Yes, there will be stars on Broadway in the Spring – Denzel Washington, Diana Rigg (after an absence from Broadway of 24 years), Glenda Jackson (after an absence of 30 years), Laurie Metcalf, Nathan Lane, Andrew Garfield, Condola Rashad, Tina Fey making her Broadway playwriting debut, and more. But what distinguishes the 16 shows scheduled (so far) is how many are themselves the stars — the Harry Potter play and the “Frozen” musical hotly anticipated by legions of fans of J.K. Rowling’s novels and Disney’s animated movie respectively; the first Broadway revival of the landmark, two-part “Angels in America”; the fifth Broadway revival of Lerner and Loewe’s “My Fair Lady” and the sixth Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel.”
There is even a suggestion of a timely theme emerging — the season of strong women: Albee’s “Three Tall Women” will open a little more than a week before “Mean Girls,” followed by “My Fair Lady” and “Saint Joan.” Sarah, the deaf protagonist in “Children of a Lesser God” stands up for herself. And Elsa from “Frozen” is a pretty cool customer.
Below are the plays and musicals opening on Broadway from January through April, 2018, going chronologically by opening dates. Things are likely to change — additions, subtractions, rescheduling — in the weeks and months ahead. Check my Broadway 2017-2018 Guide for periodic updates.
JANUARY
John Lithgow: Stories by Heart
Theater: Roundabout’s American Airlines
Adapted and performed by John Lithgow
Director: Daniel Sullivan
First preview: December 21, 2017
Opening: January 11, 2018
Closing: March 4, 2018
The actor conjures a cast of characters from classic short stories by Ring Lardner and P. G. Wodehouse.
MARCH
The Minutes
Theater: TBA
Author: Tracy Letts
Director: Anna D. Shapiro
First Preview: February 6, 2018
Opening: March 8, 2018
Cast:
Website
Twitter feed:
“A town’s proud history, the legend of a local hero, the coveted privilege of reserved parking: nothing is sacred during the town council meeting at the heart of Tracy Letts’ new play.”
Update December 22: The Minutes has been delayed, according to a spokesperson for Steppenwolf. No new dates have been announced
Escape to Margaritaville
Theater: Marquis
Authors: Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley
Director: Christopher Ashley
First Preview: February 16
Opening: March 15
Cast: Paul Alexander Nolan, Alison Luff as Rachel and Lisa Howard
Twitter feed: @buffettmusical
Angels in America
Theater: Neil Simon
Author: Tony Kushner
Director: Marianne Elliott
First preview: February 23, 2018
Opening: March 21, 2018
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane et al.
A revival of Tony Kushner’s two-part Pulitzer Prize winning epic play about the age of AIDS. The production is a transfer from London’s National Theatre.
Frozen
Theater: St. James Theater
Author: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Jennifer Lee
Director: Michael Grandage
First Preview: February 22, 2018
Opening: March 22, 2018
Cast: Caissie Levy (Elsa), Patti Murin (Anna), Jelani Alladin (Kristoff), Greg Hildreth (Olaf), John Riddle (Hans) and Robert Creighton (Duke of Weselton)
Twitter feed: @FrozenBroadway
Lobby Hero
Theater: Helen Hayes
Author: Kenneth Lonergan
Director: Trip Cullman
First Preview: March 1, 2018
Opening: March 26, 2018
Cast: Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Bryan Tyree Henry
An apartment lobby serves as a waiting area for four New Yorkers involved in a murder investigation. “A young security guard with big ambitions clashes with his stern boss, an intense rookie cop and her unpredictable partner in a play from the 2017 Oscar-winning writer of Manchester by the Sea.” This is the first production by Second Stage Theater at its new Broadway venue.
Three Tall Women
Theater: John Golden
Author: Edward Albee
Director: Joe Mantello
First Preview: February 27, 2018
Opening: March 29, 2018
Cast: Glenda Jackson, Laurie Metcalf, Alison Pill
Albee’s Pulitzer-winning play about a woman in life’s final act. Glenda Jackson returns to Broadway after an absence of 30 years.
APRIL
Mean Girls
Theater: August Wilson
Authors: Tina Fey (book), Jeff Richmond (music), Nell Benjamin (lyrics)
Director and choreographer: Casey Nicholas
First preview: March 12, 2018
Opening: April 8, 2018
Cast: Erika Henningsen, Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park, and Kate Rockwell
Based on Tina Fey’s 2004 movie, this new musical (which will try out in Washington D.C.’s National Theatre in the Fall), pits a newcomer to high school against a triumvirate of classmates who are, well, mean girls, labeled the Plastics.
Children of a Lesser God
Theater: Studio 54
Author: Mark Medoff
Director: Kenny Leon
First Preview: March 22, 2018
Opening: April 11, 2018
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Lauren Ridloff
A revival of the Tony-winning play about the romance between a hearing man and deaf woman
Carousel
Theater: Imperial
Author: Rodgers and Hammerstein
Director: Jack O’Brien
First Preview: March 23, 2018
Opening: April 12, 2018
Cast: Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry, Renee Fleming, Betsy Wolfe, Margaret Colin and Alexander Gemignani
My Fair Lady
Theater: Vivian Beaumont
Authors: Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
Director: Bartlett Sher.
First Preview: March 22
Opening: April 19
Cast:Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, Norbert Leo Butz, and Diana Rigg lead a cast of 37.
Twitter feed: @LCTheater
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Theater: Lyric
Author: Jack Thorne
Director: John Tiffany.
First Preview:
Opening: April 22
Cast: Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger, Jamie Parker
as Harry Potter, Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley, Anthony Boyle
as Scorpius Malfoy, Sam Clemmett
as Albus Potter, Poppy Miller
as Ginny Potter, Alex Price as Draco Malfoy
Twitter feed: @HPPlayNYC
A play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by him, directory John Tiffany and Harry Potter novelist J.K. Rowling “While an adult Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. “
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
Theater: Lunt-Fontanne
First Preview: March 28, 2018
Opening: April 23, 2018
Director: Des McAnuff
Cast: TBA
Musical biography of the late disco diva, using the songs she made famous, including “Hot Stuff,” “On the Radio,” “Bad Girls,” and “MacArthur Park.”
Travesties
Theater: American Airlines
Author: Tom Stoppard
Director: Patrick Marber
First Preview: Mar 29, 2018
Opening Date: Apr 24, 2018
Closing Date: Jun 17, 2018
Cast: Tom Hollander
A revival of Tom Stoppard’s play from Great Britain’s Chocolate Factory. “In 1917 Zurich, an artist, Tristan Tzara; a writer, James Joyce; and a revolutionary, Lenin, collide”
Closing Date:Jun 17, 2018
Saint Joan
Theater: MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Director: Daniel Sullivan
First preview: April 3, 2018
Opening: April 25, 2018
Cast: Condola Rashad
Revival of Shaw’s play about the 15th century martyr.
The Iceman Cometh
Author: Eugene O’Neill
Director: George C. Wolfe
First Preview: March 22
Opening: April 26
Cast: Denzel Washington + about 18 other cast members TBA.
The fifth Broadway production of Eugene O’Neill’s play about dead-end alcoholics and prostitutes hanging out in a saloon and rooming house in Greenwich Village in 1912.
Check out last season’s Broadway guide
Also:
What Broadway Shows Should I See? Top 10 Suggestions.
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