Auf Wiedersehen

The Norman Conquests, winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, concluded its run at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theater on July 26th.

Mary Stuart closes August 16th. (This is an incredible show. A little long, but the acting, directing, and lighting are phenomenal.) On September 12th, the current West End production of Hamlet, starring Jude Law, succeeds Mary Stuart at the Broadhurst Theater.

After 21 months at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, The Little Mermaid is set to close August 30th. After a pre-broadway run in Chicago this winter, The Addams Family will begin previews at the Lunt-Fontanne on March 4th, 2010. The show stars Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, and features Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening, A Chorus Line, In the Heights) as Wednesday. Music and lyrics are written by Andrew Lippa, author and composer of the 2000 Off-Broadway show The Wild Party. The book is written by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, authors of Jersey Boys. Although I would love to see more original work opening on Broadway, this sounds like a promising cast and creative team. I am definitely intrigued.

Avenue Q, winner of the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical, will play its final performance at the John Golden Theater on September 13th. On September 29th, Oleanna takes over the stage. Written by David Mamet, Oleanna features a power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students. After premiering in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1992, it appeared
off-Broadway and twice in London. The upcoming Broadway production stars Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, both of whom are reprising their roles from a recent Los Angeles production.

David Mamet also wrote November and Speed-the-Plow, two of the last three productions to appear at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. His newest play, Race, will make that three of the last four, beginning previews at the Ethel Barrymore on November 17th. The production features James Spader, Richard Thomas, Kerry Washington, and David Alan Grier.

God of Carnage, winner of the 2009 Tony for Best Play, played its final performance of the summer on July 26th. After a 6-week hiatus, the show will return September 8th and continue through November 14th.

More shows to keep an eye on...

Catch Me If You Can, starring Norbert Leo Butz and Aaron Tveit, premiered at Seattle's Fifth Avenue Theater on July 28th. Based on the 2002 film starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, the musical depicts an FBI agent's pursuit of an unrelenting con artist. The production also features Kerry Butler and runs through August 14th.

A stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption opens September 4th at Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End.

A stage adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's opens September 9th at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End.

The Roundabout Theater Company is producing a revival of Bye Bye Birdie, featuring John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Bill Irwin, Matt Doyle, and Allie Trimm. Previews begin September 10th at Henry Miller's Theatre.

A Steady Rain, starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, is a play about two Chicago cops who maintain opposing memories of a domestic disturbance case. Previews begin September 10th at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

Superior Donuts, a new play written by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts (August: Osage County), is set in a Chicago doughnut shop and "explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship." Previews begin at the Music Box Theatre on September 16th.

A revival of Finian's Rainbow, starring Cheyenne Jackson, begins October 8th at the St. James Theater. The original production opened on January 10th, 1947 and ran for 725 performances.