The Best Theatre, Dance and Comedy to See in Austin This Spring

Don’t miss lights up on the best performances the city has to offer. Whether you want to take the whole family to a well-loved Broadway show on tour, catch a late-night standup set, or be immersed in experimental theater, these spring shows have got you covered.

This reinterpretation of “The Wizard of Oz” celebrates Black culture and music, with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The musical premiered in 1974 and won the Tony Award for Best Musical before being adapted into a 1978 film starring Diana Ross. Dorothy Gale is transported in a tornado from her Kansas farm to the Land of Oz, where she sets off on a magical journey in silver shoes down the Yellow Brick Road to meet the Wizard of Oz, defeat the Wicked Witch of the West and ultimately find her way home — all set to a funky bassline.

Could the French Revolution get even bloodier? In this haunting world premiere from Ballet Austin, we’ll find out. A vampiric Marie Antoinette takes the stage for a drop-dead gorgeous evening of dance and decadence.

Moontower Comedy Festival

Various theaters in Downtown Austin
April 8-18

This wide-ranging comedy festival returns to Austin to welcome comedians, podcasters, actors and more to stages around the city. This year’s headliners include Albert Brooks, Kathy Griffin, Leslie Jones, Marc Maron and Meg Stalter, plus dozens of other performers like Jay Jurden, Marie Faustin and Pat Regan. Grab daily wristbands or badges from $85, or buy single tickets to see your favorites.

The Tony winner for Best Musical in 2017 comes to town to tell the story of Evan Hansen, a teen whose lie by omission spirals out of control. This is a different kind of coming-of-age story that involves mental health, loss and how tech molds our interior lives. Come for the incredible songs, stay for the thought-provoking life lessons.

Here we go again! ABBA’s genius musical that sincerely asks, “Who’s your daddy?” comes to Texas for five nights only. On a Greek island, a young woman who never knew her father discovers there are three men who could possibly be the one — so, naturally, she invites them all to her wedding. Sweet mischief set to some of the most famous lyrics in the world follows.

Everybody loves a farcical whodunnit. Join the Austin Playhouse players as they sing their way through a poor young man’s quest to kill everyone that blocks his path to inheriting the D’Ysquith family fortune. Will he be discovered, or will a life of luxury (and a guilty conscience) be his?

Austin’s biennial experimental arts festival returns with dozens of boundary-pushing performances. Highlights include a participatory yoga session with Yoga With Adriene; a performance by Dirty Projectors with the Austin Symphony Orchestra; TikTok favorite Tim Murray performing comedic songs about queer witches; and a 20-minute dance film screened nightly on the sides of various buildings, among many other events.

In this play by Dillon Christopher Chitto, a Santa Fe native, the 1680 Pueblo Uprising — an Indigenous revolt against Spanish colonizers in what is now New Mexico — unfolds through the eyes of two Indigenous brothers. Conversations between the revolutionary older brother and the younger, queer idealist explore ideas of family, identity, and what it means to resist. While the suggested ticket price is $30, Ground Floor Theatre tickets are always offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.

Young bohemians in 1830s Paris struggle to make art and make a living. Though they fall in love and experience bliss together, they also learn the hard way that love isn’t everything through a harsh, poverty-stricken winter. It’s also the epic tragedy that inspired some of your contemporary favorites, including “Moulin Rouge!” and “Rent.”

Texas’ most scintillating performers shake their tassels for two steamy nights of burlesque at the Long Center. Forty performers from across Texas and the rest of the country take it off one glove at a time, including greats Jessabelle Thunder and Madame E and local troupe The Bat City Bombshells. Delight in some fun with your local hosts, the World Famous BOB and podcast queen Nikki DaVaughn.

For more performances and art events this spring, be sure to check out our online calendar.