Broadway’s A-Poppin’

Are Broadway theatergoers getting married this fall? It might seem that way, since the multitude of openings in the next four months include something old (revivals of Company and A Chorus Line), something new (the world premiere of David Hare’s The Vertical Hour, starring Julianne Moore), and something “borrowed” (almost every show coming to the Great White Way has previously been seen Off-Broadway, in London, or in a regional staging). What about something blue? That would be all the people who won’t get the chance to see every one of the exciting Main Stem offerings on tap for the remainder of 2006.

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PLAY ME THE MUSIC
The show that redefined musical theater for countless audiences, A Chorus Line, returns to the Main Stem 16 years after it departed as the longest-running show on Broadway at that time. The original Michael Bennett staging has been faithfully recreated by Bob Avian and Baayork Lee. It’s executed by a dynamic cast of mostly little-known singer/dancers, as well as veteran stars Charlotte d’Amboise, Michael Berresse, and Deidre Goodwin.

Having set Broadway ablaze with the music of Billy Joel in Movin’ Out, director/choreographer Twyla Tharp moves on to the words and music of the legendary pop troubadour Bob Dylan in The Times They Are A-Changin’. Unlike her previous dance-a-thon, the characters in this show actually sing — and they’re being given voice by such superb performers as Michael Arden, Thom Sesma, and Caryn Lyn Manuel.

One of Off-Broadway’s most talked about shows, Grey Gardens, moves almost intact to the Walter Kerr. Based on the famed 1975 documentary about the eccentric Beale family of Long Island, the Doug Wright-Michael Korie-Scott Frankel tuner stars the simply unbelievable Christine Ebersole in two different roles, along with the marvelous Mary Louise Wilson, John McMartin, Matt Cavenaugh, and Broadway newcomer Erin Davie. To say that the costumes (by William Ivey Long) are revolutionary is to be guilty of grievous understatement.

The word “eccentric” could also be used to describe that supercalifraglisticexpialidocious British nanny Mary Poppins, who has finally made her way to the stage more than four decades after delighting zillions of movie fans. Ashley Brown, last seen on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast, essays the title role opposite British stage star Gavin Lee as Bert, Daniel Jenkins and Rebecca Luker as Mr. and Mrs. Banks, and the divine Cass Morgan as the Bird Woman. The score is a mix of the old (by the Sherman Brothers) and the new (by Anthony Drewe and George Stiles); the equally brilliant Sir Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne share the directing duties.

Perhaps it’s fitting that the show that unseated A Chorus Line from its longest-running perch, Les Misérables, also returns this year. One good reason for theatergoers who saw this landmark musical over and over and over to come back to the barricades is the new, multi-culti cast led by Alexander Gemignani as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine, Aaron Lazar as Enjolras, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Eponine, and Tony winner Gary Beach as Thenardier.

Mary Poppins isn’t the only family fare on the horizon: The beloved Dr. Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas was given musical life some years back by the folks at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, where it’s now a yearly tradition. Now the show is coming to New York for a three-month, 12-peformances-a-week run at the Hilton Theater. Will the Whos be able to save their favorite holiday from that mean one, Mr. Grinch? Who cares if you know the answer; either way, it will be great fun to watch!

Sondheim fans who are waiting for a fabulous follow-up to Tony Award winner John Doyle’s acclaimed revival of Sweeney Todd won’t have to wait too long: Doyle is bringing his acclaimed production of Company, first seen last season in Cincinnati, to the Barrymore Theatre. Once again, as in Sweeney, the actors double as musicians. Heading the cast are charismatic Raúl Esparza as the commitment-phobic bachelor Bobby and Broadway favorite Barbara Walsh as the sharp-tongued Joanne.

The Atlantic Theater Company is on a roll. Spring Awakening, the theater’s provocative musical version of Frank Wedekind’s ultra-controversial play about German teenagers coming of age, moves to Broadway just a few months after ending its sold-out, Off-Broadway run. The show features music by pop composer Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by playwright Steven Sater. The decidedly unusual 19th-century-meets 21st-century staging is by Tony-nominated director Michael Mayer and the award-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones. A cast of super-talented young singing actors is headed by Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele, and John Gallagher, Jr.

Following in the footsteps of Hairspray and other film-to-stage shows, High Fidelity uses as its basis both Nick Hornby’s novel of the same title and the popular film version that starred John Cusack and Jack Black. Broadway leading man Will Chase plays Rob, the record store owner who knows too much about LPs and not enough about the women in his life. (One of those women is played by Urban Cowboy star Jenn Colella.) The show has a score by Tom Kitt and Amanda Green, a book by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (the author of Rabbit Hole and Fuddy Meers). Tony winner Walter Bobbie directs.

