After a thriving 2015-2016 season, Broadway is already underway with their 2016-2017 season, with almost 30 shows premiering between now and April. This season has something for everyone, including starry revivals, immersive new works, and film to stage adaptations. With some of the most anticipated shows of the season opening this fall, here are the Top 5 that you shouldn't miss:
1) Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812
Opening in just a few short weeks, The Great Comet of 1812 will play at The Imperial Theatre, which has been reconfigured to look like a Russian nightclub for this new, immersive theatre experience which blends folk and classical music with indie rock and EDM. After the show's sensational runs Off-Broadway in 2013 and in Cambridge in early 2016, it has become perhaps the most anticipated new work of the season. The musical, based on Volume 2, Part 5 of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, focuses on newly engaged Natasha Rostova's affair with handsome playboy Anatole Kuragi. Denée Benton and Josh Groban will make their Broadway debuts as the title roles. I have been waiting for this show to come to Broadway for quite some time, and I can't wait to have the chance to finally experience it!
2) Holiday Inn
Currently playing at Roundabout Theatre Company's Studio 54, Holiday Inn is the stage adaptaion of the 1942 film and tells the story of a former actor who opens a showbiz themed inn in Connecticut that is only open on the holidays. The show features the classic songs of Iriving Berlin, incluiding "White Christmas", "Dancing Cheek to Cheek", "Shakin' the Blues Away" and many others. I recently was able to attend a performance and I was in awe of the talent of the cast. Holiday Inn stars Bryce Pinkham, Lora Lee Gayer, and Corbin Bleu, and a large ensemble who can TAP WHILE JUMP ROPING. Yes you read that correctly. TAPPING WHILE JUMP ROPING. It's a perfect show for anyone who is looking for something fun and uplifting, so make sure to see it before it closes on January 15!
3) The Cherry Orchard
This new production of one of Anton Chekhov's most famous plays stars Diane Lane, Joel Gray, and Celia Keenan-Bolger. This play is about an aristocratic Russian actress who returns to her family's orchard to find out that it has been foreclosed. The Cherry Orchard is currently running and will conclude its limited run at the American Airlines Theatre on December 4. If classic theater is more your taste, this is a great choice for you.
4) The Front Page
The revival of the 1928 play The Front Page, which features an all-star cast including Nathan Lane, John Goodman, Jefferson Mays, Sherie Rene Scott, John Slattery, and many others is currently running at the Broadhurst Theatre for 19 weeks only. The show is a comedy about a group of tabloid newspaper reporters who get caught up with the story of an escaped prisoner. All of that plus a cast that is guaranteed to provide laughs sounds like a great time!
5) Dear Evan Hansen
Following a sold out Off-Broadway run earlier this year, Benj Pasek and Justin Pauls's Dear Evan Hansen will begin previews at the Music Box Theatre on November 14. Starring Ben Platt, the new musical focuses on Evan Hansen, a high school senior who suffers from social anxiety disorder. Evan suddenly becomes involved with the turmoil surrounding a fellow classmate's suicide, and his life is changed forever. This is yet another highly anticipated show, and is one that is at the top of my list!
