Spring is one of the busiest stretches of the New York theater season, when major revivals, momentum-building transfers and bold counterprogramming fill the marquees. The challenge this time of year isn’t finding a memorable night out, but choosing among excellent options. From star performers and inventive direction to sharp comic timing and daring reinterpretations, these five productions are currently worth seeing.
© Emilio Madrid
Death of a Salesman
This major revival at the Winter Garden Theatre returns Arthur Miller’s classic to Broadway with Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, Ben Ahlers and Christopher Abbott. Under Joe Mantello’s direction, the production pairs high-profile performers with one of the most enduring dramas about ambition, family fracture and the cost of chasing status. Revivals of Salesman are regular, but casts this powerful are rare. Mantello makes striking choices on the Winter Garden’s large stage, favoring restraint so the family’s intimate collapse remains at the center of a space often built for spectacle.
© Joan Mascus
The Rocky Horror Show
Roundabout’s revival of The Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54 stars Luke Evans as Frank-N-Furter, joined by Rachel Dratch, Stephanie Hsu, Juliette Lewis and others. Evans brings the sleek confidence and edge the role demands, while Hsu provides Janet with a sharp comic spark. The production embraces lavish costumes, high-style visuals and the subversive excess the show calls for. Studio 54’s own history of decadence and downtown energy adds an extra charge, making the evening feel especially alive. The result is sexy, funny, knowingly seedy and a genuinely good time, with limited audience participation still encouraged.
Fallen Angels
At the Todd Haimes Theatre, Roundabout’s revival of Noël Coward’s Champagne comedy features Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara. Byrne’s dry, modern wit and O’Hara’s polished stage presence create an ideal pairing as two elegant 1920s wives thrown into panic at the possible return of a former lover. Directed by Scott Ellis, the revival keeps Coward’s humor sharp and swift as Byrne and O’Hara trade smiles, martinis and cleverly implied disaster with expert timing. Silk gowns, a luxurious set and mounting hysteria give the production a bubbly surface with deliciously keen undertones.
© Courtesy of Titanique on Broadway
Titanique
Titanique has arrived at the St. James Theatre for a limited Broadway run after a hit off-Broadway engagement. The show’s Céline Dion–meets–Titanic premise might sound like a stunt, but the production runs on precision: big vocals, rapid-fire jokes and camp executed with confidence. The larger Broadway stage gives the comedy space to hit harder and the musical numbers room to soar, without losing the offbeat mischief that made the show popular. Surrender to pure 1990s absurdity delivered with real craft and you’ll find nonstop laughs as Marla Mindelle’s gloriously unhinged Céline navigates the chaos alongside Frankie Grande, Jim Parsons, Deborah Cox and others.
© Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Cats: The Jellicle Ball is a bold reinvention now playing at the Broadhurst Theatre, reimagining Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical through the lens of New York ballroom culture. With category battles, runway command, voguing and more than 500 hand-crafted costume pieces, the production turns the Jellicle choice into a full-throttle competition for glory. Joy radiates through the room as performers claim the runway with athletic choreography, dazzling looks and a communal energy that reinvigorates Broadway. Whether you’re long resisted by Cats or a devoted fan, this reinvention suggests the material has found a surprisingly apt second life.