Broadway Spring Preview, Part II: Musicals

Shari, our Theatre Critic in Residence, has given us  the skinny on the upcoming Spring Musicals and it is enough to warm any  theatre lover’s heart: Warmer weather and the new Spring Broadway season will be here before you know it, with some shows already beginning previews.

Here are a few musicals that are coming up soon—two revivals and one new work. (Keep in mind that dates are subject to change). For a look at the season’s upcoming plays, read my previous post, Broadway Spring Preview Part I: Plays.

The King and I

First Preview: March 12th
Opening: April 16th
Theatre: Vivian Beaumont (Lincoln Center), 160 W. 65^th St.

To quote Saturday Night Live’s Stefon, “This show has it all.” The new Lincoln Center revival of this beloved, historic American musical boasts a lush Rogers and Hammerstein score, choreography based on Jerome Robbins’ original, a cast of 50, and most importantly, in the role of Anna, the glorious 5-time Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara. Seen most recently on Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County, O’Hara has one of the most angelic voices in the American theatre, and she never fails to delight audiences. (Television viewers may have seen her as Mrs. Darling, the highlight of NBC’s telecast of “Peter Pan Live”).

The King and I is the tale of Anna, a British schoolteacher, and her unexpected relationship with the imperious King of Siam, played in the revival by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai.”) The original, multi-Tony Award-winning production, which opened on Broadway in 1951, starred Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. It has not been revived on Broadway since 1996.

Lincoln Center knows how to put on a show. They’ve put together a winning cast and crew (under the direction of Bartlett Sher, who won a Tony for directing Lincoln Center’s South Pacific, also starring O’Hara). This King and I is sure to have audiences leaving the theatre “whistling a happy tune.”

Finding Neverland

First Preview: March 15th
Opening: April 15th
Theatre: Lunt-Fontanne, 205 W. 46^th St.

Billed as “The story of how Peter Pan Became Peter Pan,” this highly anticipated new musical is based on the 2004 Johnny Depp film of the same name. The key players include one of Broadway’s hottest directors, Diane Paulus (Pippin, Hair), an original score by Gary Barlow and Grammy winner Eliot Kennedy, book by James Graham, and choreography by three-time Emmy winner Mia Michaels (“So You Think You Can Dance,” Cirque de Soleil’s “Delirium”). Starring will be Matthew Morrison (Glee, South Pacific), Kelsey Grammer, and Laura Michelle Kelly.

The plot focuses on how a young widow and her four young sons became the inspiration for J.M. Barrie’s beloved “Peter Pan” stories.

Some notes on casting: Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan (Newsies, “Smash”) starred as Barrie in the 2014 American Repertory Theatre production, but Morrison, who played Barrie in an earlier, developmental workshop, will star on Broadway. Grammer replaces Tony winner Michael McGrath in the role of Charles Frohman, Barrie’s producer/Captain Hook. (You can see McGrath over at Roundabout, in the revival of On the Twentieth Century).

Finding Neverland has been plagued by negative word of mouth throughout its two pre-Broadway out of town trials (in Leicester, England and Cambridge, Massachusetts). Although extensive changes (including a new creative team) have been made along the way, the show is far from a sure-fire hit. It’s also unclear whether the show will appeal to children, adults, or—if the show is to make it on Broadway—both.

Other musicals on the horizon include two with a Parisian theme (Gigi and An American in Paris) and another where the action takes place in a family’s funeral home:

Gigi. This newly revised stage adaptation of Lerner and Loewe’s 1958 movie musical is debuting out of town at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center (through February 12) prior to arriving on Broadway. Based on the novel by Colette, Gigi stars Vanessa Hudgens (best known as the star of the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” series) in the title role, a Belle Epoque Parisian girl who is being groomed as a courtesan. The original 1973 Broadway production closed after just over 100 performances, but won the Tony for best score.

First preview: March 19th
Opens:  April 8th
Theatre: Neil Simon Theatre

An American in Paris. With music by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss, The Light in the Piazza), this new show arrives on Broadway via a successful run at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Classic songs in this stage adaptation of the beloved 1951 Gene Kelly film (which won 6 Academy Awards) include “I Got Rhythm” and “Swonderful.” Robert Fairchild, Leanne Cope, Veanne Cox, and Jill Paice star.

First Preview: March 13th
Opens: April 12th
Theatre: Palace Theatre

Fun Home. Fresh from its award-winning, sold out run at the Public Theatre, this Lisa Kron/Jeanine Tesori musical stars Michael Cerveris and Judy Kuhn. Based on Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel about sexual identity and family relationships, Fun Home has been dubbed “the first mainstream musical about a young lesbian.”

First preview: March 27th
Opens: April 19th
Theatre Circle in the Square

For more Broadway show reviews, please visit Shari on the Aisle, and if you need assistance, the concierges at the Casablanca Hotel in Times Square, the Library Hotel, the Hotel Giraffe and the Hotel Elysee will all be delighted to help you with any arrangements you need to make your stay memorable.