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Fall Broadway Season Part One
James William Bruce • September 26, 2022
That’s right theatre fans. The fall Broadway season is officially here. Now if you had told me a year ago that there would be sixteen shows scheduled to open on the Great White Way at this time, I would have told you that you were crazy. Mostly due to a little thing by the name of COVID-19 that shut down both On and Off-Broadway for almost eighteen months. Thankfully, things are starting to get back to normal, and we can all gather together once again and enjoy the magic that is live theatre. As I mentioned, there are over two dozen plays and musicals scheduled to open before the end of the year. Today’s blog will highlight a few of those. And what better place to start than with one of Broadway’s most celebrated plays of all time.
I am of course talking about Arthur Miller’s award-winning play Death of a Salesman. The show, which first premiered on Broadway in 1949 has returned to the New York stage five other times since, including this production which began previews at the Hudson Theatre on September 17, with opening night scheduled for October 9. Starring Olivier Award nominee Wendall Pierce (The Wire) and Tony Award nominee Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline or Change) as Willy and Linda Loman, and directed by Olivier Award winner Miranda Cromwell, Death of a Salesman will play a limited run through January 15, 2023. It is one show you don’t want to miss.
Next up? The 1969 Tony Award winning Best Musical of the Year, 1776 The Musical. Previews for the highly anticipated show began previews on September 16, with opening night set for October 6. Directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus and Jeffrey L. Page, this new production which enjoyed a sold-out critically acclaimed run this past Summer at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts will perform at the American Airlines Theatre through January 8, 2023. I for one can’t wait to see this new production of this historical musical, and I encourage you to get your tickets for what is sure to be a major highlight of this season.
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am that one of my favorite films of all time is headed to the stage. Almost Famous The Musical. Based on the award wining 2000 film of the same name, the show is scheduled to open at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on October 3 with opening night scheduled for November 3. Featuring book and lyrics by the film’s original director and screenwriter Academy Award winner Cameron Crowe, and music and lyrics by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), Almost famous is sure to have you rocking in your seat all night long. Oh and just in case you are wondering, yes Elton John’s Tiny Dancer is set to be featured in the stage adaptation. And just when I thought I couldn’t get even more exited.
Well, there you have it. Three highly anticipated shows coming to Broadway in the following weeks. Which one will you see? Look out for more of my show previews in the coming days. Until next time theatre fans.
JWB
In addition to the two main stars, Kate MacCluggage (Are you There God? It’s Me, Margaret) and Peter Francis James (Ziegfield, Funny Girl) round out this great production. These two seasoned actors are extremely talented. Left On Tenth is directed by the very talented Broadway veteran, Susan Stroman. Ms. Stroman has been the recipient of five Tony Awards during her storied career. Celeste and I have seen about a dozen shows so far this year and Left on Tenth is clearly one of our favorites. This wonderful, new romantic comedy along with some very serious life challenges thrown in, is one just about everyone can relate to. I hope you’ll consider treating yourself and someone you care about and buy some tickets for this great new show. With a running time of only one hour and 40 minutes and no intermission, even the timing is perfect. Please consider a call to Applause-Tickets at 800-451-9930 or 212-307-7050. We are open seven days a week with a personal service that we think is second to none. Sincerely Rich Gladstone aka The Broadway TicketMan on behalf of Applause-Tickets.com 800-451-9930
2024 Tony Awards Winners
The 2024 Tony nominations have been announced, honoring the best of the 2023–2024 Broadway season.
The first entry of the 2024-2025 Broadway season is Home . Premiering in 1979 at the Negro Ensemble Company before transferring to Broadway the following year, is set to open at the newly renamed Todd Haimes Theatre in June with previews scheduled to begin on May 17. Written by Samm-Art Williams and directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, A Soldier’s Play), Home is set in North Carolina during the height of the Vietnam War, and focuses on farmland owner Cephus Miles who flees his small town after serving time for being a draft evader, and his slow but tragic dive into the world of drugs and prostitution before his return to North Carolina in search of the life he always wanted. Well, I’m sold.
