Broadway Spring 2017 Preview - The Plays: Part 1

Following on from Part 1 and Part 2 of our Spring 2017 preview of upcoming musicals, it's time now to turn our attention to the new plays that will be gracing the Broadway stage in the second half of the 2016-2017 season. Some of the plays will be making the big leap from off-Broadway, whilst others are time-tested revivals of classics that have enticed A-List actors the calibre of a Sally Field or a Kevin Kline to once again tread the boards... Oh, and if a certain comedy can do so much right by going completely wrong in London's West End over the past few years, then surely things can go equally (and disastrously) as well on the Great White Way?

SIGNIFICANT OTHER

The first new play of the Spring marks the Broadway debut of a talented, young playwright who goes by the name of Joshua Harmon. After a successful run at the Roundabout Theatre Company's off-Broadway venue of the Laura Pels Theatre from May to August 2015, this comic-drama, directed by Trip Cullman, got the nod for a Broadway staging. The narrative follows Jordan (played by Gideon Glick) on a quest to find love and say farewell to loneliness. Accompanying him along this winding road to happiness are his three closest female friends - Kiki (Sas Goldberg), Vanessa (Rebecca Naomi Jones) and Laura (Lindsay Mendez) - until they find men of their own, of course. Lovelingly written and laced with a healthy dose of physical comedy, the play will speak directly to the hearts of singletons and those lucky enough to escape singledom alike. Previews begin at the Booth Theatre on February 14 (go figure!), before an official opening on March 2!

Click HERE for tickets to Significant Other!

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Tonight the transfer of the 2013 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, starring Cherry Jones, opens in London's West End. In fact, there have already been seven stagings of the classic play on Broadway alone and the eighth mounting is now just around the corner. The 1944 play, described as a four character memory play, was responsible for making Williams a household name and it contains many autobiographical elements of the playwright's life. The plot follows Amanda Wingfield, a faded Southern belle, and her exhaustive search for a gentleman caller for her daughter Laura. Her reclusive daughter has already suffered with polio, resulting in her walking with a limp and secluding herself from society. Despite her mother's desperate attempts, she prefers to confine herself to the menagerie and her collection of glass animals. One of the reasons why the play is so often produced is the draw for established actors to sink their teeth into the role of the matriarch. This production marks the long-awaited return to the Broadway stage for two-time Oscar winner Sally Field, which is bound to be an Amanda Wingfield acting masterclass. Ms. Field will be accompanied on stage by Tony-winning director Joe Mantello (finally gracing us with his acting chops once again), as well as "American Horror Story" star Finn Wittrock and Madison Ferris in her Broadway debut. Previews begin on February 7 at Belasco Theatre, before an official opening on March 9.

Click HERE for tickets to The Glass Menagerie!

ARTHUR MILLER'S THE PRICE

The Front Page ended its Broadway engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre last week and was arguably the most star-studded play of the season. I say 'arguably' because a hot contender to that title is the Roundabout Theatre Company's next Broadway offering. Arthur Miller's 1968 drama The Price has gathered a top calibre cast of stage and screen veterans, including a Broadway debut for Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Danny DeVito. The Hollywood actor and producer earned great critical acclaim for his West End debut in 'The Sunshine Boys' in 2012 and now, finally, New York audiences will get to see the screen favourite tread the boards. If that's not enough to entice you down to the American Airlines Theatre, then how about the Broadway return of Tony nominee and "Marvel Cinematic Universe" star Mark Ruffalo, as well as a couple of stage veterans in three-time Tony nominee Tony Shalhoub and Tony nominee Jessica Hecht. The play follows the gathering of Victor Franz, his wife, estranged brother and a cunning furniture dealer at Victor's childhood home to sell his parent's estate. Although Victor gave up an education and years of his life to support his father, he soon discovers that each of the persons present has their own agenda and is forced to question the value of his sacrifice and the price he paid. Previews begin on February 16, before an official opening on March 16!

Click HERE for tickets to Arthur Miller's The Price!

SWEAT

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage will finally make her Broadway debut this spring, after wowing audiences downtown at the Public Theater last fall with her new play Sweat. The Broadway transfer will see almost the entire original cast reunite, including Tony nominee Johanna Day and Michelle Wilson, to bring the story of the a troubled community in Reading, Pennsylvania to life on the stage of Studio 54. In the play, we meet a handful of friends and colleagues who work on the factory floor by day and spend their evenings at the local bar with another friend who happens to go by the name of Jack Daniels. Their blue collar world is turned upside down, however, when a management position at the factory becomes available and friends are pitted against each other, exposing the underlying tensions of race and class in a community that is seemingly on the brink of extinction. Sharply written and executed, Sweat sends its clear and timely message in an America that has perhaps never before been so divided. A Broadway credit for Ms. Nottage has been long overdue. Previews begin on March 4, before an official opening on March 26!

Click HERE for tickets to Sweat!

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

Having begun its life in a little space above a pub in London with just a mere handful of paying guests, The Play That Goes Wrong has done just about everything right and continues to climb the theatrical ladder of success. Its snowballing momentum led to a West End premiere in late 2014 which resulted in a win in the category of "Best Comedy" at the Olivier Awards in 2015. The group of actors/writers responsible for the runaway hit go by the name of Mischief Theatre and they have continued to present farcical smash hits in the West End, including Peter Pan Goes Wrong (which was also broadcast in a special BBC presentation last New Year's Eve) and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. Now the original cast and the original first hit are crossing the pond to bring their own brand of organised chaos to New York audiences. Join them as The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempt to stage a 1920s murder mystery with disastrous consequences... Previews begin at the Lyceum Theatre on March 9, before an official opening on April 2!

Click HERE for tickets to The Play That Goes Wrong!

PRESENT LAUGHTER

The most coveted male role for a comedy actor has to be Noel Coward's self-obsessed Garry Essendine in his 1939 play Present Laughter. Perhaps one of the most sought after comedic actors is Oscar winner Kevin Kline. So bringing these two together will surely be comedy gold, right? Although this is the first Broadway outing for Mr. Kline in almost a decade, he has a proven track in theatre with a couple of Tony-winning performances under his belt ('The Pirates of Penzance' and 'On The Twentieth Century'). Whether its in musicals, or dramas the likes of 'Henry IV' and 'Ivanov' or comedies such as 'Cyrano de Bergerac,' Kevin Kline constantly rises to the occasion. He will be joined on stage by Broadway veterans Kate Burton and Kristine Nielsen, as well as "Marvel Cinematic Universe" favourite Cobie Smulders in her Broadway debut. Previews begin on March 10, before an official opening on April 5, so get down to the St. James Theatre because heaven knows we need some laughter presently in the States!

Click HERE for tickets to Present Laughter!

Check back with us next week for Part 2 of our Broadway Spring preview of new plays, including Oslo, Indecent, The Little Foxes, Six Degrees of Separation and A Doll's House, Part 2.