SUMMER THEATER SEASON
2024
Now
that we have recovered from the hectic, show-a-night end of season theatrical
pileup, I suspect symptoms of TD (Theater Deprivation, that uncomfortable
feeling that you should be somewhere near a theater around 7 PM) are beginning
to appear. The good news is that relief is in sight. There actually is a summer
season, with some excellent shows leading neatly into a spectacular fall. Theaterscene
has once again done its homework to keep our readership informed. What better
escape from the heat than in a sublimely air-conditioned theater? Don’t forget
your sweater!
What’s Coming to Broadway
Summer 2024:
A
short list of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows opening this summer. Interesting
stuff! A quick glance offers:
BROADWAY:
![A group of people sitting on a wooden bench
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Brittany
Inge, Tory Kittles, Stori Ayers (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Home
The 1980 play
by Samm-Art Williams. Leaving behind his family’s farm in North Carolina,
Cephus Miles seeks refuge and prosperity in the North. Three actors portray
more than twenty-five characters over the course of Cephus’s epic journey from
adolescence to adulthood, spanning the 1950s through the Vietnam War and Civil
Rights eras. Through July 21.
![Two women in dresses on a stage
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Cole Escola,
Bianca Leigh (Photo:
Emilio Madrid)
Oh, Mary!
A play about a
miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham
Lincoln’s assassination. Unrequited yearning, alcoholism and suppressed desires
abound in this one act play that finally examines the forgotten life and dreams
of Mrs. Lincoln through the lens of an idiot. Was hugely successful off-Broadway. Open 7/11
![A person looking at another person
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Job
Jane, an
employee at the big tech company (you know the one), has been placed on leave
after becoming the subject of a viral video. She arrives in the office of a crisis
therapist - Loyd - determined to be reinstated to the job that gives her life
meaning. Opens 7/30
![A stack of colorful boxes
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Once Upon a Mattress
During a
kingdom-wide search to find a princess fit for the hapless Prince Dauntless, in
swims the less-than-regal Princess Winnifred the Woebegone. Unrefined and
undeniably charming, Winnifred is like no princess Dauntless has ever seen and
his heart is captured. The truly terrible Queen Aggravain goes on a mission to
come between her son and his soulmate in this retelling of the classic story of
“The Princess and the Pea. Moved from a wildly successful Encores! run;
Sutton Foster stars. Open 8/12
Upcoming Off-Broadway
Summer 2024:
![A black background with white text
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Pre-Existing
Condition
In the aftermath of a life-altering event, "Pre-Existing Condition"
explores the challenges, shared community and everyday indignities of learning
to move forward. Through 8/3
![A person in a red and white outfit
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Cats: The
Jellicle Ball
Inspired
by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and
staged as a immersive competition with all new Ballroom and club beats, runway
ready choreography, and an edgy eleganza makeover, this Jellicle Ball trades
feline for fierce. Through 8/11
![A poster of women wearing blue suits
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N/A
N/A is a
battle of wills -- and wits – between N, the first woman Speaker of the House,
and A, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Inspired by real people and
events, this two-hander illuminates the person whom many consider the most
powerful woman in American history…and the once-in-a-generation political
talent who defied her. Through 9/1
![A yellow and pink text
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From Here
Set in
2016, "From Here" tells the story of Daniel, a 30-something gay man
on his journey through life, love, and family when the horrific shooting at
Pulse Nightclub changes his hometown, and him, forever. Through 8/11
![A city skyline with a building in the background
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Empire
Told through
the lens of three generations of dreamers and doers spanning New York City in
the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Bicentennial Year of 1976,
this original story shines new light on one of history’s greatest feats of will
and desire. With a desperate city pinning its hopes on this seemingly
impossible project, only skyscraper-high levels of grit and determination can
keep it climbing. Open run.
![A person in a white suit and hat
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On Beckett
An
Off-Broadway trifecta: Bill Irwin! Beckett! Irish Rep! Through 8/4
![A book cover with white text
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The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project
Most know of
the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case, but few know the story of their youngest
child, Robert, orphaned at six following his parents’ execution for espionage.
The boy was adopted by Abel Meeropol who wrote the song “Strange Fruit” seared
into America’s consciousness by Billie Holiday. Through 8/4
![A person and person posing for a picture
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The
Sabbath Girl
Angie
Mastrantoni has a lot going for her: a job at a hip art gallery, a new
apartment on the Upper West Side, but not much time or hope for relationships.
Then her neighbor Seth, a divorced Orthodox Jew with a knish store on the Lower
East Side, knocks on her door. 7/28 – 9/1
![A yellow background with text and objects
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Six
Characters
When some
trifling citizens storm a renowned cultural center where they’re not meant to
be, all hell breaks loose. Wigs go flying. Wounds get opened. An archive
explodes. Will the audience make it out alive? Abolition takes on fresh meaning
in SIX
CHARACTERS, Phillip Howze’s new play on power,
belonging, and the institutions we build. 7/29 –
8/25
![A group of people sitting in chairs
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Someone Spectacular
Once a week, six recently bereaved strangers gather for group therapy. It’s a stable routine — until one day, their grief counselor is inexplicably MIA. The group’s typical session quickly goes off the rails, offering an open-ended meditation on loss, with revelations that are at once beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking. 7/31 – 8/31
![A close up of a logo
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Cellino v. Barnes
"Cellino
V. Barnes" is a darkly comedic rollercoaster that captures the wild
partnership of notorious injury attorneys Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes, from
their meteoric rise in the 1990s through their spectacular break-up in the
2010s. 8/1 –
10/13