Broadway Spring Preview

Spring is often the busiest time of year for Broadway. This spring sees a bevy of new musicals, Off-Broadway transfers, demonic puppets, and British royalty. Performers gracing New York’s stages include legends (Chita Rivera), newcomers (Vanessa Hudgens), and mainstays in classic roles (Kelli O’Hara).

March also ushers in Tony Awards season. Every show wants to open right before the season ends so they can be fresh in the minds of Tony voters. A nomination for one of the top categories can spell a big boost in box office, and provides a new advertising angle. So, hold on to your seats (and money) because we are about to get flooded with more theatre than most people have time to see.

MUSICALS 

The King and I
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Previews: March 12, 2015
Opening: April 16, 2015
Music: Richard Rodgers, Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein
Director: Bartlett Sher
Starring: Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe
Why You Should Get Excited: Kelli O’Hara singing Rodgers and Hammerstein? Do you really need more of a reason to go? OK fine. She reunites with “South Pacific” director Bartlett Sher. And they get Lincoln Center’s massive budget, with a cast of 50. Get your tickets.

An American in Paris
Palace Theatre
Previews: March 13, 2015
Opening: April 12, 2015
Music and Lyrics: George and Ira Gershwin, Book: Craig Lucas
Director: Christopher Wheeldon
Starring: Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope, with Veanne Cox, Jill Paice, and Max Von Essen
Why You Should Get Excited: Head Choreographer of New York City Ballet, Christopher Wheeldon, was brought on board to give this classic love story life. If you are a fan of dance, this promises to be a special treat. Also: Max Von Essen. Google him.

Finding Neverland
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Previews: March 15, 2015
Opening: April 15, 2015
Music & Lyrics: Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, Book: James Graham
Director: Diane Paulus
Starring: Matthew Morrison and Laura Michelle Kelly, with Kelsey Grammer and Carolee Carmello
Why You Should Get Excited: Dianne Paulus is on a role lately, with her past three Broadway outings taking home the Best Musical Revival Tony. This is her first time on Broadway with an original musical, and the Peter Pan story offers the opportunity for thrilling stagecraft.

It Shoulda Been You 
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Previews: March 17, 2015
Opening: April 14, 2015
Music: Barbra Anselmi, Book & Lyrics: Brian Hargrove
Directed by: David Hyde Pierce
Starring: Lisa Howard, Sierra Boggess, David Burtka, Tyne Daly, Edward Hibbert, and Harriet Harris
Why You Should Get Excited: The plot of a wedding gone awry may not be totally original, but if anyone knows how to milk anything for laughs, it’s “Frasier” alum and first time Broadway director David Hyde Pierce. Lead by two great dames of Broadway (Daly, Harris), former Little Mermaid (Boggess) and Mr. Neil Patrick Harris (Burtka), how can it not be a fun time?

Gigi 
Neil Simon Theatre
Previews: March 19, 2015
Opening: April 8, 2015
Music: Frederick Loewe, Book & Lyrics: Jay Alan Lerner
Director: Eric Schaeffer
Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, with Victoria Clark, Corey Cott, and Dee Hoty
Why You Should Get Excited: Extensive changes have been made to the book to update the story and character for contemporary audiences. Vanessa Hudgens recently gave a very solid performance on Good Morning America. Gigi’s original Broadway bow was short-lived, but producers hope the updates to the script and their charming star give the show along life.

Doctor Zhivago
Broadway Theatre
Previews: March 27, 2015
Opening: April 21, 2015
Music: Lucy Simon, Lyrics: Michael Korie & Amy Powers, Book: Michael Weller
Director: Des McAnuff
Starring: Tam Mutu with Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt, and Paul Nolan
Why You Should Get Excited: This epic love story set in the fall of Czarist Russia has lived as a Nobel Prize winning book, and Oscar-winning movie, and now a Broadway musical. Not much is known about the show, which had its premiere in Australia. But the creative team’s credits include under-appreciated gems: “The Secret Garden”, “Grey Gardens”, and “Ragtime”. That’s good enough for me.

Fun Home
Circle in the Square
Previews: March 27, 2015
Opening: April 19, 2015
Music: Jeanine Tesori Book & Lyrics: Lisa Kron
Director: Sam Gold
Starring: Michael Cerveris and Sydney Lucas, with Judy Kuhn, Emily Skeggs and Beth Malone
Why You Should Get Excited: Adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, Fun Home charts a young girl’s journey through adolescence and coming out. The Off-Broadway run at the Public Theater wowed audiences for its poignancy and humanity.

