HOT TICKETS
The spotlight’s on major stars and top revivals
The big trends on Broadway this fall: Boldface names and bold revivals of familiar shows. Makes sense. Daring approaches and brand-name stars like Bruce Willis, Keira Knightley and Jennifer Hudson get attention. And, better, they help put fannies into theater seats. After all, it takes green — and lots of it — to present a show on the Great White Way. Even a two-character, oneset play can cost $3 million.
Which explains why Arthur Miller’s 60-year-old classic “A View From the Bridge” (Previews start Oct. 21, Lyceum) is back — again — just five years after the last revival closed. This version, hot from an award-winning hit run in London, is directed by the ever-audacious Belgian director Ivo van Hove. Add virile Mark Strong, so good in “Zero Dark Thirty,” as the lusting Brooklyn uncle and it’s doubly alluring.
“Spring Awakening” (Sept. 8, Brooks Atkinson), Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s sexually charged pop-rock musical about adolescent angst, left Broadway six years ago. Back so soon? Yes. Here’s why: Deaf West’s new version is performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken English. “Children of a Lesser God” Oscar winner Marlee Matlin makes her Broadway debut.
“The Color Purple” (Nov. 9, Bernard B. Jacobs) ended its original Broadway run in 2008. Like that run, this one is produced by Oprah Winfrey. But director John Doyle, known for minimalist productions, guides this leaner, meaner version along with Oscar winner Hudson, who makes her Broadway premiere as the assured Shug Avery.
Al Pacino, yet another Academy Award winner, and a reliable audience magnet, plays a billionaire in David Mamet’s new drama,
“China Doll” (Oct. 21, Gerald Schoenfeld). Not every celeb on stage this season has an Oscar on their mantle. But Bruce Willis has the starry cred to be a box office draw for the dramatization of the Stephen King thriller
“Misery” (Oct. 22, Broadhurst). How are the “Die Hard” hero’s stage chops? Let’s see!
Same goes for Keira Knightley in the tragic classic “Thérèse Raquin” (Oct. 1, Studio 54). And Clive Owen in Harold Pinter’s 1971 mind-bender “Old Times” (Sept. 17, American Airlines).
Hot on the royal heels of “The Audience,” which won Helen Mirren a Tony as Queen Elizabeth, edgy playwright Mike Bartlett imagines a post-QEII England in the dramedy
“King Charles III” (Oct. 10, Music Box). When it comes to new musicals, the spotlight’s on bios and an adaptation from a film.
“School of Rock” (Nov. 9, Winter Garden) features new music from Andrew Lloyd Webber and hits from the Jack Black movie. “On Your Feet!” (Oct. 5, Marquis) celebrates the music and love story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. And “Allegiance” (Oct. 6, Longacre) tells the story of George Takei’s life, long before he was Starship Enterprise helmsman.
Rounding out autumn on Broadway: “The Gin Game” (Sept. 23, Golden), “Dames at Sea” (Sept. 24, Helen Hayes), “Fiddler on the Roof” (Nov. 12, Broadway), “Fool for Love” (Sept. 15, Friedman) “Sylvia” (Oct. 2, Cort) and a return of “The Illusionists” (Nov. 19, Neil Simon). jdziemianowicz@nydailynews.com