Broadway national tours fall 2026: New shows, casts, dates and tickets

The fall 2026 Broadway touring season is bringing several of the past few years’ most talked-about productions to cities across North America.

The biggest story isn’t simply how many shows are on the road. It’s how many notable productions are beginning new North American tours within weeks of one another. Death Becomes Her, Buena Vista Social Club, Maybe Happy Ending, Oh, Mary!, Operation Mincemeat, Waitress and BOOP! The Musical all launch between September and October.

Established tours including Hell’s Kitchen, Hadestown, Dirty Dancing: The Musical and Spamalot give audiences even more options throughout the season. And these aren’t interchangeable Broadway nights: some are built around large-scale spectacle, some put the music front and center and others depend on a very specific style of comedy.

Here’s what to know about the new and returning Broadway tours on the road this fall, including when new tours open, notable cast members, what audiences have responded to and which shows may be the best fit for your night out.

New Broadway tours opening in fall 2026

Several productions from the past two Broadway seasons are leaving New York for their first major tours. From dark comedy and Cuban music to robots, wartime deception and cartoon nostalgia, each one offers a very different reason to get a ticket.

Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her begins its multi-year North American tour at Playhouse Square with Jackie Burns as Madeline Ashton and Kristen Beth Williams as Helen Sharp. Ken Marino, known for Party Down, Wet Hot American Summer and The Other Two, plays Ernest Menville in his stage musical debut. Nasia Thomas plays the mysterious Viola Van Horn.

Based on the 1992 film starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, the musical follows two longtime rivals whose obsession with beauty and eternal youth becomes considerably more complicated after a magical potion enters the picture. The Broadway production earned attention for leaning all the way into the movie’s camp rather than trying to turn the material into something more restrained.

What should audiences look out for? The physical comedy is a major part of the appeal. Madeline and Helen put their supposedly indestructible bodies through increasingly ridiculous punishment, giving the production plenty of opportunities for practical effects, visual tricks and exaggerated fight choreography. The costumes are similarly outsized and the two women’s gleefully toxic friendship gives the musical most of its comic energy.

Fans of the movie will recognize the premise and plenty of the attitude, but the stage version turns the rivalry into a larger Broadway spectacle.

Tour launch: September 12, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio

Best for: Adults and older kids who like camp, dark comedy, elaborate costumes and movie-to-stage adaptations. The production recommends the show for ages 12 and up.

Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club begins its North American tour at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre after becoming one of the most acclaimed musicals of the 2024–25 Broadway season.

The Broadway production earned 10 competitive Tony Award nominations and won four, while the show’s musicians received a Special Tony Award recognizing their contributions to the production. Touring cast details have not yet been officially announced, so audiences should watch for casting news as the production prepares to hit the road.

The musical draws on the music associated with the landmark Buena Vista Social Club album while telling a story that moves between generations of Cuban musicians. But the biggest reason to see it may be the live performance itself.

Rather than keeping the band largely out of sight, Buena Vista Social Club makes musicianship part of the theatrical event. Percussion, brass, guitar, vocals and dance interact throughout the production, giving parts of the show the immediacy of a live concert. The story provides the framework, but the music often takes over.

Audiences unfamiliar with the album don’t need to do homework beforehand. The energy comes from watching the singers, dancers and musicians respond to one another in real time.

Tour launch: September 12, 2026, in Buffalo, New York

Best for: Live-music fans, dance fans and multigenerational groups. It isn’t specifically designed as a children’s show, but older kids and teens who respond to music and movement may find plenty to enjoy.

Maybe Happy Ending

After winning six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Maybe Happy Ending begins its North American tour at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre.

Steven Huynh and Claire Kwon lead the touring company as Oliver and Claire, two obsolete Helper-Bots living out their retirement in neighboring apartments. Francisco Javier González and James Seol are also part of the company.

This is a much quieter proposition than something like Death Becomes Her or BOOP!. Oliver and Claire begin as machines accustomed to routines, rules and the gradual deterioration of their technology. Their unexpected friendship forces both to confront memory, loneliness and what it means to become attached to someone when neither of you was designed to last forever.

