“It feels more like a return,” Ayo Edebiri declared on the red carpet at the 83rd Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills. The Bear star was speaking about her upcoming starring role in Proof, which is set to begin a Broadway revival on March 31. But the role actually marks the Emmy award-winning actress’ Broadway debut.
“I studied theater… I thought I was going to be a playwright,” Edibiri shared with EBONY. Yes, she was drawn to David Auburn’s Pulitzer and Tony® Award-winning story of a daughter grappling with her brilliant mathematician father’s ailing health. But even more compelling? “I saw a lot of girls in school doing the show who didn’t look like me,” she stated. “The fact that I got to be doing that alongside Don Cheadle, Samira Wiley and Jin Ha, it’s just a blessing.”
Edibiri joins an impressive list of plays and musicals coming to and currently running on Broadway this season. Here’s your definitive list of Black cast and creative shows that should be on your radar.
The Fear of 13
Tessa Thompson and Adrien Brody make their Broadway debut at the James Earl Jones Theatre this spring. Thompson stars as Jackie, a prisoner volunteer who spends time with an inmate on death row. The play is based on a documentary that tells the true story of Nick Yarris, who was exonerated by DNA evidence after two decades. The show commences with previews on March 19 and opens on April 15.
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
This queer-friendly reimaging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous feline musical is set to make its way to Broadway in Spring 2026, with an opening night on April 7, 2026. In this version, the cats that gather in a junkyard annually to celebrate rebirth are staged in drag ballroom culture, with the moves to match. The musical premiered in the summer of 2024 at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City, starring Hadestown Tony winner André De Shields, who’s returning with the Broadway production. The show begins previews on March 18 and officially opens on April 7.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Debbie Allen is directing this revival, bringing more of August Wilson’s brilliant work to the stage. Taking place in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, the play explores the lives and mental well-being of the house’s guests after emancipation. Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson and six-time NAACP Image Award winner Cedric the Entertainer will star as Bertha and Seth Holly, the owners of the boarding house. The acclaimed play returns to Broadway with its official opening night on April 25.
Dreamgirls
“We’ll be there…” Yes, that famous line is returning as the Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls makes its triumphant return to Broadway after a nearly 40-year hiatus. For any true Broadway stan, it’s a return long overdue. The revival, expected to premiere in Fall 2026, is being directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, known for her Tony-nominated work on shows like Gypsy and Hell’s Kitchen.
The musical revolves around a fictional 1960s girl group as they navigate the cutthroat music industry, racial politics and internal conflict. Much like The Dreams are discovered on a local stage, Dreamgirls‘ producers are conducting a worldwide talent search to take on the leading roles of Deena, Lorell and Effie, originated on Broadway by Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holliday. The 2006 musical movie stars Beyoncé, Anika Noni Rose and EGOT Jennifer Hudson, who won her Oscar for her portrayal of Effie.
Ragtime
The Tony Award-winning musical returned to Broadway last October. Starring The Wiz alum Nichelle Lewis, Carousel revival alum Joshua Henry and more, this musical is an adaptation based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel. It centers on three families in the early twentieth century: one African American, one White upper-class and one Eastern European immigrant, and explores race, class and the American dream. The show has been extended through June 2026.
Wanted: The Legends of the Sisters Clarke
This new musical is based on the mostly true story of the sisters Mary and Martha Clarke, who became outlaws as they posed as white to reclaim their family land in 1893. Wanted’s music is by Ross Baum, and the book and lyrics are by playwright Angelica Chéri, a descendant of the Clarke sisters. The musical is expected to open in Spring 2026.
Polly
Debbie Allen is also slated to direct and choreograph this upcoming work based on Eleanor H. Porter’s 1913 novel. Allen also helmed the 1989 Disney movie version. The story revolves around a plucky orphan named Polly, who must contend with racial conflict in a small town during the 1950s. Emmy winner and The Chi creator Lena Waithe, along with Michael Benjamin Washington, is writing the book, with music and lyrics by GRAMMY winner Siedah Garrett and Joriah Kwamé.