Tag: Vivian Beaumont Theater

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Broadway's Best

Broadway’s Best Guide to Spring 2024

It is an absolutely packed spring ahead on Broadway, with 18 new plays and musicals set to open in March and April ahead of the cutoff date for this year’s Tony Awards! 

Here is Broadway’s best guide to all the first previews, opening nights, and closing nights in the near term:

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Water for Elephants

Where: Imperial Theatre

Opening: March 21

This circus-centric musical, based on the best-selling novel, combines emotional highs and lows of musical theater with the literal highs and lows of trapeze and aerial stunts. Starring Grant Gustin and Isabella McCalla, with direction by Jessica Stone and music by PigPen Theatre Co. For more information, click here.

The Who’s Tommy

Where: Nederlander Theatre

Opening: March 28

The rock opera that changed music history. The Who’s Tommy arrives on Broadway, pushing the boundaries of musical theater to the tunes of ‘Pinball Wizard,’ ‘Amazing Journey,’ and more iconic classic rock. For more information, click here.

The Outsiders

Where: Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

Opening: April 11

The all-American tale comes to the stage. Set in 1967 Tulsa, this thrilling musical portrays the battle between the Greasers and the affluent Socs. A story of friendship, family, and self-discovery, with a Roots Rock-infused score by Jamestown Revival. For more information, click here.

Lempicka

Where: Longacre Theatre

Opening: April 14

A sweeping musical portrait of Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka, who changed art and culture forever. Directed by Tony winner Rachel Chavkin and starring Eden Espinosa as the title artist. For more information, click here.

The Wiz

Where: Marquis Theatre

Opening: April 17

A reimagined version of the beloved musical, following Dorothy’s journey through Oz. Soulful music, vibrant characters, and a fresh twist on a classic tale starring Wayne Brady and Nichelle Lewis. For more information, click here.

Suffs

Where: Music Box Theatre

Opening: April 18

A captivating exploration of the women’s suffrage movement, set against a backdrop of courage and determination. Written by and starring Shaina Taub, this historical retelling is transferring to Broadway following its sold-out run at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater (sounds familiar…). For more information, click here.

Stereophonic

Where: John Golden Theatre

Opening: April 19

Closing: July 7

Blending song and story in a totally new way, Stereophonic by David Adjmi chronicles the making of our central band’s new album. Very Fleetwood Mac/Daisy Jones & The Six-coded, the play is every music lover’s dream. A limited engagement, so catch it while you can! For more information, click here.

Hell’s Kitchen

Where: Shubert Theatre

Opening: April 20

A gritty, intense semi-autobiographical musical set in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, written by one of our biggest pop stars. Exploring loyalty, betrayal, and survival, Alicia Keys combines her hits with new music to tell her own story, in her own words. For more information, click here.

Cabaret

Where: August Wilson Theatre

Opening: April 21

The iconic Kander & Ebb musical set in pre-World War II Berlin, featuring memorable songs and captivating characters, is back on Broadway ten years after its latest revival. Starring Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee reviving the role following its run across the pond, Gayle Rakin joins as Sally Bowles for the Broadway transfer. For more information, click here.

The Heart of Rock and Roll

Where: James Earl Jones Theatre

Opening: April 22

A high-energy celebration of rock music, love, and chasing dreams, this brand new musical features the music of Huey Lewis and the News. For more information, click here.

Patriots

Where: Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Opening: April 22

Closing: June 23

Set in post-Soviet Russia, this history play portrays the power struggle between billionaire Boris Berezovsky and the rising politician Vladimir Putin. Tony and Emmy Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg stars as Berezovsky, with direction by Rupert Goold. For more information, click here.

Mary Jane

Where: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Opening: April 23

Closing: June 2

Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams leads this compassionate story of a single mother facing impossible family circumstances. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog, it explores inner strength, friendship, and unflagging optimism. For more information, click here.