A large part of the Broadway production’s acclaim went to Michael Arden’s staging. Video, sliding scenic panels, lighting and precisely framed spaces make Oliver and Claire’s compact apartments feel cinematic without overwhelming the intimacy of the story. The much-discussed firefly sequence is one visual moment worth experiencing without too much advance explanation.

It’s also a musical that benefits from knowing relatively little about where its relationship goes. The pleasure comes from watching two seemingly predictable characters gradually surprise one another.

Tour launch: September 13, 2026, in Baltimore, Maryland

Best for: Date nights, musical-theater fans and older kids or teens who enjoy quieter stories with humor and melancholy. Younger children expecting constant spectacle may find its pace more challenging.

Waitress 10th Anniversary Tour

Ten years after Waitress opened on Broadway, the Sara Bareilles musical begins a new North American anniversary tour at RiverPark Center before visiting more than 40 cities.

Samantha Lane Scruggs stars as Jenna, with Hannah-Kathryn Wall as Becky, Becky Alex as Dawn and Connor Lewis as Dr. Pomatter.

Jenna is an expert pie maker stuck in an unhappy marriage and looking for a route toward a different life. An unexpected pregnancy, a baking contest and a complicated new relationship force her to reconsider what freedom could look like.

Bareilles’ score remains one of the strongest reasons to see the musical. “Opening Up” introduces the rhythmic world of the diner, “I Didn’t Plan It” gives Becky one of the evening’s biggest vocal moments and “She Used to Be Mine” remains the emotional centerpiece most audiences enter the theater waiting to hear.

But anyone expecting a lighthearted show about pie should know that Waitress deals directly with emotional abuse, pregnancy, infidelity and difficult relationships. Its warmth comes largely from the friendships between Jenna, Becky and Dawn and from Jenna’s gradual realization that changing her life doesn’t depend on being rescued by someone else.

The anniversary framing also gives longtime fans a reason to return to a show that has developed an especially loyal following since its 2016 Broadway debut.

Tour launch: September 18, 2026, in Owensboro, Kentucky

Best for: Older teens and adults, Sara Bareilles fans and audiences who like character-driven contemporary musicals.

Oh, Mary!

The fall’s most unconventional new comedy tour, Oh, Mary!, begins at The Bushnell with RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Alaska Thunderfuck as Mary Todd Lincoln.

Alaska plays Mary from the launch through January 17, 2027. Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee plays Mary’s Husband — the production’s intentionally loose interpretation of Abraham Lincoln — before taking over the role of Mary beginning January 19. Ghee will be the first performer in the production to play both characters.

If you’re expecting anything resembling a traditional historical drama, adjust accordingly.

Cole Escola’s comedy reimagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a frustrated, hard-drinking would-be cabaret star who is considerably more interested in getting back onstage than in the political crisis surrounding her husband. The weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination become the framework for roughly 80 minutes of escalating absurdity.

The Broadway production built its reputation on how aggressively it refuses to behave like an important historical play. Cheap-looking theatrical tricks, broad physical comedy, deliberately anachronistic behavior and performers pushing jokes well past good taste are all part of the point.

Alaska’s casting should be especially interesting for audiences familiar with her drag career because Mary is a role that rewards enormous choices rather than subtle ones. Ghee, who won a Tony for Some Like It Hot, brings another formidable comic performer into the mix.

Tour launch: September 19, 2026, in Hartford, Connecticut

Best for: Adults, comedy fans, drag fans and audiences who like irreverent theater. This is very much not a family-friendly Abraham Lincoln lesson.

Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical

Operation Mincemeat begins its North American tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center with Mariah Copeland, Katie Kleiger, Luke Antony Neville, Erin Ramirez and Jake Bentley Young leading the company. All five performers take on multiple characters.

Its premise sounds more like a prestige World War II drama than a musical comedy. During the war, British intelligence used a corpse carrying falsified documents in an attempt to convince Nazi Germany that Allied forces planned to invade somewhere other than their true target.

