Mid-week and updates on Broadway have hit warp speed. First off, box office records for this past seasons musicals and plays are being broken on a regular basis, from Matilda, Kinky Boots, Pippin and Motown to Lucky Guy, I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers and The Assembled Parties. In short, business is booming. Just a reminder: every one of the non-musicals will be closing within the next couple of weeks, so carpe tickets if you can.
Moving on to announcements of shows for the upcoming Broadway season, here’s a quick preview of what has crossed my desk since Monday.
Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) has adapted John Grisham’s novel A Time to Kill for the stage. The racially charged drama -- you may recall the 1996 film version starring Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey -- will be begin previews on September 28th at the Golden Theatre. The official opening will be October 20th. Cast TBA.
And while we’re on the subject of book to celluloid to Broadway, come mid- January, 2014, the musical version of Robert James Waller’s best-seller The Bridges of Madison County will begin previews, Starring four-time Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara (pictured above) and Rescue Me’s Steven Pasquale, the show features music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) and a book by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (‘night Mother, The Color Purple, The Secret Garden).
As for the latest bit of breaking news, A Night with Janis Joplin, a concert musical starring Mary Bridget Davies in the title role, will take over the Lyceum Theatre starting September 20th (official opening night is slated for October 10th). To date, the show has received critical kudos during engagements at Portland Center Stage, the Cleveland Play House, the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for this theatrical reincarnation of rock’s awesome Pearl – Broadway can use a shot of Southern Comfort, don’t you think?