The 2022-2023 Broadway season marked the first full one since the pandemic shutdown in March 2020. And yet, even in recovery mode, Broadway has been able to achieve “firsts” and innovate. Here are the milestones and shifts that changed the Main Stem from April 2022 to April 2023.
It Takes (More Than) Two: Casting
The now Tony Award-nominated revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods” performed an unusual feat of casting for Broadway. The transfer from City Center Encores! included a few replacement cast members (such as Brian d’Arcy James for Neil Patrick Harris as The Baker and Phillipa Soo for Denée Benton as Cinderella). Of course, this is not uncommon when a short engagement converts to a longer one. But when the run extended for what became the first time from its originally scheduled closing in August 2022, to October 2022, seven principal cast members (including big Broadway names) departed. Recent Tony nominee director director Lear deBessonet replaced them with another slew of Broadway favorites, who took over in September.