The musical turns that bizarre true story into a fast-moving ensemble piece in which five actors jump between characters, genders and musical styles. Quick changes and deliberately simple theatrical devices allow the company to suggest a cast and world much larger than the number of people physically onstage.

That speed is a major part of the fun, but the show’s reputation also rests on its ability to abruptly change tone. After spending much of the evening treating espionage and government bureaucracy as comic material, Operation Mincemeat makes room for the real people affected by the plan. “Dear Bill” has become one of its most discussed songs because of the emotional turn it creates.

The production also comes to tour with an unusually devoted fan base. Repeat attendees have become known as “Mincefluencers,” a sign of the cult following the show built in London and later on Broadway.

Tour launch: September 20, 2026, in Providence, Rhode Island

Best for: History fans who enjoy satire, British comedy and clever ensemble theater. Older teens may love its speed and humor, though its wartime subject matter and dark premise make it less obvious for younger kids.

BOOP! The Musical

For families looking for one of fall’s brightest new touring musicals, BOOP! The Musical is an obvious contender.

Aliya Grace stars as Betty Boop when the tour launches at Rochester’s West Herr Auditorium Theatre. The production takes Jerry Mitchell’s original Broadway direction and choreography on the road, with DB Bonds recreating the direction for the tour and Rachelle Rak recreating the choreography. The musical features music and arrangements by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead and a book by Bob Martin.

The story sends Betty from her familiar black-and-white cartoon universe into the colorful modern world, allowing the design to make one of the evening’s biggest transformations right in front of the audience.

That visual change sets the tone for the rest of the production. Animation, bright costumes, large dance sequences, tap choreography and cartoon logic make the show feel intentionally oversized. There’s even a scene-stealing marionette version of Betty’s dog, Pudgy.

Adults familiar with the character get the nostalgia of seeing a nearly century-old pop-culture figure reinvented for the stage, but the musical isn’t dependent on knowing Betty Boop beforehand. Younger audiences can meet her as a new character rather than as an icon from vintage animation.

Tour launch: October 3, 2026, in Rochester, New York

Best for: Families, kids who already enjoy live theater, dance fans and audiences looking for colorful Broadway spectacle.

Broadway tours already on the road this fall

Not every major touring title starts in September. Several productions enter the season with established casts and enough time on the road for audiences to have a clearer idea of what they’re getting.

Hell’s Kitchen

Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen continues touring this fall with Maya Drake as Ali, a 17-year-old growing up in Manhattan and pushing against the boundaries set by her protective mother.

Kennedy Caughell plays her mother, Jersey, with JonAvery Worrell as Knuck and Roz White as piano teacher Miss Liza Jane.

One important distinction for anyone buying tickets because of Keys: Alicia Keys does not perform in the musical. Instead, the show draws on elements of her upbringing and builds its score from familiar songs including “Fallin’,” “Girl on Fire,” “If I Ain’t Got You” and “Empire State of Mind” alongside music written specifically for the production.

That makes Hell’s Kitchen more than a greatest-hits concert. Ali’s relationship with Miss Liza Jane gives the story its strongest mentorship arc, while Camille A. Brown’s choreography helps establish the neighborhood as a living part of the production.

Audiences familiar with Keys’ catalog will get the thrill of recognizing songs in a new context, but the musical works best when those hits advance Ali’s coming-of-age story rather than stopping it.

Best for: Alicia Keys fans, teens, families with older kids and audiences who enjoy contemporary dance. The production recommends the show for ages 8 and up, though it includes strong language and mature themes.

Dirty Dancing: The Musical

Dirty Dancing: The Musical launched its current North American tour in August at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul.

Annalese Starzec makes her national-tour debut as Frances “Baby” Houseman opposite Blake Zelesnikar as Johnny Castle. Director Lonny Price has an unusual connection to the source material: he played Neil Kellerman in the original film. Darrell Grand Moultrie choreographs the production.

