Friday, August 19, 2011

Star Power: The Musicals

Whether you loved, hated or missed it altogether, last season's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown was an exciting opportunity to see some of Broadway's heaviest hitters in one place at one time, an opportunity one thought would be a rare one.  It is almost impossible to fathom that something similar, and potentially great, is happening with one show this season.

Of course, Follies is but one musical this season that boasts some well-known names above and below the title on the marquee.  There are dozens of famous stage, screen, TV and music stars coming to the New York stage this season, which should please everyone from the star-struck to the lover of quality acting.  This season, heavy so far with musical revivals, offers us the chance to see some of today's brightest stars in historically rich roles.  And it offers us some exciting opportunities to make history with new shows, too.

Here's a list of shows, along with the names that should draw crowds of theatre, film and TV fans.  Of course, this is in no way completely inclusive or definitive, as shows and stars may change.  And, most of these actors have appeared in all media, but here, I list them for what they are primarily known for.

* Stage   @ TV   # Film   + Music



  • Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark: Reeve Carney+ (The band Carney), Jennifer Damiano* (next to normal, Spring Awakening), Patrick Page* (The Lion King, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Isabel Keating* (The Boy from Oz)
  • RENT: Adam Chanler-Berat* (next to normal, Peter and the Star Catcher), Matt Shingledecker* (Spring Awakening), Annaleigh Ashford* (Wicked, Legally Blonde)
  • Follies: Bernadette Peters* (Song and Dance, Sunday in the Park with George, Annie Get Your Gun), Jan Maxwell* (Lend Me a Tenor, The Royal Family, Coram Boy), Ron Raines*@ (Guiding Light, Teddy and Alice), Danny Burstein* (Women on the Verge, South Pacific), Elaine Paige* (Cats, Evita, Sunset Boulevard), Terri White* (Finian's Rainbow, Chicago), Jane Houdyshell* (Well, Wicked), Mary Beth Piel* (The King and I, Women on the Verge)



  • Bonnie and Clyde: Laura Osnes*@ (South Pacific, Grease, Anything Goes, You're the One That I Want), Jeremy Jordan* (Rock of Ages, West Side Story)
  • Godspell: Hunter Parrish@* (Weeds, Spring Awakening), Telly Leung*@ (RENT, Glee), Nick Blaemire* (Cry-Baby, Glory Days)
  • Lysistrata Jones: Cast: TBA
  • On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: Harry Connick, Jr. +*@ (Harry Connick Jr. On Broadway, The Pajama Game, Thou Shalt Not, Will and Grace), David Turner* (In My Life)
  • An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin: Patti LuPone*@ (Evita, Gypsy, Life Goes On), Mandy Patinkin*@# (Evita, The Secret Garden, The Wild Party, Chicago Hope, Criminal Minds, The Princess Bride)



  • The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess: Audra McDonald*@ (Carousel, Marie Christine, Ragtime, Private Practice), Norm Lewis* (Les Miserables, The Little Mermaid, Side Show), David Alan Grier @* (A Funny Thing..., Race, In Living Color), Joshua Henry* (The Scottsboro Boys, American Idiot)
  • Yank!: Bobby Steggert* (Ragtime, 110 in the Shade)
  • Evita: Elena Roger* (London's Evita), Ricky Martin+* (Menudo, solo music career, Les Miserables), Michael Cerveris* (The Who's Tommy, Titanic: The Musical, Sweeney Todd, In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play)
  • Funny Girl: Lauren Ambrose@* (Six Feet Under, Awake and Sing!)
  • Nice Work If You Can Get It: Matthew Broderick*# (Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Producers, How to Succeed, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, War Games)
  • Rebecca: Sierra Boggess* (The Lion King, Master Class, Love Never Dies)



REPLACEMENTS:
  • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: Darren Criss@ (Glee)
  • Billy Elliot Daniel Jenkins* (Big, Big River, Mary Poppins)
  • Anything Goes: Kelly Bishop* (A Chorus Line), Erin Mackey*(Sondheim on Sondheim)
  • The Addams Family: Brooke Shields@* (The Blue Lagoon, Chicago, Wonderful Town, Grease!, Cabaret), Roger Rees*@ (Nicholas Nickleby, The West Wing, Cheers, Grey's Anatomy), Heidi Blickenstaff* ([title of show], The Little Mermaid, The Full Monty), Brad Oscar* (The Producers)
RUMOR: I've heard two names as possible replacements for Darren Criss in How to Succeed, and they both end in Jonas...


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Jeff
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