It’s not wedding season, but I have something old, something new, something borrowed, but I can’t help you with something blue in this week’s Best Bets: September 15th – September 21st.
ART – Music Box Theatre – New York, NY – Now – December 21st
It’s been over 37 years since Yasmina Reza’s play Art opened on Broadway. It went on to play 600 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Play. Alan Alda, Victor Garber and Alfred Molina starred in the play about three friends who have a contentious time discussing the latest art acquisition one of the men has made.
On Tuesday, the first Broadway revival of the play officially opens. The cast is Bobby Cannavale, James Corden and Neil Patrick Harris. Scott Ellis directs.
Cannavale was terrific in The Motherf**ker with the Hat. Corden was unforgettable in One Man, Two Guvnorsand Harris was so memorable as Hedwig. The success of the play hinges on the friendships these men have at the beginning of the play.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
DAMN YANKEES – Arena Stage – Washington, D.C. – Now – November 9th OPENING NIGHT September 19th
This musical by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross with a book by Douglass Wallop and George Abbott (who directed), was a smash hit when it opened in 1955. It went on to win 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical.
It tells the story of a passionate baseball fan, Joe Boyd (Quentin Earl Darrington), who sells his soul to the devil, Applegate (Rob McClure) in order for his team to beat the Yankees and clinch the pennant. But like any Faustian deal, there are consequences.
Damn Yankees has been modernized and is set in the 2000s when the Yankees were unbeatable. There is a new book by Will Power and Doug Wright and additional lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Sergio Trujillo, whose Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl was the talk of the summer, directs and choreographs.
Also in the cast are Jordan Danica as Joe Hardy and Ana Villafañe as Lola (remember, whatever Lola wants, Lola gets).
Damn Yankees hasn’t been on Broadway in 32 years. This production certainly seems to have its eyes on a transfer to NYC.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
CARMEN – Joffrey Ballet – Chicago, IL – September 18th – September 28th
In 2015 the Norwegian National Ballet offered the world premiere of Liam Scarlett’s Carmen. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive for this new take on the novella by Prosper Mérimée that inspired Goerges Bizet’s immensely popular opera.
For Scarlett’s ballet, the story is set in a cigarette factory in 1930s Spain. This puts the action on the cusp of the Spanish Civil War which was fought from 1936-1939.
The story remains the same: Micaëla visits the factory to see Don José. Carmen shows up at the factory and is immediately taken with Don José. Carmen is at the center of a fight amongst the women and Don José is tasked with guarding her. She seduces him and escapes.
While away she encounters Escamillo, a famous bullfighter. He seduces Carmen and the inevitable love triangle develops. How Carmen juggles the two men and how they respond to her machinations is the stuff of pure tragedy.
At press time I didn’t have cast details. Bizet’s score will be performed live by the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Scott Speck.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
PARALLEL PROCESS – Odyssey Theatre Ensemble – Los Angeles, CA – September 19th – October 26th
In 1980, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble had great success with a play about Vietnam veterans that was written and performed by Vietnam veterans. The show was called Tracers. It went on to play at The Public Theater in New York.
Parallel Process, by David Kohner Zuckerman (who also directs), is also inspired by the experiences of Vietnam veterans – including those of its Executive Producer, Lewis Finocchio.
It’s a story of two brothers: Dennis (Alan McRae) and Bobby (Darrell Larson). They served together in Vietnam. They’ve been estranged for years, but Boby shows up to confront his brother about long lingering issues from well before the war and the scars that remain from their service.
Will lightning strike twice with this play at the Odyssey? Fingers crossed it does.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
NOTHNG LIKE BROADWAY – Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre – New York, NY – Now – November 23rd OPENING NIGHT September 19th
This is the kind of off-Broadway show you keep your fingers crossed it is charming, clever and just makes you feel good. So stay with me on the meta-plot of this new musical by David Rackoff (who wrote the book, the lyrics and the music.)
Milo (Tyler Tanner) works in on Off-Broadway cabaret space and fantasizes about being the one guy who can save the world. Annabelle (Mychal Phillips) is his best friend and an ardent supporter of the arts. Life is not cabaret old chums when two international spies Bixby (Marek Zurowski) and Kishka (Josey Miller) show us pretending to be singers but also hiding from each other. Can Milo live out his dream and bring this all to a happy conclusion?
Rackoff says in press notes, “It’s a show about musical theater nerds, by musical theater nerds, for musical theater nerds.” I’ve heard several of the songs and they do have a certain charm that in the right hands could make for an entertaining show.
For tickets and more information, please go HERE.
That’s all for Best Bets: September 15th – September 21st.
Enjoy your week and go see a show!
Main Photo: Joffrey Ballet’s Carmen (Courtesy Joffrey Ballet)