Joan Allen, Matthew Broderick, Christine Ebersole, Rupert Everett, Jane Fonda, Will Ferrell, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Mary-Louise Parker, David Hyde Pierce, Oliver Platt, Mercedes Ruehl, and Susan Sarandon hit the Great White Way!
Amidst all the gloom and doom over the number of shows shuttering in January, theatergoers should take heart. As of press time, a slew of shows are planning to open between now and April 30, this year’s cut-off for Tony Award nominations. Plus, there are still a few theaters left to fill.
So here’s a brief glimpse of what Broadway is planning to offer in the coming months — including appearances by Joan Allen, Matthew Broderick, Christine Ebersole, Rupert Everett, Will Ferrell, Jane Fonda, James Gandolfini, Lauren Graham, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Mary-Louise Parker, David Hyde Pierce, Oliver Platt, Mercedes Ruehl, and a host of other stars!
The American Plan
(Samuel J. Friedman Theatre; first preview, January 2; opening January 22)
Manhattan Theatre Club kicks off 2009 with the first Broadway outing of Richard Greenberg’s play, set in the Catskill Mountains in the 1960s. It features Mercedes Ruehl and Lily Rabe, two of our finest actresses, as a mother and daughter torn over the young’s girl new relationship. The talented David Grindley, who helmed Journey’s End and Pygmalion, guides the cast, which also includes Kieran Campion, Austin Lysy, and Brenda Pressley.
Hedda Gabler
(American Airlines Theatre; first preview, January 6; opening January 25)
Henrik Ibsen’s drama about a frustrated housewife has proved to be electric fodder in recent years for Kate Burton, Elizabeth Marvel, and Cate Blanchett. Now, Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker takes her turn at bat for the Roundabout Theatre Company, under the direction of Ian Rickson, who earned huzzahs for his recently imported production of The Seagull, and in a new translation from acclaimed playwright Christopher Shinn. The top-notch cast also includes Tony winner Michael Cerveris as Hedda’s sheepish husband, the wonderful Helen Carey as his mother, Ana Reeder as “good friend” Thea, Peter Stormare as the powerful Judge Brack, and the always electric Paul Sparks as Hedda’s ex-flame Ejlert Lovborg.
Soul of Shaolin
(Marquis Theatre; first preview, January 13; opening January 15)
This 24-performance run of the Chinese martial arts spectacle is timed to celebrate the Year of the Ox. It tells the story of a boy named Hui Guang, separated from his mother by war, who is found by the legendary monks of the Shaolin temple and becomes a Kung Fu master.
You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush
(Cort Theatre; first preview, January 20; opening February 5)
Having made audiences laugh and laugh with his work on Saturday Night Live and films such as Elf, Anchorman, and Talledaga Nights, the brilliant Will Ferrell finally takes to the stage with this much-anticipated solo show, which is sure to include some well-timed potshots at our outgoing president.
The Story of My Life
(Booth Theatre; first preview, February 3, opening February 19)
A recent hit at the Goodspeed Opera House, Neil Bartram and Brian Hill’s two-character musical explores the relationship between a pair of lifelong friends (played by Broadway veterans Malcolm Gets and Will Chase). Tony winner Richard Maltby Jr. directs the production.
Guys & Dolls
(Nederlander Theatre; first preview, February 4; opening March 1)
Director Des McAnuff, who knows a thing or two about musicals — The Who’s Tommy, Jersey Boys — puts his stamp on Frank Loesser’s classic about a pair of gamblers who find it just as hard to be lucky in love as lucky at craps. The intriguing cast is headed by Craig Bierko, Kate Jennings Grant, Lauren Graham, Oliver Platt, Tituss Burgess, and Mary Testa.
33 Variations
(Eugene O’Neill Theatre; first preview, February 9; opening March 9)
Oscar winner Jane Fonda returns to the Great White Way for the first time in over 45 years as the protagonist of Moises Kaufman’s critically acclaimed new play about a pianist obsessed with Beethoven and facing the legacy of her own past.
Josefina Scaglione and Matt Cavenaugh in West Side Story
West Side Story
(Palace Theatre; first preview, February 23; opening March 19)
Just as he did with the recent award-winning revival of Gypsy, librettist Arthur Laurents has taken the directorial reins for this new production of the great Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Jerome Robbins tuner about street gangs in the 1950s.
Laurents has added some Spanish dialogue for the Puerto Rican Sharks and their gals (headed by Karen Olivo and George Akram) who engage in some cultural warfare when young Maria (played by Argentinian newcomer Josefina Scaglione) falls in love with rival “Jet” Tony (played by Broadway favorite Matt Cavenaugh).