The stage production doesn’t hide what audiences are coming to see. Baby’s first introduction to Johnny’s dance world, “Do You Love Me,” the summer atmosphere at Kellerman’s and, of course, the final lift are all part of the appeal.

But the new company also has room to make the characters its own. Rather than treating the evening as an exercise in impersonating Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, the live production can use dance and music to create a slightly different energy around scenes fans already know almost by heart.

That makes it a particularly easy choice for someone who wants nostalgia without simply rewatching the film.

Best for: Fans of the movie, date nights and dance lovers. The Ordway recommends the production for ages 12 and up.

Hadestown

Hadestown is already an established touring title, but a different company can significantly change the experience of a musical this dependent on character and live performance.

The 2026 touring cast includes Jose Contreras as Orpheus, Hawa Kamara as Eurydice, Rudy Foster as Hermes, Nickolaus Colón as Hades and Namisa Mdlalose Bizana as Persephone.

Anaïs Mitchell’s musical retells the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone through a score blending folk, blues and New Orleans-inspired jazz. Rather than relying on blockbuster effects, the production builds its atmosphere through musicians, lighting, movement and a stage world that feels part nightclub, part factory and part underworld.

First-time audiences will probably hear plenty about “Wait for Me” before they arrive. It remains one of the show’s most striking stage moments, but some of Hadestown’s strongest material is much less elaborate: the tension between Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades’ subterranean bass notes and Hermes’ role as both storyteller and participant.

And even when you already know exactly how the myth ends, the show spends the evening asking whether telling the story again might somehow change it.

Best for: Teens and adults, mythology fans, folk-music listeners and audiences who prefer atmosphere and storytelling to blockbuster spectacle.

Spamalot

If robots, doomed romance and emotional ballads aren’t your thing, Spamalot remains available to offer killer rabbits and coconuts instead.

The current touring company includes Major Attaway as King Arthur, Chris Collins-Pisano as Sir Lancelot, Amanda Robles as the Lady of the Lake and Blake Segal as Patsy.

Attaway may be especially recognizable to Broadway audiences from his long run as the Genie in Aladdin. Here, he’s trading Agrabah for a version of medieval England populated by deeply unhelpful knights.

The musical pulls heavily from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so longtime fans can expect the Black Knight, French taunting, the Knights Who Say Ni and plenty of jokes about the logistical problems involved in staging an epic quest without an actual horse.

But Spamalot also spends plenty of time making fun of musical theater itself. The Lady of the Lake’s increasingly frustrated attempts to get more stage time are part of the joke, as is the production’s willingness to abandon anything resembling narrative dignity in pursuit of another gag.

Best for: Monty Python fans, comedy lovers and teens who enjoy irreverent humor. Some venues may recommend it for older audiences because of language and adult jokes.

How to get Broadway tour tickets on SeatGeek

With so many tours moving through different cities this fall, the best show for you may be closer than you think.

1. Visit the Broadway tickets page on SeatGeek.

2. Search for the touring production you want to see and choose your preferred city and performance date.

3. Use the interactive seat map to compare sections and rows. Depending on the theater, sitting closer can put more focus on the actors, while seats farther back may give you a better look at the full choreography and scenic design.

4. Check Deal Score, which rates listings from 1 to 10 based on factors including price, seat location, expected sightline, historical pricing and other available tickets.

5. Review the full listing details, including the performance date, venue, section, row, ticket quantity and delivery method.

6. Compare the final cost with SeatGeek’s All-In Pricing, which includes mandatory fees in the price shown upfront. Taxes, delivery charges or optional add-ons may still vary.

7. Complete your purchase. Every qualified order is backed by the SeatGeek Buyer Guarantee.

This fall’s touring season offers genuinely different reasons to buy a ticket. You can watch robots fall in love, Betty Boop leap into color, Mary Todd Lincoln chase her cabaret dreams, Cuban musicians take over the stage or two undead frenemies find out just how messy immortality can get.

The hardest part may not be finding a Broadway tour near you. It may be deciding which one you want to see first.