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Broadway Kicks Off a Supercharged Celebrity Season

Now in progress, fall 2014: a veritable buzz-a-palooza of big names, new shows, and eye-opening revelations. The influx of multi-generational star clout alone — from James Earl Jones and Rosemary Harris to Michael Cera and Rupert Grint — is enough to pique the interest of blasé and novice theatergoers alike. And yet, there is so much more to the New York stage scene this season. Behold…

The cast of It's Only a Play on Broadway
The cast of It's Only a Play takes a selfie. Photo by F. Scott Schafer.

First up: Early arrivals, aka Broadway shows already in previews or busy revving up to hit the ground running.

This Is Our Youth: Its title neatly sums up the cast demographic, with the aforementioned Cera (Juno; Arrested Development), Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), and stage rookie/Rookie Magazine founder, 18-year-old Tavi Gevinson.

The Country House: A new comedy from Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies starring Tony winner Blythe Danner and Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me; Take Me Out), who channel Chekhov’s pastoral plays in a most contemporary way.

It’s Only a Play: You don’t have to be a Broadway aficionado to know the stars recruited for this Terrence McNally showbiz comedy are box-office gold, starting with the Producers-proven Matthew Broderick-Nathan Lane combo and expanding from there to include F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing, Megan Mullally, and, in his U.S. stage debut, Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films).

Love Letters: A.R. Gurney’s acclaimed two-person romance is scheduled to launch on September 13 and run through February 1 with five separate casts — each one a jaw-dropping duo of stage and/or screen legends. The roster includes Brian Dennehy, Mia Farrow, Carol Burnett, Alan Alda, Candice Bergen, Stacy Keach, Diana Rigg, Anjelica Huston, and Martin Sheen.

You Can’t Take It With You: The vintage gem of autumn comes not only with the unflappable wit and screwball wisdom of 1930s Kaufman and Hart, it also boasts James Earl Jones and his charismatic baritone, Elizabeth Ashley at her flamboyant best, and an extended dream team of character actors from TV, film, theatre, comedy clubs, cabarets, and the crème de la crème of yadda, yadda, yadda.

Flipping Fabulous: New Stars In Seminal Roles

Like the fairy tale it spins, casting at Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella continues to be enchanting. Since it opened in March 2013, a number of VIP newcomers have stepped into an assortment of roles at the Broadway Theatre, none perhaps as happily ever after as the most recent leading femmes to join the company: Keke Palmer (Masters of Sex) in the title role; Sherri Shepherd (The View; Dancing With the Stars) as her conniving stepmother “Madame”; and Tony winner Judy Kaye (Nice Work If You Can Get It) as Cinderella’s fairy godmother.

Keke Palmer and Sherri Shepherd in Cinderella on Broadway
Keke Palmer and Sherri Shepherd in Cinderella on Broadway. Photo: Carol Rosegg

Several factors put this particular trio over the must-see top, including Palmer’s history-making turn as the first African-American actress to play Cinderella on Broadway. She stepped into the glass slipper on September 9 — just two weeks after turning 21. Which is not to shortchange Shepherd’s debut performance on the same day, or the fact that she is the first African-American actress to play Madame on Broadway. Which brings us to Kaye, who won her first Tony in 1988 for her role in the Phantom of the Opera. With her recent Broadway roles earning “hilarious” accolades (Florence Foster Jenkins, Souvenir; Rosie, Mamma Mia!), it's interesting to see just how hard she pushes the comedic button.

Tim Mislock, Andrew Rannels, and Lena Hall in Hedwig on Broadway
Tim Mislock, Andrew Rannels, and Lena Hall in Hedwig on Broadway

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Neil Patrick Harris bid auf Wiedersehen to the Tony-winning musical revival Hedwig and the Angry Inch on August 20. However, before leaving he passed the torch, wigs, fishnet stockings, and platform heels to Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon; Girls) who, as it happens, is no stranger to the role having played the transgender diva in Austin, Texas circa 2001. This time, of course, he gets to partake in the full Broadway bells-and-whistles treatment — and to play opposite Tony winner Lena Hall as Hedwig’s significant other.

Michelle Williams and Alan Cumming in Cabaret
Michelle Williams and Alan Cumming in Cabaret. Photo: Joan Marcus, 2014

Finally, all kinds of big new is floating around Studio 54, where Cabaret has been holding court since this past Spring. To whit, not only has the limited run revival posted an extension through March 29, with Alan Cumming staying on as the “Emcee” — the role that brought him a Tony Award in 1998 during production’s first incarnation under the direction of Academy Award winner Sam Mendes — but Michelle Williams has extended her stay at the Kit Kat Klub as singer Fraulein Sally Bowles through November 9.

And while goodbyes are difficult, there is an upside for devoted Cabaret followers because after Williams leaves her acclaimed portrayal behind, Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man; Magic in the Moonlight) will make her Broadway debut in the role and remain with the musical through February 1 of next year.

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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