Some Broadway stars hype themselves up with K-pop. Some opt for jazz. Jessica Chastain prefers the sound of nothing—a void before she’s thrust into the claustrophobic world of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. “That feels quite Nora to me,” she says, “to sit in silence.”

The Oscar winner may find that quiet is hard to come by in New York these days. For the first time since COVID-19 put live theater on an indefinite pause three years ago, venues from Broadway to Brooklyn are bursting with a pre-pandemic sort of life. There have been captivating, progressive reinventions of classics like Sweeney Todd and Death of a Salesman, and bold new productions like Kimberly Akimbo and Ain’t No Mo’. There have been downtown sensations—comedian Kate Berlant, turning the one-woman show on its ear—and Midtown miracle workers like Lea Michele, Funny Girl’s greatest star. There’s been a Cinderella who’s good (Phillipa Soo in Into the Woods) and a Cinderella who’s not so good (Linedy Genao in Bad Cinderella).

Ibsen’s masterpiece famously ends with the sound of a door slamming. But these 20 buzzy performers are open and ready to be back in business. “If you take the walls off a theater, you would think it’s a madhouse,” says Corey Hawkins, who smolders opposite Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Topdog/Underdog. “You would think you’re looking into a psych ward. I mean, you are. But it’s all for the love of the craft.” —Hillary Busis

JESSICA CHASTAIN / A DOLL’S HOUSE

“At Juilliard, Andrei Belgrader told me, ‘A great thing to do right before you go onstage—even if you don’t believe it—is to stick your arms out in the air and go, I’m a genius. Then walk onstage. Because it’ll create that energy within you.’ ”

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II / TOPDOG/UNDERDOG

“Before every show, I have to see the audience. So, I take a little peek and that lets me know that we got some people in the house. They probably see me look, but I don’t care because they forget about it as soon as I step onstage.”

COREY HAWKINS / TOPDOG/UNDERDOG

“It actually is insane what we do, I think. But we’re fortunate to be able to do it because we’re artists. We’re crazy, and we’re sensitive about our shit.���

LEA MICHELE / FUNNY GIRL

“Every night, I sing one song from the show at home before going to the theater. It’s usually ‘The Greatest Star,’ and lately I’ve been singing it for my son. He just sits in the bed and gives me a thumbs-up…and it really makes the night for me.”

PHILLIPA SOO / CAMELOT; INTO THE WOODS

“I don’t believe in lucky rituals, but the only thing that I’m really superstitious about is saying ‘Macbeth’ in a theater. Never do that, ever.”

LINDSAY MENDEZ / MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

Before a show, for luck, “I like to rub Daniel Radcliffe’s head.”

PATINA MILLER / INTO THE WOODS

“I didn’t really have many Broadway idols. I got to theater very late. But later on when I got to Carnegie Mellon, that is where I discovered Billy Porter. Billy hired me for my first job right out of school. I love him so much.”

ANNALEIGH ASHFORD / SWEENEY TODD

“You know when you’re doing eight shows a week, every single day you wake up, even on your day off, you’re thinking about your next show. It’s like being a professional athlete; you’re always gearing up for the next race, the next game.”

WENDELL PIERCE / DEATH OF A SALESMAN

After a show, “I have a late-night meal, like I’m in Paris or something, around 11 at night, and then listen to music all night long. I turn into a vampire. Go to jazz clubs until about two, three in the morning.”

VICTORIA CLARK / KIMBERLY AKIMBO

At auditions, “I used to wear shoes that were a size too big and then do a kick in the middle of the song, and then the shoe would go flying off in the wrong direction. I made that like it was a mistake, but it wasn’t. It was all planned.”

KATIE HOLMES / THE WANDERERS

Before a show, “we all get together in what we call the party room, which is the boys’ dressing room. We do like a dance party and catch up on the day and take turns playing our favorite song. It’s nice to just check in with everybody.”

JONATHAN GROFF / MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

“One of the fun things about having almost a 20-year career in New York is inevitably I know someone at every performance. Every night, I was catching up with people afterwards, catching up on our lives.”

JUSTIN COOLEY / KIMBERLY AKIMBO

For auditions, “I was always drawn to sad, old-man songs in theater. I would sing ‘Time’ from Tuck Everlasting, ‘How It Ends’ from Big Fish. And that one song from Parade. It’s so depressing. But for some reason, I always did those ones.”

JORDAN E. COOPER / AIN’T NO MO’

“My Broadway idol is Stephen Sondheim…because he really taught me how to play with words. I love the songs he wrote for women in particular. My other one is, of course, the Beyoncé of Broadway, Audra McDonald.”

LORNA COURTNEY / & JULIET

“Sometimes I sage my room before a show. I also drink lots of tea and massage my muscles. I like feeling relaxed before a show, so I’ll probably put on spa music and lie on the ground and be zen and zone in on good energy and good vibes.”

LINEDY GENAO / BAD CINDERELLA

“In the Heights was the first time I ever saw myself represented onstage. In the first few lines, Lin-Manuel Miranda says, ‘Dominican Republic. I love it. Jesus. I’m jealous of it.’ My mind was blown.”

JEREMY POPE / THE COLLABORATION

“Before a show, I listen to old-school ’80s funk. Earth, Wind & Fire. A little Aretha, Chaka Khan. Getting in the vibe.”

MARLA MINDELLE / TITANIQUE

“My go-to vocal warm-up is literally just going, ‘Ah, ah,’ over and over again. I sound like a really annoying bird. I just go, ‘Ah, ah.’ It’s like a cat dying.”

KATE BERLANT / KATE

“I don’t sing, and I’ve never auditioned for a play except for high school. But I got Steel Magnolias in high school and here I am.”

DANIEL RADCLIFFE / MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

“I had a weird introduction to this industry, so I did not ever have a period where I had standard monologues ready to go. But I know that one of my dad’s, his song was a Tom Lehrer song called ‘The Masochism Tango,’ which is weird to think of your dad doing.”

Interviews by Margaret Lin, Hannah Pak, and Ella Ruffel.

Hair products by Hair Rituel by Sisley (Chastain), Kiehl’s (all men); makeup products by Gucci (Chastain), Chanel (all other women); nail enamel by Uka; grooming products by Kiehl’s. Hair, Renato Campora (Chastain), Eugene Souleiman (all other women); makeup, Kristofer Buckle (Chastain), Kabuki (all other women); manicures, Yuko Tsuchihashi; grooming, Melissa Dezarate; tailors, Maria Del Greco, Joel Gomez; set design, Viki Rutsch. Produced on location by Shiny Projects. For details, go to vf.com/credits.