Something Rotten! 
St. James Theatre
Previews: March 23
Opening: April 22
Music and Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, Book: Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
Director: Casey Nicholaw
Starring: Christian Borle and Brian D’Arcy James with Heidi Blickenstaff and Brooks Ashmankas
Why You should Get Excited: The story centers on a man writing “the first musical ever”…in order to compete with Shakespeare. This intentionally inaccurate tale has recruited some of the best musical comedy performers in the business.

The Visit
Lyceum Theatre
Previews: March 26, 2015
Opening: April 23, 2015
Music and Lyrics: John Kander and Fred Ebb, Book: Terrence McNallly
Director: John Doyle
Starring: Chita Rivera and Roger Rees with Jason Danieley
Why You Should Get Excited: Chita! This will reportedly be the legendary triple threat’s final Broadway show, and it’s a role she has been passionate about for a while. And should, heaven forbid Ms. Rivera fall ill, another legend is waiting in the wings as her standby: A Chorus Line Tony winner Donna Mckechnie. It is also the final collaboration between John Kander and the late Fred Ebb; the duo who gave us classics like Chicago and Cabaret.

PLAYS

Hand to God
Booth Theatre
Previews: March 12, 2015
Opening: April 7, 2015
Written by: Robert Askins
Directed by: Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Starring: Steven Boyer, with Geneva Carr, Marc Kudisch, and Sarah Stiles
Why You Should Get Excited: An irreverent new comedy that played Off-Broadway last season. Who doesn’t want to watch a show about a foul-mouthed hand puppet who may or may not be possessed by the devil. They are also offering great inexpensive seats in advance.

Wolf Hall (Parts 1 and 2)
Winter Garden Theatre
Previews: March 20, 2015
Opening: April 9, 2015
Adapted by: Mike Poulton
Directed by: Jeremy Herrin
Starring: Ben Miles, Lydia Leonard, and Nathaniel Parker
Why You Should Get Excited: Hilary Mantel’s best-selling history novels about Henry VIII are getting a lavish Broadway treatment from the Royal Shakespeare Company. The two shows (played in repertory) were huge hits in London, and will be very competitive for that Best Play Tony.

Living On Love 
Longacre Theatre 
Previews: April 1, 2015 
Opening: April 20, 2015 
Written by: Joe DiPietro 
Director: Kathleen Marshall 
Starring: Renee Fleming with Anna Chlumsky, Douglas Sills, and Jerry O’Connell
Why You Should Get Excited: Celebrated opera diva Renee Fleming makes her Broadway debut. The new comedy features warring spouses, hiring pretty young things to make each other jealous. Fleming is also playing an opera diva in the show…so she should feel right at home.

Airline Highway
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Previews: April 1, 2015
Opening: April 23, 2015
Written by: Lisa D’Amour
Director: Joe Mantello
Starring: Julia White, K. Todd Freeman, Caroline Neff, and Tim Edward Rhoze
Why You Should Get Excited: Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago consistently produces some of the best plays in the modern cannon (“August: Osage County” anyone?). Playwright Lisa D’Amour has often been cited for her riveting site-specific work, but she switches over to a proscenium for this tale about a colorful cast of characters in New Orleans.

The Heidi Chronicles
Music Box Theatre
Previews: February 23, 2015
Opening: March 19, 2015
Written by: Wendy Wasserstein
Director: Pam McKinnon
Starring: Elizabeth Moss with Bryce Pinkham, Jason Biggs, and Tracee Chimo
Why You Should Get Excited: Told in a series of vignettes, Wendy Wasserstein’s most celebrated play returns to Broadway with a more than capable star with Elizabeth Moss. The Pulitzer Prize winner details the morphing role of women and the rise of feminism by charting the life of Heidi over several years.

Skylight
Golden Theatre
Previews: March 13, 2015
Opening: April 2, 2015
Written by: David Hare
Director: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, with Matthew Beard
Why You Should Get Excited: This company of actors made a splash in the West End and it appears poised to be one of the most talked about revivals of the season. Playwright David Hare (now best known for scripting “The Hours”) always provides meaty roles for his actors to sink their teeth into.