Something's Coming: A First Look at the Broadway Season Ahead!
By: Nora Dominick Jun. 19, 2016
The 2016 Tony Awards are in the history books, so now it's time to look ahead at the 2016-2017 Broadway season... and fear not- it's a doozy already. With new musicals and plays about to descend on Broadway and amazing revivals of classic plays and musicals ready to entrance a new audience, BroadwayWorld has rounded up everything arriving next season.
Mark your calendar now!
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL
Where: Nederlander Theatre (208 W. 41st St.)
When: Begins July 12th
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. This exhilarating show charts Motown Founder Berry Gordy's incredible journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and many more.
CATS
Where: Neil Simon Theatre (250 W. 52nd St)
When: First preview on July 14th; opening night scheduled for August 2nd
Based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," this wonderfully imaginative show features breathtaking music, including one of the most treasured songs in musical theater - "Memory." Winner of 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, CATS tells the story of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn. Featuring a cast of beautiful dancers and singers and the original Tony-winning sets and costumes, this beloved hit is still Broadway's most unforgettable event. Experience CATS for the first time as it begins a new life for a new generation... or let it thrill you once again!
HOLIDAY INN: THE NEW IRVING BERLIN MUSICAL
Where: Studio 54 (254 West 54th St.)
When: First preview on September 1st; opening night scheduled for October 6th
Jim leaves the bright lights of show business behind to settle down on his farmhouse in Connecticut... but life just isn't the same without a bit of song and dance. Jim's luck takes a spectacular turn when he meets Linda, a spirited schoolteacher with talent to spare. Together they turn the farmhouse into a fabulous inn with dazzling performances to celebrate each holiday, from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July. But when Jim's best friend Ted tries to lure Linda away to be his new dance partner in Hollywood, will Jim be able to salvage his latest chance at love?
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
Where: American Airlines Theatre (229 W. 42nd St)
When: First preview on September 15th; opening night scheduled for October 16th
The Cherry Orchard is Anton Chekhov's masterpiece about a family on the edge of ruin-and a country on the brink of revolution. The story of Lyubov Ranevskaya (Diane Lane) and her family's return to their fabled orchard to forestall its foreclosure, the play captures a people-and a world-in transition, and presents us with a picture of humanity in all its glorious folly. By turns tragic and funny, The Cherry Orchard still stands as one of the great plays of the modern era. First produced in Moscow in 1904, Roundabout's new adaptation promises to breathe fresh life into this towering tale.
HEISENBERG
Where: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 W. 47th St.)
When: First preview on September 20th; opening night scheduled for October 13th
Amidst the bustle of a crowded London train station, Georgie (Mary-Louise Parker) spots Alex (Denis Arndt), a much older man, and plants a kiss on his neck. This electric encounter thrusts these two strangers into a fascinating and life-changing game. Directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw (The Lyons, How I Learned to Drive), Heisenberg brings to blazing, theatrical life the uncertain and often comical sparring match that is human connection.
THE FRONT PAGE
Where: Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44th Street)
When: First preview on September 20th; opening night scheduled for October 20th
The Front Page will star Nathan Lane as Walter Burns, John Slattery as Hildy Johnson, John Goodman as Sheriff Hartman, Jefferson Mays as Bensinger, Rosemary Harris as Mrs. Grant, and Sherie Rene Scott as Mollie Malloy, with additional casting to be announced.
The show is set in the press room of Chicago's Criminal Courts Building which is buzzing with reporters covering the story of an escaped prisoner. When star reporter Hildy Johnson (Slattery) accidentally discovers the runaway convict, he and his editor Walter Burns (Lane) conspire to hide the man from the other reporters, while they chase the biggest scoop of their careers.
THE ENCOUNTER
Where: John Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street)
When: First preview on September 20th; opening night scheduled for September 29th
In 1969, Loren McIntyre, a National Geographic photographer, found himself lost among the people of the remote Javari Valley in Brazil. It was an encounter that was to change his life: bringing the limits of human consciousness into startling focus.
The Encounter was inspired by the novel "Amazon Beaming" by Petru Popescu. The Financial Times called it "An aural and visual delight. A tour de force."
FALSETTOS
Where: Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48 St.)
When: First preview on September 29th; opening night scheduled for October 27th
FALSETTOS, which won two Tony Awards for its score by William Finn and book by William Finn and James Lapine, combines the duo's 1981 musical March of the Falsettos with their 1990 sequel Falsettoland, to tell the story of a gay man named Marvin (to be played by Christian Borle), his lover Whizzer (to be played by Andrew Rannells), Marvin's wife Trina (to be played by Stephanie J. Block), and their extended family from the early '80s through the early days of the AIDS crisis.
LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
Where: Booth Theatre (222 West 45th St.)
When: First preview on October 8th; opening night scheduled for October 30th
In 1782, Choderlos de Laclos' novel of sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France scandalized the world. Two hundred years later, in 1985, Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation became an award-winning sensation in London's West End and on Broadway, followed by the Academy Award-winning film Dangerous Liaisons.
