Broadway 2019: the shows that are to come
Movie adaptations, revivals of classics and even political dramas. These are the plays and musicals you won't want to miss on your next trip to New York.
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Previous from January 12
The year starts warm with the revival of a classic by Stephen Sondheim. The composer of Sweeney Todd and lyricist of West Side Story adapted a modest play about the fragility of friendship and he premiered it in 1981 before an audience that turned its back on him. Despite the hit at the box office, the musical survived with a few variations that lead us to this year's premiere.
The company Fiasco Theater is characterized by stripping its works of artifice, a formula that he recently applied in another of the composer's memorable works, Into the Woods. And the truth is that they turned out very well.
BE MORE CHILL Previous from February 13
Nothing can prepare you for the new phenomenon of the billboard. Its journey began last summer as a small Off-Broadway musical with a rock soundtrack by Joe Iconis , adapting the novel by Ned Vizzini . The plot follows the torment of a student who ingests a Japanese processor who acts as a personal therapist and helps him overcome the difficulties of the institute.
The book's fan base and social media pushed the show to unprecedented success: it sold out all of its tickets before raising the curtain on its first performance. Now he lands on the big stages of Broadway to show that it was not just a passing episode.
KISS ME, KATE Previous from February 14
Broadway dusts off another classic. This, from the hand of the veteran Cole Porter which won a well-deserved Tony Award in 1949. The plot follows the scuffle between the director of a Shakespeare production and his leading actress who, at the same time, is his ex-wife.
Those responsible for this revival, led by the actors Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase (who recently worked together in Oklahoma!), promise to bring this typical battle of the sexes up to date. Time does not pass in vain.
king lear Previous from February 28
Take a look at the resume glenda jackson : winner of two Oscars, two Emmys and a Tony (for the play Three Tall Women that could be seen last season on Broadway) . The 82-year-old actress returns to the same stages with an adaptation of the shakespeare classic that subverts the canons of the work.
To get started, Jackson will be the titular King Lear, something that she already did a couple of years ago in a similar production, in London. In the address she will be Sam Gold (Fun Home) and will have an original soundtrack by Philip Glass and costumes by Oscar winner Ann Roth. On your must-have list make sure King Lear is there.
AIN'T TOO PROUD - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS Previous from February 28
The format has become fashionable on Broadway and is working very well. They are called jukebox musicals , works based on the lives of singers and structured as a catchy compilation of greatest hits. So far it has been done with Carole King, Gloria Estefan, Donna Summer and, very recently, with Cher.
Poster for the play 'Hillary and Clinton'
The offer is now extended with The Temptations , the band responsible for irresistible songs like My Girl and whose formation and vicissitudes crystallize on stage at the hands of Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys) .
HILLARY AND CLINTON Previous from March 16
Even if the doors of the White House were closed to them, Broadway opens theirs wide for them. this new season, the (fictional) Clintons take to the stage with a play by Lucas Hnath.
The production chronicles Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and speculates on how power and gender relations affect her marriage to former President Bill.
The work could already be seen in 2016 but, as in just two years it has rained a lot, Hnath has decided to update the content a bit. Hillary and Bill will be played by two heavyweights from theater, film and television: Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow.
HADESTOWN Previous from March 22
The Greek mythology comes to life in a new musical that has been warming up on the Off Broadway sidelines for weeks. The Germ is an album by indie singer Anaïs Mitchell called Hadestown that reimagines the ancient myths of Orpheus and Eurydice.
In the stage version of her, the tragic love story unfolds in a current social and political context. Mitchell has the collaboration of Rachel Chavkin (The Great Comet).
BEETLEJUICE Previous from March 28
Even though just by calling out his name three times we invoke his presence, it has taken a long time for Beetlejuice to materialize. Tim Burton's cult film, baptized as Bitelchús in Spain, becomes a crazy and imaginative musical that maintains the two songs that the film popularized: Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) and Jump in the Line (Shake, Lady).
The most famous bio-exorcist in cinema (perhaps because he is the only one), played by Michael Keaton in the cinema, he will help a recently deceased couple turned into ghosts to get rid of the family that has occupied their house.
TOOTSIE Previous from March 29
Another film adaptation (and it's not the last). This time it is the comedy directed by Sydney Pollack with Dustin Hoffmann that swept the box office in 1982 and in which the actor dressed as a woman to get a role in a television soap opera.
In his transfer to the stage, the protagonist is now fighting for a place in a Broadway production and, despite being faithful to the film's DNA, **the play will travel other paths, more up-to-date for a world more sensitive to identity of genre. **
MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL Previous from June 28
The film already has a legion of fans, and its theatrical adaptation promises to create another batch of fans. The celebrated musical Baz Luhrman that made us dream of an impossible romance between a young poet (Ewan McGregor) and a courtesan (Nicole Kidman) lands on Broadway with the same dazzling packaging and some memorable musical numbers.
As a reward, in addition to keeping some of the original hits from the film, the new show will feature songs by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.
On Broadway, the best is yet to come