Cool Off This Summer with NYC Theatre - A Complete Guide of the Hottest Shows of the Season!
By: Nicole Rosky Jun. 18, 2016
Where better to escape the New York City heat than in the comfort of a theatre? Below, we're rounding up some of the hottest shows of the summer- brought to you by The New York City Spectacular!
THE NEW YORK SPECTACULAR
Where: Radio City Music Hall
When: Now through August 7, 2016
About: New York City comes to life on the Radio City Music Hall stage in this summer's New York Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes presented by Chase. What starts out as an ordinary family vacation to New York City, turns into an adventure when young Emily and her brother Jacob are separated from their mom & dad. Watch as NYC's most recognizable sites and statues-from Central Park's Alice in Wonderland to the Wall Street Bull-come alive with the help of the Rockettes to reunite the young family.
Directed and choreographed by Mia Michaels of So You Think You Can Dance, the show features cutting edge dance moves, your favorite songs, a story by award-winning Broadway writer Douglas Carter Beane, and two young, popular stars: Jenna Ortega of the Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle and Lilla Crawford of Broadway's Annie and the film Into the Woods, sharing the role of "Emily."
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Where: Delacorte Theatre, Central Park
When: Now through June 26, 2016
About: This summer, Tony nominated director Phyllida Lloyd turns Shakespeare's zany comedy of the sexes The Taming the Shrew on its head, with an all-female cast and a bold new take.
Lovely Bianca is the prize to be won by all the men looking to land themselves a wealthy wife. But the competitors will first have to marry off Bianca's clever, fiery older sister, Katherina, played by Olivier Nominee Cush Jumbo(Josephine and I, The River), who may just outsmart them all. Tony and Olivier winner Janet McTeer (A Doll's House, Mary Stuart) plays Petruchio, the wild outsider Katherina must outwit, in Shakespeare's original screwball comedy showing the lengths men will go to for their legacy, what women will do to break free and the outrageous things we all do for the human heart.
RUNAWAYS
Where: New York City Center
When: July 6-9, 2016
About: In 1977, Elizabeth Swados spent several months observing and interviewing child runaways before shaping their stories, fears, and fantasies into a musical. A deeply unconventional work in its day, Runaways feels like the funkiest, most heartbreaking mixtape ever to come out of a 1970s boom box, packed with reggae anthems, hip-hop, soul-food lullabies, and spoken-word poetry. Cast largely with students from throughout the five boroughs, the Encores! Off-Center production of Runaways will honor the crowning achievement of a theater visionary who was ferocious, inspiring, and left us far too soon.
More Info: http://www.nycitycenter.org
CATS
Where: Neil Simon Theatre
When: Previews begin July 14, 2016
About: The record-breaking musical spectacular by ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER that has captivated audiences in over 30 countries and 15 languages is back on Broadway! Three-time Grammy nominee Leona Lewis makes her Broadway debut as Grizabella in the one and only CATS.
OFF-CENTER JAMBOREE!
Where: New York City Center
When: July 16, 2016
About: This one-night-only concert will feature Encores! Off-Center alums Sutton Foster and Jonathan Groff-along with special guests-performing Off-Broadway selections from the past, present, and future. Off-Center Artistic Director Jeanine Tesori will be at the piano.
More Info: http://www.nycitycenter.org
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA
Where: Delacorte Theatre, Central Park
When: July 19- August 14, 2016
About: Tony winning director Daniel Sullivan (Proof, Cymbeline) returns to Shakespeare in the Park with one of the Bard's most rarely produced plays, Troilus and Cressida. Both warriors and lovers play hard to get in this surprisingly modern epic about the hot blood, hot thoughts and hot deeds of the ancient Greeks.
In the 7th year of the Trojan War, Troilus, a young prince, pines for the affections of Cressida, a bright young woman who knows how to play it cool. Meanwhile, the heroes of the Iliad - Ajax, Ulysses, Achilles and the kings they serve - debate whether to return the dangerously beautiful captive Helen or continue to fight without end. Nations and lovers alike do battle in this funny, piercing drama about romance and revenge in a world at war.
More Info: http://publictheater.org
Where: Nederlander Theatre
When: Previews begin July 12
About: Featuring all the classics you love, Motown The Musical tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat.
GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER
Where: New York City Center
When: July 27-30, 2016
About: The songs of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, from "Suddenly, Seymour" to "Under the Sea," have become part of the American subconscious-but few have heard their first musical, Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The 1979 show tells the story of Eliot Rosewater (Santino Fontana), a drunken millionaire who decides to blow his fortune on a town full of pitiable creatures: the illiterate, the depressed, and the eternally pregnant. But there are forces who want to put the kibosh on his philanthropy-like Norman Mushari (Skylar Astin), a lawyer plotting to have Eliot declared insane. With an irresistible crazy-quilt score that volleys between pop, ragtime, Gilbert & Sullivan, and proto-Disney ballads, Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater deserves to be part of our world again. The Encores! Off-Center production will feature orchestrations by Danny Troob, which will be heard for the first time.
More Info: http://www.nycitycenter.org
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN
Where: York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's
When: Now through June 26, 2016
About: Come spend a couple of days in the lives of Charlie Brown and his pint-sized philosopher friends-from bright, uncertain morning to starlit, hopeful evening-and all of the lonely brown-bag lunches, kite-flying failures, book reports, glee club rehearsals, and suppertimes in between. Audiences of all ages will learn that "Happiness is" the simple joys of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
More Info: http://www.yorktheatre.org/
HIMSELF AND NORA
Where: Minetta Lane Theatre
When: Now playing
About: It was one of the world's great romances. She was the country girl from Galway whose burning sexuality and acerbic wit inspired the genius of James Joyce. Himself and Nora is a passionate musical that reveals the private life of one of modern literature's most controversial figures and illustrates the untold story of Joyce's lifelong love and muse Nora.
ENGAGEMENTS
Where: McGinn/Cazale Theatre
When: Begins July 18, 2016
About: It's summer in New England and every weekend is someone else's engagement party. The wildflowers, specialty cocktails, and artisanal appetizers are totally Instagram-worthy, but the people are not quite so perfect. One night, Lauren takes it into her own hands to make sure that her best friend doesn't marry an inadequate suitor -- a drunken mistake that incites a cascade of calamities, threatening to expose all of Lauren's secrets. Engagements is a dark comedy about ugly feelings in an age of beautiful self-images.
HADESTOWN
Where: New York Theatre Workshop
When: Now through July 31, 2016
About: With Hadestown, celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and inventive two-time Obie award-winning director Rachel Chavkin (Three Pianos; Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) transform Mitchell's "phenomenal concept album" (Rolling Stone) into a bold new work for the stage. This folk opera follows Orpheus' mythical quest to overcome Hades and regain the favor of his one true love, Eurydice. Together we travel from wide open plains where love and music are not enough nourishment to survive the winter, down to Hadestown, an industrialized world of mindless labor and full stomachs. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell's beguiling melodies and poetic imagination pit nature against industry, faith against doubt, and love against death.
THE LAYOVER
Where: Tony Kiser Theatre
When: Begins August 2016
About: Ever wonder who that stranger is sitting next to you? What is their story? What are they hiding? Shellie and Dex dare to answer these questions after their flight is delayed on a snowy Thanksgiving night. What they discover about themselves, and each other, sends both of their lives into upheaval. From the darkly funny writer of Bachelorette, The Layoverasks the question: Can you ever really get to know somebody when you're hiding so much yourself?
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY
Where: Lucille Lortel Theatre
When: Now through July 3, 2016
About: A foul-mouthed twenty-something comedian and a middle-aged man embroiled in a nasty divorce are brought together unexpectedly when their cancer-stricken mothers become roommates in the hospital. Together, this unlikely duo must negotiate some of life's biggest challenges... while making some of the world's most inappropriate jokes. Can these two very lost people learn to laugh through their pain and lean on each other when all they really want to do is run away?
BROADWAY IN BRYANT PARK
Where: Bryant Park
When: Thursdays, July 7-August 11, 2016
About: Broadway in Bryant Park invites New Yorkers to soak up the summer and watch hit musical numbers from current and past Tony Award-winning musicals. The Bryant Park stage is located at 6th Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets. Lawn seating is first-come, first-serve.
More Info: http://www.bryantpark.org
BARBRA STREISAND'S ENCORES TOUR
Where: Barclays Center
When: August 11 & 13, 2016
About: Barbra Streisand, who last year became the only recording artist or group to achieve #1 albums in each of six decades, will bring her legendary live performances to 9 cities in August, it was announced by her longtime manager Marty Erlichman. Streisand will perform her hits from each decade plus songs from her new album, "ENCORE: Movie Partners Sing Broadway," celebrating a career of unparalleled creative achievement. Every ticket purchased online includes a CD of Streisand's new album, which will be released later this year. The tour is presented by Live Nation Global Touring and S2BN Entertainment.
More Info: http://www.barbrastreisand.com
Videos