The Best Shows of the Year, According to Broadway's Finest

We’ve already shared our lists for the best shows of 2025, but what do the theatermakers think should be on the list? Find out below!

“My First Ex-Husband written by Joy Behar, a previously unknown playwright, has now remerged on the scene, and the play will be done again January at the MMAC Theater on West 60th Street starring me, Judy Gold, and Veanne Cox. The show will be traveling internationally. We are talking to Portugal. London is definitely happening in June, and Boston in March. We already played Boston and they loved it so much we’re going back.” — Joy Behar, previously unknown playwright

“The best show I saw this year was the Broadway musical Death Becomes Her because….Jennifer Simard. Fabulous. Brilliant. Ultimate. Enough said.” — Bianca Del Rio, performer

“Death Becomes Her is perfect comedy, singing, acting, dancing, stage design – every element is exactly what you want from a big, campy Broadway comedy.” — Kevin McHale, performer

“My favorite show I saw this year (among many greats) was Richard Nelson’s play When The Hurlyburly’s Done at the Public Theater. Written in collaboration with a Kiev-based theater company and performed in Ukrainian by six extraordinary Ukrainian actresses, Richard writes brilliantly of the way these women get through the tasks of everyday life – peeling potatoes, making dumplings and caring for their children – while war and an uncertain future looms just outside. So moving, so thought provoking and like nothing I had ever seen.” — Judy Kuhn, performer

“I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan by Mona Pirnot was a tour-de-force of performance, writing, and direction. It was buoyant, breathtaking, incisively witty, and wildly charming.” — Ryan J. Haddad, writer/performer

“The best thing I saw this season was Gruesome Playground Injuries. Kara Young is so specific and fully committed. She’s one of the best actors of our generation.” — Samantha Williams, performer

“Buena Vista Social Club was great. You get the play, and you get a Cuban music concert, and it’s just good for the soul. The music is fantastic. It is the only Broadway show on right now, and I think maybe ever, where all the music is in Spanish.” — Ana Navarro, cohost of The View

“Without a doubt, Purpose was the best show I saw this past year. Seeing that level of Black Excellence on and off stage absolutely floored me. I was in awe.” — Jasmine Amy Rogers, performer

“Purpose is the best thing that I’ve seen this year.” — Sunny Hostin, cohost of The View

“The show that rocked my world this year was Bat Boy at City Center! Anytime I get to see Taylor Trensch act is a treat let alone in bat ears drinking blood. Such a good show!” — Sky Lakota-Lynch, performer, The Outsiders

“My favorite thing I saw this year was a play called Gray Mud. The playwright, Brie Leftwich, is a dresser at our show, and it was SO cool to see her working on this project while we were working together at the Jacobs. The production came together beautifully, and I was very moved by the writing. There’s nothing I love more than supporting my friends in their work.” — Emma Pittman, performer, The Outsiders

“Meet the Cartozians by Talene Monahon and directed by David Cromer has a permanent place in my heart. Hilarious, ambitious, shattering, this is what American theatre is capable of.” — Francis Jue, performer

“The best show I saw this year was Dead Outlaw on Broadway. It’s one of the most unique and talent-filled shows with a phenomenal score about the craziest true story that’s ever been on Broadway.” — Lilli Cooper, performer

“One of the best shows I saw was Table 17 by Douglas Lyons. The piece reminding me of my favorite black rom-coms from the early 2000’s. It was funny, poignant and beautifully made.” — Christiani Pitts, performer

“Best show I saw this year was Gypsy! The ensemble and principals were all so wonderfully talented and I loved its reimagining. My favorite part was Audra: not only a masterclass in performing with your entire mind, body and soul, but it was also inspirational to see someone who looked like me on that stage.” — Jalynn Steele, performer, Mamma Mia!

“Audra Gypsy…need I say more!?” — Hailee Kaleem Wright, performer, Moulin Rouge!

“Hot take but I loved The Devil Wear’s Prada when I saw it this past year on the West End. It was so fun, the costumes were incredible and the cast is siiiinging. Secretly hoping it transfers to Broadway so I can play Andy Sachs. She loves a good blazer as much as I do on Owning Manhattan, so I’m basically perfect for it.” — Chloe Tucker Caine, Owning Manhattan

“I saw Andrew Scott in Vanya at the Lucille Lortel Theater earlier this year, and it was one of the greatest performances I’ve ever witnessed. I brag about seeing that run as often as I can.” — Karan Brar, performer

“Oratorio For Living Things at Signature Theater. I keep telling people it’s not only one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had in my lifetime. It made me grateful for the beauty in the mundane and very aware of the idea that an invisible thread ties us to each other and the universe. Heather Christian and Lee Sunday Evans created a piece of theater that reset any jadedness I had been holding on to and made me grateful for the complexities of life and the micro and macro that we live between. Each ensemble member was so unique and magnetic and were able to be so singular and then disappear into the whole in a moment’s notice.” — Ali Louis Bourzgui, performer, The Lost Boys

“Some of the best live performances I saw this year were at Apocalypse Noir, an immersive cabaret on Monday nights at Balcon. Created by my childhood friend Andrew Barret Cox and featuring another childhood friend, Danielle Lussier, it delivers next-level vocals with really smart choreo and looks, creating an art-driven experience that genuinely brings people together. I couldn’t be prouder of what they’ve created.” — Max Clayton, performer, Chicago

“It would have to be a tie between John Proctor Is the Villain and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Both for their own genius reasons.” Christopher Gattelli, director and choreographer of Death Becomes Her

