Celebrities Head to Broadway As TV & Movie Industry Continues to Struggle

Celebrities are heading to Broadway as the spotlight shifts to a different stage. Theater has always been attractive because of its rich history and for serving as a foundation for many actors in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

We’ve been in the Golden Age of Television with a seemingly never-ending library of morally gray grit with our heroes (if some can even be called that) for quite a while now. These themes, for many, have become almost blasé.

Even before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last summer, TV show production was dwindling. Additionally, cinema has taken a major hit as it continues to recover from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and now the aforementioned strikes. With TV and cinema devolving, actors seem to be looking toward Broadway as a savior.

So, which celebrities and actors have taken a turn to head to the stage? Well, quite a few, according to Us Weekly and the Broadway website. From R&B singer JoJo’s debut in Moulin Rouge back in 2023 or Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo’s appearance in Dear Evan Hansen in 2022.

Below is a list of all of the celebrities who will be starring in a play this year.

Jessica Lange and Jim Parsons – Mother Play

Beloved Hollywood starlet Lange and Big Bang Theory star Parsons are coming together for Mother Play. The play closes in June 2024.

Sarah Paulson – Appropriate

Famous for her roles in the American Horror Story series, Paulson is cast as Toni in this family crime drama. The play closes in June 2024.

Jeremy Strong, Michael Imperioli, and Victoria Pedretti – An Enemy of the People

Strong, Imperioli, and Pedretti are cast as the Stockmanns in a thrilling drama after a spa is poisoned. Strong, known for his performance as Kendall Roy in Succession, takes on the role of Dr. Thomas Stockmann. The Sopranos star, famous as Christopher Moltisanti, is cast as Peter Stockmann. Pedretti, famous as Nell from the 2018 The Haunting of Hill House series, is cast as Petra Stockmann. This play closes in June 2024.

Eddie Redmayne – Cabaret

Redmayne is cast as The Emcee, and he is perhaps best known from Like Minds, the 2012 Les Misérables, and the Fantastic Beasts series. The musical highlights hedonism in the Kit Kat Klub driven by romance and drama. Cabaret closes in June 2024.

Steve Carell – Uncle Vanya

Carell takes on the role of Vanya himself in Chekhov’s classic about familial drama, regret, and conflict of desires. Carell’s prolific acting career features Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The Dana Carvey Show, and, of course, The Office. Uncle Vanya closes in June 2024.

Rachel McAdams – Mary Jane

McAdams plays Mary Jane in this drama about a single mother and her struggles. She is best known for The Notebook and Mean Girls. The play closes in June 2024.

Maia Reffico and Ani DiFranco – Hadestown, July 2024

From Pretty Little Liars to Hadestown, Reffico assumes the role of Eurydice. DiFranco, who had worked with the Anaïs Mitchell’s concept album Hadestown, stars as Persephone. Hadestown is a retelling and twist of the classic Greek Tragedy.

Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez – Merrily We Roll Along

Radcliffe, famous for Harry Potter, stars in the musical as Charley Kringas. Groff famously voiced Kristoff in Frozen, and now he is cast as Franklin Shepard. Mendez stars as Mary Flynn, and she is best known for her award-winning role as Carrie Pipperidge in the Broadway revival of Carousel. The play opens in September 2024.

Darren Criss – Maybe Happy Happening

Criss plays Oliver in this one-act rom-com about obsolescence, a bit different from his more grim role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. The play will be coming in the fall of this year.

Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone- The Roommate

Farrow’s role as Rosemary Woodhouse in Rosemary’s Baby is among her most well-known performances. Now she is cast as Robyn in The Roommate, a play about identity and secrets featuring only two characters from different walks of life. LuPone, cast as Sharon, has an extensive career featuring Law and Order, American Horror Story, Beau is Afraid, and even in Frasier. The play premieres in September 2024.

Nicole Scherzinger – Sunset Boulevard

Scherzinger plays Norma Desmond in a noir about the twilight days of her stardom. Scherzinger is best known as the lead singer for The Pussycat Dolls. Sunset Boulevard will debut on Broadway in October 2024.

In a way, it might do some good for actors. Modern television and cinematic productions have received no shortage of criticism that acting has become little more than green screens, special effects, and clever edits. To these critics, anyone could be an actor. Maybe they would change their minds if they saw these performances in the pulse of the theater.

Either way, taking a step away from the screen and moving toward the stage can be a transformative experience for both the actors and the audience.