Uncle Vanya

Where: Vivian Beaumont Theater

Opening: April 24

Closing: June 16

Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece comes back to life in this new adaptation from Heidi Schreck, starring Steve Carrell alongside a who’s who of top-notch Broadway talent. It delves into unrequited love, aging, and disappointment. For more information, click here.

The Great Gatsby

Where: Broadway Theatre

Opening: April 25

Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, this new musical features music and lyrics by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, and stars Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada. Follow the impassioned tale of eccentric millionaire Jay Gatsby and his tragic pursuit of Daisy Buchanan. For more information, click here.

Mother Play

Where: Hayes Theater

Opening: April 25

Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel brings her latest to Broadway in a new production for the non-profit Second Stage. The memory play stars Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons, and Celia Keenan-Bolger for this limited run. For more information, click here.

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Creative

Celebrating Latinx Artists on Broadway

(R-L) Brent Carver, Chita Rivera and Anthony Crivello in a scene from the Broadway production of the musical "Kiss Of The Spiderwoman".

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs September 15 to October 15, we’re taking a look at the history of Hispanic and Latinx theater artists on Broadway, both onstage and off, including some lesser-known projects beyond beloved hits like In The Heights and On Your Feet!

Kiss of the Spider Woman 

Manuel Puig, a queer Argentinian writer and dissident, grew up obsessed with the glamor of Hollywood leading ladies. He turned these experiences into his 1976 novel El beso de la mujer araña, or The Kiss of the Spider Woman. Terrence McNally collaborated with Kander and Ebb to turn it into a dark, sensual musical set in an Argentine prison, with Latina trailblazer Chita Rivera as the fantastical Spiderwoman. It won 6 Tonys in 1994, and rumors continue to circulate about a possible revival. 

A Chorus Line 

You’re probably familiar with this 1975 mega-hit musical. You might not know how the show, with a cast reflecting the diversity of New York City, has important connections to the Latino community. Puerto Rican New Yorker Nicholas Dante co-wrote the book with James Kirkwood Jr., making him both the first Latino to write a Broadway musical and the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Fellow Nuyorican Priscilla Lopez was Tony-nominated for her role as Diana Morales. While there were many Latino dancers and performers in New York at the time, there were very few roles specifically written for them outside of West Side Story (and, a widespread practice of casting non-Latinos in that show, including in the 1961 movie.) Morales’ identity was prevalent in the storytelling (“hey, they don’t have bobsleds in San Juan”), but it was not her only character trait, and she wasn’t the sole Latinx person onstage. Equally groundbreaking was the character of Paul, a queer Puerto Rican who worked on Broadway and as a drag queen, closely based on Nicholas Dante’s own life. 

The Film adaptation of Short Eyes.

Short Eyes

Premiering at the Vivian Beaumont in 1974, Short Eyes was the first Broadway play by a Latino playwright. An indictment of the racial injustices in New York’s prison system, it was written by Miguel Piñero during his sentence at Sing Sing. Joseph Papp shepherded the production first to the Public Theater and then to Broadway, where it was nominated for the Tony for Best Play. 

Latin History for Morons

Colombian-American comedian and actor John Leguizamo turned his own frustrations and lack of knowledge of his own history into a one-man Broadway show, which premiered at the Public Theater downtown in 2017 before moving to Broadway. Sparked by his son getting bullied for being Latino, Leguizamo parses through forgotten history and unkind stereotypes to find role models and heroes. The show was also filmed as a Netflix special, and Leguisamo received a Special Tony Award.

Anna in the Tropics 

Cuban-American Nilo Cruz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece premiered on Broadway in 2003. The original production starred Jimmy Smits, Priscilla Lopez, and Daphne Ruben-Vega as workers in a cigar factory in Tampa. Smits’ character Juan Julian reads Anna Karenina to the workers as they roll cigars, and the drama of the novel bleeds into their own lives. It was also nominated for Best Play at the Tonys. 

