Reasons To Get Excited; Broadway's November Openings

With just a smattering of new Broadway offerings coming in during the warmer months, the season had a big surge in late September and October with the openings of SPRING AWAKENING, OLD TIMES, FOOL FOR LOVE, THE GIN GAME and DAMES AT SEA, with SYLVIA and THERESE RAQUIN set to unveil this week.

Six new productions open on Broadway in November and they all feature good reasons to get excited.

Which of these November openings are you most excited about?

KING CHARLES III (November 1st): It's always interesting when Britain's top dramatists give us Americans a royal history lesson, but Mike Bartlett's Olivier-winning Best New Play has the added twist of taking place in the future. What happens when it's time for England's Prince Charles to assume his place as King Charles III? Well, for one thing, the name of the country's nation anthem changes.

ON YOUR FEET! (November 5th): More and more, 2015-16 is shaping into a season of diversity for Broadway; with voices from underrepresented communities attracting new audiences to live theatre. The music of Cuban-Americans Gloria and Emilio Estefan, popular world-wide for its crackling rhythms, is sure to bring in crowds ready to have a great time. Broadway favorites Andréa Burns and Alma Cuervo are featured in a cast headed by Josh Segarra (DOGFIGHT, LYSISTRATA JONES) and fresh face Ana Villafañe. With Jerry Mitchell directing and Sergio Trujillo choreographing, you know the dancing is going to be hot.

ALLEGIANCE (November 8th): Another show boasting Broadway's diverse pool of talent, ALLEGIANCE is an original musical drama about an uglier side of our history, the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. It'll be great to see Lea Salonga and Telly Leung back on Broadway, but most of the buzz on this one surrounds the 78-year-old star making his Broadway debut, George Takei. Beloved throughout the country for his portrayal of Sulu in the original Star Trek series, Takei has used his fame to become a social activist for the LGBT community.

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (November 12th): Arthur Miller's drama of Italian blue-collar Brooklynites was last seen on Broadway five years ago, but those who have seen Belgian director Ivo van Hove's productions of classics like A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and THE MISANTHROPE down at New York Theatre Workshop know that he's always finding new angles. This is the guy who had Eve Best's Hedda Gabler doused with V8 juice, so anything can happen.

MISERY (November 15th): Kathy Bates won an Academy Award for her unnerving performance as novelist Paul Sheldon's number one fan, but Laurie Metcalf is one of the finest stage actors around and she's sure to contribute a memorable performance as well. And with Bruce Willis making his Broadway debut, there's sure to be a lot of starry faces in the audience watching the chilling drama on stage.

THE ILLUSIONISTS - LIVE ON BROADWAY (NOVEMBER 19th): Back in town for the holidays, this septet of artists are ready to thrill and confound you with acts of illusion, levitation, deception and mind-reading. The featured act is a full view water torture escape, where escapologist Andrew Basso holds his breath for over 4 minutes while attempting to emerge from an underwater cell.

CHINA DOLL (November 19th): A brand new David Mamet play written especially for Al Pacino and directed by Pam MacKinnon. Now that's exciting.

There's lots more excitement coming to Broadway in December in what's shaping up to be a terrific season.