Cold Nights & Bright Lights: Top Broadway Shows To See in January 2026

The new year marks a new chance to experience the magic of Broadway. As hit shows like Buena Vista Social Club, Moulin Rouge! and CHESS continue to transport audiences to far-flung locales like Havana, Paris and Bangkok, a darkly comedic play will finally make its debut on Broadway in January, three decades after it first premiered in the U.K.

If you’re looking for events in NYC, find details on all the best that Broadway has to offer below. Plus, if you’ve never been to the theater before, pick the first-time Broadway show that’s perfect for you with our handy guide, and as always, snag Broadway tickets via Ticketmaster.

Shows Opening on Broadway in January 2026

Bug

Let paranoia reign, because Bug is finally headed to Broadway for the very first time. Tracy Letts’ dark comedy gets a long-awaited bow on Broadway starring Carrie Coon as Agnes, a cocktail waitress living out of a decrepit Oklahoma motel room who descends into a wild-eyed world of government conspiracy theories after meeting Namir Smallwood’s Gulf War veteran Peter. Directed by David Cromer, Bug began previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on December 16 and officially opens on January 8 as part of Manhattan Theatre Club’s ongoing 2025-2026 season.

Buy tickets for Bug on Ticketmaster.

Top Shows on Broadway in January 2026

Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club’s self-titled 1997 album sold more than a million copies and won the Grammy Award in 1998 for Best Tropical Latin Album, and now the record-breaking Cuban ensemble’s music has taken over Broadway to the tune of five Tony Awards. Buena Vista Social Club transports audiences to Old Havana, where a woman named Omara leaves a steady gig at the Tropicana nightclub to discover the music that will change her life forever, including boleros like “Lágrimas Negras,” “Dos gardenias,” “Silencio” and more.

Buy tickets for Buena Vista Social Club on Ticketmaster.

Operation Mincemeat

What’s the best way to learn your World War II history? By turning Operation Mincemeat, the conflict’s most ingenious deception, into a rollicking, hilarious musical, of course!

Now playing at the Golden Theatre, the surprise smash of the Broadway season continues to feature all five members of the original cast, including David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts (who co-created the show with Felix Hagan) as well as Claire-Marie Hall and Jak Malone — the latter of whom took home the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 2025.

Buy tickets for Operation Mincemeat on Ticketmaster.

CHESS

Checkmate: CHESS, the cult-loved musical from ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice is officially a Broadway hit. The buzzy revival headlined by Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher has been electrifying audiences at the Imperial Theatre ever since it opened just before Thanksgiving and features a brand-new book by Gilmore Girls alum Danny Strong.

In an exclusive interview with Ticketmaster, Tveit opened up about playing Freddie Trumper, the “brash, narcissistic, brilliant” American grandmaster at the center of a showdown with his Soviet counterpart, and what it’s like performing the music of greats like the Mamma Mia! hitmakers and Rice each night.

“All these ABBA songs have become, like, anthems,” he said. “So when you take that kind of pop music, but you’re putting it into a narrative with lyrics by Tim Rice — who is, you know, arguably one of the greatest musical theater lyricists of all time…I think the combination of his theatricality and their moving pop music is just a really unique thing for a show. And I think that’s why the music has resonated with people for so long.”

Buy tickets for CHESS on Ticketmaster.

Moulin Rouge!

Voulez-vous coucher avec Bob? On January 27, Bob The Drag Queen enters the world of Moulin Rouge as Harold Zidler, the charismatic owner and emcee of Paris’ most world-famous cabaret. In the lead-up to the RuPaul’s Drag Race winner’s arrival at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre at the end of the month, fans of the long-running jukebox musical can also see Disney Channel star Meg Donnelly in her Broadway debut as Satine now through March 1.

Buy tickets for Moulin Rouge! on Ticketmaster.

Shows Closing on Broadway in 2026 (Last Call)

Liberation

Liberation is officially slated to take its final bow on February 1 at the James Earl Jones Theatre. That makes January your last chance to see Tony nominee Bess Wohl’s touching memory play, which shifts between the stories of a feminist group in 1970s Ohio and the daughter of the collective’s founder on a journey to make sense of her mother’s life decades later.

Buy tickets for Liberation on Ticketmaster.

Mamma Mia!

It’s also the last call for Mamma Mia!, whose return to the Winter Garden Theatre caps off the touring production’s run on February 1. Filled with timeless hits like “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper” and the famous title track, the jukebox musical brings ABBA’s songbook to life for fans of all ages, including CHESS star Aaron Tveit, who revealed his favorite song by the Swedish pop pioneers in his recent interview with Ticketmaster.

Buy tickets for Mamma Mia! on Ticketmaster.