Welcome to Broadway’s annual segue from sweltering dog days to autumn respite -- August being summer’s last gasp and September marking the first signs of a percolating new theatre season.
Let’s consider the transitional options, like the classics you haven’t gotten around to seeing (despite their timeless appeal), as well as the productions that seduced you during the 2011 Tony Awards broadcast. Gold, baby, gold! Plus -- and this is nothing to sneeze at -- the majority of the latter still boast their original stars, like Daniel Radcliffe in the outstanding revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. (And here’s a thought, particularly if you have kids or a Harry Potter passion of your own: why not go for the New York Radcliffe trifecta and see Deathly Hallows Part 2 in the morning, visit the awesome Harry Potter Exhibition at Discovery Times Square (through 9/5; 226 W. 44th St., 866-987-9692; click here for tickets) in the afternoon, and top off your Radcliffe immersion spectacular with an evening performance of How to Succeed…? I’ve met Radcliffe and not only is he a charming/good guy, he’s proving himself to be one of the most fearless young actors on the planet, having launched his stage career with the psychological drama Equus and following it up with a non-stop song-and-dance musical.)
And then, of course, there’s the jaw-dropping casts of Anything Goes (Tony winners Sutton Foster and Joel Grey along with veteran actors John McMartin and Jessica Walter); The Addams Family (starring Roger Rees and Brooke Shields as Gomez and Morticia, respectively); and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert with original leads Will Swenson, Nick Adams, and the beyond-fabulous Tony Sheldon -- who not only received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of transgender performer Bernadette, but has also played the role over 1,100 times in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K.
So don’t be shy; seize this annual sliver of theatrical karma and check out the 24-carat shows guaranteed to knock your flip-flops off in the weeks leading up to the new influx of musicals, dramas, and comedies (currently pawing the ground of the Great White Way’s bullpen; click here for a pee;) take center stage. (Okay, The Book of Mormon and Wicked will no doubt prove a ticket-wrangling challenge, but otherwise this is primo time for landing first-rate Broadway tickets and getting blown away by top-tier star power.)