Theatre Development Fund – TDF: All those shows closing over the summer means Broadway is getting an incredible influx of new titles this fall. Between now and December, 19 new productions are bowing on the boards -- and that doesn't even include the recently opened Sea Wall / A Life and Betrayal. As usual, autumn is play heavy, with lauded London imports (The Inheritance, The Height of the Storm), Off-Broadway transfers (Slave Play) and shows coming from regional festivals (The Sound Inside, Grand Horizons). But there are a handful of new musicals too, including Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Jagged Little Pill. Our guide helps you navigate what's coming.
4 comments:
This notion is something that would have made me very upset a couple years ago, but now it brings me much joy and rather excites me-- the plays on broadway are better than the musicals on broadway. More and more, musicals have turned into broadways cash guzzling cow rather than a place for extending and refreshing the art form of musical theatre. Plays on the other hand, are representing niche topics and keeping theatre on top of every last social issue with out having the care for getting stupid audiences. I can't wait to watch shows like Rose Tattoo on broadway, I always have loved Trip Cullman's work and I love that another one of his shows get to make its debut on the broadway. Plays are the future of the theatre industry, and even if people don't see plays as being something that they would love to sit through cause its 'boring', I still think that the work needs to be done and it is making ripples on the great white way.
As a fan of the books and not of the movie, the Percy Jackson musical seems very interesting to me. The author of the series, Rick Riordan, has not been shy about expressing his feelings about the film adaptations of his books. He simply doesn't like them. So I wonder what his level of involvement was with this adaptation. What does seem interesting is that there doesn't appear to be any new original, traditional-style musicals opening this year. They are all based on other pre-existing properties. However, the plays appear to be a departure from that. There seems to be many interesting plays that will be onstage in this new season. I hope that I can see some of them at some point seeing as I have not been to New York to see a Broadway show. It would be a great way to engage with the very best of the art form.
I have to admit that I was shocked many times this summer because seemingly amazing shows closed down unexpectedly. However, I really like the looks of some of these new Broadway shows, especially the influx of plays. One in particular that I have been following is "The Inheritance" following its acclaim in London. I am also really hoping to see "Betrayal" because I would be interested to see how Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Cox's abilities in acting for the stage compare to their work in television and movies. On the other hand, I'm a little cautious to be excited about "David Byrne's American Utopia" and "Jagged Little Pill" because I am honestly really tired of jukebox musicals and think that if they have to exist they should be kept out of Broadway. Another point of interest for me is "West Side Story" because I am a huge fan of creative adaptations of classics, and though I do not know from this article what the adaptation is, I love "West Side Story" enough that I think I would like any production with skilled actors and a budget.
The new shows coming to Broadway this year are going to be really fun, however, I am disappointed at the lack of original musicals. Again, this season is full of jukebox musicals, and adapted books. I can say that the West Side Story Revival is about to blow americas socks off! I am so excited to see the new reimagined and connected version of West Side Story, a show that so many theatre kids know and love. I love that they include that female artists are behind Jagged Little Pill, because yay females in theatre! Im super excited to possibly get to see one of these exciting new shows!!
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