Fresh off a critically acclaimed sold out production last year at New York’s famed Public Theater, is Hell’s Kitchen . Based on the life of Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Alicia Keys, the show is scheduled to begin previews at the historic Shubert Theatre on March 28, with opening night scheduled for April 20. Directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Grief and featuring music and lyrics by Ms. Keys and a book by Kristoffer Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen is loosely based on Key’s childhood spent living in Hell’s Kitchen’s- Manhattan Plaza. A 46-floor building known for offering federally subsidized housing for both artists, as well as other neighborhood residents and the elderly. Not only am I a huge fan of Alica Keys, but I am a sucker for a good bio, jukebox musical. Here’s hoping Hell’s Kitchen is a hit.
Written by Tony Award winner Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Audience) and directed by Olivier Award winner Rupert Goold, (Ink, King Lear) is Patriots . The show which first premiered at the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End in 2023, stars Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg as billionaire Russian businessman Boris Berezofsky during the Soviet Union’s sharp decline and the unexpected rise of Boris Yeltsin. Previews for the twelve-week limited engagement is set to begin previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on April 1 with opening night scheduled for April 22. I expect Patriots to be a big Tony contender this Spring.
Just like with fellow new musical, The Notebook, I have never read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby or seen any of its numerous film or television adaptations. I am, however, looking forward to seeing this new take on the classic love story mostly in part due to the show’s two stars. Tony Award nominees Jeremy Jordan (Newsies, Bonnie and Clyde) and Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon) as millionaire Jay Gatsby and his former paramour Daisy Buchanan. The Great Gatsby premiered last year at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse, features music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen and a book by Kait Kerrigan. Directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), The Great Gatsby is scheduled to begin previews at the Broadway Theatre on March 29, with opening night set for April 25. Interesting enough, there is another version of the show scheduled to open in May of this year at the American Repertory Theatre. Dueling Gatsby’s? What will they think of next?
Full disclosure. Until Lempika was announced, I had never heard of famed artist and outlaw aristocrat Tamara le Lempicka, who fled to Paris, France during the Russian Revolution, and used her painting skills to provide for her family. I have, however, heard of Eden Espinosa who has one of the best Broadway voices that I have ever heard, as well as being a former Elphaba in Wicked, the final Maureen in Rent, and the star of Brooklyn to name a few. Not to mention a slew of other critically acclaimed performances across the country, as well as an award-winning debut album. Quite the resume don’t you think? Lempika , which first premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2018, followed by another acclaimed production in 2022 at the La Jolla Playhouse, is scheduled to begin previews at the Longacre Theatre on March 19, with opening night scheduled for April 14. Directed by Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown and choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly, the show features music by Matt Gould, lyrics by Carson Kreitzer, with a book by Gould and Kreitzer. I smell a Tony Award nomination in Ms. Espinosa’s future.
Like with every season, there are some shows that I am not familiar with prior to it being announced, mostly due to not reading up on it beforehand. Case in point, the new musical SUFFS . The show, which I later learned played a critically acclaimed, sold out run last year at the Public Theatre, is set in the years leading up to the signing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 and the ultimate battle for a woman’s right to vote. Or as we know it today, the American Woman’s Suffrage Movement. An issue that I actually studied last year in my American History course that while I knew little about prior, proved to be one of the most important times in our country’s history. Not to mention a great idea for a musical in my opinion. Especially after hearing some of Shaina Taub’s amazing songs, who along with writing the book, music, and lyrics, also plays the role of Alice Paul, one of the leaders in the fight for women’s rights. Directed by Leigh Silverman, previews for SUFFS is set to begin at the Music Box Theatre on March 26, with opening night scheduled for April 18. I can’t wait.
Show of hands? Who doesn’t love Huey Lewis and the News? How can you not, right? Now while The Heart of Rock and Roll features the music of this iconic band, it is not the story of their meteoric rise to super stardom during the 1980’s. Although, how awesome would that be? Instead, The Heart of Rock and Roll features a brand-new story by Jonathan A. Abrams and Tyler Mitchell that focuses on a group of twenty-somethings on the cusp of achieving their dreams. Their only problem is which one? The corporate world or the world of Rock and Roll? Previews for The Heart of Rock and Roll are set to begin at the James Earl Jones Theatre on March 29 with opening night scheduled for April 22. Featuring over two dozen of the band’s biggest hits, I have no doubt that it will have audiences singing and dancing in the aisles. I know I can’t wait to see The Heart of Rock and Roll .