Around the Corner! Off-Broadway's Big 2016 Openings
By: BWW Special Coverage Jan. 03, 2016
We're just three days into the New Year, and we can't wait for all the new shows set to open around the corner from Broadway!
Featuring stars such as Norm Lewis, LaChanze, Mark Rylance, Zachary Quinto, Marjorie Johnson, Christian Camargo, Jake Epstein, Montego Glover, Annette O'Toole, Steven Pasquale, John Krasinski, Phylicia Rashad, F. Murray Abraham, Ben Platt, Christina Bianco and more, off-Broadway is packed with talent this year.
Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a look at some of the upcoming plays and musicals from The Public, Classic Stage, Atlantic Theater, Second Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre, Roundabout, the Encores! series and more, currently slated to open off-Broadway in 2016!*
MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN by Bertolt Brecht
Classic Stage Company
First Preview: December 9, 2015
Opening: Delayed
Starring: Joshua Boone, Curtiss Cook Jr., Kevin Mambo, Jacob Ming-Trent, Geoffrey Owens, Michael Potts, Deandre Sevon, Mirirai Sithole, Zenzi Williams (Note: Tonya Pinkins recently withdrew from the show.)
Synopsis: CSC continues its exploration of Bertolt Brecht with a look at his most famous play, directed by Brian Kulick. The indomitable Mother Courage follows one luckless army after another across a war-torn world in her canteen wagon. She'll do anything to hold onto her money-making wagon, even if it means the loss of her children. Experience a timeless tale of war updated to the modern-day conflagration in the Congo, with a new and vibrant score by Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening, American Psycho).
MAURICE HINES - TAPPIN' THRU LIFE by Maurice Hines
New World Stages
First Preview: December 23, 2015
Opening: January 11, 2016
Starring: Maurice Hines, The Manzari Brothers, The Diva Jazz Orchestra
Synopsis: Directed by Jeff Calhoun, Broadway legend Maurice Hines taps us through his incredible career in show business in this song and dance celebration. Hines pays tribute to his brother, Gregory, and the performers who inspired him -- from Frank Sinatra to Lena Horne -- with standards like "Luck Be a Lady," "Smile," "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," and more! Backed by The Diva Jazz Orchestra, an all-female big band, and sharing the stage with his protégés, The Manzari Brothers, this infectious showman is pulling out all the stops to put a smile on your face and dance away with your heart!
SKELETON CREW by Dominique Morisseau
Atlantic Theater Company
First Preview: January 6, 2016
Opening: January 19, 2016
Starring: Jason Dirden, Wendell B. Franklin, Lynda Gravatt, Nikita Mathis, Adesola Osakalumi
Synopsis: In Dominique Morisseau's third play in her Detroit trilogy, a makeshift family of workers at the last exporting auto plant in the city navigate the possibility of foreclosure. Power dynamics shift, and they are pushed to the limits of survival. When the line between blue collar and white collar gets blurred, how far over the lines are they willing to step? This world premiere production of Steinberg Playwright Award winner Dominique Morisseau's bold new play is directed by Obie Award winning actor, writer and director Ruben Santiago-Hudson (The Piano Lesson, Lackawanna Blues).
PRODIGAL SON by John Patrick Shanley
Manhattan Theatre Club
First Preview: January 19, 2016
Opening: February 9, 2016
Starring: Annika Boras, Timothée Chalamet, Robert Sean Leonard, Chris McGarry, David Potters
Synopsis: Prodigal Son is a passionate, explosive portrait of a young man on the verge of salvation or destruction, written and directed by John Patrick Shanley (of Tony, Academy Award, and Pulitzer Prize fame). A 17-year-old boy (Timothée Chalamet) from The Bronx finds himself suddenly in a private school in New Hampshire. He's violent, gifted, alienated, on fire with a ferocious loneliness. Two faculty members (Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard and Chris McGarry) wrestle with the dilemma: Is the kid a star or a disaster?
SMART PEOPLE by Lydia R. Diamond
Second Stage Theatre
First Preview: January 26, 2016
Opening: February 11, 2016
Starring: Mahershala Ali, Joshua Jackson, Anne Son, Tessa Thompson
Synopsis: The quest for love, achievement and identity is universal, but what role does race play in the story of our lives? On the eve of Obama's first election, four Harvard intellectuals find themselves entangled in a complex web of social and sexual politics in this provocative and funny new play by Lydia R. Diamond (Stick Fly), helmed by Kenny Leon (The Wiz), the Tony Award-winning director of the 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun.
