NEW YORK, NY.- Broadway recently got busy. Really busy. Seven musicals and five plays opened in nine days, scrambling to beat the April 25 deadline to qualify for this year’s Tony Awards. Just five days after the last opening, the nominations were announced.

The overlapping runs constitute a risky bet by producers and investors, who have tens of millions of dollars at stake. Even in the best of times, most Broadway shows fail, and these are not the best of times: Production costs have soared, and season-to-date attendance is 18% below prepandemic levels.

But the shakeout will unfold over time. First: fanfare and flowers, ovations and optimism.

We sent a reporter and a photographer to chronicle the crush of openings.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17

‘The Wiz’

A revival of a 1975 musical that re-imagines “The Wizard of Oz” for an all-Black cast.

Of course “The Wiz” was going to have a yellow carpet. The show’s recurring song is “Ease on Down the Road,” and that road is the yellow brick one — the path to Oz but also to self-discovery.

So there, on a rainy Wednesday evening, was a 100-foot stretch of yellowness in a breezeway outside the Marquis Theater.

Hillary Clinton and the rapper Common smiled for the cameras, as did the original Wiz, André De Shields; Dee Dee Bridgewater, who won a 1975 Tony as the good witch Glinda; and Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy.

“I was a young girl — I was 17 — and I could have never thought that the show would last this long,” said Mills, now 67. And why does she think the story endures? “Everyone needs courage, everyone needs a heart, and everyone needs brains to get through this world.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 18

‘Suffs’

A musical about the fight for women’s right to vote in early 20th-century America.

One of the quirkiest traditions on Broadway is the Legacy Robe, an opening-night, musicals-only ceremony in which the chorus member who has worked in the most Broadway choruses dons a patchwork robe with appliqués from other musicals, circles the stage counterclockwise three times, and then visits dressing rooms to bestow a blessing. It’s one of the rare Broadway ceremonies that celebrates ensemble members, and it’s treasured.

So two hours before curtain, the “Suffs” cast and crew gathered onstage at the Music Box Theater to holler as Kirsten Scott, a swing in the company, received the robe in recognition of her five ensemble roles on Broadway.

Scott, teary and giddy, accepted the robe from Judith Franklin of “The Wiz,” who had received it just the night before (the garment passes from show to show as each new one opens). Scott raced around the stage as the cast, crew and the show’s creators (including its writer and star, Shaina Taub) touched the robe seeking good luck. Then, Scott rounded the dressing rooms, returned to the stage and stretched out her arms as she gazed across the empty theater and offered a prayer.

“Let us be here for a very long time,” she said. “Theater gods, smile upon us.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

‘The Heart of Rock and Roll’

A musical comedy, set in 1987, about love, family and cardboard manufacturing, powered by the songs of Huey Lewis and the News.

Pity the red carpet. Once the ubiquitous sign of an opening, now timeworn and ready for a refresh.

After “The Wiz” went with yellow and “Suffs” with purple (for suffrage), “The Heart of Rock and Roll” went with hot pink, an homage to fashion of the 1980s, when Huey Lewis and the News had its run of hits. The show leans hard into ’80s-core, with neon colors and aerobics and the Walkman.

The pink carpet, along with the celebrity guests (Cyndi Lauper, Ben Vereen), the curtain speeches and the after-party (at the Hard Rock Cafe, natch), was held three days before the show’s official opening (April 22) to avoid conflicting with the first night of Passover (also April 22).

Lewis, whose songs make up the score of the musical, arrived at the James Earl Jones Theater well before showtime, rocking a burgundy suit, hanging with his friend Jimmy Kimmel and signing autographs for fans.

“It feels great to have the songs have this other life that I never considered,” Lewis said, “and to see them all re-imagined — I learn things about myself I didn’t even know.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

‘Stereophonic’

A behind-the-music play, set in California in the 1970s, about a fictional band making an album.

“Stereophonic” isn’t a musical. It’s a play. With music.

But music is the play’s subject, and it features original songs performed by the cast and written by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire.

So on opening night, the invited audience was treated to an encore of sorts — an original song played by the cast, joined by Butler, on the stage of the John Golden Theater, which now features a remarkable facsimile of a recording studio.

The playwright, David Adjmi, who has long labored in the nonprofit theater world, found himself a bit overwhelmed at having arrived on Broadway with a play he had been developing for about a decade.

“Hello?” Adjmi said as he haltingly accepted the microphone at the opening night curtain call. “Oh boy. I’m a playwright, and we don’t like getting on stages, but I’m going to do this, because this is such a profound moment for me.”

He noted that, for a time, he had considered giving up on playwriting, and he marveled at the moment — his play, with no major stars, minimal action and a single set, is now a leading contender for the best play Tony Award. “I was so scared to do a commercial production,” he said as the crowd cheered encouragement, “because I am not a commercial guy, and I don’t know how this happened.”

SATURDAY, APRIL 20

‘Hell’s Kitchen’

A musical from Alicia Keys — it uses her songs and is loosely based on her life — about a 17-year-old girl growing up in Manhattan, finding her voice as an artist.

