Spring of surprises
A new slate of shows is headed to Broadway, and promises a wide-open Tony race
AS we swing into 2017, let’s look at the people, shows and events certain to make news on Broadway in the months ahead.
Hello, $$$!
Bette Midler is shaping up as the No. 1 box-office draw this season as the title character in “Hello, Dolly!” She doesn’t set foot on the stage of the Shubert Theatre until March, but her name above the title already has pulled in more than $25 million. She just completed a four-week workshop with director Jerry Zaks and choreographer Warren Carlyle, and I hear everyone was pleased with the results. Tony nominators mysteriously (and unforgivably) snubbed Midler a few years ago when she starred in the one-woman show “I’ll Eat You Last.” I suspect she’ll have plenty to celebrate this time around.
Meanwhile, “Dolly” composer Jerry Herman is determined to make the opening. He’s 85 and doesn’t travel much anymore, but I hear he may take the train up from Miami to cheer on his latest Dolly Levi. Webber’s planning a hell of a bash. And why not? He’ll have four shows on Broadway this spring: “Cats,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Sunset” and “School of Rock.” Only his idol, Richard Rodgers, has pulled that off before.
But what about Olaf?
Not since “The Lion King” has a Disney musical generated as much anticipation as “Frozen.” What’s the ice castle going to look like? How will they do the blizzard? Are the new songs as good as “Let It Go”? And, most important: What’s Olaf going to look like? We’ll have answers in August, when “Frozen” plays its first preview in Denver. Michael Grandage is directing and the sets and costumes are by his partner and collaborator, Christopher Oram. The look of the show is still under wraps, but Grandage and Oram are approaching “Frozen” as if it were an original stage musical and not a replica of the movie. They’re aiming for the kind of artistry Julie Taymor came up with for “The Lion King.”
Nail-biting at the Tonys
What fun it will be to have a contested Tonys after 2016’s “Hamilton” sweep. Competition looks to be fierce in many categories, and fiercest for Best Musical. “Dear Evan Hansen” roared out of the gate with great reviews and swelling advance sales (I’m hearing $15 million). But nothing’s sure on Broadway, especially when “Groundhog Day” is headed this way. Throw in “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” “War Paint” and “Come From Away,” and you’ve got the makings of an exciting Tony night. “Evan Hansen” star Ben Platt has won the heart of every Tony voter I chatted with at holiday parties. But voters are also fond of Andy Karl, who’s been sensational in “Groundhog Day” in London. Look for the show’s composer, Tim Minchin, to pull a Harvey Fierstein, politicking his way through the pack of Tony voters, charming each and every one of them.
Expect the unexpected
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” underwent some major work since its middling London run, so don’t dismiss it as a themepark kiddie show. And “Anastasia” has a huge following among millennials, based on the traffic it’s generating at Broadway.com. Joe Mantello may seem too old to play Tom in “The Glass Menagerie,” but remember it’s a “memory play,” and, as directed by Sam Gold, Mantello should be sensational. Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, bitching it up in “War Paint,” are going to be breathing down Midler’s neck at the Tonys. Also expect director Terry Kinney to turn a secondrate Arthur Miller play, “The Price,” into first-rate theater.