UPDATE ADDED ON JULY 8, 2021
STUFF IS ALWAYS GOING ON in the New York theater world, even when the theaters themselves are dark. Stuff like this:
‘MERRY WIVES’ IN THE PARK HAS ITS FALSTAFF
His name is Jacob Ming-Trent (in photo with Susan Kelechi Watson at rehearsal), and HBO fans may know him as Panda in “Watchmen.” He’s a Bostonian by way of Pittsburgh and studied at Stella Adler.
As you may recall, this version of Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” is set in Harlem, and essentially it’s the story of an older guy looking for a rich wife.
The show, “MERRY WIVES,” which is Shakespeare in the Park’s only production this year (there are usually two), opens on July 27 (but previews began on July 6) and runs through Sept. 18. That’s a three-week extension to the original announced dates.
BRUCE ALMIGHTY IS BACK
That showoff! Now Bruce Springsteen gets to claim that he reopened Broadway. On Saturday, June 26, “SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY” opened at the St. James Theater — where it had closed a super-successful Tony Award-winning run in December 2018.
The whole audience was vaccinated and (mostly) maskless. Steven Van Zandt, Bruce’s E Street Band colleague, was there.. But the guys in the row behind him — Pete and Chasten Buttigieg — were the star attractions. The revival, although people don’t seem to be calling it that, runs through Sept. 4 (the Saturday of Labor Day weekend). In photo: Bruce and his wife, Patti Scialfa, on reopening night.
FATHER-AND-DAUGHTER REUNION-REPRISE
“TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” opened the same week that the first “Springsteen on Broadway” was closing – in December 2018.
Jeff Daniels was the original Atticus Finch, a white lawyer and single dad who maintains his integrity and compassion, even in 1930s Alabama, when he defends a black man falsely accused of rape. Celia Keenan-Bolger, who was the original Scout Finch, his daughter, won a Tony Award for her performance. (All the children are played by adult actors in this production.)
Jeff and Celia stepped aside after a year to make way for new leads, but they’ll be returning to the stage when “Mockingbird,” based on Harper Lee’s novel, returns in October. And they’ll be playing the roles through early January.
HOW ABOUT THOSE BROADWAY SHOWS THAT WERE JUST ABOUT TO OPEN IN 2020?
PLAZA SUITE
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick came so close. Their revival of Neil Simon’s comedy, a trio of one-acts set at the Plaza Hotel in New York, was scheduled to open in April 2020. They never got to the first preview, but there was an out-of-town production (Boston). Now the show, whose married-to-each-other-in-real-life stars play three different couples, is really, truly (please!) going to open at the Hudson Theater on March 28, 2022, with previews beginning in February. Don’t forget: This is a limited run, scheduled to play its last performance on June 12.
[[MINI-UPDATE: Previews begin on Feb. 25.]]
THE MUSIC MAN
This one, Meredith Willson’s classic musical with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, has been rescheduled more often than Harold Hill (Jackman’s character) scammed good-hearted small-town people into buying enough musical instruments to start a marching band. The new opening-night date is Feb. 10, 2022, with previews starting on Dec. 20, at the Winter Garden.
COMPANY
The gender-switch revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1970 musical got through its London run and won a nice selection of Olivier Awards. But the New York production – with an (almost) all-new cast, didn’t make it to opening night. Now it’s our New Year’s present, set to open on Jan. 9, 2022, with previews beginning on Dec. 20. Katrina Lenk stars as Bobbie (not Bobby). And Patti LuPone, who was in the London cast (she got one of those Oliviers), is returning as Joanne, who sings “Ladies Who Lunch.”
[[MAJOR UPDATE: New opening night is Dec. 9, 2021. Previews begin on Nov. 15. So forget that “New Year’s present” comment — arriving in time for Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Or you could catch a preview at Thanksgiving.]]
THE MINUTES
Tracey Letts’s new play (about a town’s dirty little secrets revealed at a city council meeting), “The Minutes,” is a Steppenwolf production and had its world premiere in 2017 in Chicago. Finally, it will open on Broadway on April 7, 2022. According to IBDB, the New York cast will include Austin Pendleton, Ian Barford, Blair Brown, Jessie Mueller and the playwright himself (as the mayor). Previews start in March.
SIX: THE MUSICAL
This tribute to Henry VIII’s half-dozen wives (five exes and a widow) was scheduled to open on March 13, 2020, which turned out to be 24 hours after Broadway theaters went dark. It’s an all-female, mostly non-star cast, including Adrianna Hicks as Catherine of Aragon and Abby Mueller (Jessie’s sister) as Jane Seymour. The producers are so confident that they’ve already scheduled a national tour. The new opening date is Oct. 3, with the first preview set for Sept. 17, which is practically tomorrow.