MIKE BIRBIGLIA: THANK GOD FOR JOKES
Lynn Redgrave Theater
First Preview: February 2, 2016
Opening: February 11, 2016
Starring: Mike Birbiglia
Synopsis: Mike Birbiglia declares that a joke should never end with 'I'm joking.' In his all-new comedy, Birbiglia tiptoes hilariously through the minefield that is modern-day joke-telling. Join Mike as he learns that the same jokes that elicit laughter have the power to produce tears, rage, and a whole lot of getting yelled at. Ultimately it's a show that asks, "How far should we go for the laugh?" Directed by Seth Barrish.
OLD HATS by Bill Irwin & David Shiner
Signature Theatre Company
First Preview: January 26, 2016
Opening: February 18, 2016
Starring: Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Shaina Taub
Synopsis: After an extended, sold out run in 2013, Signature welcomes back Bill Irwin and David Shiner in their award-winning, critically acclaimed production of Old Hats. This production reunites the clowns with original director Tina Landau and introduces their new songstress and comic foil Shaina Taub. Using music, technology, and movement, Irwin and Shiner combine their inimitable magic and slapstick to create an unforgettable outing that's fun for the whole family. Directed by Tina Landau.
CABIN IN THE SKY with Music by Vernon Duke, Lyrics by John Latouche & Book by Lynn Root
Encores!
First Preview/Opening: February 10, 2016
Starring: J. Bernard Calloway, Chuck Cooper, Marva Hicks, Carly Hughes, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Forrest McClendon, J.D. Webster
Synopsis: Originally produced in 1940, Cabin in the Sky followed Porgy and Bess in celebrating African-American music and dance traditions. The musical tells the story of "Little Joe" Jackson, a charming ne'er-do-well who dies in a saloon brawl and is given six months on earth to prove his worth to the Lord's General (Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis) and his long-suffering wife Petunia (Tony Award winner LaChanze), while resisting the temptations of the Devil's Head Man (Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper). Vernon Duke's score -- which features the jazz hit "Taking a Chance on Love"-- will be restored to its original glory for Encores! Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
NICE FISH by Louis Jenkins & Mark Rylance
St. Ann's Warehouse
First Preview: February 14, 2016
Opening: February 21, 2016
Starring: Mark Rylance, Louis Jenkins, Jim Lichtscheidl, Bob Davis, Kayli Carter
Synopsis: On a frozen Minnesota lake, the ice is beginning to creak and groan. It's the end of the fishing season, and two men are out on the ice angling for answers to life's larger questions. One of these men is hilariously wrought by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning Mark Rylance, who co-wrote the play -- his first -- with the American poet Louis Jenkins. Rylance and Jenkins have adapted Nice Fish with the same wry, surreal quality of Jenkins' prose poems. This newly produced version of Nice Fish, directed by Claire Van Kampen, comes to St. Ann's directly from Cambridge's A.R.T.
SMOKEFALL by Noah Haidle
MCC Theater
First Preview: February 4, 2016
Opening: February 22, 2016
Starring: Jon DeVries, Julia Garner, Brian Hutchison, Zachary Quinto, Robin Tunney
Synopsis: Magical realism collides with manic vaudeville in a family drama unlike any you've ever seen. The Twins swap philosophy while awaiting their birth, Beauty eats dirt and doesn't speak, Father is about to drive away and never return, and a man named Footnote acts as our guide. Whipping from astonishing tenderness to profound humor and back again, this wholly original play uncovers the extraordinary family connections we all stretch and warp across the years but can never quite break. Directed by Anne Kauffman.
DOT by Colman Domingo
Vineyard Theatre
First Preview: February 4, 2016
Opening: February 23, 2016
Starring: Marjorie Johnson, Sharon Washington, Stephen Conrad Moore, Libya V. Pugh, Colin Hanlon, Michael Rosen, Finnerty Steeves
Synopsis: Family matriarch Dotty and her three adult children gather for the holidays with more than exchanging presents on their minds. As Dotty struggles to navigate life with dementia, her children fight to balance care for their mother and care for themselves. A testament to the enduring bonds of family, this hilarious and moving new play by Colman Domingo (author of Vineyard's A BOY AND HIS SOUL and Tony Award nominee for his role in Vineyard's production of THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS) grapples unforgettably with aging parents, midlife crises, and the heart of an inner city neighborhood. Directed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman, who returns to The Vineyard after her ground-breaking work on THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS.
PERICLES by William Shakespeare
Theatre For A New Audience
First Preview: February 14, 2016
Opening: February 25, 2016
Starring: Oberon K.A. Adjepong, Earl Baker Jr., Christian Camargo, Philip Casnoff, Gia Crovatin, Lilly Englert, Nina Hellman, Zach Infante, Patrice Johnson Chevannes, John Keating, Ian Lassiter, Sam Morales, John Rothman, Will Swenson, Raphael Nash Thompson, PigPen Theatre Co.
