'In the Heights' opens March 9 at the Richard Rogers Theater
(Credit: Joan Marcus )
The fall season gave us a plethora of plays, but a disconcerting shortage of good musicals and a crippling stagehand strike. The spring theater season, however, will be pretty lively. We'll see long-awaited revivals of three classic American musicals, a Tennessee William play with an all-black cast, the Broadway transfers of both a hip-hop musical and alternative rock musical, and even Elaine Stritch doing Beckett. It's early to pick and choose, but these are the dozen shows we most look forward to checking out:
Jerry Springer—The Opera in Concert
This was supposed to have played Broadway four years ago following its London run. Unfortunately, those plans collapsed. Now, "Jerry Springer" will finally make its New York premiere as a two-night Carnegie Hall concert. Could it have a bigger future? Watch and wait. Opens January 29 at Carnegie Hall.
Applause
The 2008 City Center Encores!' season kicks into gear next month with this 1970 musical adaptation of "All About Eve." Christine Ebersole, fresh from her Tony-winning performance in "Grey Gardens," will star as the ultimate stage diva Margo Channing. The rest of the Encores!' season includes "Juno" starring Victoria Clark and "No, No Nanette" starring Rosie O'Donnell and Sandy Duncan.
Opens February 7 at City Center.
Macbeth
Following Ian McKellan's stirring (and naked) turn as King Lear in the fall, BAM will now present Patrick Stewart playing the Bard's doomed Scotsman. Other highlights at BAM include Fiona Shaw in "Happy Days," Elaine Stritch in "Endgame," and Athol Fugard's "Sizwe Banzi is Dead."
Opens Febuary 12 at BAM Harvey Theatre.
Sunday in the Park with George
Based on the complicated emotions of late nineteenth-century painter George Seraut, this is quite possibly Sondheim's most difficult work. It is definitely his most inspiring. Following the "Sweeney Todd" film, we hope audiences are ready to embrace this acclaimed West End revival.
Opens February 21 at Studio 54.
Dead Man's Cell Phone
The burgeoning career of critical darling Sarah Ruhl moves forward with her latest fantastical comedy. Starring Mary-Louise Parker, an empathetic museum worker unknowingly begins an odyssey when she answers a dead man's cell phone, forcing her into his world of grieving friends.
Opens March 4 at Playwrights Horizons.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Only four years since the last "Cat" revival, the Tennessee Williams classic returns with an all-black cast including James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad and Anika Noni Rose. Debbi Allen, who is Rashad's sister, will direct.
Opens March 6 at the Broadhurst Theatre.
In the Heights
In all honesty, we weren't too thrilled with this hip-hop musical about a Washington Heights community when it premiered last year Off-Broadway. But it has since developed a nice fan-base and will supposedly undergo extensive rewrites. We look forward to seeing the new results.
Opens March 9 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
The Seagull
Classic Stage's strong season continues with Chekhov's first tragicomic masterpiece, starring Alan Cumming and Diane Wiest. The play dissects affairs of the heart and the demands of life in the arts.
Opens March 13 at East Thirteenth Street Theatre.
Gypsy
Following her acclaimed turn as Mama Rose at City Center last summer, Patti Lupone now gets her shot at playing the female Hamlet of American musicals on Broadway. Joining her are Laura Benanti as her daughter Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee and Boyd Gaines as Herbie.
Opens March 27 at the St. James Theatre.
South Pacific
Believe it or not, Rodgers & Hammerstein's World War II classic has never before received a Broadway revival. With a 30-person orchestra and 40-person cast, we expect dazzling results from Lincoln Center. And what a glorious score!
Opens April 3 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
A Catered Affair
Will a Bronx family spend their money on the family business or their daughter's lavish wedding? This sentimental musical about a 1950s wedding marks Harvey Fierstein's long-awaited return to Broadway and acclaimed composer John Bucchino's Broadway premiere.
Opens April 17 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Cry-Baby
In the wake of "Hairspray," another John Waters film about mid-twentieth century Baltimore will be transferred to the stage. Word on the street is that this is the odds-on favorite as of now to win the Best Musical Tony and become the spring's hit musical. Whereas "Hairspray" celebrates 60s liberalism, "Cry Baby" looks at the conflict between 50s conservatism and rock-n-roll.
Opens April 24 at the Marquis Theatre.
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