It’s not quite the Twilight Zone, although there is a whiff of the surreal in the air as the latest batch of Tony hopefuls flutter onto the Great White Way during this schizoid month of slush and sunshine. They arrive in preview format (subtext: most tickets are not too hard to acquire), often with high-profile celebs tackling intriguing roles. And one or two of these Hollywood stars are even making their Broadway debuts. For avid theatergoers, this spells a nifty opportunity to check out multiple potential hits before rave reviews make scoring tickets a challenge/impossibility.

THE PREVIEWS

Let us begin. First to preview (March 1st) is Tony winner Twyla Tharp’s dance-inspired homage to the Chairman of the Board. Come Fly Away -- a physical and musical tribute to songs made famous by Frank Sinatra -- is set in a nightclub where romantic encounters rise and fall to Sinatra classics and Tharp’s choreography. For the record, the dance company includes John Seyla and Keith Roberts, two easy-on-the-eyes guys who netted Tony nominations for their performances in Tharp’s 2003 hit Movin’ Out.

March 4th: The Broadway preview of The Addams Family musical, starring Tony winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as Charles Addams’ seductively macabre spouses Gomez and Morticia (a casting coup if ever there was one), takes over the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. They share the stage with several Broadway notables including Carolee Carmello (Mamma Mia!; Lestat); Terrence Mann (Les Misérables; Beauty and the Beast); Kevin Chamberlin (Seussical; Dirty Blonde) and Jackie “born to kvetch” Hoffman (Hairspray; Xanadu).

March 11th: Lend Me a Tenor: Tony winner Anthony LaPaglia and Tony nominee Jan Maxwell appear alongside Tony Shalhoub (who recently wrapped up his final season of Monk on USA Network) under the direction of Shalhoub’s longtime friend and collaborator Stanley Tucci. The revival of Ken Ludwig’s madcap farce set in a posh Cleveland hotel room in 1934 also features Brooke Adams (Shalhoub’s real-life wife), Mary Catherine Garrison, Jennifer Laura Thompson, and Jay Klaitz.

Previewing the same night is U.S. playwright John Logan’s Red, starring Alfred Molina in a tour-de-force performance embodying 20th-century abstract impressionist Mark Rothko. The play arrives direct from London’s Donmar Warehouse along with Molina’s British critically acclaimed costar Eddie Redmayne.

March 13th: Early rock, R&B, country and gospel make up the score of Million Dollar Quartet, the new musical based on the 1956 recording session that brought Johnny Cash (Lance Guest), Jerry Lee Lewis (Levi Kreis), Carl Perkins (Rob Lyons) and Elvis Presley (Eddie Clendening) together at the Sun Records studio in Memphis. Tony nominee Hunter Foster plays record producer Sam Phillips in this show set long before the four legends were immortalized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

March 19th: Sondheim on Sondheim moves into Studio 54 for an unforgettable portrait of one of musical theatre’s composing greats. With direction by longtime Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, the ensemble cast, led by Tony winner Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, performs new arrangements of the composer’s celebrated works, with a couple of obscure tunes thrown in for good measure. Exclusive interview footage adds a lovely up-close-and-personal dimension to the evening.

March 24th: American Idiot marks the reuniting of John Gallagher Jr. and director Michael Mayer, who rocked the socks off Spring Awakening in 2006 Tony-wise. Add to the mix a couple other hot performers who can pass for restless teens -- i.e., Stark Sands and Michael Esper -- and and this edgy musical based on Green Day’s Grammy-winning album of the same name is beyond bankable.  

March 27th: Promises Promises, the fifth and final musical to bow in this month, is the only revival in the bunch. Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) share top billing as the leads, but at least three more members of the company are also high on the recognition ladder: Tony winners Katie Finneran and Dick Latessa and film/TV actor Tony Goldwyn.