”Maybe Happy Ending. Darren Criss and company really brought such a beautiful and simple story to life!” — Lena Hall, performer

“I loved Liberation, on and off-Broadway. And while I’d seen Oedipus before too, in college, I thought this contemporary adaptation and the chance to see Lesley Manville and Anne Reid live on stage was, for me, the big highlight of the fall. You could hear a pin drop at the end, and we all knew how it would end! Amazing!“ — Rick Elice, book writer of Jersey Boys

“The best show I saw this year was Liberation. I left inspired not only by the story but by the vulnerability of all the women up there. It was magic and healing.” — Gianna Yanelli, performer, Six

“Liberation. Daring on every level. Moving, real, true storytelling at its best. In Praise of Women.” — Montego Glover, performer

“Masquerade, the immersive off-Broadway retelling of the iconic musical The Phantom of the Opera, was a truly remarkable and unforgettable theatrical experience. I was absolutely blown away by the attention to detail and the coordination it must take to pull off that captivating evening of magic and fantasy.” — Victor Wallace, performer, Mamma Mia!

“I have to pick two shows that really rocked me this year. The first was Virginia Gay’s Cyrano at Park Theatre in London — queer, funny, inspiring, and so alive, like a nice piece of sour candy. And, while I was late to the game, I was able to see Cabaret in its final week on Broadway. It got me in the guts to see a fresh new take on an old favorite.“ — Jordan Kai Burnett, performer, Romy & Michele

“I loved Mexodus. What a truly innovative theater experience. Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson are super-talents; can’t wait to see what they do next. And I also loved Cold War Choir Practice, by Ro Reddick, another incredibly creative, funny, genre-twisting piece. I’m so glad it’s coming back!” — Kate Hamill, playwright

“I absolutely loved the revival of Ragtime at Lincoln Center. It was one of the first musicals I fell in love with growing up, and this gorgeously sung and beautifully acted production is a perfect example of the emotional, political, and cultural impact that incredible theatre can make.” — Evan Alexander Smith, performer, The Play That Goes Wrong

“Real Women Have Curves was the best show I saw this year because it was not only full of joy and incredible talent, but because it was an impactful story. It was so special to see this Latina-led story performed for a Broadway audience, and to see the audience feel so moved!” — Kay Sibal, performer, Six

“Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). I loved it. I found the writing really fresh and witty and loved the music.” — Brian Usifer, music supervisor of Chess

“I have to say I’m obsessed with Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). It was one of those rare shows where I WISHED I had written it!” — Robert Horn, book writer of Shucked

”I saw a production of The Prom at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, New York! Bravo!!!!” — Beth Leavel, performer

“I loved Other with Ari’el Stachel. It was deeply moving, funny, very personal and his opening up about his journey through identity, crippling anxiety, and coming into his own (and still working through this struggle) is something that I think we all can, on some level, identify with.” — Darius de Haas, performer

“The Benedict Andrews Cherry Orchard at St. Ann’s was one of the best Chekhovs I’ve ever seen. Every single actor was not only deeply living in their own truth but they were all in the same world. It was brave and funny and electric and timely.” — Marjan Neshat, performer

“Best thing I’ve seen this year was Stereophonic in London! Such an incredible play. From the direction to the design and vocal talents of the cast. Loved it!” — Fabian Aloise, choreographer of Sunset Boulevard

“Zora Howard’s Hang Time. It was risky, raw, powerful, and thought provoking work that inspired real conversations. “ — Camille A. Brown, director and choreographer of Dreamgirls

“My favorite show I saw this year was Sanaz Toosi’s English. A stunning ensemble, exquisite writing, and story I will not forget.” — Rachel Christopher, performer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

“As an understudy, it was my job to watch Queens as many times as I needed to learn it, but I watched it way more than that. Martyna Majok wrote a masterpiece that was somehow both devastating and hopeful, a warning and a prayer, and the fiercest group of actresses and people I’ve ever met knocked it out of the park every single night.” — Alyssa May Gold, performer

“Best thing I saw this year was a production of Mary Glen Fredrick’s brilliant new play, fire work at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City. Vivid characters, thrilling story, the audience was gasping, laughing, weeping, and more. Incredible theatre, that just happened to be written by my sibling.” — Daniel Fredrick, performer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

“Jonathan Groff as Bobby Darin. Come on!” — Margaret Colin, performer

“Just in Time’s splashy (pun intended) stage and music, and Jonathan Groff’s energetic portrayal of Bobby Darin, stayed with me for days. The short-lived (pun intended) Dead Outlaw was also a highlight. The score, the outlandish story about a literal dead outlaw, and the unbelievable performance by Andrew Durand (as a corpse!)…I loved all of it.” — Candice Thomas, Senior Account Executive, TheaterMania

“My niece’s middle school play. She played the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, a legacy role that her aunt Lisa once played, and she killed. Pun intended.” — Lisa Goldberg, publicist

“I was mesmerized by Floyd Collins. I thought the austerity of the set treated the seriousness of the subject matter with the respect it deserved. I adored the music and the performances and often find myself listening to the cast album recording. I can feel the grass under my toes and the wind in my hair as I imagine swinging over that old swimming hole!” — Rosemary Maggiore, publisher, TheaterMania

…and

“Jellicle Ball…I loved, I loved, I loved, I loved, I loved it [in 2024] and I know it’s coming to Broadway [in 2026], so I would encourage people to see it. I hope it’s the same that we saw when it was downtown. And André De Shields…fabulous, fabulous!” — Whoopi Goldberg, EGOT