It's not at all uncommon for actors to hop back and forth between screen and stage. This season, Broadway will see quite a few famous film and television stars on the boards.
Eddie Redmayne, who made his Broadway debut in 2013 in the play Red, will return this season as The Emcee in the West End transfer of Cabaret. Jeremy Strong had a small role in the 2008 Broadway production of A Man for All Seasons before building a successful screen career. The Succession Emmy winner returns to Broadway in An Enemy of the People this spring.
Others screen stars returning to Main Stem this season include Sarah Paulson, Corey Stoll, William Jackson Harper, Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, Danny DeVito, Anthony Edwards, Taran Killam, Zoe Kazan, and Liev Schreiber.
Broadway will also welcome a handful of newcomers with some very recognizable faces. Meet some of the award-winning film and television actors who will be making their Broadway stage debuts in the 2023–24 season.
Steve Carrell began his comedy career at The Second City in Chicago before joining the cast of the short-lived sketch comedy The Dana Carvey Show. He spent several seasons as a correspondent on The Daily Show before landing the role he is perhaps best known for: The World's Best Boss, Michael Scott, in the U.S. sitcom The Office. Carell's film credits include Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Evan Almighty, Get Smart, and he is the voice of Gru in the animated film series Despicable Me. In 2014, Carell took a pointed turn in his career with a serious role in the true crime drama Foxcatcher, for which he received an Oscar nomination.
Carell will take on the title role in Heidi Schreck's new translation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya for Lincoln Center Theater this season. Previews begin April 2, 2024 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.
Elle Fanning's film career began at only age 3 in the film I Am Sam. She played the younger sister of her real-life sister, actor Dakota Fanning. She's grown up in front of the camera with roles in movies including Somewhere, Super 8, and Maleficent. In 2020, she began her three-season run as Empress Catherine II of Russia in the Hulu comedy series The Great, for which she garnered Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Fanning makes her Broadway debut in the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins family drama Appropriate. She stars alongside fellow film and television stars Sarah Paulson and Corey Stoll (who are both making their returns to the stage). Appropriate begins previews November 27 at the Helen Hayes Theater.
Glee fans will recognize Grant Gustin from his recurring role as Sebastian Smythe from the rival club Dalton Academy Warblers. But the actor really hit the mainstream with his starring role in the Arrowverse as Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash. He played the title DC superhero for The CW series' nine season run, which just concluded earlier this year.
Gustin will return to his musical theatre roots (he was Baby John in the 2010 West Side Story national tour) for his Broadway debut this season. He will star as circus vet Jacob Jankowski in the new musical Water for Elephants, beginning previews February 24, 2024 at the Imperial Theatre.
After a slew of television and film roles in the 1990s, actor Michael Imperioli was cast in the HBO juggernaut The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisanti, protégé to crime boss Tony Soprano. He played the role for all six seasons, earning an Emmy Award and several Golden Globe nominations. Imperioli joined the cast of another HBO fan fave just last year, the dark comedy The White Lotus.
Imperioli will join Succession star Jeremy Strong in the Broadway revival of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, newly translated by Amy Herzog. It begins previews February 27, 2024 at Circle in the Square.
Early in her career in 2003, Rachel McAdams appeared in Season 1 of the Canadian comedy series Slings and Arrows, which was set at a theatre that specialized in Shakespeare. But it was the following year that would catapult her to fame with the back-to-back Mean Girls and The Notebook. (Coincidence that both have been adapted into Broadway musicals?) Since then, the actor has consistently appeared in both film and television with credits including The Time Traveler's Wife, Morning Glory, Doctor Strange, True Detective, and Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret. In 2015, she was Oscar-nominated for Spotlight.
McAdams will come to the Main Stem this season as single mother Mary Jane in the Broadway premiere of the play by Amy Herzog. Previews for the Manhattan Theatre Club production begin April 2, 2024 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Newcomer Jason Schmidt recently made two big professional debuts at once. While he was starring on stage in the new musical The Outsiders at La Jolla Playhouse, the television series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies premiered on Paramount+. The musical prequel to Grease tells the story of the origin of the pink-jacketed girl gang; in it, Schmidt played Buddy, a love interest to one of the Pink Ladies.
He will make his Broadway debut this spring along with The Outsiders when it transfers to the Jacobs Theatre. Previews begin March 16, 2024.
The Voice fans may recognize Avery Wilson as a Season 3 contestant, where at age 16, he competed on CeLo Green's team. The singer, though, has really gained a following showing his riffing skills and duets on TikTok.
Wilson is currently The Scarecrow in the Broadway-bound tour of The Wiz. He will officially make his Main Stem debut when the production lands at the Marquis Theatre March 29, 2024.
This season also welcomes two pop stars to Broadway, both in the role of Persephone in the Tony-winning musical Hadestown. Australian singer Betty Who took on the role beginning September 5. After Who departs, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco will step in February 9, 2024. DiFranco originated the role of Persephone on the 2010 concept album by composer Anaïs Mitchell.
