Maurice Hines, a dazzling member of tap dance and Broadway royalty, died on December 29, 2023, two weeks after his 80th birthday.

If you use TikTok, you’ve almost certainly noticed that Broadway dancers are having a big moment on the app. Sharing behind-the-scenes tidbits, demystifying #tourlife, orchestrating backstage hijinks, nerding out over favorite shows: Musical theater performers are creating content that makes full use of their distinctive talents—and earning big followings in the process. And many of these social media stars are ensemble members, swings, and understudies, whose roles are vital to the success of any show, but who don’t typically get much time in the spotlight.

As he readies “BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical” for its debut, Jerry Mitchell discusses how the show brings a cartoon icon to the stage.

Betsy Struxness has done a bit of everything as a musical-theater performer. Now, she’s returning to an old dream: becoming a pop singer.

Unlike lyrics or lines preserved in scores and scripts, a show’s movement is ephemeral, passed from body to body with every new cast. Ensuring that the choreography and staging stays true to the original is crucial to the integrity of a show. Such is the task of Wicked’s associate choreographer Corinne McFadden Herrera, who has been with the production from its inception in 2003.

His brilliant dancing and magnetic presence wowed Broadway in “Ain’t Too Proud”; landed him the lead (which he eventually relinquished) of “MJ: The Musical”; and will be on display in the title role of Tony Goldwyn and Savion Glover’s reimagined “Pal Joey” at New York City Center this month. But ask Ephraim Sykes for his story and he starts with, “My mother and father fell in love…” 

Unexpected collaborations, women-led ballets, superstar choreographers turning their talents to opera and musical theater, singular dancemakers wrestling with issues of labor, environmental justice, and more—here’s what our contributors are looking forward to most as the 2023–24 season gets underway.

Puppets can do things that people can’t, such as move their legs preposterously quickly or fill space 15 or 20 feet above the stage. But they require skilled and agile human bodies to do so, making puppetry and dance a natural pairing.