Boston Summer 2024 Arts Offerings Include Musicals, Plays, Concerts and More!

Boston has long been known as the Athens of America for its great cultural and intellectual influence.

Helping keep that moniker as accurate today as ever are a vibrant theater district presenting pre-Broadway productions and national tours, award-winning regional theaters, and a host of other theater companies focused on everything from Shakespeare to contemporary plays and musicals. Boston audiences have much to look forward to this summer, including:

The Queen of Versailles

Emerson Colonial Theatre, July 16 to August 25

From ATG Entertainment, this pre-Broadway world premiere is generating major buzz, not to mention brisk business at the box office. That’s because it reunites three-time Academy Award-winning and four-time Grammy Award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz with Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda in his blockbuster Broadway production of “Wicked.”

Based on the 2012 documentary of the same name, the show is a look at the life of Jackie Siegel, wife of David “The Timeshare King” Siegel, being played by Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham (“Amadeus). As wife and mother to their eight children, Jackie invites the public inside their biggest project yet – building the largest private home in America in Orlando, Florida, their own Palace of Versailles. With book by Lindsey Ferrentino (“Ugly Lies the Bone”) and direction by Tony Award winner Michael Arden (“Parade,” “Once on This lsland”), “The Queen of Versailles” explores the true cost of fame, fortune, and family.

For tickets and information:

https://www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com/events/the-queen-of-versailles/

 

Gatsby

American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, through August 3

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel “The Great Gatsby” comes to new life as “Gatsby” in this spectacular world-premiere musical – and one of the hottest tickets in town – with a score by international rock star Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine) and Academy and Grammy Award nominee Thomas Bartlett (“Doveman”), and book by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok (“Cost of Living”).

The eye-catching American Repertory Theater production is staged by Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin (“Hadestown,” “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,” “Moby-Dick”) with choreography by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh (“Moulin Rouge!”) and music supervision by Kimberly Grigsby (“Days of Wine and Roses: The Musical”).

For tickets and information:

https://americanrepertorytheater.org/shows-events/gatsby/#book

 

Les Misérables

Citizens Opera House, Boston, August 13–25

Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning phenomenon, “Les Misérables,” is not only one of the world’s most popular musicals, Boston audiences adore it, too, always turning out for its tour visits, as they will again later this summer when Broadway in Boston brings the epic show back to Citizens Opera House.

Local theatergoers have shown that they will drop whatever else they have going on for another chance to be transported to 19th-century France, root for the fugitive Jean Valjean, and hear the classic songs “Do You Hear the People Sing?” “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Bring Him Home,” and more. Already seen by over 130 million people worldwide, the upcoming Boston tour stop is likely to notch that number up considerably.

For tickets and information:

https://boston.broadway.com/shows/les-miserables-2/

 

The Winter’s Tale

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company on Boston Common, July 16 through August 4

For more than 25 years, under the leadership of founding artistic director Steven Maler, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, in partnership with the City of Boston, has been presenting free productions on Boston Common so that anyone and everyone can gather in America’s oldest public park and enjoy Shakespeare on the Common.

This year’s production will be the epic “The Winter’s Tale,” in which King Leontes of Sicilia falsely accuses his wife, Hermione, of infidelity with his best friend, the King of Bohemia. Blind with jealousy and convinced that he is right, Leontes’ torment causes a storm of loss in a story of betrayals, renewed hope, and the transformative power of time.

Under the direction of CSC’s Associate Artistic Director Bryn Boice, the production will star a company of Boston’s most respected actors including Nael Nacer – seen last season on Broadway in the Tony-nominated play “A Prayer for the French Republic” – Marianna Bassham, Omar Robinson, Tony Estrella, Paula Plum, Richard Snee, and Robert Walsh.

For tickets and information:

https://commshakes.org/production/winterstale/

 

46 Plays for America's First Ladies

Hub Theatre Company of Boston, at Club Café, July 20 through August 3

If you were hoping to avoid politics this summer – which promises wall-to-wall cable-news coverage of the presidential race, the debates, and endless campaign commercials – it may be necessary to give in to the old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them.”

Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you have to be a delegate at one of the nominating conventions. Instead, you could grab one of the pay-what-you-can tickets for Hub Theatre’s Boston premiere of “46 Plays for America’s First Ladies,” directed by Ilyse Robbins, and sequel to the hit comedy “44 Plays for 44 Presidents.” Written by Chloe Johnston, Sharon Greene, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Bilal Dardai, and Andy Bayiates, all members of the Chicago-based theater troupe The Neo-Futurists, the comedy moves from Martha to Melania with a herstory-style satire of American politics.

For tickets and information:

https://hubtheatreboston.ticketleap.com/

 

An American in Paris

Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston, Robinson Theatre, Waltham, August 9–18

Inspired by the classic Gene Kelly film, and adapted by Christopher Wheeldon for the Paris and Broadway stages in 2014–15 and a 2016 national tour that began at Boston’s Wang Theatre, this romantic story centers on a young American soldier and a beautiful French girl in the City of Lights.