Alicia Keys has been developing “Hell’s Kitchen” for 13 years, so when she finally got her Broadway opening, she pulled out all the stops. Guests included Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. A prop piano sat on the carpet (this one was blue), and bucket drummers performed at the Pier 60 after-party where Keys’ husband, Swizz Beatz, DJed, and their youngest son, Genesis, danced.

“We’re finally here!” Keys said outside the Shubert Theater, feeling all the feels.

“I feel grateful. I feel blessed. I feel excited. I feel triumphant. I feel like dreams are possible. Man, what-what! I feel enchanted, disbelief. That’s how I feel.”

Among those posing for pictures with Keys was Linda Aziza Miller, who was one of Keys’ early piano teachers and who is now making her Broadway debut playing in the “Hell’s Kitchen” band. “I came out of retirement when Alicia called me,” Miller said. “I said, ‘Alicia, I’m retired!’ She said, ‘You need to come and do this.’ So here I am.”

At its core, “Hell’s Kitchen” is a mother-daughter story — filled with tension but redeemed by love — and Keys closed by addressing her own mother, who was in the audience. “Every sacrifice that she ever made and every dream she ever had is here tonight,” Keys said. “I love you, Mommy.”

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

‘Cabaret’

A revival of the 1966 musical, set in Berlin in 1929 and 1930, about the community in and around a seedy nightclub as the Nazi party accumulated power.

“Cabaret” is one of the season’s biggest productions — costly, because the producers remade the August Wilson Theater into the Kit Kat Club where the show is set, and starry, with Eddie Redmayne as that club’s impresario. The opening was so big it was spread across two nights — with two red carpets, two groups of celebrity attendees and two after-parties.

Both Redmayne and his co-star Gayle Rankin, who is playing nightclub performer Sally Bowles, have histories with the musical — he had performed the same role as a student, and she played smaller roles in a revival a decade ago.

“Who gets this chance, 10 years apart, to mark your own growth as an artist and as a person?” she asked while walking the show’s second carpet. “It’s going to take me a long time to process. But it’s the biggest privilege of my life.”

And why do theater makers keep returning to this musical? “It’s deeply entertaining,” she said, “and it shakes us awake.”

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

‘Mary Jane’

A play about a single mother caring for a small child disabled by cerebral palsy and other disorders.

This year’s string of opening nights was shaped not only by congestion — there were three days featuring two scheduled openings, which is not ideal, because each show wants its own moment in the sun — but also by another complication: Passover came unusually late, during the Broadway season’s closing days. So some shows moved their start times or their party dates to minimize overlap and to avoid the first two nights of Passover, which is when Seders are held.

That’s how “Mary Jane,” which stars Rachel McAdams, wound up having its party and celebratory performance on a Sunday night, even though it was opening on a Tuesday night.

And what is a non-celebratory opening night? It’s a regular performance, with a paying audience (attendees at celebratory opening nights are often invited guests); the only distinguishing feature is it’s the night that press embargoes lift and reviews are published. At the Samuel J. Friedman Theater, where “Mary Jane” is running, the official opening was just like any other performance, but for one unsettling moment, when a woman in the audience shouted at the stage, “I love you, Rachel McAdams.” Unsettling, because unruly audience members can get out of hand — earlier this month, a woman was ejected after grabbing Redmayne’s skirt at “Cabaret.”

Happily, the disruption was fleeting, and McAdams, who an hour later would get positive reviews for her performance, stayed in character and kept going.

MONDAY, APRIL 22

‘Patriots’

A play about an oligarch’s role in the rise of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the businessman’s mysterious death after falling out with the autocratic leader.

“Patriots” is a high-octane ride through a portentous historical episode, and to get ready for that journey, the play’s company has developed an unusual warmup: Before each show, they play a backstage game with a Koosh ball.

The play, a late addition to the season, opted for a rare Monday matinee as its opening performance. So after the unorthodox warmup at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, the cast walked a red carpet (on-brand, given the color’s prominence in Russian culture), followed by a number of actors from the casts of Broadway shows (here’s looking at you, Sarah Paulson) who were able to see a play without missing their own.

Also on the red carpet: Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, which is making its Broadway debut as a producing entity with “Patriots.” “One of the things I learned from Norman Lear early, early on: I said, ‘What was your secret sauce back then, when you dominated television?’ and he goes, ‘I knew Broadway. I knew Broadway actors. I knew Broadway writers. And no one else did.’ That always rang in my head.”

Netflix has another reason for supporting “Patriots” — the playwright, Peter Morgan, created “The Crown,” one of the streamer’s biggest successes. Netflix is already seeking to develop “Patriots” for the screen.

Morgan noted ruefully “a sad currency to this play,” which he had written several years ago but which is being staged in New York following the death in February of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “It’s just become more urgent and more timely,” Morgan said.

But Morgan, who also wrote “The Audience” and “Frost/Nixon,” said he worries about the economic viability of plays on Broadway. “I just hope plays like this can survive,” he said.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24

‘Uncle Vanya’

A revival of the 19th-century Russian play about a family whose equanimity is upset when an elderly professor and his young wife come to visit their farm.

