Broadway’s fall 2026 season launches tonight with the start of preview performances for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The Jocelyn Bioh comedy marks the first of several high-profile productions arriving over the next month, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Bradley Whitford, and Tom Blyth all set to headline limited engagements through the fall and winter.
Key Takeaways
- School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play begins previews on September 8 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with opening night set for September 28 and a limited run through November 1.
- The production reunites Tony-nominated playwright Jocelyn Bioh and Tony-nominated director Whitney White, the team behind Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, with a cast led by Patina Miller, Denée Benton, and Jasmine Amy Rogers.
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joe Keery make their Broadway debuts in Other Desert Cities at the Hudson Theatre, beginning previews September 29 alongside Ed Harris, Allison Janney, and Lily Rabe.
- Billy Crystal returns to Broadway on October 1 with 860, a one-man play about losing his home of 46 years in the Palisades fires, at the Imperial Theatre.
- Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men receives its first Broadway revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on October 8, with Bradley Whitford returning to the production 37 years after originating a role in the 1989 premiere.
School Girls Brings Jocelyn Bioh and Whitney White Back to Broadway Together
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play arrives on Broadway nearly a decade after its Off-Broadway premiere at MCC Theater in 2017. The comedy, written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Whitney White, is produced by Manhattan Theatre Club in association with Chase This Productions and Susan Kelechi Watson. Previews begin tonight, September 8, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on West 47th Street, with an official opening night on September 28 and a limited engagement running through November 1.
The production reunites Bioh and White following their collaboration on Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, which earned a Tony nomination for Best Play at the 2024 ceremony. Bioh received a Tony nomination for writing, and White picked up nominations for directing both that production and the 2024 revival of Jaja. School Girls is set at Aburi Girls Boarding School in Ghana, where a group of students competing for the title of Miss Ghana 1986 find their plans upended when a transfer student from America arrives and raises the personal stakes of the pageant.
The cast features Patina Miller as Eloise Amponsah, Denée Benton as Paulina, Jasmine Amy Rogers as Ericka, Lucia Aremu as Ama, Erin Morton as Nana, Nia Otchere-Sarfo as Gifty, Jordan Rice as Mercy, and Heather Alicia Simms as Headmistress Francis. Aremu makes her Broadway debut with the production. The creative team includes scenic design by Teresa L. Williams, costume design by Tony winner Qween Jean, lighting design by Stacey Derosier, sound design by Cody Spencer, and wig, hair, and makeup design by Nikiya Mathis.
Other Desert Cities Draws Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Her Broadway Debut
Three weeks after School Girls opens, the Hudson Theatre on West 44th Street will host the first Broadway revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s Tony Award-winning play Other Desert Cities. Previews begin September 29, with opening night on October 18 and a 16-week limited engagement running through January 17, 2027.
The production is directed by Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey, who assembled a cast that pairs screen veterans with stage regulars. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an 11-time Emmy winner, makes her Broadway debut in the role of Polly. Joe Keery, known for Stranger Things, also makes his Broadway debut as Trip. Ed Harris plays Lyman, Allison Janney plays Silda, and Lily Rabe takes on the role of Brooke. The play is set on Christmas Eve in the Palm Springs home of a politically connected family, where a daughter’s return with a tell-all memoir threatens to unearth secrets the family has spent years burying.
Other Desert Cities originally premiered Off-Broadway through Lincoln Center Theater in 2011 before transferring to the Booth Theatre on Broadway, where it ran through June 2012 and earned a Tony nomination for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize finalist citation for Baitz. The 2026 revival marks the play’s first return to Broadway.
Billy Crystal Returns with a One-Man Play at the Imperial Theatre
Billy Crystal opens previews on October 1 at the Imperial Theatre on West 45th Street with 860, a new one-man play written and performed by Crystal. The title refers to the street address of the home Crystal and his family occupied for 46 years in Pacific Palisades before losing it in the January 2025 wildfires. Directed by Tony nominee Scott Ellis, 860 runs one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. Opening night is October 21, with a limited 14-week engagement closing January 3, 2027.
Crystal, a Tony and Emmy winner whose previous Broadway credits include the musical Mr. Saturday Night and the solo show 700 Sundays, described 860 as a show about family, friendship, and how humor carries people through loss. The production is produced by Janice Crystal, James L. Nederlander, Larry Magid, and Face Productions.
Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men Returns to Broadway for the First Time Since 1989
Lincoln Center Theater opens the first Broadway revival of Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama A Few Good Men on October 8 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on West 65th Street, with an October 29 opening night and a 13-week limited engagement. The production is directed by Tony winner Michael Arden, whose recent credits include Maybe Happy Ending and The Lost Boys.
Bradley Whitford, who appeared in the original 1989 Broadway production as Lt. Jack Ross, returns to the play in the role of Colonel Nathan Jessup, the part made famous on film by Jack Nicholson. Tom Blyth, known for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, takes the lead role of Lt. Daniel Kaffee. Krysta Rodriguez plays Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway. The play follows a military lawyer defending two Marines accused of murder whose investigation uncovers a chain-of-command cover-up at Guantanamo Bay.
A Few Good Men was Sorkin’s first produced play and the work that launched his career before The West Wing, The Social Network, and The Trial of the Chicago 7. The 1992 film adaptation, directed by Rob Reiner, earned four Academy Award nominations. The 2026 revival marks the play’s first return to Broadway in 37 years.
FAQs
When Does School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play Open on Broadway?
School Girls begins preview performances on September 8, 2026, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Opening night is September 28. The production runs for a limited engagement through November 1, 2026.
Which Actors Are Making Their Broadway Debuts This Fall?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joe Keery both make their Broadway debuts in Other Desert Cities at the Hudson Theatre, beginning previews September 29. Lucia Aremu also makes her Broadway debut in School Girls at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
How Long Is Billy Crystal’s 860 on Broadway?
860 runs one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission. The production plays a 14-week limited engagement at the Imperial Theatre from October 1, 2026, through January 3, 2027.