Synopsis: Trevor Nunn, four-time Tony and Olivier Award-winner and former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, stages Pericles, one of Shakespeare's late plays, for the first time in his career. Pericles combines a surging adventure story -- a hero wanders Odysseus-like through the world of the Mediterranean -- with a story of a miracle. An original score written by Tony-nominated Irish composer Shaun Davey, helps convey the mystery and magic of this story of redemption, reconciliation, and forgiveness. The acclaimed storyteller-musicians of PigPen Theatre Co. lend their voices and instrumentation to the production, playing Mr. Davey's score and performing various roles throughout.
STRAIGHT by Scott Elmegreen & Drew Fornarola
Theatre Row
First Preview: February 9, 2016
Opening: February 29, 2016
Starring: Jake Epstein, Thomas E. Sullivan
Synopsis: Meet Ben. Ben is a 26-year investment banker. Ben likes beer, sports, and Emily. And Chris. Funny, sad, sexy, and surprising, this three-character drama meditates on fidelity, identity, and the moral complex of a generation that prides itself on the pretense of acceptance. Directed by Andy Sandberg.
Election Year in the Life of One Family, Play One: HUNGRY by Richard Nelson
The Public Theater
First Preview: February 27, 2016
Opening: March 4, 2016
Starring: Meg Gibson, Lynn Hawley, Roberta Maxwell, Maryann Plunkett, Jay O. Sanders, Amy Warren
Synopsis: Tony Award-winning playwright and director Richard Nelson returns to The Public with HUNGRY, the first in a new three-play cycle introducing us to the Gabriels of Rhinebeck, New York. These three plays unfold in real time and track the lives of the Gabriels throughout the coming presidential election year. To the rhythm of peeling, chopping and mixing, HUNGRY places us in the center of the Gabriel's kitchen. The family discusses their lives and disappointments, and the world at large and nearby. As they struggle against the fear of being left behind, the family attempts to find resilience in the face of loss.
THE ROYALE by Marco Ramirez
Lincoln Center Theater
First Preview: February 11, 2016
Opening: March 7, 2016
Starring: McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis, Montego Glover, John Lavelle, Clarke Peters
Synopsis: Charismatic African-American boxer Jay "The Sport" Jackson (Khris Davis), has a burning desire to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Jackson's fight begins long before the match, though; it takes careful negotiations to convince the white reigning titleholder to even recognize him as a worthy opponent and enter the ring. Tony-nominated Montego Glover (Memphis) plays Jackson's sister Nina: the boxer's greatest adversary and strongest motivation. Inspired by the real-life experiences of Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight world champion, the stylized and stunning conception of author Marco Ramirez will be realized by director Rachel Chavkin (LCT3's Preludes).
SOUTHERN COMFORT with Book & Lyrics by Dan Collins and Music by Julianne Wick Davis
The Public Theater
First Preview: February 23, 2016
Opening: March 7, 2016
Starring: Donnie Cianciotto, Lizzie Hagstedt, Jeffrey Kuhn, Elizabeth Ward Land, David M. Lutken, Jeff McCarthy, Morgan Morse, Annette O'Toole, Aneesh Sheth, Robin Skye, Joel Waggoner
Synopsis: Based on Kate Davis' 2001 Sundance Award-winning documentary, SOUTHERN COMFORT tells the true story of a group of transgender friends living life on their own terms in the back hills of rural Georgia. Winner of the prestigious Jonathan Larson Award, this folk and bluegrass inspired musical is a celebration of redefining family and choosing love over every obstacle. Be who you are, wherever you are, in this transformative new musical composed by Julianne Wick Davis, with book and lyrics by Dan Collins, conceived for the stage by Robert Dusold and Thomas Caruso. Caruso directs.
THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM by Alfred Uhry with music by Robert Waldman
Roundabout Theatre Company
First Preview: February 18, 2016
Opening: March 13, 2016
Starring: Steven Pasquale
Synopsis: Based on the short story by beloved writer Eudora Welty, The Robber Bridegroom is the Southern-fried Robin Hood tale of Jamie Lockhart (Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County), a dangerous, handsome, backwoods rogue who's a gentleman by day and bandit by night. When he falls for the beautiful daughter of a wealthy planter, his world and code of ethics are turned upside down. This inventive new production is filled with raucous comic performances and features an irresistibly catchy bluegrass score. Tony-nominated director Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) brings his incomparable imagination to this boisterous romp through eighteenth-century Mississippi by Tony, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winner Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy, The Last Night of Ballyhoo) with music by Robert Waldman (The Rivals, Dinner at Eight).
