The 6 Best Broadway Shows of 2023

2023 was a great year to revisit old plays and musicals on Broadway — and to finally bring some of off-Broadway’s best to the main stem. Four of my picks for the six best Broadway shows of 2023 are revivals, starting with…

6. The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
Of all the plays in the world, who would have thought this obscure 1964 drama by Lorraine Hansberry (better known for A Raisin in the Sun) would be one of the best Broadway shows of 2023? But thanks to the dogged vision of director Anne Kauffman, exceptional performances from a cast led by Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan, and some impressive last-minute maneuvering from the producing outfit Seaview, Sidney Brustein’s Window swept into the Broadway season after playing a sold-out run at BAM. It tells the story of a liberal dilettante in Greenwich Village who simultaneously faces political disillusionment and the breakdown of his marriage. While shaggy, Hansberry’s play crackles with big ideas and timeless conflicts. Miriam Silverman rightly took home the Tony for her performance as Mavis, Sidney’s sister-in-law and the voice of stealthy transgression in this fascinating play.

5. Purlie Victorious
Another rescue from the Golden Age, Ossie Davis’s Purlie Victorious debuted on Broadway in 1961 and had never once been revived until this excellent production from director Kenny Leon. Subtitled A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, this laugh-out-loud comedy involves a wily preacher (played by Leslie Odom Jr.), a dubious inheritance, and a mean old plantation owner (played by Jay O. Sanders). Kara Young, who has already racked up two Tony nominations in the past two years, looks poised to clinch a third for her outrageously anxious portrayal of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, the preacher’s partner in crime — and maybe life. Stellar performances were supported by a gorgeous design, exemplified by Emilio Sosa’s rich period costumes. It was like seeing an oil painting of the old south come to hilarious life.

4. Parade
Parade lasted exactly 85 regular performances during its initial 1998 Broadway run. This revival, which starred Ben Platt as Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil factory superintendent falsely accused of rape, ran twice as long and broke box office records at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Is this the result of the marquee name up top? Partly, but Parade also marked a star turn for Micaela Diamond, who has grown enormously as a performer since her debut in The Cher Show, and who rightly earned a Tony nom for her heroic performance as Lucille Frank. Michael Arden won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical with a slimmed-down yet unrelenting production that paired innovative staging with incredible vocal performances. Parade snagged Best Revival in a tough field that included the still-running revival of Sweeney Todd, which deserves an honorable mention. I suspect producers will be looking to this production for a long time as a model of how to do a revival well. And now it’s on tour!

3. Here Lies Love
I’ve long been an evangelist for Here Lies Love and the way it points toward the future of musical theater. With music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, it tells the story of Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos by inviting the audience to party with the glitterati of the late 20^th century. Set designer David Korins completely transformed the Broadway Theatre into a nightclub, turning the former orchestra section into a dance floor. It was an exhilarating experience, and its arrival on Broadway made me hopeful that more shows would take bigger risks in the future, unleashing the theater’s potential beyond the narrow conceptions of long-dead architects. Sadly, the musical ended its run on November 26 after 149 regular performances — a disappointing number considering all that effort. But this year’s very best Broadway musical gives me hope that Here Lies Love will eventually be the hit it deserves to be — even if it takes decades to get there.

2. Appropriate
The best play of 2023, Appropriate marks the Broadway debut of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, author of An Octoroon and Gloria. It’s set in an Arkansas plantation house where three siblings have returned to settle the debts of their recently deceased father, a hoarder. As they sort through the junk, they dig up their unresolved resentment and make some grim discoveries. Sarah Paulson delivers a radioactively rageful performance as Toni, the eldest sister, who emerges as daddy’s biggest defender (expect a Tony nomination). But there’s not a weak link in this cast, who really feel like a big, extended, dysfunctional Southern family. Chock full of shocking revelations and fiery invective, this is a family drama in the great American tradition — it has your ass on the edge of its seat, and your jaw regularly hitting the floor.

 1. Merrily We Roll Along
In a truly great year for Broadway revivals, one stood above the rest: From the very first notes of the overture to Merrily We Roll Along, we know we’re about to see a big, brassy Broadway musical and that’s exactly what the cast (led by Jonathan Groff, Lindsay, and Daniel Radcliffe) delivers. It tells the story of three friends who move to New York to become cultural luminaries, moving backward from bitter middle-age to bright-eyed idealism. For obvious reasons, it’s a favorite among theater students, all of whom think they know how to fix a show that infamously flopped during its 1981 Broadway debut. Director Maria Friedman comes the closest to fulfilling that promise in a staging that is dramatically lucid, emotionally gripping, and musically spectacular. You’ll be humming these songs for weeks. The show just extended to July 7, so there’s plenty more time to see it. This will be the one to beat for the 2024 Tony Award for Best Revival.