August 2018 Highlights on Broadway and Beyond

Check out our guide to the biggest theatrical events of the month.

August is traditionally regarded as "the calm before the storm" by many theatre aficionados. It is the month before the new season really kicks off in September and October, but that certainly doesn't mean there isn't enough to keep Broadway fans entertained through the summer! In fact, unlike previous years, there are two Broadway opening nights to look forward to this month and those are always an event in New York City!

To make way for a host of new shows in the fall, a handful of productions are (sadly) coming to a close this month, so may we urge you not to miss out on the following:

August 5 - A Bronx Tale, currently starring Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri (who also wrote the book of the musical) as Sonny, plays its final performance at the Longacre Theatre.

August 11 - The star-studded 50th Anniversary production of The Boys in the Band comes to a close at the Booth Theatre, marking your last chance to see this out-and-proud cast that includes Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Andrew Rannells on stage together.

August 25 - The Tony Award-winning revival of Hello, Dolly!, starring Tony Award winners Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce, celebrates the end of its acclaimed Broadway run at the Shubert Theatre.

Also - if you're a big fan of "Supergirl" and "Glee" star Melissa Benoist, then your final chance to catch her in the title role of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is August 4, as she comes to the end of her Broadway debut engagement at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Likewise, if you haven't taken a trip to the diner (aka Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre) yet to see "American Idol" and "Smash" star Katharine McPhee's portrayal of Jenna in Waitress, then your final chance is August 19.

And finally, Rachel Bay Jones is set to play her final performance in her Tony Award-winning role of Heidi Hansen in the smash hit musical Dear Evan Hansen at Broadway's Music Box Theatre on August 5.

August 13

It's never too late to follow your dreams! Just ask Mitch Papdopolous and his gang of misfits, who are reuniting in what some people may call a midlife crisis in order to triumph at "The Battle of the Bands"! With a cast that includes Mitchell Jarvis, Kelli Barrett, and the 5-time Golden Globe-nominated star of "Taxi," Marilu Henner, and an entirely original score by Mark Allen, Gettin' The Band Back Together might just prove to be the feel-good hit of the summer! The Broadway premiere is set to officially open at the Belasco Theatre on August 13... but will the critics be swayed by this new musical comedy? Stay tuned...

Gettin' the Band Back Together Tickets are available now for performances through to July 14, 2019.

August 16

The next big Opening Night on the Great White Way is the eagerly anticipated Pretty Woman: The Musical, which officially opens at the Nederlander Theatre on August 16. Based on the beloved 1990 movie which starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, this musical adaptation boasts an original score by Grammy Award-winning superstar Bryan Adams, along with his longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance, with three-time Tony Award nominee Andy Karl and "Les Misérables" star Samantha Barks taking on the iconic roles of Edward Lewis and Vivian Ward, respectively. Welcome to Rodeo Drive, folks!

Pretty Woman: The Musical Tickets are available now for performances through to March 10, 2019.

August 31

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe, Tony & Olivier Award winner Janet McTeer returns to Broadway on August 31, as performances begin for Roundabout Theatre Company's world premiere of Bernhardt/Hamlet. McTeer takes on the leading role of Sarah Bernhardt, who famously took on the role of Hamlet in 1899 in a move that could either make or break her internationally renowned stage career. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Theresa Rebeck and directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel, this new comedy promises rollicking laughs and high drama to kick off the fall at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre.

Bernhardt/Hamlet Tickets are available now for performances from August 31 through to November 11, 2018.

And here's a few important dates for your diary to fill you in on what's going down Off-Broadway this month... 

August 2 - Mint Theater Company's next production - a rare revival of Lillian Hellman's Days To Come - begins performances at Theatre Row ahead of an official opening on August 26.

August 5 - The New York premiere of Rinne Groff's Fire in Dreamland plays its final performance at the Public Theater.

August 9 - The much-hyped New York premiere of Be More Chill officially opens at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

August 12 - Three off-Broadway productions come to a close: Afterglow at the Davenport Theatre, The House That Will Not Stand at New York Theatre Workshop, and Atlantic Theater Company's world premiere of This Ain't No Disco at the Linda Gross Theater. 

August 16 - MCC Theater's New York premiere of Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties, a new comedy written by Jen Silverman, begins performances at off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre.

August 19 - Three more productions end their off-Broadway runs: Classic Stage Company's revival of Carmen Jones starring Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose, Second Stage Theater's New York premiere of Tracy Letts' Mary Page Marlowe at the Tony Kiser Theater, and the Public's "Shakespeare in the Park" production of Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater.

August 26 - It's your final chance to catch Tony Award winner Idina Menzel in the Roundabout Theatre Company world premiere of Skintight at the Laura Pels Theatre, as well as the long-running immersive production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Barrow Street Theatre.

So, we hope you'll have a gorgeous time this summer in the city and that you're looking forward to the fall and a new season of dazzling theatre just as much as we are!