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Spring Broadway Season Part One

James William Bruce • February 21, 2023

That’s right theatre fans. The Spring Broadway season is officially here. In fact, between now and the end of April, there are sixteen shows set to open on the Great White Way. Today’s blog will highlight five of those highly anticipated shows.


First up, and one that I am particularly excited to see is A Doll’s House starring Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain. The show, which believe it or not first premiered over one hundred and forty-four years ago in Denmark, was written by famed Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, with a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog, and features direction by Tony Award nominee Jamie Lloyd (Betrayal). Set in Norway during the Christmas holidays, A Doll’s House focuses on the tumultuous marriage between Nora and Torvald Helmer and the impact it has on their family and friends. Previews for the show began on February 13 at the Hudson Theatre with opening night scheduled for March 9.


Next up? The first Broadway revival of Parade starring Tony Award winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) and Theatre World Award winner Micaela Diamond (The Cher Show). Based on the true story of Leo and Lucille Frank, and his trial and conviction for the murder and rape of thirteen-year-old factory employee Mary Phagan, the show features music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Alfred Uhry, both of which won Tony’s for their work in 1999. I had the pleasure of seeing Parade during its first Broadway run and it quickly became one of my favorite shows. Previews for the show began at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on February 21, with opening night scheduled for March 16. Directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Michael Arden (Spring Awakening, Once On This Island), the show will play a limited engagement through August 6. Expect the show to be a big contender at this year’s Tony Awards.


What’s that you say? Another beloved revival headed to Broadway? It’s true. Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, which first opened on Broadway in March 1978, is set to begin previews at the Music Box Theatre on March 2, with opening night scheduled for March 19. The show, which was Fosse’s second longest running production following Pippin, is being directed by original cast member and Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Wicked). Now, while I don’t fancy myself a dancer, at least not in the traditional sense, Bob Fosse is and always has been a hero of mine and I can’t wait to see this new production of one of Broadway’s biggest hits. Featuring the music of artists Neil Diamond, Cat Stevens, John Phillip Sousa, and countless more, Dancin’ is one show you do not want to miss. Here’s hoping lighting strikes twice once again and it becomes an even bigger hit than before.


December 6, 2015. Care to guess what happened on that day? Well if you are a theatre fan like me, than you know on that day the new musical School of Rock officially opened on Broadway. Oh and it also featured music by some guy by the name of Andrew Lloyd Webber. You’ve heard of him, right? Now all joking aside there is a reason for it. Two words. Bad Cinderella. And no that is not a typo. It’s actually a brand-new musical with music by, you guessed it, Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, and lyrics by Tony Award winner David Zippel, and a book by Emerald Fennell. The show, which first premiered in London’s West End in August 2021, was previously titled Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella before changing its name last year. Set in France, this newly updated modern look at the beloved fairy tale, is set to begin previews at the Imperial Theatre on February 17, with opening night scheduled for March 23. Since moving to New York over thirty years ago, I have seen all of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new shows as well as his many revivals. Bad Cinderella will be my tenth. I can’t wait.


Well, would you look at that. Another musical revival, and just like both Dancin’ and Parade, I can’t wait to see this Spring. I am of course talking about Sweeney Todd starring Tony Award nominee Josh Groban as the title character, and Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford as Mrs. Lovett. This new production of the Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler classic will be the second Sondheim musical this season following the triumphant revival of Into the Woods that closed last month. Plus, with the planned Fall 2023 revival of Merrily We Roll Along, and last season’s Tony Award winning production of Company, this will make a total of four of his shows to return to Broadway since his untimely death in November 2021. The show which is being directed by Tony Award winner Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Steven Hoggett (Once) is set to begin previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on February 26, with opening night scheduled for March 26. Not only that, but the orchestra will feature the original twenty-seven instruments, something that is unprecedented in this day and age.


Well, there you have it. Five outstanding shows coming to the Great White Way. Stay tuned for Part Two in my Spring preview next week. Until next time theatre fans.

Broadway’s “Left on Tenth”-Lights Up the James Earl Jones Theatre

By Richard Gladstone • September 30, 2024
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

By Joe Acevedo • June 17, 2024
2024 Tony Awards Winners
Tony Awards

2024 Tony Awards Nominees

April 30, 2024
The 2024 Tony nominations have been announced, honoring the best of the 2023–2024 Broadway season.

Home is Coming to Broadway

By James Bruce • March 16, 2024
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.

Hell’s Kitchen Previews on Broadway March 28

By James Bruce • March 14, 2024
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.

Patriots Coming to Broadway in April

By James Bruce • March 12, 2024
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.

The Great Gatsby Coming to Broadway April 25th

By James Bruce • March 10, 2024
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?
Lempicka on Broadway

Lempicka Scheduled to Begin Previews on Broadway in March

By James Bruce • March 8, 2024
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.
Broadway Musical SUFFS opening in March

New Musical SUFFS Coming to Broadway in March

By James Bruce • March 6, 2024
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.
a group of people are dancing on a stage .

Previews for The Heart of Rock and Roll Coming to Broadway in March

By James Bruce • March 4, 2024
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 .
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