The George and Ira Gershwin musical, with book by Craig Lucas, follows the journey of these two young artists as they experience the highs and lows of making art and falling in love. The show features breathtaking musical dance sequences – which at Reagle will be in the very capable hands of director and choreographer Rachel Bertone, the company’s award-winning artistic director – and classic songs including “I Got Rhythm,” “’S Wonderful,” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”

For tickets and information:

https://www.reaglemusictheatre.org/shows/12/an-american-in-paris

 

Disney’s Frozen: The Broadway Musical

Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, July 9–28

If you’re looking for an escape from summer heat, the New England regional theatre premiere of Disney’s “Frozen,” the four-time Tony-nominated musical based on the 2013 Oscar-winning animated film, may be just the thing for you. The Broadway musical tells the story of Anna, the princess of Arendelle, who sets off on a journey with the iceman Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and the snowman Olaf to find her estranged sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped their kingdom in eternal winter.

Chosen by Disney as one of the first theaters in the country allowed to create an all-new stage production, NSMT promises an immersive experience that, even with an extended three-week run, may have audiences exclaiming, “Please don’t ‘Let It Go’!”

For tickets and information:

https://www.nsmt.org/frozen.html

 

Wipeout

Gloucester Stage Company, July 5–28

Surf’s up as the National New Play Network’s rolling world premiere of Aurora Real de Asua’s “Wipeout” catches its next wave, to Gloucester Stage Company, in July. Directed by Shana Gozansky, the production features a cast led by two of Boston’s most respected actors, Karen McDonald and Cheryl D. Singleton.

The can-do-no-wrong McDonald plays Gary, who wants only one thing for her 77th birthday: to go surfing. The only fly in her aspirational ointment? She’s never touched the water. But with the assistance of a teenage surf instructor and her two best friends, Gary is poised to overcome the unknown. Set on surfboards against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, “Wipeout” is a comic tale of friendship and the unpredictable tides of life.

For tickets and information:

https://gloucesterstage.com/wipeout/

 

Broadway Today! Broadway's Modern Masters

Tanglewood, Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox/Stockbridge, July 6

Inspired by the belief that 21st-century Broadway synthesizes not only the social complexities of our changing world but also a dizzying array of musical genres, including jazz, folk, rock, and good old-fashioned showtunes, Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart invited actor, singer, and director Jason Danieley to create a new concert show, “Broadway Today! Broadway’s Modern Masters” for the Boston Pops.

Showcasing groundbreaking songs from such Tony-winning musicals as “Hamilton,” “In the Heights,” “The Light in the Piazza,” “Kimberly Akimbo,” “A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder,” “The Band's Visit,” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” the performance will feature performers associated with those Tony Award-winning shows including two-time Tony Award winner Victoria Clark (“Kimberly Akimbo,” “The Light in the Piazza”), Joshua Henry and Mandy Gonzalez (“Hamilton”), Bryce Pinkham and Scarlett Strallan (“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”), and Shereen Ahmed and Darius de Haas.

So whether you prefer a seat under the shed or a blanket on the lawn, you’ll want to be at Tanglewood in the bucolic Berkshires on July 6.

For tickets and information:

https://www.bso.org/events/broadway-today

 

John McDaniel’s Broadway Series

Post Office Café & Cabaret, and Town Hall, Provincetown through August 31

Located on the very tip of Cape Cod, and surrounded by the ocean in every direction but due east, Provincetown is a must-visit destination best known for its beaches, harbor, and thriving artists community. It is also, of course, perhaps the best-known LGBTQ+ summer resort on the East Coast.  

All that and Provincetown also has a vibrant performing arts scene featuring cabaret artists, comics, and drag performers. And this year, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning music director, composer, and producer John McDaniel is upping the ante with an expanded Broadway series – presented by the Post Office Café & Cabaret and Tin Pan Alley – that opened June 23 with headliner Betty Buckley at Town Hall, where Emmy Award-winning singer and actor Darren Criss will also perform on July 21.

At Post Office Café & Cabaret, the series will present two-time Tony nominee Kate Baldwin, June 28 and 29, Sam Gravitte, July 6, and Nicholas Rodriguez, July 26 and 27, in their Provincetown debuts. Returning in the series are Tony Award winner Alice Ripley (“Next to Normal”), July 19 and 20, and Tony nominee Liz Callaway, August 30 and 31. McDaniel – best-known as music director on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” – will accompany all artists.

For tickets and information:

https://postofficecafecabaret.thundertix.com/

 

Photo caption: Kristin Chenoweth will star in the pre-Broadway production of the new Stephen Schwartz musical “The Queen of Versailles,” at the Emerson Colonial Theatre July 16 through August 25. Photo by Matthew Murphy..

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