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From Broadway to Central Park - Sultry Big Apple Stages

Ok, the heat is on — and I’m not just talking temperature. Summer is when Manhattan gets its theatre freak on with cutting-edge festivals, nifty al fresco productions — including NYC’s quintessential summer perk, the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park — and outstanding performances both on and off the Great White Way.

This summer in particular, Broadway’s beguiling lineup of shows is a study in diversity. Think about it: the latest musical to move onto the Broadway scene is Holler If Ya Hear Me, a vibrantly performed urban tale of loyalty, revenge, loss, and hope based on the poetry of Tupac Shakur, while a block over is 2014’s Tony winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, a farcical romp through Edwardian England in which Tony winner Jefferson Mays — one of Broadway’s most versatile stars — gets to strut his chameleonic stuff one quirky character after another.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder earns 10 Tony nominations
Jefferson Mays as Henry D'Ysquith, Jennifer Smith, and Bryce Pinkham as Monty Navarro in a scene from A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Photo: Joan Marcus.

As for another Broadway production that graced this year’s Tony Awards, the buzz flying around Best Musical Revival Hedwig and the Angry Inch suggests that this seismic transgender rock musical is poised for a post-Neil Patrick Harris afterlife. Harris, set to depart the show on August 17th, will be replaced by Tony nominee Andrew Rannells, known to Broadway audiences as the original fresh-faced Elder Price in The Book of Mormon. And while it might be a stretch to imagine someone so memorably wholesome going full-throttle wigs, makeup, and wardrobe, the Nebraska native is not unfamiliar with the role, having played Hedwig 13 years ago in an Austin, Texas production. (Rannells’ first performance at the Belasco is August 20th.)

Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig on Broadway
Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig. Photo: Joan Marcus, 2014

Shifting to Broadway’s longest running musical, The Phantom of the Opera recently welcomed Tony nominee Norm Lewis to the title role while Sierra Boggess — who, incidentally, played Lewis’s daughter, Ariel, in Disney’s The Little Mermaid — is reprising her acclaimed (both here and in London!) portrayal of the musical’s femme ingénue, Christine Daaé.

Norm Lewis and Sierra Boggess in Phantom
Norm Lewis and Sierra Boggess in Phantom. Photo: Matthew Murphy

Regarding this significant casting coup, producer Cameron Mackintosh noted: “It’s hard to imagine a more exciting pairing, as the show continues its phenomenal, history-making run at the Majestic.” (Twenty-six years and counting.)  

Lewis — who dazzled audiences as Porgy in The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess — is the first African American to play the Phantom in the New York production. [FYI: Lewis’s costar in Porgy and Bess, multi-Tony winner Audra McDonald, has extended her celebrated run as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill at the Circle in the Square Theatre through August 31st.]

And then there’s James Franco, who is maximizing his theatrical outreach while in New York. Appearing on Broadway as George in Of Mice and Men alongside Tony nominee Chris O’Dowd (through July 27th), the 127 Hours star has parlayed his downtime into a directorial gig, taking on Robert Boswell’s The Long Shrift at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater through August 23rd. Interestingly, one of the stars of the drama is former Brat Pack member Ally Sheedy, who (bet you didn’t see this one coming) played Hedwig in the 2000 Off-Broadway staging of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.


Summer Theatre Festivals: Live the Dream

Almost sacred, always intriguing, New York’s legendary June-through-August theatre fests have become an annual tradition. But like summer vacations they do come and go in a heartbeat. In other words: You’re up against the clock in terms of scoring tickets, so act fast.

Free Shakespeare in the Park - Joseph Papp’s legacy still reigns in Central Park. The season’s first entry, Much Ado About Nothing, is history but you still have time to catch John Lithgow and Annette Bening in King Lear (7/22-8/17) ... Hudson Warehouse’s Summer Stage (a.k.a. “The Other Free Shakespeare in the Park”) - The Importance of Being Earnest (thru 7/27); The Winter’s Tale (7/31-8/24). Riverside Park at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument ... New York Musical Theatre Festival (thru 7/27) - Manhattan’s annual fest of drama, comedy, traditional musicals, avant-garde works, and operettas ... Midtown International Theatre Festival (thru 8/10) - Outstanding works from New York’s vibrant Off-Off-Broadway theatre scene ... Lincoln Center Festival 2014 - A celebration of performing arts, this five-star event concludes the theatrical portion of the festival with Cate Blanchett, Isabelle Huppert, and Elizabeth Debicki in Jean Genet’s The Maids (8/6-16) ... New York International Fringe Festival (8/8-24) - The largest multi-arts festival in North America, with over 200 companies from the U.S. and abroad performing for 16 days in over 20 different venues ... 2014 East to Edinburgh Festival - 59E59 Theaters’ annual July bonanza of original US productions en route to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Check out the website for scheduled works and dates. (thru 7/27).

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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