DRY POWDER by Sarah Burgess
The Public Theater
First Preview: March 1, 2016
Opening: March 22, 2016
Starring: John Krasinski
Synopsis: DRY POWDER is the viciously, deliciously funny new drama about the people shaping, and skewing, the American economy. The same week his private equity firm forced massive layoffs at a national grocery chain, Rick threw himself an extravagant engagement party, setting off a publicity nightmare. Fortunately, Seth (John Krasinski), one of Rick's partners, has a win-win deal to invest in an American-made luggage company for a song and rescue his boss from a PR disaster. But Jenny, Seth's counterpart, has an entirely different plan: to squeeze every last penny out of the company, no matter the consequences. The game is on in Sarah Burgess' gripping, razor-sharp new play about the price of success and the real cost of getting the deal done. Thomas Kail (Hamilton, In the Heights, Lombardi) directs.
HEAD OF PASSES by Tarell Alvin McCraney
The Public Theater
First Preview: March 15, 2016
Opening: March 28, 2016
Starring: Francois Battiste, Kyle Beltran, J. Bernard Calloway, Phylicia Rashad
Synopsis: Tarell Alvin McCraney, MacArthur Genius Award-winning playwright of the acclaimed The Brother/Sister Plays, returns to The Public with an astonishing, deeply moving new drama about family, acceptance and the power of faith. At the mouth of the Mississippi River, Shelah's family and friends have come to celebrate her birthday and save her from a leaking roof. But in this contemporary parable inspired by the Book of Job, unexpected events turn the reunion into the ultimate test of faith and love. As her world seems to collapse around her, Shelah (Phylicia Rashad) must fight to survive the rising flood of life's greatest challenges. Regular Public collaborator Tina Landau (Superior Donut, The Brother/Sister Plays) directs this poetic and piercing new play.
NATHAN THE WISE by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, adapted by Edward Kemp
Classic Stage Company
First Preview: March 18, 2016
Opening to be announced.
Starring: F. Murray Abraham
Synopsis: Jerusalem, 1192. Muslims, Christians and Jews live side by side thanks to a fragile truce that could collapse at any moment. As the tension mounts a question arises from the ruling Sultan: "which religion is the one most beloved by God?" Nathan, a pious Jewish merchant, is charged with answering this question to help secure the continued safety of his people. Next to Shylock, Nathan the Wise is perhaps the greatest Jewish character in all of Western dramatic literature. Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham returns to CSC after his critically-acclaimed portrayal of Galileo, adding Nathan to his illustrious gallery of revelatory portrayals. Directed by Brian Kulick.
DEAR EVAN HANSEN with Music & Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and Book by Steven Levenson
Second Stage Theatre
First Preview: March 25, 2016
Opening: April 24, 2016
Starring: Ben Platt
Synopsis: A letter, a lie, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get everything he's ever wanted: the girl of his dreams, the perfect family he's always longed for and a chance to finally fit in. He just has to hope that his chance to connect isn't blown by the secrets he has to conceal. DEAR EVAN HANSEN is a moving and original musical about more than how we share, like or friend; it's about how we love, feel and survive in the modern world. Directed by three-time Tony nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal and Grey Gardens).
THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES by Roger Bean
Theatre Row
First Preview: March 30, 2016
Opening: April 28, 2016
Starring: Christina Bianco, Kathy Brier
Synopsis: The Marvelous Wonderettes takes a cotton-candied colored musical trip down memory lane to the 1958 Springfield High School prom where we meet "The Wonderettes," four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! We experience their lives and loves from prom night to their 10 year reunion as told through more than 20 chart topping hits of the era!
HADESTOWN by Anaïs Mitchell
New York Theatre Workshop
First Preview: May 3, 2016
Opening: May 23, 2016
Cast to be announced.
Synopsis: 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 nourishment enough 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 BAND'S VISIT with Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek and Book by Itamar Moses
Atlantic Theater Company
First Preview: May 19, 2016
Opening: June 16, 2016
Cast to be announced.
Synopsis: An Egyptian Police Band arrives in Israel to play a concert. After a mix up at the border, they are sent to a remote village in the middle of the desert. With no bus until morning and no hotel in sight, these unlikely travelers are taken in by the locals. Under the spell of the desert sky, their lives become intertwined in the most unexpected ways. A new musical based on the critically acclaimed film, which received 36 major international awards. The Band's Visit, a world premiere musical, is directed by 21-time Tony Award winner Harold Prince.
*Please note: This is not a comprehensive list and includes highlights from the 2016 season so far.
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