Anton Chekhov’s classic drama first arrived on Broadway in 1923 and has been revived 10 times since, including this current production, with a new, idiomatically contemporary translation by Heidi Schreck.

The “Uncle Vanya” opening, at Lincoln Center Theater, was low-key, with a small step-and-repeat beforehand and then post-show cast interviews before a private party.

The show’s star, Steve Carell, is making his Broadway debut and drawing crowds thanks to fame earned from years on “The Office.”

“What am I going to say? It’s incredibly exciting,” he said. “It’s what everybody says when they appear on Broadway. It’s exhilarating.”

Carell added that he has been wanting to work in theater but waited until his children were grown. “I waited to go back and do anything onstage until we were empty nesters,” he said. “I just didn’t want to skip out on any moments with my children.”

He said he thinks theater will benefit at a time when artificial intelligence is causing people to doubt what they see on screens. “Live performance is indisputable. You can’t hide anything. And I think people are going to seek it out even more than they have in the past, because it’s pure.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24

‘Illinoise’

A dialogue-free musical that uses dance and song to tell a coming-of-age story inspired by a Sufjan Stevens album.

“Back. Front. Back. Front. Other leg! We slide to the side! Yes! Hit It!”

In a basement below the St. James Theater, Craig Salstein, a dance captain, was leading the cast of “Illinoise” through an exuberant preshow warmup. The production had installed a bright yellow sprung dance floor, coated with slip-resistant vinyl, and the performers, some wearing socks and some barefoot, were dancing in circles, jumping up and down, stretching on the floor and beaming. (“Smile,” Salstein reminded them. “Show me attitude!”)

“Illinoise,” a narrative dance show from choreographer Justin Peck and playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, took the fast lane to Broadway. It was playing off-Broadway at the Park Avenue Armory until March 26, and, after getting strong reviews, opted for a transfer so speedy that there was no time for previews.

That meant the first performance — a Wednesday matinee — would also be the official opening, and partying would wait until May. But the company gave Peck and Drury framed miniatures of the theater facade, and Peck gave the company a short hosanna, ending with “Let’s do this thing!”

The cast is filled with performers making their Broadway debuts. Among them is Gaby Diaz, a winner of “So You Think You Can Dance,” who said she didn’t think she’d make it to Broadway because she’s not a singer. “I’m very overwhelmed. I’m very emotional. But there’s a real sense of safety and community in getting to do this with so many people for the first time — it feels much bigger than me.”

Diaz said she had begun the day by taking time to thank an early mentor. “I called my dance teacher from growing up, who flew in to come see me,” she said. “I just said, ‘Thank you for watering this seed inside me for so many years.’ It’s led me to here.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

‘Mother Play’

A play about a family in which a gin-swilling mother struggles to accept the homosexuality of her two children.

Paula Vogel, the playwright whose own life story informs “Mother Play,” has been on Broadway twice before — with “Indecent” and “How I Learned to Drive” — but this is the first time she has written a play to be staged on Broadway without a previous production, and on opening day she was riding high.

“It’s pretty exciting to open cold on Broadway,” she said, “and I feel good.”

She also feels a sort of catharsis, seeing some of her own experiences exorcised on the stage of the Helen Hayes Theater.

“I’ve tried to craft a funny, secular, ritual of forgiveness, and I’m really feeling released,” she said. She added that she took particular joy seeing a version of her mother played by an accomplished actress. “There is a matter of turning over what was weight to other people. I couldn’t pay for all the therapy in the world to equal one night of watching Jessica Lange.”

Vogel was more sanguine than some about this jam-packed season. “I keep thinking back to a time when this is the way it was — we’ve atrophied in terms of the number of openings in the commercial market, and I think the good thing about having this density of imagination and creativity is that we all have to concentrate on our own work ahead,” she said. “I know every writer of a new play on Broadway, and I respect them and love them. This feels like getting your turn to speak at the Seder dinner, and that’s really nice.”

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

‘Great Gatsby’

A musical based on the classic novel about a millionaire’s tragic determination to rekindle a lost love.

Cars play a notable role in “The Great Gatsby.” They are displays of affluence, objects of desire and, in the end, an instrument of death.

So it made sense for the producers of “The Great Gatsby” musical to lean into the car motif for their opening night celebration. The show rented two antiques, a Hudson Greater Eight and a Chevrolet Superior K, and used them to ferry the principal actors on a one-block journey so they could arrive in style.

The theme almost backfired, because as the stars posed for pictures on a red carpet outside the Broadway Theater, a Tesla slammed into a pedestrian just a few feet away, at the intersection of Broadway and 53rd Street. Police officers staffing the opening responded, and the pedestrian was able to walk and talk; many of the celebrants, surrounded by well-wishers and besieged by cameras, didn’t even notice.

The show’s stars, Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada, worked the crowd — patiently posing for pictures and pausing for interviews.

“It’s weird being in a season with so many shows — I think it’s unprecedented, especially the tide of them that has come in this past week,” said Jordan, a fan favorite thanks to “Newsies” and “Smash.” “It just feels like this weird alignment. And it’s scary — I can’t lie and say that it’s not nerve-wracking to know that all of these shows are coming at once and probably not all of them are going to make it.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.