Passions will burn bright on Broadway this season as flashy movie stars appear in plays by Pinter and Shakespeare, and themes of unexpected love take center stage. For once, classic drama gets more notice than modern musicals, and ardent acting should get the most attention of all.
Clockwise from top left: Jim Cox, Robert Ashcroft, Paul Kolnik, Simon Annand
Married couple Daniel Craig (a.k.a. James Bond) and Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz play a married couple in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. In this subtly involved story of an extramarital affair, Weisz gets involved with her husband’s best friend (played by Rafe Spall). Who would cheat on Bond? Despite the trappings of 007, Craig remains an intense actor, and in his first Broadway outing in 2009, offered a powerful performance in a tepid play (A Steady Rain). Expect him to send sparks flying in the revival of this 1978 masterpiece. (Opening night: October 27; Barrymore Theatre)
Brigitte Lacombe
The musical version of Tim Burton’s 2003 movie Big Fish (which was inspired by Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel of the same name) got mostly strong reviews when it premiered in Chicago last season. An emotional story about the fantastical tales people tell, the show has memorable songs and touching insights into family life. Starring the always-compelling Tony-winner Norbert Leo Butz and Kate Baldwin, the show, directed by the much-loved Susan Stroman, could capture audiences looking for a mix of magic and music. (October 6; Neil Simon Theatre)
Paul Kolnik
Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad bring a modern, racial twist to the classic Romeo and Juliet. Bloom, the heavy-hitting star of such blockbusters as Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean, is making his Broadway debut as the ill-fated young lover. Rashad, his star-crossed Juliet, is truly the “light through yonder window.” She won two Tony nominations for her first two Broadway appearances, and seems poised to be a huge star. Though the passionately plaintive lines may be familiar (“Parting is such sweet sorrow …”), their interpretation promises to be fresh. (September 19; Richard Rodgers Theatre)
Robert Ashcroft
Two-time Tony winner Mark Rylance is a huge, unforgettable presence on stage, and proving he can do anything, he’s playing a love-struck Olivia in an all-male production of Twelfth Night. The show was first at Shakespeare’s Globe in London—and it’s appearing in repertory with Richard III, with Rylance in the title role. The Tony committee might as well decide right now how many nominations Rylance will be allowed. (November 10, Belasco Theatre)
Simon Annand
From Shakespeare to … Amanda Peet? While appearing in The Good Wife on CBS, the lovely actress was busy writing her first play, The Commons of Pensacola, and she snagged Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner to star. While the plot is yet another angle on the Bernie Madoff story (see Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine for how to do it right), Danner and Parker should bring the right panache to the roles of the devastated wife and daughter. (November 21, New York City Center—Stage 1)
Tennessee Williams’s Southern sensibility has been a mainstay on Broadway for the last few years, and The Glass Menagerie is among his most poignant plays. This production got raves when it premiered at A.R.T. in Cambridge last year, starring the extraordinary Cherry Jones as the manipulative matriarch Amanda Wingfield. Jones brings nuance, depth, and plain-out acting brilliance to every role she plays, and this promises to be a heart-rending production. (September 26; Booth Theatre)
Michael J. Lutch
Into every season, a little jukebox-musical must fall. Coming to Broadway after already touring in major American cities for the last several months, A Night With Janis Joplin stars Mary Bridget Davies as the iconic ’60s singer. Like the recent Let It Be with four Beatles impersonators, the show is scant on narrative and focuses instead on two dozen knock-out songs. (October 10, Lyceum Theatre)
Jim Cox
Billy Crystal is back with the solo show he first performed in 2005—and has been touring with intermittently ever since. And why not? With the autobiographical story of his own family growing up, Crystal sells out everywhere he goes. He insists this nine-week engagement on Broadway will be his last telling of the tale. But then again, he didn’t expect to host the Oscars one more time either. (November 13, Imperial Theatre)
Nine of John Grisham’s novels have been turned into movies, but A Time To Kill is the first adapted as a stage play. The 1996 film starred Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock, and Rupert Holmes, who adapted the script, fortunately resisted turning the story of race and morals into a musical. Whether this can become a courtroom classic like Twelve Angry Men or Inherit the Wind isn’t clear, but hopes are high. (October 20; Golden Theatre)
Joan Marcus; Courtesy O&M Co.
Those who know Patrick Stewart from the Star Trek movies and Ian McKellan from Lord of the Rings get to see the great English actors playing in both Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Pinter’s No Man’s Land. This is the first time in recent memory that two London-based companies are on Broadway, doing plays in rep. (November 24, Cort Theatre)
Kevin Berne
Can we all admit that we’ve seen far too many productions of Macbeth lately, both on Broadway and off? Alan Cumming did a one-man interpretation last season, and even Kelsey Grammer once gave it a go. But Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight) is worth watching anytime he steps on a stage, and his interpretations of classics, like his Ivanov last year, are spectacular. So it’s probably worth hearing “Out, out brief candle!” one more time. (November 21; Vivian Beaumont Theater)
Chad Griffith
