The Broadway theater scene is alive and well in New York City. In fact, it's thriving! All of the best shows are still on Broadway, but there are also some new ones that have really taken off with audiences. So what are the top-grossing shows right now? Here's a list of 15 grossing Broadway shows in NYC for 2022.
1. The Music Man ($147 million)
The Music Man is a musical with book and lyrics by Meredith Willson and music by Meredith Willson and George Forrest. The story is about Harold Hill, a fast-talking salesman who sells band instruments and uniforms to small towns in Iowa and Nebraska in 1912.
The show opened on Broadway at the National Theatre on March 31, 1957, where it ran for 1,375 performances. It starred Robert Preston as Harold Hill (and Marian Paroo), Barbara Cook as Marian Paroo (and Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn), John Raitt as Winthrop Paroo, Gene Nelson as Marcellus Washburne (1957–60; 1966 revival only), William Frawley as George M. Cohan ("Life Begins at 8:40"), Wilbur Evans III as Mayor Shinn/Herman Weber ("Trouble"), Carlotta Monti Torreggiani/Irene Dunne ("Lida Rose"), Edward Bivin/Ann Miller ("Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay")"
2. Hamilton ($111 million)
No surprise here. Hamilton, the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical about Alexander Hamilton, has been on Broadway since 2015 and is still going strong. It's won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations (the first time any show has won all three awards). It's also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama (the first to do so in over 50 years) and has been nominated for many more awards since its debut.
Meanwhile, there are shows with only one or two of these honors that have had far fewer audiences than Hamilton or have been running much longer than it has—and they're not even in the same ballpark!
3. Lion King ($94 million)
The Lion King is a musical based on the Disney film of the same name. It opened in 1997 and has been running ever since, grossing over $1 billion worldwide. In 2022-2023, it will be playing at Broadway’s Minskoff Theater for a limited run.
The show's director Julie Taymor won two Tony Awards for this production: Best Direction of a Musical (1997), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (1998). She also received nominations for Best Scenic Design by Tim Hatley (1997) and Best Lighting Design by Natasha Katz (1998).
4. Wicked ($85 million)
The show, which still runs on Broadway, was originally scheduled to end in January 2019. However, due to overwhelming demand and a large amount of money that could be made from extending the run, Wicked will now stay open until at least 2020.
The show has been running for more than 13 years, and it has earned a total of $1.2 billion at the box office worldwide. It’s no wonder that Wicked continues to be one of the most popular musicals on Broadway and around the world!
5. Michael Jackson - The Musical ($76 million)
Michael Jackson - The Musical is a musical based on the life of singer Michael Jackson. The show opened on Broadway in 2022 and had a run of six years at the Lyric Theatre, where it became one of New York City's highest grossing Broadway shows, taking in more than $76 million in ticket sales.
The musical features songs from albums including Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad and Dangerous. It was written by Michael Jackson (his last will and testament filed with his attorney John Branca called for all of his material to be owned by his estate) and produced by his estate.
6. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($73 million)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play written by Jack Thorne, based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne. It is the eighth story in the Harry Potter universe and it premiered at London's Palace Theatre on July 30th 2016 before transferring to Broadway at the Lyric Theatre in New York City on April 22nd 2018. The show won Best Play at both London’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards and The Olivier Awards in 2017 as well as Best Play (Drama) at Broadway World Awards 2019.
It centers around Harry Potter and his youngest son Albus Severus going back in time via some special Time-Turners created by Hermione Granger so he can save Cedric Diggory from death before Voldemort can kill him during their Triwizard Tournament second task in 1994. In doing so they disrupt Harry's own timeline which causes everything from Lord Voldemort being resurrected earlier than he should have been all those years ago to Harry Potter becoming aware of his own mortality sooner than he would have otherwise been able to do so (and therefore passing on some advice).
7. Moulin Rouge ($63 million)
Moulin Rouge is a musical based on the classic novel by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. The show has been running since 2011, and is set in Paris in the 1890s. It has a cast of 22 actors, with a live band of 10 musicians.
It is a comedy, and the story follows the exploits of Figaro, who is valet to Count Almaviva. Almaviva has designs on Rosine, who has been promised in marriage to whoever can write an original love song for her. Figaro decides to help his master by writing such a song, but complications ensue when he falls in love with Suzanne (a maid working for the Countess).
