Quick question. When was the last time you actually sat in a theatre, lights down, phone away, completely locked into a story unfolding a few feet in front of you? If it has been a while, you picked a good year to fix that. Broadway and the West End are both heading into one of their busiest, star-studded seasons in ages, and honestly, half the fun is just keeping up with who is doing what.
So let’s get into it. Here are nine shows worth planning your season around, plus a few honest thoughts on how to actually snag tickets without losing your mind (or your budget) in the process.
1. Evita, Starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell
Let’s start with the one everyone is already texting each other about. Jamie Lloyd’s stripped down, electric revival of Evita tore through London last year, and now it is heading to Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre with Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell leading the cast. Previews kick off October 31, with opening night set for November 19.
If you saw clips of the London run, you know why this is generating so much noise. It is not your grandmother’s Evita. Expect a bold, modern staging that has critics and theatre fans buzzing well before a single Broadway performance. Tickets for shows like this tend to move fast once word of mouth kicks in, so this is one to bookmark now rather than later.
2. Hay Fever, With Christine Baranski and Richard E. Grant
West End comedy fans, this one is for you. Noel Coward’s classic country house farce Hay Fever is getting a fresh revival at Wyndham’s Theatre, and the casting alone makes it a must-watch. Christine Baranski is making her West End debut, and Richard E. Grant is stepping back onto a stage for the first time in over two decades.
There is something genuinely fun about watching seasoned screen actors bring their comic timing to live theatre, especially in a play built entirely around chaos, misunderstandings, and an eccentric family who has absolutely no idea how to host a weekend guest properly. Expect big laughs and an even bigger demand for tickets.
3. Buena Vista Social Club
If you want something with rhythm in your veins by the time you leave, Buena Vista Social Club is still one of the hottest tickets on Broadway. The show pulls you straight into the world of Cuban music with a score that genuinely gets the whole room moving. It has been a returning favorite across recent Broadway Week promotions, which tells you exactly how strong the demand has stayed.
This is a great pick if you are bringing someone who claims they do not usually like musicals. The energy in the room does most of the convincing for you.
4. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Whether you are a lifelong Potterhead or you are bringing a kid who has read the books more times than you can count, Cursed Child remains one of the most reliably sold out tickets on both Broadway and in the West End. The production has evolved over the years, and reports of a streamlined, one part staging have only added to the buzz around catching it again if you saw the original two part version.
Because this show draws such a wide, multigenerational crowd, good seats disappear early, especially around school holidays and weekends.
5. Chicago
Some shows never really leave the cultural conversation, and Chicago is one of them. It keeps pulling in audiences year after year with its sharp choreography, sultry score, and a story about fame and scandal that somehow still feels relevant no matter what decade you are watching it in. If you have never seen it live, this season is as good a time as any.
6. Hadestown
Hadestown continues to hold a devoted following on both sides of the Atlantic, running strong in the West End’s Lyric Theatre while remaining a staple on Broadway. Part folk concert, part Greek tragedy, part something entirely its own, it is one of those shows that tends to convert even the most skeptical first timer within the opening ten minutes.
If your musical taste leans more toward atmosphere and storytelling than jazz hands, this one belongs near the top of your list.
7. Beetlejuice, Making Its West End Debut
Broadway’s chaotic, gleefully macabre hit is finally crossing the pond to the Prince Edward Theatre, and West End audiences who have only seen clips online are about to get the full, unhinged experience in person. Beetlejuice built a cult following through sheer irreverence, and its arrival in London has been one of the most anticipated musical transfers of the year.
Expect opening weeks to sell out quickly as curious fans rush to see what all the online hype has actually been about.
8. Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
For something moodier and more immersive, the Olivier Award winning revival of Cabaret continues its run at the specially transformed Kit Kat Club in London. This is not a sit back and watch kind of night. The entire venue is designed to pull you into the smoky, unsettling world of 1930s Berlin before the show even starts.
If you want a theatre experience that feels genuinely different from a traditional proscenium stage show, this is one of the most talked about tickets in London right now.
9. RENT, Starring Gaten Matarazzo
Stranger Things fans, take note. Gaten Matarazzo is headlining a West End revival of RENT, bringing a whole new wave of younger theatregoers into a show that has been breaking hearts and selling out houses since the nineties. Casting like this tends to create a real spike in demand from fans who might not otherwise be regular theatre attendees, so expect tickets to move quickly once performance dates lock in.
Okay, So How Do You Actually Get Tickets to All This?
Here is the part nobody loves talking about. The moment a show gets buzz like the ones above, official box office tickets vanish fast, especially for prime dates, weekend evenings, and anything close to opening night. That does not mean your only option is settling for a random Tuesday matinee three months from now.
This is where Viagogo becomes genuinely useful. Because it is a resale marketplace pulling listings from individual sellers rather than one fixed inventory, you can often find tickets to shows that show as sold out everywhere else. Sellers set their own prices, so you can compare options across different seating categories and pick what actually fits your budget, rather than being stuck with whatever the official system has left.
And if things go wrong, you are not just crossing your fingers and hoping. Every purchase is backed by the Viagogo Guarantee, which promises a replacement or a full refund if your tickets turn out to be invalid or the show gets cancelled. For big ticket, high demand nights like an Evita opening or a sold out Beetlejuice premiere, that kind of protection makes a real difference.
The Bottom Line
This theatre season is stacked, and honestly, trying to catch even half of these shows is a fantastic excuse for a proper theatre trip, whether that means a weekend in New York or a few days in London. The shows are not going to wait around for you to make up your mind, and neither will the good seats.
If there is one show on this list that made you sit up a little straighter while reading, do not just add it to some mental someday list. Head over to Viagogo, search the dates that work for you, and see what is actually available right now. Future you, sitting in that seat when the lights go down, will be very glad you did.