly. What a time to be a theater nerd.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.