July 2018 Highlights on Broadway and Beyond

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

The summer in New York City is in full swing and the Great White Way is also set to sizzle this month with a couple of Opening Nights, a couple of new musicals beginning previews and the eagerly awaited return of a certain 'Divine Miss M'! But before we get to all that, we will also have to say a few heartfelt Goodbyes in the coming days and weeks and so we'd like to take this opportunity to encourage you to pay a last visit to the following:

July 1 - Tony and two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington appears for the final time today as Hickey in George C. Wolfe's Tony-nominated revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, whilst, at the other end of theatrical spectrum, Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville will also play its last performance at Broadway's Marquis Theatre.

July 15 - "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and head down to the Shubert Theatre on July 15 for a final chance to experience two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters as Dolly Gallagher Levi (alongside four-time Tony Award nominee Victor Garber as Horace Vandergelder) in the Tony Award-winning revival of Hello, Dolly! Alternatively, if you're a "Neon Trees" fan, then you may want to head to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre instead to catch frontman Tyler Glenn's final performance as Charlie Price in hit musical Kinky Boots. ("American Idol" winner David Cook returns to the role from July 17 for a second shift at the shoe factory through to September 9). Or why not go and see 'The Great Work' on show at the Neil Simon Theatre where the Tony Award-winning "Best Revival of a Play" Angels in America comes to the end of its celebrated Broadway run. Both Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane's Tony Award-winning performances are simply not to be missed!

Now, we'll bid a fond farewell to those farewells and find out what we have to look forward to this July...

July 5

It only took a taste and "American Idol" and "Smash" star Katharine McPhee was hooked! Following her long-awaited Broadway debut engagement as Jenna in hit musical Waitress, Ms. McPhee returns to the diner for a second shift from July 5 and will be "Opening Up" through to August 19 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre... Sugar, Butter, Flour... and Katharine McPhee!... What more could you want?!

Waitress Tickets are available now for performances through to March 31, 2019.

July 17

Back where she belongs! The incomparable Bette Midler returns to her Tony Award-winning role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in the acclaimed revival of Hello, Dolly! at the Shubert Theatre on July 17. She will be joined by her co-star and original cast member David Hyde Pierce, who reprises his Tony-nominated performance as Horace Vandergelder, for the final weeks of the Broadway run, culminating on August 25. Whatever you do, don't let this parade pass you by!

Hello, Dolly! Tickets are available now for performances through to August 25, 2018.

 July 19

Can a group of mostly middle-aged misfits reunite, rock out and triumph at 'The Battle of the Bands'?!! Find out from July 19 when previews begin for the Broadway premiere of new musical comedy Gettin' the Band Back Together at the Belasco Theatre. The talented cast also features Marilu Henner - the five-time Golden Globe-nominated star of "Taxi" - as Sharon Papadopolous and the production boasts an original score by Mark Allen, marking his Broadway debut. Fans of School of Rock and Rock of Ages should definitely mark this date on their calendars and get practising that air-guitar! An official opening is set for August 13.

Gettin' The Band Back Together Tickets are available now for performances from July 19, 2018 through to July 14, 2019.

July 20

Perhaps the most anticipated new show of the summer is the Broadway premiere of Pretty Woman: The Musical which begins previews at the Nederlander Theatre on July 20, ahead of an official opening on August 16. "Les Misérables" star Samantha Barks is finally set to make her Broadway debut, taking on the iconic role of Vivian Ward - the role originated by Julia Roberts in the much loved 1990 movie - with three-time Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Andy Karl taking over the Richard Gere role of Edward Lewis from Tony Award winner Steve Kazee, who originated the role at the pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago. Karl's wife Orfeh, as well as Jason Danieley, Eric Anderson, and Kingsley Leggs round out the principal cast for the new musical, which also boasts an original score by Grammy Award-winning superstar Bryan Adams, along with his longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance.

Pretty Woman: The Musical Tickets are available now for performances from July 20, 2018 through to March 10, 2019.

July 23

Second Stage Theater's second Broadway premiere at its new Broadway home at The Hayes Theater officially opens on July 23. Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men promises "a hilariously ruthless look at the classic American father-son drama" along with a couple of high-profile Broadway debuts from the likes of Golden Globe nominee Armie Hammer and Golden Globe and 2-time Emmy Award nominee Josh Charles. Denis Arndt also returns to the Broadway stage for the first time since his heralded, Tony-nominated performance in 2016's Heisenberg and the production will make history by marking the first time a female Asian-American playwright has been produced on the Great White Way.

Straight White Men Tickets are available now for performances through to September 9, 2018.

July 26

Just three days later, this month's second official opening on Broadway will be staged at the Hudson Theatre, celebrating the greatest hits of the most successful all-female rock band of all time... The Go-Go's! Head Over Heels tells an original story of "mistaken identities, jealous lovers, romance and scandal" set to the band's most-loved tunes, including "We Got the Beat," "Cool Jerk," "Vacation," "Our Lips Are Sealed," "Lust to Love," as well as the title song "Head Over Heels" and Belinda Carlisle's solo hits "Mad About You" and "Heaven is a Place on Earth." The cast also features "Ru Paul's Drag Race" favorite Peppermint, who made history as the first trans-woman to originate a principal role on the Great White Way. So, what are you waiting for?! "Get Up and Go" to the Hudson as fast as your heels will carry you!

Head Over Heels Tickets are available now for performances through to February 17, 2019.

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

July 5 - Trainspotting Live begins previews at Roy Arias Stages, ahead of a July 15 official opening.

July 6 - The off-Broadway revival of Smokey Joe's Cafe begins previews at Stage 42, ahead of a July 22 official opening.

July 11 - The New York Theatre Workshop production of The House That Will Not Stand begins previews (with an official opening set for July 30) and the Encores! Off-Center production of Gone Missing plays New York City Center (with a second performance on July 12).

July 12 - Second Stage Theater's New York premiere of Tracy Letts' Mary Page Marlowe officially opens at the Tony Kiser Theater.

July 16 - The New York premiere of Rinne Groff's Fire in Dreamland officially opens at the Public Theater.

July 17 - The "Shakespeare in the Park" production of Twelfth Night begins previews at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, ahead of a July 31 official opening.

July 24 - Atlantic Theater Company's world premiere musical This Ain't No Disco officially opens at the Linda Gross Theater.

July 25 - The Encores! Off-Center production of Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope begins performances at New York City Center and runs through to July 28.

July 26 - The New York premiere of Be More Chill begins performances at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

And that about wraps it up July, folks! As we promised, it's going to be a sizzler!