In the five Broadway shows opening in November, Amy Schumer and Uma Thurman are making their Broadway debuts; playwrights Ayad Akhtar and Steve Martin are delivering new plays; and two shows that were acclaimed Off-Broadway are transferring intact. Off-Broadway plays are taking place in China and Ghana and Ireland and the mythical Mount Crumpit.
Below is a selection of openings in November on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway, organized chronologically by opening date. Each title is linked to a relevant website.
Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Black. Off Off Broadway: Green.
For more information about the season in general, check out Broadway 2017-2018 Preview Guide, and Fall 2017 Off-Broadway Guide
November 1
Shadowlands (Theatre Row)
A revival of William Nicholson’s play about the unlikely, true love story of Oxford scholar and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis and the much younger Joy Davidman, a Jewish-American writer, former Communist and Christian convert.
November 2
Junk (Vivian Beaumont)
From Ayad Akhtar, the Pulitzer winning author of Disgraced. Set over 30 years ago, “Junk” – as in “junk bonds” — is a play about “how money became the only thing of real value.”
Uncommon Sense (Sheen)
A new play about life on the autism spectrum from the Tectonic Theater company (The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency, and 33 Variations.) “Travel with Dan, Jess, Moose, and Lali and their families and friends on their personal journeys, all inspired by interviews with real people living on the spectrum.” Check out my feature on the show
November 8
Office Hour (Public)
Julia Cho’s new play about a teacher who compels her 18-year-old student to attend her office hours to discuss his violently obscene work.”The isolated young student in her office has learned one thing above all else: that for the powerless, the ability to terrify others is powerful indeed.”
November 9
The Band’s Visit (Ethel Barrymore Theatre)
The widely acclaimed Off-Broadway musical moves to Broadway! Based on the 2007 independent film, it follows an Egyptian police band that arrives in the wrong town Israel to play a concert.
My review when it was Off-Broadway.
November 14
Actually (MTC @ City Center)
Anna Ziegler’s play explores the charged topic of sexual consent in this play about two first-year students at Princeton who meet at a raucous party.
November 15
Latin History for Morons (Studio 54)
John Leguizamo’s sixth one-man show had a successful run Off-Broadway at the Public Theater, with his usual mix of in-your-face jokes, spot-on mimicry, candid memoir, energetic dance breaks. But it is also a timely cultural and political critique.
My review of Latin History for Morons Off-Broadway
November 16
Hot Mess (Orbach)
Angst ridden Max (Max Crumm) and mildly unstable Elanor (Lucy DeVito) are soul mates.Elanor has discussed her ex-boyfriends with Max. Max hasn’t quite mentioned his
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (MCC @ Lucille Lortel
Rebecca Taichman (Tony winner for Indecent) directs Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy about a fight over the Miss Universe pageant in Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school.
November 19
Peter Pan (Bedlam at The Duke)
Pride and Prejudice (Primary Stages)
Kate Hamill (Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility) adapts and stars in this playful adaptation of Jane Austen’s tale of outspoken Elizabeth Bennet and the aloof Mr. Darcy.
November 20
A Deal (Urban Stages)
Like many new upper-middle-class Chinese families, Mr. and Mrs. Li are proud to give their only daughter a life they could only dream of (an Ivy League degree in art and an apartment in Manhattan), until they realize she’s turning into a dangerous stranger.
Muswell Hill (Barrow Group)
A dark comedy by Torban Betts about characters at a dinner party that spend time texting and watching social media, talking about the troubles abroad, while at the same time paying little to no attention to their personal problems
The Wolves (Lincoln Center)
Sarah DeLappe’s play about a teenager girls soccer team is being encored in a new venue. My old review of The Wolves.
November 21
Harry Clarke (Vineyard)
Billy Crudup stars in a one-man play by David Cale about a shy midwestern man leading an outrageous double life as the cocky Londoner Harry Clarke.
November 26
20th Century Blues (Signature)
Susan Miller’s play about four women who meet once a year to have their pictures taken in a ritual that chronicles their changing (and aging) selves as they navigate through love, careers, children, and the complications of history.
November 28
Who’s Holiday (Westside Theatre)
Lesli Margherita stars in Matthew Lombardo’s play about middle-aged Cindy Lou Who, now residing in a beaten down trailer in the snowy hills of Mount Crumpit. As she prepares to host a Christmas Eve party for her friends, she recalls from her own perspective that fated night when she first met the Grinch
November 29
Meteor Shower (Booth)
Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Jeremy Shamos and Laura Benanti star Steve Martin’s play about two California couples who find themselves in marital freefall—and in a meteor shower
Pirates of Penzance (Hypocrites at Skirball)
Swimming pools, twinkly lights, a well-stocked Tiki Bar and beach balls welcome the audience to this raucous and utterly zany beach party adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta.
November 30
The Dead 1904 (Irish Rep)
Melissa Gilbert joins the cast in this encore of the immersive dinner party (which includes a full dinner) adapted from James Joyce’s novella of a disillusioned man named Gabriel Conroy, who, along with his wife Gretta, attends a holiday party in 1904 Dublin, thrown at the home of his two elderly aunts, who makes a startling discovery about his wife..
The Parisian Woman (Hudson)
Uma Thurman makes her Broadway debut as Chloe, a socialite armed with charm and wit, coming to terms with politics, her past, her marriage and an uncertain future in the social power center that is Washington D.C.
