April showers bring May flowers, and late-winter previews bring spring theater openings! The Spring 2017 Broadway list is extensive and filled with exciting, new shows. Not sure which one tops your list of must-sees? Check out the upcoming productions below! Many either had previews in February to open in March or previews in March to open in April. Broadway Spring 2017 includes a shy girl, a Russian revolution, and chocolate waterfall. *cue curtain*

The March Preview

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is an brand new musical based off of a classic movie. 1993’s movie comedy Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, made a huge statement as a film about a man’s inner turmoil. Though it is a comedy, the movie also contemplates suicide, the main character’s relationships with those around him, and other deeper concepts that made Groundhog Day more than just a funny movie.

This complex plot is coming to the main stage, as Groundhog Day hits Virginia/August Wilson Theatre starting March 16th for previews. Andy Karl stars as Phil Connors, the Channel 9 Pittsburgh weatherman who covers the Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day event. He finds himself in a time warp where he wakes up repeating Groundhog Day over and over again. Barrett Doss plays Rita Hansen, Connors’ co-worker and love interest. The musical ran at London’s The Old Vic Theatre in 2016, and it now comes to Broadway with its first official opening date April 17th. It replaces Jersey Boys, a long-standing Broadway favorite.

Below is the Groundhog Day cast practicing one of the songs from the Broadway production.

Amélie

Amélie, A New Musical brings everyone’s introvert to the forefront for celebration. Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo is the lead role as Amélie. Also based on a movie, Amélie, A New Musical follows the plot line of the 2001 French romantic comedy Amélie. The story is about a shy waitress. Though she is quiet, she slowly begins to better the lives of those around her with small acts of kindness. However, she also struggles with her own loneliness simultaneously until she meets a young, eccentric artist who changes everything. The setting is Montmartre in Paris, following the French lifestyle and inner metamorphosis of the main character.

Broadway previews begin March 9th, but opening night is April 3rd. Amélie, A New Musical is at Walter Kerr Theatre after finishing a preview run at Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center of Los Angeles in late 2016.

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a classic by Tennessee Williams. The five-character memory play that opens March 9th, after previews since February 7th, at Belasco Theatre. Sally Field is starring in the play as a returning force for the character of Amanda Wingfield alongside Joe Mantello. It is only running for seventeen weeks, as it revives Williams’ classic work that propelled him to fame.

Tom Wingfield narrates the play from his memory, and he warns the audience that the memories might not be exactly what happened. Amanda Wingfield, his mother, shares an apartment with Tom and his older sister Laura. Both children are in their twenties. Amanda worries about Laura, as she suffers with a limp, as she reflects fondly over Amanda’s days as a debutante.

Amanda also obsessively searches for a suitor for Laura who also dropped out of school and spends most time polishing her collection of glass animals. Tom, who spends his days working to support the family, invites a friend named Jim home for dinner in hopes that Jim will fall for Laura. The dinner and the remainder of the night pans out in unexpected twists, leaving Tom to reflect upon his mother and sister.

Hello, Dolly!

Hello, Dolly!, a Broadway musical from the 1960’s, is coming back to Broadway with previews starting March 15th and opening night on April 20th. Shubert Theatre is welcoming the musical, and Bette Midler will star as Dolly Levi until June 2017. The story follows a matchmaker (Dolly) on an eccentric, entertaining journey focused on finding love.

While Dolly tries to find a wife for wealthy Horace Vandergelder, she realizes that she wants to woo him. Meanwhile, Ambrose Kemper wants to marry Horace’s niece Ermengarde. However, Horace is against this due to Kemper’s meager occupation as an artist. Horace’s two clerks Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker also are main characters in the musical as well as widow Irene Molloy and her shop assistant Minnie Fay. The events that unfold in these dynamics mark the musical with quirky humor and subtle lessons regarding the important values in a life partner.

Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon‘s new production, based on the original Miss Saigon by Boublil and Schonberg, comes to Broadway after its London run. It is about the end days of the Vietnam War. The Engineer, a vaguely-named character, forces 17-year-old Kim to work at a bar in Saigon. She falls in love with an American G.I. named Chris. However, after Saigon falls, they are separated. For three years, Kim journeys to find Chris because he has no idea he is the father of her son. It is a tale about two worlds colliding among war that separates America from Vietnam. The Vietnam War is a hugely sensitive, controversial subject in America’s history. Therefore, the musical spins a story off of that history.

Miss Saigon‘s opening night is March 23rd at Broadway Theatre.

Anastasia

Anastasia is coming to Broadway with previews starting March 23rd at Broadhurst Theatre. Anya, the main character, sets out on a journey from Russian during the Russian Empire to 1920s Paris to discover her past. A Soviet officer follows her on her adventure determined to stop her, so Anya asks for help from a conman who’s an ex-aristocrat (Dmitry). They go on the journey together to find Anya’s home and family buried in mystery. It is inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures Anastasia films.

Christy Altomare will play Anya, and Derek Klena will play Dmitry. Children under 4 are not permitted in the theatre. Official opening night is April 24th.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the classic book by Roald Dahl, grabbed the hearts of many with the movie version starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It was so popular that Tim Burton remade the movie in the 2005 version with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. Now, the story is set to hit the Broadway stage with Christian Borle (Something Rotten!) as Willy Wonka. The musical includes songs from the original film including “The Candy Man” and more.

The plot follows the original story. Charlie who finds a Golden Ticket to enter Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for one day with a select few other children. As the story goes on, kids fall behind during the factory tour. Furthermore, one theory is that it is a metaphorical representation of the Seven Deadly Sins. Who is left standing to take over the Chocolate Factory in the end? Find out on the sugary-sweet ride on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Musical.

Other Spring 2017 Broadway Productions:

Sunset Boulevard
Significant Other
Six Degrees of Separation
The Price
Present Laughter
The Little Foxes
War Paint
Oslo
Indecent
Sweat
The Play That Goes Wrong
A Doll’s House, Part 2
Bandstand
Come From Away

Get tickets to all of the Broadway shows listed at TicketNetwork!