Broadway Spring 2019 Preview - The Plays

Check out our guide to the seven plays and revivals on the Great White Way this spring...

Following on from last week's Broadway Spring 2019 Preview - The Musicals, it's now time to take a closer look at the seven plays offiicially opening on Broadway this spring. The first half of the 2018-2019 season has brought us some real theatrical gems, when it came to plays and revivals, and will really take some beating. Kicking off with a glorious, all-star production of The Boys in the Band, the bar for the season was raised and frequently met by the likes of The Lifespan of a Fact, The Waverly Gallery, Choir Boy, and three smash hit productions that continue their respetive runs on the Great White Way - The Ferryman (at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre), Network (at the Belasco Theatre), and To Kill a Mockingbird (at the Shubert Theatre) - to name just a few. Yes, these seven new productions have quite a tall task in front of them, in terms of their Tony nomination aspirations, but with this diverse, at times genre-defying, stellar line-up of plays will certainly give them a run for their money...

What the Constitution Means to Me

Hurtling towards it official opening at the Hayes Theater on March 31, the Broadway transfer of Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me, directed by Oliver Butler, could well be the most enlightening and thought-provoking 90 minutes you've ever spent in a Broadway theatre. As a young teenager, Schreck didn't have an ordinary job. No, she made money (and put herself through college!) by giving speeches on the U.S. Constitution. Now, in this genre-defying piece, Schreck resurrects her teenage self to offer the ultimate perspective on the Constitution's impact on women throughout the ages and the effect on future generations. Covering varying topics from citizenship to birth control, this deeply personal play packs a theatrical punch to rattle the brain and get us all thinking again about the document that has defined our nation.

What the Constitution Means to Me Tickets are available for performances through to June 9, 2019.

King Lear

If it's good enough for London...  Tony and 2-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson won great acclaim (and earned a fifth Olivier Award nomination) for her triumphant return to the London stage in the fall of 2016 (after working in UK politics for almost 23 years) in a gender-blind Old Vic production of King Lear. Now, fresh from her Tony-winning performance in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, Ms. Jackson returns to Broadway and reprises the titular role of the tragic monarch in an all-new production that officially opens at the Cort Theatre on April 4. Some may argue that this Shakespearean tale of a delusional leader's gradual decent into madness couldn't have arrived in New York City at a more appropriate time, but, after seeing the gender-bending Broadway revival, surely none will argue that Ms. Jackson has solidified her place as one of the all-time stage greats.

King Lear Tickets are available now for performances through to July 7, 2019.

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus

And now time for some more Shakespeare... Well, actually, now time for something completely different! Breathe a deep sigh of relief, everyone, because three-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane is back on the Broadway stage! Ever wondered what happened in the aftermath of Shakespeare's infamously bloody banquet scene at the conclusion of Titus Andronicus? Ever wondered: who's going to have to clean up this gruesome mess? Enter Gary, a humble servant charged with that very same unenviable task. Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus is a world premiere comedy by Taylor Mac, featuring original music by 4-time Oscar nominee Danny Elfman, and is set for an official opening at the Booth Theatre on April 11. With the assurance that no prior knowledge of Shakespeare is required (just a necessary, wicked sense of humor), this one has the pedigree to become the runaway hit of the season!

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Tickets are available for performances through to August 4, 2019.

Burn This

Beginning performances at the Hudson Theatre tonight, ahead of an official opening on April 16, is the first-ever Broadway revival of Lanford Wilson's Burn This. The 1987 play, set in New York City, explores the genesis of a fiery relationship between Anna Mann (played by Golden Globe winner Keri Russell) and Pale (Academy and 3-time Emmy Award nominee Adam Driver), who are brought together by the tragic death of young, gay dancer, Robbie (Anna's roommate and Pale's brother). Driver is set to once again star as Kylo Ren in Episode IX of the "Stars Wars" movie franchize this coming December, with Russell also set to make her "Star Wars" debut, and we're sure that the stars will align for this pair to deliver sizzling onstage chemistry this spring!

Burn This Tickets are available now for performances through to July 7, 2019.

Hillary and Clinton

What happens when Broadway royalty takes on the titans of American politics? You get the world premiere production of Hillary and Clinton, starring Academy Award nominee & two-time Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf as Hillary and two-time Academy Award nominee & two-time Tony Award winner John Lithgow as Bill, that's what happens! Following the success of his 2017 Tony-nominated play A Doll's House, Part 2, playwright Lucas Hnath once again teams up with Ms. Metcalf to offer us a new comedy set during 2008 and Hillary's first bid for the presidency... and if you're merely expecting a historical account of an American dynasty on the Golden Theatre's stage... Think again! Previews begin tomorrow, ahead of an official opening on April 18, 2019.

Hillary and Clinton Tickets are available now for performances from March 16 through to July 21, 2019.

All My Sons

Golden Globe winner and Oscar, Tony & Emmy Award nominee Annette Bening is finally heading back to the New York stage for the first time since 1987! And to sweeten the deal, she'll be joined on stage by the multi-talent that is Tony Award winner Tracy Letts, as the pair take on the roles of Kate and Joe Keller in Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons at the American Airlines Theatre from April 4 (officially opening on April 22). Later plays such as A View from the Bridge, The Crucible, and Death of a Salesman, may well be the more recognizable titles in the Miller canon, but All My Sons is widely credited as the play that launched him as the moral voice of the American Theater. Set in the aftermath of World War II, its not just post-war disenchantment that threatens to tear the Keller family apart, but a long-hidden family secret that reveals itself and results in disastrous consequences. We smell Tony nominations!

All My Sons Tickets are available now for performances from April 4 through to June 23, 2019.

Ink

Stop the press! Rupert Murdoch hits the New York stage this spring, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club, in the U.S. premiere of James Graham's Ink, which begins previews at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on April 2, ahead of an official opening on April 24. This British import made waves in London in 2017, resulting in an Olivier Award nomination for "Best New Play" and an Olivier win for Bertie Carvel for his portrayal of Murdoch. The play is set in 1969, charting the rise of the British tabloid press with Murdoch's purchase of The Sun and his ruthless attempts (alongside editor Larry Lamb) to dominate the industry by creating a newspaper for the UK's Everyman. For the Broadway premiere, MTC has cast "Trainspotting" & "Elementary" star and Olivier Award winner Jonny Lee Miller to take on the role of Larry Lamb and as America endures the genesis of "Fake News," Ink offers an important history lesson about a period of media evolution that can surely teach today's society a thing or two.

Ink Tickets are available now for performances from April 2 through to June 9, 2019.

And that's all, folks, as far as the 2018-2019 Broadway season goes. But there's never a dull moment on the Great White Way, of course, as a few of next season's plays have already been announced, including a revival of Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (starring Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon), a Broadway premiere of Tea at Five (starring Faye Dunaway), and the American premiere of The Height of the Storm (starring Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce). We hope you're excited as we are about the diverse assortment of plays on offer this spring and we hope to see you at the theatre soon!