In March, it’s possible to attend a Broadway, Off-Broadway or Off-Off Broadway opening nearly every single day; many days, there are two; occasionally three! Below is a list, organized chronologically by opening date, with descriptions of the most promising – but nothing can be guaranteed in advance (which is why I review.)
* Asterisks are next to those shows to which I have been invited (and plan) to review as of this writing.
Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Black or Blue. Off Off Broadway: Green.
Arlington (Vineyard Theatre), March 2
*Stage Kiss (Playwrights Horizons), March 2. Jessica Hecht, who created one of my favorite magical stage moments of 2013 in The Assembled Parties, stars with Dominic Fumusa in Sarah Ruehl’s new play about two actors with a history thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama.
The Open House (Signature Theatre),March 3. A new play by Will Eno that hints at being about a family.
The Happiest Song Plays Last (Second Stage), March 3
Middle of The Night (Keen Company at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row), March 4
*Satchmo at the Waldorf (Westside Theatre), March 4. Play about Louis Armstrong starring John Douglas Thompson
Character Man (Urban Stages), March 5
*Antony and Cleopatra (The Public Theater), March 5. William Shakespeare’s play edited and directed by Tarell Alvin McCraney in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company transposes the action to 18th century Saint-Domingue on the eve of revolution.
*All the Way (The Neil Simon Theatre), March 6. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) plays LBJ, from 1963, when an assassin’s bullet catapults him into the presidency through the his first year of office, handling civil rights legislation and the beginning of the Vietnam War. Playwright Schenkkan won the Pulitzer Prize for The Kentucky Cycle, a marathon set of plays which took a grim view of the violent founding of the American West.
The Architecture of Becoming (Women’s Project Theater at New York City Center Stage II), March 6
No Exit (Pearl Theatre Company), March 9
Hand to God (MCC Theater at the Lortel), March 10
Stockholm (One Year Lease Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters), March 12
50 Shades! The Musical (Elektra Theater), March 12
*Rocky (Winter Garden), March 13. The new stage production based on the Academy Award-winning film of the same name.
Sir Patient Fancy (The Wild Project), March 15
Appropriate (Signature Theatre), March 16. This new play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins focuses on family confrontation in an old Arkansas plantation after the death of the patriarch and the discovery of a gruesome relic and a surprise visitor.
Alone in Triptych (Concrete Temple Theatre at HERE), March 16
Dark Water (MTWorks at The Theater at the 14th Street Y), March 17
Tales From Red Vienna (MTC at City Center) , March 18
*Aladdin (New Amsterdam), March 20. Based on the 1992 Disney animated movie, Aladdin tell the story of a poor street kid who falls in love with a princess, is imprisoned but discovers the secrets of a magic lamp.
Hounds of War (Dorothy Strelsin Theatre), March 21
*Les Miserables (Imperial Theatre) March 23. Cameron Mackintosh returns to Broadway with the 25th-anniversary production of Les Misérables, with new orchestrations.
And Baby Makes Seven (New Ohio Theatre), March 23
*Mothers and Sons (John Golden Theatre), March 24. Tyne Daly stars in Terrence McNally’s play about a mother who pays a surprise visit to the New York apartment of her late son’s ex-partner, who is now married to another man and has a young son.
Beyond Therapy (TACT at The Beckett), March 25, A revival of the Christopher Durang farce about lovelorn singles and their wigged-out shrinks.
Hellman vs. McCarthy (Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex’s June Havoc Theatre), March 26
Jasper in Deadland (Prospect Theater Company at the West End Theatre in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew), March 26
King Lear (Theatre for a New Audience), March 27
If/Then (Richard Rodgers Theatre), March 30. On the verge of turning 40, Elizabeth (Idina Menzel) moves to New York City, the ultimate city of possibility, intent on a fresh start – new home, new friends, and hopes for a resurgent career.
I Remember Mama (Transport Group at the Gym at Judson), March 30
A Second Chance (Public Theater), March 30
Heathers: The Musical (New World Stages), March 31
