The Fall 2024 Broadway Theater Season
is Upon Us!
Openings on Broadway
started Thursday, September 12, as Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow open much-anticipated
The Roommate. There are revivals - Gypsy! Our Town! Sunset
Boulevard!! - and new works; straight plays, comedies, musicals. Just a
sample: an updated adaptation of Romeo and Juliet directed by Sam Gold;
Yellow Face, a play about the fallout of casting a non-Asian
to be the lead in Miss Saigon; Tammy Faye, Elton John's musical
about the one and only Tammy Faye Bakker; A Wonderful World, a catalog
musical about Louis Armstrong. Stars shine everywhere, from Robert Downey, Jr.
in his Broadway debut, to six-times-Tony winner Audra McDonald. There's something
for everyone. Come to the theater, come hear the music play!
The Roommate
Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow in a
comedy about roommates and reinvention. Opened September 12.
The Hills of California
Family trauma drama; in Blackpool, England, a dying stage
mom's performer daughters gather at the bedside, and memory cascades. Until a
shot at fame appears. Opens September 29.
McNeal
Robert Downey Jr.'s Broadway debut, at the Beaumont at
Lincoln Center. A writer, his estranged son, and AI. Opens September 30.
Our Town
First Broadway revival in 25 years; directed by Kenny Leon,
with a huge and stellar cast. Opens October 10.
Maybe Happy Ending
Two robots get swept off their feet in this new musical.
Darren Criss is one of them. Opens October 17.
Romeo and Juliet
Sam Gold directs this up-to-date adaptation. Opens October
24.
Sunset Boulevard
Ready for your close-up? A re-imagining of Andew Llloyd Webber's musical. Huge hit in London, lots of
awards. Opens October 20.
Yellow Face
David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face deals with the
fallout from casting Jonathan Pryce in Miss Saigon in 1990. Opens
October 1
Left on Tenth
Delia Ephron's romcom memoir, directed by Susan Stroman.
Opens October 23
A Wonderful World
A musical about the life of the legendary Louis Armstrong.
James Monroe Inglehart will play both Armstrong and trumpet. Opens November 11.
Tammy Faye
Elton John does Tammy Faye Bakker; Rupert Goold directs.
Opens November 14.
Death Becomes Her
Two women determined to stay young, at any cost, including
magic potions. Based on the 1992 film. Opens November 21.
Cult of Love
Family drama surrounds
the holidays. Opens 12/12
Eureka Day
Vaccination debate in a private California elementary
school. Sometimes, you can't make all of the people happy. Opens December 16
Gypsy
Audra does Mama Rose. What else do you need to know? Oh, yes:
George C. Wolfe directs. Let them entertain you! Opens December 19.
Theaterscene is sad to report that Sandi Durell, the founder
and longtime publisher and editor of Theaterpizzazz, has passed after a long,
courageous battle with cancer. Many in the theater and cabaret community loved
Sandi; she was special, vibrant, and delightful. We send our condolences to her
friends and particularly, her family: her husband, Dr. Robert Durell; her
daughter, Cooper Lawrence; and her son-in-law, critic and Drama Desk member JK
Clarke.
A celebration of life was held on Sunday, October 27.
Theater Loses Two Beloved Stars: Maggie Smith and
Gavin Creel
Maggie Smith (Photo:
the Everett Collection)
Gavin Creel (Photo:
Deadline.com)
Within a single week, the theater world
lost Maggie Smith, 89, and Gavin Creel, 48. These beloved actors were
extraordinary talented members of the theater community. Smith was a legend,
with a long run that spanned decades and garnered multiple awards for her work
in film and television as well as on the stage. The other, Creel, had a
shorter, but stellar, theater career.
Tributes from those who knew her speak of
Maggie Smith's intellect, of how sharp, funny, and clever she was and yet did
not suffer fools lightly. Gavin Creel's friends and colleagues talk about his
kindness, his huge and singular talent, how he had made Broadway brighter. Gone
too soon, yet still had so much greatness still to come.
Obituaries, courtesy of Theatermania, say
it all; click photos for links.
James Earl
Jones (Photo: Jeremy Daniel)
James Earl Jones, a
boundary-breaking actor with a voice of gold, has died.
One of the best known, most
versatile, and most beloved actors of our time, Jones's many talents earned him
EGOT status. He won two Emmy Awards, one for supporting actor (Heat Wave),
one for lead actor (Gabriel's Fire); a Grammy for his recording of the
Emancipation Proclamation on the album Great American Documents; three
Tonys - for The Great White Hope, Fences, and a Lifetime
Achievement Tony; and an honorary Oscar.
Born in Arkabutla,
Mississippi, in 1931, Jones had a speech problem he overcame magnificently,
using his golden voice in role after role. It's hard to think of Jones without
thinking of Darth Vader, arguably his best-known voice role, although his Mufasa
in The Lion
King might be just as well known. The list of his film and television work ranges from Dr. Strangelove to The Simpsons, Field of Dreams to Roots to The Great White Hope. On stage, he lent
his formidable presence to Othello,
You Can't Take It With You, Of Mice and Men, The Gin Game. the list goes on.
Broadway recognizes those it
loves: the Cort Theatre was renamed The James Earl Jones in 2022.
The fashionable history of social distancing
