Best Musical 2026?

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 4:59pm

I was scrolling through the current and upcoming shows and I genuinely have no idea so I thought I'd bring it to this board. 

Does anyone think anything coming soon to Broadway has a good chance of winning the  Best Musical Tony Award next spring? Out of what I've seen so far, I truly have no idea. 

Updated On: 7/29/25 at 04:59 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:03pm

Geez, only one new musical this season so far has announced both a Broadway house and exact dates (rather than a timeframe).

But deep down inside, I hope it's THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. I'm all for grassroots British musicals and West End stars thriving across the pond. 

(And you'd be inquiring about best musical 2026, witchoftheeast2.)

Updated On: 7/29/25 at 05:03 PM

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:05pm

That's very true. Some shows don't come in until march/april. 

[gibsons2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:06pm

Aren't there only 2 new musicals confirmed and coming this season so far: The Queen of Versailles and The Lost Boys. What other new musicals are definitely coming to Broadway in 2025-26?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:11pm

Tons of new plays, but only those two musicals you mentioned and Dolly so far. 

[gibsons2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:17pm

Sutton Ross said: "Tons of new plays, but only those two musicals you mentioned and Dolly so far."

I don't mind most Broadway productions to be plays, since I feel spoiled with some really great ones in the past 3-4 seasons. 

I keep thinking that Dead Outlaw should've waited till this fall to open. Much less competition, less buzz from big musicals. And maybe even a smaller, more intimate theater would help. Any theater but the cursed Longacre.

[KrupYou]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:20pm

There is always a great surprise that comes out of nowhere. i cannot wait to see what next season brings......

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:21pm

Absolutely, Gibson. With a Fall opening and promo codes from the jump, I think they would have actually been noticed by way more people. I don't know why so many shows opt for a Spring opening, knowing how over-saturated Broadway is at that time. Great show, miss it a lot. 

Updated On: 7/29/25 at 05:21 PM

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:23pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Geez, only one new musical this season sofar has announced both a Broadway house and exact dates (rather than a timeframe).

But deep down inside, I hope it's THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. I'm all for grassroots British musicals and West End starsthriving across the pond.

(And you'd be inquiring about best musical2026, witchoftheeast2.)"
 

Updated On: 7/29/25 at 05:23 PM

[Melissa25]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:41pm

I am rooting for Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). First that it comes in and second that it garners Tony nomination love. I really loved it. 

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 5:47pm

WANTED, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN, Bull Durham, hippest trip, the bedwetter, goddess

[gibsons2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 8:43pm

Crusty Bagel said: "WANTED, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN, Bull Durham, hippest trip, the bedwetter, goddess"

None of these look exciting 🫤

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 8:56pm

Crusty Bagel said: "WANTED, MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN, Bull Durham, hippest trip, the bedwetter, goddess"

I love how you started in all caps, and then transitioned to no capitalization at all. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 9:45pm

You also have the Prince musical. Could be exciting given the talent involved. 

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 10:59pm

Preachers wife, millions, here we are, Galileo, kiss my Aztec, in dreams, secret life of bees, two strangers, ride, Benjamin button, devil wears Prada, burlesque, standing at the sky’s edge, just for one day, destiny of desire, to wong foo, Sinatra, Hercules

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 7/29/25 at 11:25pm

^are we just naming things now? Because a majority of these ain’t coming 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:10am

I don't think the Tony winner is a production that has been announced yet, and I think that's a bit unusual. If I had to take a guess, I'd say that The Lost Boys, with its pedigree, stands a good chance of taking the prize.

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 8:26am

As of right now, I'm expecting Wanted or Two Strangers to take home Best Musical next year. I could see Benjamin Button in the mix as well, if it transfers. 

Updated On: 7/30/25 at 08:26 AM

[trentsketch]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 9:42am

If we listed every show that announced Broadway intentions, we wouldn't even have enough concrete information about the productions to make a judgment call. 

Stranger things have happened, but some of the shows listed above were announced as aiming for Broadway before the COVID shutdown. Like, we have little clues of what could have been--the writer/composer of SuperYou was on some Broadway diversity/composer panels right before/after the shutdown, so an attempt was being made--but we're far past some of these shifting in. 

We know for sure Queen of Versailles is coming in. Did the Lost Boys announce a theater yet? That one seems pretty certain. Wanted and the Dolly Parton musical also seem pretty well set to come in this season.

A lot of the other new shows are potential transfers we don't have confirmation of yet. Will we get Benjamin Button? Two Strangers? Midnight in the Garden? And what brand new little show that could will show up and get pushed, baby bird out of the nest style, onto Broadway to sink or swim after an acclaimed off-Broadway run?

 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 9:48am

Lost Boys announced the Palace. 

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 9:55am

EDSOSLO858 said: "But deep down inside, I hope it's THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. I'm all for grassroots British musicals and West End starsthriving across the pond."

I'm in the minority, but having seen this twice in London (the second time with a friend who did not want to go alone), I remain less enamored of it than most.

I think the synchronicity of the London cast and fairly nonstop movement help mask a somewhat repetitive and bland score,, as well as the overall sameness.  I'd summarize it as an A level performance of a B/B+ level book and score.

But it is a strong audience pleaser and certainly checks some of the boxes often associated with the Best Musical.

 

Updated On: 7/30/25 at 09:55 AM

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 10:35am

The ones that are pretty much set for this season are 

THE LOST BOYS

QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

DOLLY

MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL

WANTED

TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK)

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

That’s 7 pretty solid new musicals, and many more to come. Goddess, Hippest Trip, and Bull Durham are coming to Broadway at some point, maybe this season or next. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:33pm

Again, only three of those have been announced. The rest are simply rumored at this point.

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 12:51pm

Both Wanted and Midnight in the Garden are both up on TodayTix ready to go. They’re happening 

[singer234]

Posted: 7/30/25 at 1:46pm

Wonder how much longer Hadestown has. I could see Wanted being a good fit for the Kerr. I also think it might work well in the Nederlander, but I'm not sure they'd want to be off the beaten path when the show is already essentially unknown to the general public, and also in a theater with over 1200 seats. I think they'd be smart to keep it to a house that's about 1000 or less.