Former lovers, La Marquise de Merteuil and Le Vicomte de Valmont compete in games of seduction and revenge. These merciless aristocrats toy with the hearts and reputations of innocents. Merteuil incites Valmont to corrupt the convent-educated Cecile de Volanges before her wedding night but Valmont has other designs. His target is the peerlessly virtuous and happily married Madame de Tourvel.
NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812
Where: Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th St.)
When: First preview on October 18th; opening night scheduled for November 14th
THE GREAT COMET is a theatrical experience like no other. David Malloy's inspired adaptation of a 70-page slice of War and Peace puts audiences just inches away from Tolstoy's brash young lovers, as they light up Moscow in an epic tale of romance and passion.
A BRONX TALE
Where: Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th St.)
When: First preview on November 3rd; opening night scheduled for December 1st
Based on the one-man show that inspired the now classic film, this streetwise musical will take you to the stoops of the Bronx in the 1960s-where a young man is caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he'd love to be. Featuring an infectious doo-wop score, this is a tale about respect, loyalty, love, and above all else: family.
THE ILLUSIONISTS- TURN OF THE CENTURY
Where: Lunt-Fontanne Theater (205 W 46th St.)
When: November 25th through January 1st
Featuring world class illusionists handpicked from across the globe, Broadway's holiday smash hit, THE ILLUSIONISTS, returns to New York City with a new show designed to transport audiences back to the golden age of magic. THE ILLUSIONISTS- TURN OF THE CENTURY is centered in a time when conjurers were the true rock stars of the day. Showcasing the origins of some of the greatest and most dangerous illusions ever built, the show also unveils never-before-seen experiments drawn from a treasure trove of long-forgotten mysteries.
DEAR EVAN HANSEN
Where: Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th St.)
When: First preview in November; opening night scheduled for December 4th
All his life Evan Hansen has felt invisible. To his peers, to the girl he loves, sometimes even to his own mother. But that was before he wrote the letter- that led to the incident- that started the lie- that ignited a movement- that inspired a community- and changed Evan's status from the ultimate outsider into the somebody everyone wants to know. But how long can Evan keep his secret? And at what price?
THE PRESENT
Where: Barrymore Theatre (243 W 47th St.)
When: First preview on December 17, 2016; opening night scheduled for January 8th
Variously known as Platonov, Wild Honey, Fatherlessness and The Disinherited, Anton Chekhov's untitled first play was not discovered until 1920, some 16 years after the playwright's death.
Andrew Upton's adaptation is set post-Perestroika in the mid-1990s at an old country house where friends gather to celebrate the birthday of the independent but compromised widow Anna Petrovna (Blanchett). At the center is the acerbic and witty Platonov (Roxburgh) with his wife, his former students and friends and their partners. They may appear comfortable, but boiling away inside is a mess of unfinished, unresolved relationships, fuelled by twenty years of denial, regret and thwarted desire.
JITNEY
Where: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 W. 47th St.)
When: First preview on December 28th; opening night scheduled for January 19th
Set in the early 1970s, this richly textured piece follows a group of men trying to eke out a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys. When the city threatens to board up the business and the boss' son returns from prison, tempers flare, potent secrets are revealed and the fragile threads binding these people together may come undone at last. JITNEY has had multiple productions including Off-Broadway at Second Stage and the Union Square Theater, as well as London.
GROUNDHOG DAY
Where: TBA
When: Previews begin on January 23rd; opening night scheduled for March 9th
GROUNDHOG DAY is the story of Phil Connors, an arrogant Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, when sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, finds himself caught in a time loop where he is forced to repeat the same day again and again... and again.
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Where: John Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street)
When: Previews begin on February 14th; opening night scheduled for March 23rd
Two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field and two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello will return to the Broadway stage next season to star in Tennessee Williams's most cherished play, The Glass Menagerie. Tony Award winner Sam Gold will direct the production, which will also star Finn Wittrock and Madison Ferris, who will be making her Broadway debut in the role of Laura Wingfield.
The Glass Menagerie is the play that brought a brilliant young writer named Tennessee Williamsto national attention, and, in his own words, "changed my life irrevocably" when it first premiered on Broadway in 1945. More than seventy years later, Williams's most personal work for the stage continues to captivate and overwhelm audiences around the world.
ARTHUR MILLER'S THE PRICE
Where: American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd St.)
When: First preview on February 16th; opening night scheduled for March 16th
When the Great Depression cost his family their fortune, Victor Franz gave up his dream of an education to support his father. Three decades later, Victor has returned to his childhood home to sell the remainder of his parents' estate. His wife, his estranged brother, and the wily furniture dealer hired to appraise their possessions all arrive with their own agendas, forcing Victor to confront a question, long-stifled, about the value of his sacrifice.
HELLO, DOLLY!
Where: Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th St.)
When: First preview on March 13th; official opening night scheduled for April 20th
Bette Midler will return to Broadway in one of the most cherished shows in musical theater history when she takes on the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in Michael Stewart's (book) and Jerry Herman's (music and lyrics) masterpiece, Hello, Dolly!. Directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, Hello, Dolly!
THE LITTLE FOXES
Where: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 W. 47th St.)
