It happens every year: the fall portion of the new Broadway season comes in like a lamb and moves into winter like The Lion King. Unlike the spring, musicals in fall are generally outnumbered by plays, which come packed with big name stars from the U.S. and U.K. For those willing to congregate at the stage door after the show, handshakes, autographs, and selfies with celebs add up to pretty awesome rewards.

Theatre, subjective animal that it is, appeals to us on different levels, from nostalgia to intellectual stimulation to escapism. Broadway’s new season is cutting a mighty swath through all of them—as well as a few others!