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Broadway Fall 2011 Preview - It's Show Time!

Unlike spring, when new shows pour onto Broadway with a determined “must make the Tony nomination deadline” gusto, the fall theatre season tends to amble leisurely onto the Great White Way allowing theatergoers to a) check out the rookie productions; and b) revisit their popular up-and-running cousins.

The first wave of new shows kicked off on September 9 when the Roundabout Theatre began previews for the drama Man and Boy, starring three-time Tony winner Frank Langella (last seen on Broadway in 2008’s A Man for All Seasons) as a 1930s financier alongside Zach Grenier (24, Fight Club, Zodiac) as his son.

On September 12 brought the official opening of Follies at the Marquis Theatre. This already-acclaimed Stephen Sondheim revival -- it debuted to sell-outs at The Kennedy Center earlier this year -- is packed with Broadway royalty, including Jan Maxwell (who holds the distinction of being nominated for both Leading and Featured Actress Tonys in 2010; pictured below), and Tony winners Bernadette Peters and Danny Burstein. (Incidentally, Ms. Peters has appeared in a total of five Sondheim musicals, the most recent being the breathtaking revival of A Little Night Music.

Jan Maxwell in Follies on Broadway

A little over a week later, September 20 marks the first preview performance of Relatively Speaking, three one-acts penned by a trio of comedy-writing heavyweights: Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen. As for the cast, it too is filled to celebrity capacity with veterans of TV, film, and the stage, including Mark Linn-Baker, Steve Guttenberg, Julie Kavner, Richard Libertini, and Marlo Thomas. Oh yes, and the director just happens to be John Turturro.

The much-anticipated Broadway launch of The Mountaintop, featuring the superstar duo of Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, follows close behind on September 22. This fictionalized look at the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in 1968 is shaping up to be one sizzler of a ticket, so if it tops your wish list I strongly recommend reserving tickets now.

Meanwhile, on the established hit front, Wicked is welcoming a couple of new leading witches fresh from the First National Tour starting September 27: Jackie Burns (Elphaba), a member of the original Rock of Ages cast last seen on Broadway in Hair; and Chandra Lee Schwartz (Glinda), whose Broadway credits include roles in Gypsy (with Bernadette Peters!) and Hairspray. She also played the divalicious villainess Sharpay in the stage version of Disney’s High School Musical.

And if you’re hoping to see Million Dollar Quartet, the red hot musical based on the iconic 1956 Sun Records jam session, and can’t find it among the Broadway listings, don’t panic! It has a new home Off-Broadway and is dazzling fans with performances from original cast members Eddie Clendening (Elvis Presley), Lance Guest (Johnny Cash), and Robert Britton Lyons (Carl Perkins), along with David Abeles as Jerry Lee Lewis.

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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