Reviews, upcoming shows, and a special subscriber-only benefit...
+ a quick primer on "Broadway" vs. "regional theatre" vs. "touring productions"
Hello, play-goers, and welcome to Mitch’s Theatre Newsletter! Here, I’ll share my recommendations for upcoming theatre in New York and DC, reviews of shows I’ve seen, and more!
I’ve switched to Substack to publish this, which should enable you to unsubscribe without even having to ask me directly! :) Seriously, absolutely NO hard feelings if you’re not into it! Also: ignore anything you see from Substack asking you for money; this is totally free! You can see previous posts on the Substack, including information on some shows still playing in NY.
Hadestown Group Tickets (DC): Subscriber-Only Benefit!
Hadestown is my favorite musical. I love the incredible score, the enchanting love story, and the many deeper environmental, economic, and psychological themes. I never see shows more than once, but I’ve seen this one four times! To share this with you, I have reserved a block of 15 seats for the touring production of the show coming to the National Theatre in DC, on June 18th at 2pm. I’ll be hosting a discussion about the themes of the show at my home right after (5p). Tickets are $113 each; see location on seating chart below. If you would like to join for the show or the discussion or both, email me!
Broadway, Tours, Local Productions: What’s the difference?
Ever wonder the difference between a Broadway production, a tour, and a local production? I’m here to help! Great theatre is happening everywhere, all the time. While Broadway is considered the marquee venue for the art form, it is by no means the be-all, end-all. Regional theaters like Arena Stage, Studio Theatre, etc. host world premieres and mount their own original productions of plays previously seen on Broadway. I love regional theatre because it is often responsive directly to its city’s unique population and sensibilities.
Local theaters also host Broadway “tryouts” that have commercial producers attached and intend to go to Broadway later. Shows usually have at least one, sometimes several, tryouts before they get to Broadway. Some of these can be “off-Broadway”, which means in New York City at a non-broadway theater. “Broadway” means the 41 theaters in New York’s Theatre District that have more than 500 seats. “Off-Broadway” and “Off-Off-Broadway” are other theaters in NY that present plays and musicals.
If a show makes it to Broadway and is successful, it might get a National Tour. On a Tour, the exact same production—same script, direction, set design, costume design, etc—travels around to different cities giving performances. The cast is usually different and tours usually play at a city’s largest theater, like the Kennedy Center and National Theatre here in DC.
A National Tour is a good way to catch a Broadway production you may have missed. But I generally prefer a locally-mounted production to a Broadway tour: if the material is strong enough, a re-interpretation is often more interesting than a carbon copy of the Broadway production. The exact same script can be performed in a wide range of ways, drawing out different themes. For example, while I absolutely love “Cats,” the great shame of its success is that you only ever see the same version of it, since it has basically toured since it opened in the ‘80s. (Ditto “Lion King.”) Contrast that with “Into the Woods,” which has had many Broadway revivals and locally-mounted productions, each with their own take on the material. In fact, that show is a great example of these concepts: in DC this season, you could see both a local production of that show at Signature Theatre, or a tour of the recent Broadway revival at the Kennedy Center (playing now through 3/19)! And the Broadway revival started as an off-Broadway short-run production at City Centers Encores in New York, illustrating all of this at once! I guess you “know things now, many valuable things, that you hadn’t thought of before!” :)
Reviews
NYC: I’ve just returned from the Big Apple, where I saw three shows: “& Juliet”, “Some Like it Hot”, and “Titanique.” The best of these was by far “Some Like It Hot,” a new musical adaptation of the 1959 film. The story is roughly the same as the film: two male jazz performers witness a mob murder. To hide out, they dress as women and leave town with an all-girl band. The changes from the film are in how the characters grow from their cross-dressing: they discover new parts of themselves, and one of them decides to continue living in their new identity. This is all told through a hilarious script—good old fashioned musical comedy, complete with running gags, physical comedy, etc—and fabulous, toe-tapping, big band-era inspired songs from the composing team behind “Hairspray.” The performances are stunning; set and lighting design enchanting; and the choreography made my heart full of joy, with each big dance number better than the last! Here’s a taste from the curtain call:
DC: The best show I saw in DC since my last newsletter was a revival of “Sunset Boulevard” locally mounted at the Kennedy Center, featuring the incomparable Stephanie J. Block as the faded-from-fame silent film star Norma Desmond. Featuring a lush score beautifully performed by the Kennedy Center’s orchestra, the show is high-camp, high-drama, and truly captivating. Here’s the curtain call:
Upcoming Shows: DC
Here are the plays and musicals opening in the next month here in DC that I recommend. I don’t have tickets for any of these yet, so if one piques your interest, let me know and maybe we can go together!
