If you can’t swing a trip to the Big Apple (or even your local community theater), don’t fret. We’ve got the next best thing, and let me tell you, these books deliver the same vibe as some of Broadway’s buzziest, weirdest and most unforgettable productions.
The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela
If You Wanted to Watch Glengarry Glen Ross
The People Who Report More Stress is a razor-sharp satire that skewers corporate America and systemic inequities, along with the soul-grinding absurdity of modern work. Like Mamet’s brutal real estate boys’ club, Varela presents us with characters clawing to stay afloat in a world rigged against them, but with a contemporary, queerer lens and a more emotional payoff. And bonus, there are way fewer slurs. Whoohoo!
Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
If You Wanted to Watch Death Becomes Her
Camp meets creeping dread in this suburban thriller where appearances kill … literally. Like Death Becomes Her (the cult classic-turned-musical folks can’t stop talking about), Good Neighbors is both wickedly funny and deeply unsettling, with women clawing for immortality (or at least social status) as their world goes up in flames. Think: Botox meets Lord of the Flies.
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
If You Wanted to Watch John Proctor is the Villain
We’re not in high school English class anymore. Notes on an Execution flips the serial killer narrative on its head by focusing on the women pushed to the edges — the mothers, the sisters, the victims — and giving them the mic. Like John Proctor Is the Villain, it’s a sharp, feminist reimagining that asks, what happens when we stop centering men and start listening to the women instead?
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
If You Wanted to Watch Wicked
Witches, sisterhood and betrayal, but make it icy, historical and based on real events. The Mercies is a haunting novel that follows a remote Norwegian village of women after a storm wipes out their men — and the witch hunts that follow. It’s tragic, powerful and unapologetically female. We’re sure Elphaba would approve.
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
If You Wanted to Watch Oh, Mary!
This isn’t your typical “Broadway twin,” but Armstrong’s behind-the-scenes look at The Mary Tyler Moore Show has all the chaotic, biting backstage energy and feminist bite of Cole Escola’s irreverent hit, Oh, Mary! It’s about power, image, and the queer-coded weirdness of “making it” while teetering on the edge.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
If You Wanted to Watch Pirates! The Penzance Musical
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is gloriously extra! Think duels, highwaymen, secret alchemy and a clueless bisexual aristocrat on a European road trip with his best friend-slash-crush. Couldn’t make it to Pirates! The Penzance Musical? This one’s packed with humor, heart, historical drama and enough swashbuckling nonsense to satisfy your inner Major-General.
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
If You Wanted to Watch Call Me Izzy
Detransition, Baby is messy, intimate, hilarious and sharp, just like Call Me Izzy. Torrey Peters explores an array of things in this unputdownable book, like identity, parenthood, love and reinvention in a way that breaks binaries and defies easy labels. It’s bold and complex, but most importantly, it refuses to clean itself up for anyone. If you want raw vulnerability with a theatrical flair, this is it.
Light up your long weekend with books that bring the drama, flair and fierce emotions of the stage … no ticket required.