When: First preview on March 29th, opening night scheduled for April 19th
Two extraordinary actresses return to Manhattan Theatre Club in a vibrant new production of Lillian Hellman's THE LITTLE FOXES. In a thrilling coup, MTC will present three-time Tony Award nominee Laura Linney and Tony winner Cynthia Nixon, who will alternate playing the roles of Regina and Birdie in Lillian Hellman's legendary play about greed and ambition. Set in Alabama in 1900, THE LITTLE FOXES follows Regina Giddens and her ruthless clan, including her sister-in-law Birdie, as they clash in often brutal ways in an effort to strike the deal of their lives. Far from a sentimental look at a bygone era, the play has a surprisingly timely resonance with important issues facing our country today. Tony winner Daniel Sullivan will direct.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Where: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street)
When: Previews begin in March 2017
ROALD DAHL's most treasured tale is coming to the land where sweet dreams come true-Broadway-in a delicious new musical! Willy Wonka, world famous inventor of the Everlasting Gobstopper, has just made an astonishing announcement. His marvelous-and mysterious-factory is opening its gates...to a lucky few. It's a world of pure imagination.
MISS SAIGON
Where: TBA
When: Spring 2017
Set in 1975 during the final days of the American occupation of Vietnam, MISS SAIGON is an epic love story about the relationship between an American GI and a young Vietnamese woman. Orphaned by war, 17-year-old Kim is forced to work as a bar girl in a sleazy Saigon nightclub, owned by a notorious wheeler-dealer known as "The Engineer." John, an American GI, buys his friend Chris the services of Kim for the night-a night that will change their lives forever.
THE HONEYMOONERS
Where: TBA
When: TBA
THE HONEYMOONERS features a book by Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss, Music by Stephen Weiner, and Lyrics by Peter Mills. "The Honeymooners" first premiered as a sketch in 1951 on Jackie Gleason's "Calvacade of Stars" and then premiered on CBS in 1955 as a full length sitcom. The show went on to become of the most beloved comedies of the golden era of television.
THE BANDSTAND
Where: TBA
When: TBA
Set in 1945, The Bandstand tells the story of musician Donny Novitski (Corey Cott) who is about to take on the mission of his life: leading his band of fellow veterans into competition for America's next swing band sensation. However, complicated relationships, the demands of the competition and the challenging after-effects of war may break these musicians. The original score is strongly influenced by authentic 1940s swing music, much of which is played onstage by the characters and band members. When Donny meets a beautiful, young singer named Julia (Laura Osnes), he finds the perfect harmony in words and music that could take this band of brothers all the way to the live radio broadcast finale in New York City. But to succeed, it will require every ounce of talent, stamina and raw nerve that these musicians possess.
ANASTASIA
Where: TBA
When: TBA
From the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, the new musical, ANASTASIA, is the romantic and rousing story of a brave young woman attempting to discover the mystery of her past while finding a place for herself in the rapidly changing world of a new century. The new musical is inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures.
PHOTOGRAPH 51
Where: TBA
When: TBA
Directed by FROST/NIXON's Michael Grandage, PHOTOGRAPH 51 opened to rave reviews last fall in London, where Nicole Kidman played Dr. Rosalind Franklin, one of science's more remarkable women.
Dr Franklin left post-war Paris for the altogether grimmer post-war London, to undertake research with Dr Maurice Wilkins of King's College. Despite their less than harmonious nature working relationship, Franklin and Wilkins - along with the assistance of James Watson and Dr Don Caspar - made significant progress in the field of genetics, learning about the structure of DNA and ultimately enabling countless medical discoveries.
GOTTA DANCE
Where: TBA
When: TBA
One remarkable dance team. One big chance. One small twist. You gotta be over 60. From the director/choreographer of Kinky Boots comes the incredible true story of ten determined dreamers who audition to dance at half time for a major basketball team. They have three things in common: they love to dance, they have something to prove, and they are all over 60. It isn't until they make the cut that they find out they won't be dancing tap, salsa or swing-they are going to bring down the house with a style that's entirely new to them: hip hop. Don't miss this original Broadway-bound musical about a group of ordinary seniors with extraordinary dreams as they battle prejudice, self-doubt and each other for a chance to bust a move at center court in front of 20 thousand screaming fans.
COME FROM AWAY
Where: TBA
When: TBA
In a heartbeat, 38 planes and 6,579 passengers were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, doubling the population of one small town on the edge of the world. When the world stopped, their stories moved us all. Set against the backdrop of that infamous day in September 2001, COME FROM AWAY is a new original musical with a propulsive score by Canadians Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and direction by Christopher Ashley.
SINGIN IN THE RAIN
Where: TBA
When: TBA
Based on the Oscar-winning 1952 Gene Kelly-led movie musical of the same name, Singin' in the Rain follows silent film star Don Lockwood, whose career may be in trouble when talkies begin to takeover. Lockwood fears audiences will turn on his obnoxious leading lady Lina Lamont and seeks the help of talented newcomer Kathy Selden to dub her vocals.
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL
Where: TBA
When: TBA
Stakes are higher than ever before as SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom face the
total annihilation of their undersea world. Chaos erupts. Lives hang in the balance. And
just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage.
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