Zoot Suit 

Starring Edward James Olmos, Zoot Suit was the first Latino-written and -directed musical on Broadway. The title refers to the wide-lapelled suits popular among young Chicanos in the 1940s. It had a wildly successful run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1979, where it told the true story of the World War II era L.A. Chicano community, including the famous ‘Zoot Suit’ riots of 1943. While its Broadway run in 1980 was short-lived, Olmos was nominated for his first Tony award for it. 

Categories
Broadway's Best

Broadway’s Best Comedy Shows

Mike Birbiglia in "The Old Man and the Pool." Photo by Emilio Madrid.

Blurring the lines between theater and standup, these virtuosic performances brought comedians to the Main Stem. Here are some of our favorite comedic offerings in recent Broadway memory.

Alex Edelman’s Just For Us

After multiple sold out Off-Broadway runs, Alex Edelman’s one-man-show, Just For Us, opened at the Hudson Theatre on June 26, 2023. Edelman recounts the true story of the time he, a Jewish man, attended a neo-Nazi meetup in Queens, NY because it called for people who are “curious about their whiteness.” This experience leads to a thoughtful and hilarious rumination on his Boston upbringing, his career in comedy, and the idea of being a “good person.” The show is scheduled to run through August 19, 2023.

Photo by Emilio Madrid

Mike Birbiglia: The New One and The Old Man & The Pool

Often credited as the pioneer of the part-standup, part-monologue form, Mike Birbiglia has brought two of his specials to Broadway stages. The New One, about his experiences as a new father, played the Cort Theatre (since renamed the James Earl Jones) in 2018 and was eventually released as a Netflix special following the run. Years later, his pondrance on aging and mortality entitled The Old Man & The Pool, ran at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. That show is set to play the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe followed by the West End’s Wyndham Theatre in the fall.

Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me

Comedy icon Martin Short, who stars in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, starred in his own Broadway musical in the 2006-2007 Broadway season. With music and lyrics by composing duo Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (Some Like it Hot, Hairspray!), the semi-autobiographical work, in which Short played an exaggerated celebrity-obsessed version of himself, also featured Brooks Ashmanskas in the cast, earning him his first Tony nomination.

Oh, Hello on Broadway

Nick Kroll and John Mulaney brought their elderly alter-egos, Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland, to the Main Stem with the Broadway iteration of their two-hander, The Oh, Hello Show. Mulaney and Kroll had originated the characters on TV’s The Kroll Show. The two friends ramble about their pasts and ambitions, and the show eventually culminates in the serving of a dubious sandwich with “too much tuna” to a special guest (which included the likes of Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Ben Platt, Katy Perry, John Oliver and Alan Alda.) This too was eventually released for your streaming enjoyment on Netflix.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Dame Edna’s The Royal Tour, Back With a Vengeance & All About Me

After making his Broadway debut as Mr. Sowerberry (and the understudy for Fagin) in the original 1963 production of Oliver! Barry Humphries brought his iconic character Dame Edna to the Main Stem in three separate shows. In 1999, The Royal Tour opened at the Booth Theatre, followed by Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance at the Music Box Theatre in 2004. Edna’s third Broadway outing came in spring 2010, when All About Me opened at Henry Miller’s Theatre. The latter musical, a double bill, saw Edna go toe-to-toe with singer Michael Feinstein, and every night was a competition over who got to be the star. It was Barry Humphries’ final appearance on Broadway as Edna before the storied performer passed away in February 2023.

Will Ferrell in You’re Welcome America

Just months after George W. Bush left the White House, Will Ferrell brought his impersonation of the early aughts president to the Broadway stage in You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush. The character, which originally debuted on Saturday Night Live in 2000, took the opportunity to address the country one last time, regaling the audience with stories of his early life and political career. The play ran at the Cort Theatre in early 2009, and was broadcast on HBO the night before the play closed on March 15.