Deaf West Theatre’s production of Spring Awakening. Picture: Kevin Parry
If yet another production of the ever-beloved Fiddler On the Roof doesn’t exactly set you tingling with anticipation, how about a fresh-off-the-page Andrew Lloyd Webber rockfest? At any rate, such endeavours are both part of the upcoming fall schedule on Broadway, which is brimming over with musical openings, a mix of revivals and brand new stuff.
The first half of the 2015–16 Broadway season actually started in late June, when Amazing Grace, created by musical theatre novice Christopher Smith, began previewing for a 16 July opening. This well-intentioned if overstuffed operetta-like epic tells the story of John Newton, an 18th century Englishman who went from slave trader to abolitionist minister, and in the process wrote many hymns, including the biggie that gives the show its title. The show has not exactly proven to be as popular with ticket buyers as its titular hymn, but as of this writing it continues to hang on.
Then, came the juggernaut Hamilton, transferring from its triumphant Off-Broadway run at the Public Theater to an August opening on Broadway, where the clamour and acclaim only continue to mount. The show, depicting in surprisingly captivating hip-hop style the life and times of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton, is pretty much foreseen as the winner of the Best Musical prize when the Tony Awards are passed out in June, But there will be a host of new shows still working their tails off to get some of that Broadway glory.
Tipped for the Tony – the musical Hamilton. Picture: Joan Marcus
Among the upcoming musicals, a revival of Spring Awakening is leading the parade, with opening night set for 27 September after three weeks of previews. Based on an 1891 play by German playwright Frank Wedekind, the show, with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, delves deeply into the sexual angst of a star-crossed group of teenagers in late 19th century Germany.
The original 2006 production took home eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and ran for 859 performances. This new mounting, which started in Los Angeles, is by Deaf West Theatre and integrates American Sign Language fully into the staging. The cast includes Marlee Matlin, the deaf actress who took home an Oscar for her work in the 1986 film Children of a Lesser God. Michael Arden is the director and Spencer Liff is choreographing.
Things should be a lot more lighthearted with Dames at Sea, which is to begin previews on 24 September for a 22 October opening. Dames, a parody of those backstage Great Depression-era Warner Brothers musicals, was an Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway hit in the late 1960s, when it starred a 
bubbly newcomer named Bernadette Peters. The book and lyrics are by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and the music is by Jim Wise. The upcoming revival, directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner, marks the show’s Broadway debut, but it might retain at least a bit of its Off-Broadway intimacy. It will be in the smallest of the Broadway houses, the Helen Hayes with just over 500 seats.
Extravaganza will probably be more apparent — at least an extravaganza of lilting Latin tempos — when On Your Feet checks in, beginning previews on 5 October and officially opening a month later. It will be filled with the music of the Cuban-American pop superstar singer-songwriter Gloria Estafen and will detail her career and life with her husband, the Award-winning music producer Emilio Estafen. The show, directed by Broadway veteran Jerry Mitchell and choreographed by Serge Trujillo, played a pre-Broadway run in Chicago this summer. Ana Villafane portrays Gloria and Josh Segarra takes on the role of Emilio. The book is by Alexander Dinelaris, whose wide-ranging credits go from the film Birdman to the stage musical adaptation of The Bodyguard.
The mood will undoubtedly be a bit more somber with Allegiance, a new musical centering on the highly problematic internment of Japanese Americans on America’s West Coast during the Second World War. Headlining the cast are Lea Salonga, George Takei and Telly Leung. Takei is widely known for his portrayal of Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman of the USS Enterprise spaceship in the Star Trek television shows and movies, and the musical is inspired by his childhood experience in such an internment camp. The music and lyrics are by Jay Kuo and the book is by Marc Acito. Stafford Arima directs. Previews start 6 October for an opening on 8 November.
The happier times will then start rolling again with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock – The Musical. This is an adaptation of the 2003 movie, which featured Jack Black as a rock star wannabe who puts his talents to use as a substitute teacher, igniting the rock ‘n ’roll proclivities of his young students. The score will feature songs from the film along with new music by Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater. The book is by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes, and Laurence Connor, who gave us the latest staging of Les Misérables, directs. Topping the cast are Alex Brightman and Sierra Boggess. The show had a brief sequestered by-invitation tryout in New York early this year. The official Broadway opening comes on 6 December after nearly a month of previews.
Two revivals then wind up autumn’s Broadway musical openings: The Color Purple and the aforementioned Fiddler On the Roof.
Cynthia Erivo will reprise her role in John Doyle’s production of The Color Purple on Broadway
This new mounting of The Color Purple is being reshaped by director John Doyle, whose pared-down version was a hit for the Menier Chocolate Factory in London in 2013. Previews start 9 November for a 10 December opening. Based on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, the script depicts the hardscrabble life of black women in the American South during the 1930s. It was turned into a film by Steven Spielberg and the musical adaptation opened on Broadway in 2005, with a book by Marsha Norman and a score by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Leading the revival company are Jennifer Hudson, who won an Oscar for her work in the Dreamgirls movie and is now making her Broadway debut; Cynthia Erivo, who starred in Doyle’s London production, and Danielle Brooks, known for her work on the TV series Orange is the New Black.
When it comes to Fiddler, it’s a pretty safe bet it won’t stray too much from tradition; it‘s being directed by Bartlett Sher, whose redos of South Pacific and the currently running The King and I, were revivifying but still highly respectful renderings of these classics. The production will provide a worthy showcase for the talents of Danny Burstein, one of Broadway’s most quietly and reliably impressive talents, taking on the iconic role of Tevye the dairyman. Burstein’s versatility has brought deeply affecting life to such varied Broadway roles as Sally’s devoted if not too faithful husband in Follies, the garrulous Madrid taxi driver in Women On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, the sweet Herr Schultz in Cabaret and the grass-skirted Luther Billis in South Pacific. He should be getting fine support from Jessica Hecht as Tevye’s wife Golda.
Fiddler first played Broadway in 1964. This mounting, with the first preview set for 20 November and the official opening set for 20 December, marks its fourth Broadway revival. However, if you feel you haven’t heard ‘Matchmaker, Matchmaker’ once too often, Burstein and company, plus the other songs that make up the great Sheldon Harnick-Jerry Bock score, along with Joseph Stein’s moving script, should make another visit something to look forward to.
Ron Cohen
Readers may also be interested in:
Amazing Grace – Nederlander Theatre, New York – Review
Hamilton – The Public Theater, New York – Review
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