Fall Broadway Season Officially Kicks Off; Listings Guide

On the occasion of the 14th annual BROADWAY ON BROADWAY, a free outdoor concert in Times Square that marks the kick-off of the 2005-06 Broadway season, The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. today announced the new fall season, highlighted by big names, up-and-coming talent, classic shows, and new works.

After a strong summer season that saw Broadway tourism return to pre-September 11th levels, and overall attendance and grosses at an all-time high, Broadway expects to continue this momentum throughout the 2005-06 season.

"With nearly all 39 Broadway houses lit this season, there is no question that Broadway is very much at the top of the cultural menu," commented Jed Bernstein, President, The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. "This fall season promises to be an extraordinary one, with a variety of offerings that are sure to please every member of the family."

Among the highlights is the return of the legendary Chita Rivera in the new musical Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life; the return of Andrew Lloyd Weber, with his first new score in several years, Woman in White; the reteaming of "Producers" pair Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the revival of the Neil Simon classic The Odd Couple, and Patti LuPone in a newly conceived production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd opposite Michael Cerveris. Composer-Lyricist Joe Brooks ("You Light Up My Life") has created an original musical for Broadway, In My Life, and the long-awaited The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker's beloved novel, has its Broadway premiere.

New Musicals

Joe Brooks, the Academy Award-winning songwriter of "You Light Up My Life," directs his new musical, In My Life. Set in New York City, In My Life is about the romance between a musician with Tourette's syndrome and a Village Voice journalist. Opens Thursday, October 20 at the Music Box Theatre.

Jersey Boys is a new bio-musical, directed by Des McAnuff, with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, that tells the story of the popular doo-wop singers Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Opens Sunday, November 6 at the Virginia Theatre.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's sweeping new musical of romance and deception, The Woman in White, captures the lush atmospherics of its source, Wilkie Collins's sensational Victorian thriller. The tale begins when a dashing young man, employed as the art tutor to two devoted sisters, is stranded at a remote railway station. Out of the darkness looms a woman, a mysterious figure dressed in white, desperate to share a chilling secret. He and the sisters soon find themselves trapped in a web of betrayal and greed, the victims of a seemingly flawless crime. Together they will need all their resourcefulness and courage to outwit a hugely charismatic and ingenious villain. Starring Michael Ball and Maria Friedman, directed by Trevor Nunn, with lyrics by David Zippell and Charlotte Jones. Opens Thursday, November 17 at the Marquis Theatre.

The Color Purple is a new musical inspired by Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple, an uplifting story about one woman's search for love, inner strength, and herself. Book by Marsha Norman; Music and Lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, and directed and designed by John Doyle. Starring LaChanze, The Color Purple opens December 1 at the Broadway Theatre.

Chita Rivera stars in Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, a new musical celebrating her life and 50-year career on Broadway. The musical will showcase landmark numbers drawn from Rivera's legendary Broadway performances, spanning from West Side Story to Chicago. Choreographed and directed by Graciela Daniele, written by Terrence McNally and new songs by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Opens December 11 at The Schoenfeld

New Plays

Tony Award® winner Richard Greenberg's new comedy A Naked Girl on the Appian Way is his latest since Take Me Out. Jill Clayburgh stars opposite Richard Thomas as a successful cookbook author whose two children return from a year abroad in Europe with unexpected news that transforms her and her distracted genius husband's life. Directed by Tony Award® winner Doug Hughes. Opens October 6, Roundabout Theatre Company at American Airlines Theatre.

Latinologues, a send-up of the Latino experience in America, opens at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre on October 13. The production — created and written by Rick Najera — comes to Broadway after touring the country the past few years; it won the 2004 Imagen Award for Best Live Theatrical Production. The Broadway cast comprises of Najera, Eugenio Derbez, Rene Lavan and Shirley A. Rumierk. Cheech Marin ("Cheech and Chong") directs.

Souvenir, a comic and touching new play with music written by Stephen Temperley, features Tony Award-winner Judy Kaye as Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealth society eccentric of the 1930s and 40s who suffered under the illusion that she was a great coloratura soprano – when in fact the opposite was true. Nevertheless, her annual charity recitals at the Ritz Carlton and performances at other venues brought her cult status, especially as news of her unfortunate singing spread, culminating in her legendary sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. Also features Donald Corren as Jenkins long-suffering accompanist. Directed by Vivian Matalon. Opens November 10 at the Lyceum Theatre.

Revivals

The fall season showcases revivals of works by great American playwrights – Neil Simon, Edward Albee, and Eugene O'Neill – performed by some of the most talented actors from stage and screen.

Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick make their return to Broadway in the revival of Neil Simon's classic The Odd Couple, directed by Joe Mantello. Opens October 27 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd makes its third appearance on Broadway in a new revival that has actors doubling as musicians. Sweeney Todd is the tale of the 19th century London barber who, according to legend, turns to murder when a judge takes his wife and child from him. Directed by John Doyle. Patti LuPone will play Mrs. Lovett opposite Michael Cerveris' Sweeney Todd. Opens November 3 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

This new production of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize winning play Seascape features George Grizzard and Frances Sternhagen as a married couple. Elizabeth Marvel and Frederick Weller play a pair of lizards who appear on the beach with them. Directed by Mark Lamos. Opens November 21 at the Booth Theatre.

Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet returns to Broadway for the fourth time. Gabriel Byrne plays an Irish immigrant who is down-on-his-luck. He faces a conflict between his desire to maintain European gentility and his financial situation when his daughter falls in love with a wealthy American. Directed by Doug Hughes. Opens December 8, Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54.