The High Ground (Arena Stage; now playing through 4/2): This play is about a Black man “standing his ground on present-day Tulsa’s Standpipe Hill,” near where the Tulsa race massacre took place. I don’t know much about this, but it was highly recommended to me by someone I trust, and is showing in Arena Stage’s “Kogod Cradle,” their most intimate venue.
Incognito (Constellation Theatre Company; now playing through 3/12): The theatre bills this as a “transatlantic mystery that spans the 20th century, interweaving three stories and 20 characters.” The Washington Post gave it a great review. Constellation blew me away with another production last year, so I’m eager to go back!
Clyde’s (Studio Theatre; 3/1-4/9): One of our most fabulous contemporary playwrights Lynn Notage has given us a “bright comedy” dealing with dark themes, centered around a sandwich shop owner and the former convicts she hires to work for her. Very well reviewed on Broadway, it is the most-produced play this season in the United States.
Beauty and the Beast (Synetic Theatre; 3/3-4/2): I’ve never seen anything from Synetic, but have always been curious: they perform Shakespeare and other plays without words, using only movement to convey meaning. This show caught my eye because the story is so well known, I thought seeing it told in this radically different way could be really compelling.
Pacific Overtures (Signature Theatre; 3/7-4/9): Signature is continuing their celebration of Sondheim this season by showing one of his very rarely performed works. The show, based on historical events, concerns an American expedition arriving in Japan in 1853 proposing trade. Signature is so consistently fabulous, I’m sure they’ll do a great job with this.
Jagged Little Pill (National Theatre; 3/14-3/26): Alanis Morissette rocked the world when her album “Jagged Little Pill” came out in 1995; this jukebox musical takes those songs and uses them to tell overlapping stories that cover many of today’s hot-button issues: racism, drug abuse, rape culture, etc. It got a mixed review, but I’m curious to see it given some trusted friends’ recommendation—and those songs really are fantastic.
Upcoming Shows: New York
Here are my top picks of shows opening soon in New York; for shows already playing, check out my past newsletters.
Parade (previews begin 2/21): City Centers just did an off-Broadway short run of this 1998 show from composer Jason Robert Brown, and it was so well-reviewed and successful, it transferred quickly to Broadway. The show is based on a true story of a Jewish factory manager working in Georgia in the 1910s; when a girl at the factory is killed, he is blamed for the crime, fueled by a surge of anti-Semitism. Featuring a beautiful score, it’s also a powerful love story and commentary on racism and corruption in this era. This production features Ben Platt; the NY Times said this was the “best sung musical in many a New York season.”
Sweeney Todd (previews begin 2/26): In a season packed with exciting musicals, I am most thrilled about this, one of my favorites of all time. The classic tale of the “demon barber of Fleet Street” is about a man seeking revenge on a Judge who unjustly wronged him, but in the pursuit ends up killing many others with his razor, whom his accomplice turns into meat pies. The story is at once intimately human, a grand parable, and a layered commentary on capitalism. It features one of Sondheim’s most beautiful scores, which will be brought to brilliant life with a 26-piece orchestra—extremely rare these days on Broadway! Featuring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in the lead roles and directed by Thomas Kail (“Hamilton”).
Dancin’ (previews begin 3/2): Bob Fosse is one of musical theatre’s most iconic choreographers. This musical revival showcases many of his classic dances—think “Chicago,” “Pippin,” “Sweet Charity,” etc. If you love dance, this is a great pick.
White Girl in Danger (previews begin 3/15 off Broadway): From the writer of “A Strange Loop” comes this new musical about citizens of a soap opera town called Allwhite, featuring Black actors whose only plot lines are about slavery and police violence. These Black actors attempt to step out of the “Blackground” and have their own juicy storylines. I have tickets for this in April because I know this composer will deliver!
Fat Ham (previews begin 3/21): This 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner is a retelling of Hamlet from a queer, Black, southern perspective, centered on a big family at a backyard barbecue. The play was very well-reviewed last season when it showed at The Public and I am so excited to see it.
New York, New York (previews begin 3/24): “Start spreading’ the news,” begins the classic song, written by “Chicago” and “Cabaret” composing team Kander & Ebb for the film on which this new musical is based. The show is about a group of young artists coming to NYC after World War II, full of dreams. The 95-year-old John Kander wrote news songs for this production, with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The website’s marketing materials are really working on me—how beautiful is that image below?!—plus I adore Kander’s music.
Thanks so much for reading! This is super fun for me, and I hope for you, too! Reply to this email with any feedback, questions, or ideas for future newsletters. And as always, I am available for individual consultations: send me a list of shows you’ve enjoyed, basic criteria, and I’ll give you a personalized list of shows you might like in DC or New York. See you at the theatre!