Blithe Spirit
(Shubert Theatre; first preview, February 26; opening March 15)
Michael Blakemore, who made Tony history by winning two Best Director awards in the same year, takes on Noel Coward’s classic comedy about a married man haunted by his ex-wife, using such first-tier talents as Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole, Jayne Atkinson, Simon Jones, Deborah Rush, and, as the wacky Madame Arcati, the ageless and priceless Angela Lansbury.
Impressionism
(Gerald Schoenfled Theater; first preview, February 28; opening March 12)
Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons, both long absent from the Broadway stage, return in Michael Jacobs’ new play about a photojournalist and a gallery owner who discover each other. Multi-Tony winner Jack O’Brien directs, and the extremely impressive supporting cast includes Andre De Shields, Aaron Lazar, Margarita Levieva, Marsha Mason, and Michael T. Weiss.
God of Carnage
(Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre; first preview, February 28; opening March 22)
Yasmina Reza’s London hit comes stateside with original helmer Matthew Warchus and the all-American quartet of Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels, James Gandolfini, and Marcia Gay Harden as a pair of couples who end up in domestic battle with each other.
Hair
(Al Hirschfeld Theatre; first preview, March 6, opening March 31)
The Age of Aquarius returns in this transfer of Diane Paulus’ celebrated production of the famed Galt McDermot-James Rado-Gerome Ragni musical about a group of free-spirits confronting the realities of the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
Exit the King
(Barrymore Theatre; first preview, March 7; opening March 26)>
Eugene Ionesco’s rarely produced comedy about an incompetent monarch arrives in the hands of adaptor/director Neil Armfeldt, and with a top-flight cast led by Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon, Tony winner Andrea Martin, and the always luminous Lauren Ambrose.
Irena’s Vow
(Walter Kerr Theatre; first preview, March 10; opening March 29)
Another Off-Broadway transfer, Dan Gordon’s heartwarming and heartbreaking play stars the amazing Tovah Feldshuh as real-life heroine Irena Gut Opdyke, a Polish Catholic woman who uses her position as housekeeper to a Nazi official to save the lives of 12 Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.
reasons to be pretty
(Lyceum Theatre; first preview, March 13; opening April 2)
The prolific and controversial Neil LaBute finally gets his Broadway debut with this recent Off-Broadway hit about a relationship that sours after a casual remark, and the two friends who end up in the middle — and with considerable troubles of their own.
Marin Ireland, Thomas Sadoski, Steven Pasquale, and Piper Perabo make up the cast.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
(Belasco Theatre, first preview, March 19, opening April 16)
Lincoln Center Theater has entrusted 2008 Tony winner Bartlett Sher with the first Broadway revival of what many consider to be the late August Wilson’s finest play, about an ex-con who travels to Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1911 with his young daughter searching for salvation and inner freedom.
Rock of Ages
(Brooks Atkinson Theatre; first preview, March 20; opening April 7)
Also direct from Off-Broadway, this feel-good musical uses the classic rock n’ roll songs of the 1980s to enliven a boy-meets-girl-loses-girl-gets-girl story set in L.A., where a famed rock club faces demolition by a greedy developer.
Mary Stuart
(Broadhurst Theatre; first preview, March 30; opening April 19)
No season would be complete without at least one London transfer. The Donmar Warehouse’s production of Freidrich Schiller’s drama about those battling cousins, Mary and Elizabeth, boasts Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter in the title roles, with American support from Brian Murray, Michael Countryman, John Benjamin Hickey, Michael Rudko, Robert Stanton, Maria Tucci, Chandler Williams, and Nicholas Woodeson, under Phyllida Lloyd’s direction.
Waiting for Godot
(Studio 54; first preview April 3; opening April 30)
The Roundabout’s other season-ender is Samuel Beckett’s existential allegory, directed by Anthony Page, and starring the sublime quartet of Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman, and David Strathairn. Worth waiting for!
Accent on Youth
(Samuel J. Friedman Theatre; first preview April 7; opening April 29)
MTC revives Samson Raphaelson’s little known comedy about a playwright who falls in love with his secretary for Tony winner David Hyde Pierce, backed up by such vets as Lisa Banes, Mary Catherine Garrison, Byron Jennings, and Charles Kimbrough.
9 to 5
(Marquis Theatre; first preview April 7; opening April 30)
The 1980 film hit about a trio of unhappy office workers gets musicalized by the movie’s star, Dolly Parton. For this version — which previewed at L.A.’s Ahmanson Theatre — Allison Janney, Megan Hilty, and Stephanie J. Block play the ladies seeking revenge on their heartless boss Franklin J. Hart (played by Marc Kudisch). Tony winners Joe Mantello and Andy Blankenbuehler direct and choreograph the proceedings, respectively, while original screenwriter Patricia Resnick has supplied the book.
The Philanthropist
(American Airlines Theatre; first preview April 10; opening April 26)
The Roundabout once again turns to former collaborators Matthew Broderick and director David Grindley, who will team up on a revival of Christopher Hampton’s biting comedy about the insular world of college intellectuals.