8. Aladdin ($61 million)
Aladdin is a Disney musical based on the 1992 animated film of the same name. It opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, 2020. The show is directed by Casey Nicholaw and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli.
The cast features Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, Courtney Reed as Jasmine, James Monroe Iglehart as Genie, Jonathan Freeman reprising his role from the original movie as Jafar (the show's principal antagonist), and Shuler Hensley playing Sultan.
9. SIX ($59 million)
Six is a stage musical that tells the story of six young men who are gay and HIV-positive. The show debuted on Broadway in 2022, where it has been a huge success. It's currently one of the top 15 highest-grossing shows on Broadway. The musical was adapted from "Six: The Musical" by Michael Caruso—a book about six young men who were gay and HIV positive during the AIDS epidemic in New York City from 1981 to 1993.
The musical has received critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It's been nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. The show won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2024 for its depiction of LGBTQ life during the AIDS crisis.
10. The Phantom of the Opera ($56 million)
If you're looking for a show that's been around for more than 30 years, look no further than The Phantom of the Opera. Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, this show has been staged in London at Her Majesty's Theatre since 1986 and opened in over 25 countries and 100 cities across the globe! In fact, it has been staged in over 20 languages—so if you're planning to see a performance during your visit to NYC next year, don't worry about whether or not you'll be able to understand what they're saying. You won't have any trouble understanding these talented singers' voices!
11. The Book of Mormon ($51 million)
The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy about two young Mormon missionaries who travel to Uganda in an attempt to convert citizens to the Mormon religion. The show opened on Broadway in 2011 and won 9 Tony Awards.
The Book of Mormon is about two young missionaries who are sent to Uganda to spread the word of Mormonism. The musical follows Elder Price and Elder Cunningham as they try to convert citizens of an impoverished African village by teaching them about Joseph Smith, an American religious leader who founded Mormonism in 1830.
12. Funny Girl ($50 million)
Funny Girl is a musical that tells the story of Fanny Brice, an aspiring performer who later became one of the most famous comedians in America. Funny Girl is based on a film in which Barbra Streisand played the role of Brice's fictionalized self, and it ran on Broadway for almost six years before being made into a film in 1968. In 1965 and 1966, Barbra Streisand set records by becoming the youngest person to win an Oscar, Golden Globe Award and Grammy Award in just two years!
This musical was nominated for 14 Tony Awards but only won 8 awards including Best Musical (which it won twice). It grossed $10 million per week during its first year on Broadway -- making it the highest grossing show ever at that time until Hair took over with $11 million per week!
13. Hadestown ($43 million)
Hadestown, directed by Rachel Chavkin and based on the concept album of the same name by Anaïs Mitchell, is a musical that tells the story of Orpheus, a musician who travels to Hades’ underworld in order to bring back his wife Eurydice. But as you may have guessed from its title, things don’t go according to plan—and this isn’t just a tale about love lost forever: it's also about revolution and resistance.
The show has been praised for its diverse casting choices (including an all-female cast) and its inventive staging techniques (including dancers suspended from trusses). It's already won multiple awards including Best Musical at this year's Tony Awards in New York City.
14. Beetlejuice ($40 million)
Beetlejuice is a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name. The musical opened on Broadway in 2020, and it's currently playing at the Winter Garden Theatre. Beetlejuice was nominated for 5 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
The story follows Lydia Deetz, a girl who meets some ghosts while her family visits her aunt's house in New England. In order to get rid of them, she calls upon Beetlejuice (a mischievous ghost) and tries to scare them away with an exorcism performed by Otho (an aspiring actor). Along the way they meet Delia Deetz (Lydia's mother), Charles Deetz (Lydia's father), Barbara Maitland (Delia's sister) and Adam Maitland (Delia's brother-in-law).
15. Into the Woods ($33 million)
You may not know it, but you've heard this musical before. Into the Woods was first performed in 1987 and has been performed around the world since then. It's based on the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale of the same name, and it concerns a baker and his wife who wish to have a child—but their wishes are fulfilled at too great a cost when they enter into an evil witch’s forest where characters from several other classic stories live together.
The show was nominated for three Tony Awards in 2013, including Best Musical Revival (which it won), Best Score (Stephen Sondheim), and Best Leading Actress (Anna Kendrick).
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Source: BroadwayWorld.com
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