by Jeanne Lieberman

 

   The compendium of productions making up this Fall season is pretty evenly split between new shows and revivals, with musicals slightly edging out plays. They range from solos (The Encounter) to full blown technicolor musicals (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory).

 

 The season started shakily with the return of

Motown the Musical 
Closing Date: July 31st, 2016 barely a week after its opening

and

 

July 31
Cats (Neil Simon Theatre)

Already hiring a new lead in a few weeks

 

 

September 29
The Encounter (John Golden Theatre)
Closing Date: January 8th, 2017

 

October 6
Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical(Studio 54 Theatre)
Closing Date: January 1st, 2017

October 10
Oh, Hello on Broadway (Lyceum Theatre)
Closing Date: January 8th, 2017

 

October 13
Heisenberg (Samuel J. Friedman Theatre)

 

 

October 16

The Cherry Orchard (American Airlines Theatre)
Closing Date: December 4th, 2016

 

 

October 20
The Front Page (Broadhurst Theatre)
Closing Date: January 29th, 2017

 

 

October 21
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons On Broadway (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre)
Closing Date: October 29th, 2016

 

October 27
Falsettos (Walter Kerr Theatre)
Closing Date: January 8th, 2017

October 30
Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Booth Theatre)
Closing Date: January 22nd, 2017

 

November 14
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812(Imperial Theatre)

 

November 22
Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science (Ethel Barrymore Theatre)
Closing Date: November 27th, 2016

 

December 4

Dear Evan Hansen

Music Box Theater

 

The Big Shows are coming in the Spring season when competition for the Tonys is foremost in most producers’ minds

Among them:

 

Singin’ In The Rain 
Dancing With the Stars favorite Derek Hough will play song-and-dance man Don Lockwood in a new stage adaptation of the classic MGM film.

Chazz Palminteri’s hit one man show A Bronx Tale has been transformed into a musical with revered Robert De Niro (in his directorial debut)/Jerry Zaks as directors, composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast,  Aladdin) and lyricist Glenn Slater (School of Rock).

Gotta Dance is a new musical based on a 2008 Dori Berinstein documentary about the New Jersey Nets’ hip-hop dance team made up of senior citizens. The documentary followed the neophyte team of 12 women and one man from auditions through their public performance. The new musical will be directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the director of Kinky Boots

 

 A sly, satirical SpongeBob, the Musical is on its way. At $20 million it has to be good.  The storyline is entirely new — and its score comes from a disparate group of artists, including John Legend, T.I., Panic! at the Disco, and the late David Bowie.

 

Miss Saigon , the still (unfortunately) relevant musical will again enrapture and shock us after a hugely successful run in UK.

 

And Anastasia, not the magnificent Yul Brynner/Ingrid Bergman classic, but the 1987 Disney version, has enlisted the winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime) reunited with Terence McNally (book) based on the 1997 animated movie about the (allegedly) last surviving member of the Romanov family. Darko Tesniak, who staged the Tony winner A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, will direct.

 

And what promises to be the season’s BIG hit: 

The beloved Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce will be adding their considerable charisma to a much anticipated revival of Hello, Dolly! taking the coveted last date to open (for the Tony’s the last place usually finishes first since voters have short memories)