Pre-Broadway: Out-of-Town Shows

Most big Broadway productions are born somewhere else. Before a musical or play reaches New York, it usually premieres at a major regional theater — Chicago's Goodman, D.C.'s Arena Stage, Cambridge's American Repertory Theater, the La Jolla Playhouse — where critics deliver the first professional verdict. We track those tryout productions and score their reviews the same way we score Broadway, so you can see how a Broadway-bound show is really landing months before it announces a New York theater. When a tryout transfers, we link the two productions so the out-of-town score follows it to Broadway.

22 shows | Last updated: September 2026