PLAY ON
If you want a Shaw thing, fly on over to the American Airlines Theatre for the Roundabout’s star-studded revival of George Bernard Shaw’s classic comedy Heartbreak House. British director Robin Lefevre guides a dream cast led by Tony Award winners Philip Bosco as the crusty Captain Shotover and Swoozie Kurtz as his bohemian daughter Hesione. They are joined by such top-tier talents as Byron Jennings, Lily Rabe, Laila Robins, Bill Camp, John Christopher Jones, Gareth Saxe, and Jenny Sterlin. This is one House you’ll definitely want to visit.

Two years after his triumph at Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theatre, master ventriloquist Jay Johnson finally makes it to the Great White Way with Jay Johnson: The Two and Only. Best known for his groundbreaking role of Chuck on the 1970s sitcom Soap, Johnson won’t be alone; he shares the stage with such good “friends” as his old co-star Bob. Don’t be a dummy and miss this acclaimed show.

Manhattan Theatre Club kicks off its season at the Biltmore with Simon Mendes De Costa’s London import Losing Louie, which looks at two generations of the same family in scenes set 50 years apart. Four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks is at the helm; the sterling cast features Tony winner Michele Pawk alongside Matthew Arkin, Scott Cohen, Patricia Kalember, Mark Linn-Baker, Ana Reeder, and Jama Williamson.

It remains to be seen if Simon Gray’s Butley, about a college professor on the edge of a breakdown, has the same impact that it did 30-plus years ago when the remarkable Alan Bates brought the play to our shores. But reviews were strong when this new production was presented by Boston’s Huntington Theatre in 2003, with Tony Award winner Nathan Lane in the title role and director Nicholas Martin guiding the proceedings. For the Broadway transfer, Lane will be surrounded by his one-time Present Laughter co-star Dana Ivey, his Odd Couple co-star Jessica Stone, and his Dedication co-star Darren Pettie, as well as Julian Ovenden, Pamela J. Gray, and James McMenamin.

Any time a Tom Stoppard play hits New York, it’s an event. But the word “event” barely begins to describe Lincoln Center Theater’s staging of Stoppard’s trilogy The Coast of Utopia, directed by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien. The three parts of this drama will open in separate stages and will eventually play in repertory. Set in 19th-century Russia and spanning 30 years, Coast focuses on such real life figures as the novelist Ivan Turgenev, the anarchist Michael Bakunin, and the literary critic Vissarion Belinsky. The 44-person cast is headed by Billy Crudup, Richard Easton, Jennifer Ehle, Josh Hamilton, Jason Butler Harner, David Harbour, Ethan Hawke, Amy Irving, Brian F. O’Byrne, and Martha Plimpton.

Another transfer from Off-Broadway, Douglas Carter Beane’s often hilarious The Little Dog Laughed, is a dazzling showcase for the magnificent Julie White. She plays Diane, a tough-as-nails Hollywood agent who’s trying to stop her movie star client Mitchell (to be played on Broadway by the handsome TV and film star Tom Everett Scott) from coming out of the closet and declaring his love for a bisexual hustler named Alex (played by Johnny Galecki, who has come a long way from his role of the dorky David on TV’s Roseanne). Clarence Derwent Award winner Ari Graynor completes the convoluted quadrangle as Alex’s girlfriend, Ellen.

The prolifid David Hare, recently the toast of the town for The Public Theater’s production of his political drama Stuff Happens, gives New York the world premiere of another political play. The Vertical Hour is about an American war correspondent caught between a father and son. No stranger to world-class collaborators, Hare’s got some of the very best on hand for this show: director Sam Mendes, film superstar Julianne Moore, returning to the New York stage nearly 15 years after her stunning turn in André Gregory’s Vanya on 42nd Street, and acclaimed British actors Bill Nighy and Andrew Scott.

NEW PLAYERS
It’s a fall ritual to put recognizable stars into long-running shows, and this season is no exception. Here are just a few of the additions we’re looking forward to: The clarion-voiced Ana Gasteyer flies into Wicked as the green-hued Elphaba; three-time Tony Award nominee Marin Mazzie will become the Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot, while the superb Jonathan Hadary will step in as King Arthur; pop music superstar Donny Osmond is set to take over the role of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast; American Idol singers Constantine Maroulis and Diana DeGarmo will respectively play Sammy in The Wedding Singer and Penny in Hairspray; the fabulous Carolee Carmello will return to the lead role of Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia!; and the wonderful Roz Ryan and Rob Bartlett come back to href=”http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/9″ target=”_blank”>Chicago. (Get ready for that show’s superstar-studded 10th Anniversary event on November 14, which will feature the revival’s original cast and a bevy of other alumni!)