Theatre Season in Full Swing!
Updates on upcoming shows in NYC and DC, plus a group trip to see "Ragtime"!
Well, play-goers, the theatre season is well upon us, and all I keep thinking is “how lucky we are to be alive right now—so much great work is happening on stages in DC and NYC! Read on for my round up of coming attractions. But first…
Join me for “Ragtime” Dec. 3!
Following the success of our group trip to see “Hadestown” this summer, I’m doing it again! This time, we’ll go to Signature Theatre in Arlington for the splendid “Ragtime.” Based on E.L. Doctorow’s sweeping epic novel, the musical tells many overlapping stories set in the early 1900s: an African-American family affected by racial violence, a white family creating a new way of living as times change, Jewish immigrants struggling and striving to make a place in New York, and the celebrities of the era (Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan, etc.) interacting with them all. The score is gorgeous and soaring—one of my favorites. I’ve heard from multiple sources that this production is excellent.
Interested? Join me on December 3 at 2pm! I’ve secured a block of 13 seats for $79 each (20% discount!) in the orchestra. Every seat is good in this small, intimate theater! We’ll gather in the lobby afterwards for snacks and a discussion. We’ll also coordinate carpooling. Reply to this post or reach out through substack to grab your ticket. If you can’t join me then, I recommend seeing it before it closes January 7!
Shakespeare Everywhere Festival (DC)
We are right in the middle of the exciting Shakespeare Everywhere festival, featuring twelve productions and a lecture series. These include productions of the bard’s plays (a 60s, groovy “As You Like It” at Shakespeare theatre, “The Winter’s Tale” at the newly-renovated Folger Theatre, and more) plus reinterpretations of his works, like a ballet of Shakespeare stories, including a world premiere of the fabulous Duke Ellington suite “Such Sweet Thunder.” I loved “Macbeth in Stride,” a musical devoted to unpacking the Lady Macbeth character in the context of a modern black woman, who’s similarly ambitious and wrestling with the story and its relevance to her. And I have tickets for the Washington National Opera’s “Roméo et Juliette.”
A major highlight of the festival will be “Fat Ham” at Studio Theatre (now playing through December 23). This Pulitzer-award winning play tells the story of Hamlet in a Southern, Black, queer setting. I loved it on Broadway (review here) and I predict Studio Theatre will do a good job with it, too.
These are just a sample of the festival’s many offerings—check out the full guide here and go see something! After all, “all the world’s a stage!”
More DC Previews
Grounded (at the Kennedy Center, now playing through November 13): One of our finest contemporary composers, Jeanine Tesori (“Kimberly Akimbo,” “Fun Home”) is back at the Kennedy Center with a new, topical opera which explores the psychological impact of drone warfare on a woman who operates the drones and has just had a child. The production features a massive LED screen; a friend said the staging was powerful.
Confederates (at Mosaic Theater, now playing through November 26): From the excellent playwright Dominique Morisseau, this play tells two stories of black women separated by a century: a spy for the Union during the civil war, and a modern-day academic.
Public Obscenities (at Woolly Mammoth, playing November 13 - December 23): I’m intrigued by this play about a queer interracial couple on a research trip to Kolkata, playing at the adventurous and high-quality Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Girl From the North Country (on tour at the Kennedy Center, playing December 12-31): Using the music of Bob Dylan like you’ve never heard it before, this incredibly moving play tells the story of a group of travelers’ intersecting lives at a guesthouse in Duluth, Minnesota in the height of the Depression. I absolutely loved this when I saw it in New York; this is the tour of that same production. Do not miss it!
Swept Away (at Arena Stage, playing November 25 - December 30): I’m excited for this new musical about four survivors of a shipwreck, featuring the music of the Avett Brothers. A trusted friend saw the show at Berkeley Rep in California and raved about it. It features a really terrific Broadway-caliber cast and direction by Michael Mayer (“Funny Girl”). This seems destined to head to New York, so see it here so you can say you got in on the ground floor!
Stupendous Sondheim in NYC
In New York today, you could attend three excellent Sondheim shows—two must-see revivals (“Sweeney Todd” and “Merrily We Roll Along”), plus a truly extraordinary event: a world premiere of a NEW work, “Here We Are.”
Be sure to catch “Sweeney” before January 14, when Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford—who gave incredible performances in the lead roles—exit the show. (Although their replacements, Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster, are also wonderful performers!) (My review here.) “Merrily” features one of his absolute best scores and stunning performances from Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez. The ticket prices are steep, but I think it’s worth it to see what may be the best production of this show in our lifetimes. (Playing through March 24
As if this weren’t enough (dayenu!), I will also get to experience something I never have before: seeing a Sondheim musical that is truly new, where I don’t already know every note of music and every brilliant lyric going in. Billed as “the final Sondheim show,” “Here We Are” is based on two of the surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel films and is playing off-Broadway at The Shed though January 21. Reviews have been positive-to-mixed, commenting that it loses some energy in the second half of Act II, which is also when there are no more songs—both a dramatic choice to convey the surreality of the characters being stuck in a house after a dinner party and a practicality given that Sondheim’s writing slowed down quite a bit towards the end of his life. In some ways, seeing a flawed, new Sondheim show feels equally exciting to me as seeing near-perfect productions of two of his finest works, “Sweeney” and “Merrily.” I’ll send my review next month!
Exciting New Openings (NYC)
It feels like every day some great new show is announcing an opening in the Spring! We’re now at about a dozen new musicals and five musical revivals on Broadway this season! These include:
Gutenberg! The Musical (playing now through January 28) - a funny, unevenly reviewed buddies-putting-on-a-show musical comedy featuring Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, reunited after their success in “Book of Mormon.”
Harmony (now playing) - Barry Manilow’s musical about a real-life German singing group with Jewish members leading up to World War II
How to Dance in Ohio (previews begin November 15) - a musical about a group of autistic young adults preparing for a spring formal that includes neuro-divergent actors. I’ve got a ticket for later this month!
Days of Wine and Roses (January 6 - April 28) - a transfer from off-Broadway last season, where I saw and loved it (review here). With music by the great Adam Geuttel, and based on the old film, it tells the story of a family torn apart by alcoholism. Featuring two of our greatest musical theatre actors today: Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James.
AND MORE: The Notebook, Suffs, Lempicka, and The Who’s Tommy have all been announced!
I’ll provide more information as these shows get closer, but I wanted you to be able to share in the excitement of a robust and exciting season ahead!
Last Chance (NYC)
Some of last season’s great works are still playing for just a bit longer, so if you haven’t seen the high-energy, dance-filled, full-of-heart “Some Like it Hot,” don’t miss it before it closes December 30. Likewise for “Shucked,” the punny, funny musical, which closes January 14.
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That’s all for now! What have you seen lately? Let me know your review by replying to this newsletter!
PS - Here’s a wild-card: I saw a Portuguese-language version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” while traveling in Lisbon last month. The production utilized popular Portuguese songs, à la Moulin Rouge, to help with the storytelling; each one totally delighted the audience, who smiled knowingly at the first notes. While I didn’t understand the words, I knew the story, and found this to be a delightful cross-cultural experience.
