'Spamalot,' 'Harmony,' 8 more must-see Broadway shows

The line separating Broadway and Off-Broadway is looking pretty blurry these days. Of the 10 new productions hitting the Great White Way this fall, nearly half are transplants from Off-Broadway. They're also coming with some big names attached, including performers like Melissa Etheridge and Daniel Radcliffe and behind-the-scenes talent like Barry Manilow.

While the number of shows opening this fall is down from last year, which saw 19 premieres, attendance seems to be up. According to the Broadway League, as of Aug. 27, season-to-date attendance is 3,477,302 with grosses totaling $428,851,846. That's up from 12 months earlier, when attendance for the season was at 3,130,420 and grosses were $403,854,867.

The fall lineup looks promising to keep Broadway's momentum going. Here are the season's hot new tickets.

PURLIE VICTORIOUS: A NON-CONFEDERATE ROMP THROUGH THE COTTON PATCH (Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St., in previews, opens Sept. 27, purlievictorious.com) Hallelujah! "Hamilton" Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. finally returns to Broadway in this revival of Ossie Davis' 1961 comedy. Here he takes on Davis' role as a charismatic Black preacher who employs every trick he can think of to reclaim a family inheritance and win back his church.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE: MY WINDOW (Circle in the Square Theatre, 235 W. 50th St., begins previews Sept. 14, opens Sept. 28, melissaetheridge.com) Following a successful 12-performance run Off-Broadway last fall, the singer-songwriter reopens her "Window" on Broadway, where the show will run through Nov. 19. Etheridge shares stories of her life and threads them with her hits ("Come to My Window") while also serving up rare treats like the first song she wrote as a child.

JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., begins previews Sept. 12, opens Oct. 3, manhattantheatreclub.com) A Harlem hair braiding salon run by West African immigrants is the setting for this comedy by Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh. As the characters let their hair down, truths also come out about love, friendship and community. 

GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! (James Earl Jones Theatre, 138 W. 48th St.,, begins previews Sept. 15, opens Oct. 12, gutenbergbway.com) Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, those holy terrors from "The Book of Mormon," reunite for this latest lark as best buds who decide to put on a musical about Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. 

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Hudson Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., begins previews Sept. 19, opens Oct. 10, merrilyonbroadway.com) This rare Stephen Sondheim Broadway flop (it closed after only 16 performances in 1981) is looking like a hit this time: the musical was supposed to close Jan. 21 and has been extended through March 24. No doubt Daniel Radcliffe's star power is a factor. And based on reviews of the Off-Broadway version that ran earlier this year, this one seems to have brought some coherence to the troublesome plot that's played out told in reverse chronology over the course of 20 years.

I NEED THAT (American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., begins previews Oct. 13, opens Nov. 2, roundabouttheatre.org) Expect plenty of trash talk in Theresa Rebeck's latest comedy that stars Danny DeVito as a hoarder who is forced to clean up his house — and his act — after getting served with an eviction notice. In a sly bit of casting, the actor's real-life daughter, Lucy DeVito, will play his stage daughter.

HARMONY (Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., begins previews Oct. 18, opens Nov. 13, harmonyanewmusical.com) Barry Manilow wrote the music for this original work about the Comedian Harmonists, a popular male singing sextet in Germany during the 1920s and early '30s who came under fire during the Nazi regime when Jewish singers joined the act. The show struck a chord with audiences and critics when it was presented last year by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT (St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St., begins previews Oct. 31, opens Nov. 16, spamalotthemusical.com) Camelot was never like this. Eric Idle wrote the book and co-wrote the songs with John Du Prez for this off-the-wall take on the legend of King Arthur based on the 1975 cult movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." The original Broadway production, which ran for almost four years, starred Tim Curry, David Hyde-Pierce, Hank Azaria and Christian Borle.

HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO (Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St., begins previews Nov. 15, opens Dec. 10, howtodanceinohiomusical.com) This new musical is based on the 2015 Peabody Award-winning documentary that follows seven teens and young adults on the autism spectrum as they prepare to attend a spring formal. Dance moves aren't the only major steps they'll be taking.

PRAYER FOR THE FRENCH REPUBLIC (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., begins previews Dec. 19, opens Jan. 9, manhattantheatreclub.com) Joshua Harmon's stirring drama about five generations of a French Jewish family won the 2022 Drama Desk Award for outstanding play after its Off-Broadway run. Now the show, which begins in 1944 and deals with anti-Semitism and some complicated family dynamics, moves uptown.