Sure, there’s nothing like summer in the city, but sometimes we just need a break from off-brand Times Square Elmos, hot dog water and pedicabs. So hop in the Broadway.com-mobile with us and check out these intriguing theatrical events happening outside the concrete jungle. We’re making stops in the Berkshires, Sag Harbor, the Cape and more for all sorts of great shows, so let’s hit the road!
The Rose Tattoo
Now through July 17
Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA: 3 hours from NYC)
Oscar winner Marisa Tomei will head to the Berkshires to headline the 1951 Tennessee Williams play about an Italian-American widow in Louisiana who gets her groove back thanks to a hot-blooded trucker. And if that weren’t enough, Broadway beltress Lindsay Mendez is playing a Sicilian folk singer who provides musical interludes—which is precisely what we’ve been saying every play needs this whole time.
Also at Williamstown Theatre Festival: Romance Novels for Dummies, An American Daughter, Cost of Living, The Chinese Room, Poster Boy and And No More Shall We Part.
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story
Now through July 16
Bucks County Playhouse (New Hope, PA: 1 1/2 hours from NYC)
Hunter Foster returns to Bucks County Playhouse to direct the show about the guy behind such songs as “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll Be the Day” and “Oh Boy.” We’ve seen Foster on Broadway plenty of times, but Pennsylvania’s the place to be if you want to see what he can do on the other side of the stage. Joining him on the creative team is Lorin Latarro, the Broadway gypsy-turned-choreographer who's bringing sweet moves to Waitress.
Also at Bucks County Playhouse: The Divine Sister and Cake Off
Bye Bye Birdie
Now through September 4
Goodspeed Musicals (East Haddam, CT: 2 1/2 hours from NYC)
Gray skies are gonna clear up this summer at the Goodspeed. The riverside opera house will play host to Charles Strouse, Lee Adams and Michael Stewart’s musical about a rock star heading off to boot camp, and the fangirls after his heart. (The show is loosely inspired by our collective relationship with Aaron Tveit.) Among the cast is Broadway alum Janet Dacal, who you may know from such shows as In the Heights and Wonderland.
The Music Man
July 5 through 23
The Cape Playhouse (Dennis, MA: 4 1/2 hours from NYC)
What better way to chase your Fourth of July than with this American classic? The Cape's got trouble this summer as Meredith Wilson's musical about a conman, a librarian and kids who frankly aren't great musicians takes the stage, marking the largest production the Playhouse has put on its 90-year history. The cast is full of Broadway alums, and a Broadway.com favorite is playing Marcellus: resident artist Justin "Squigs" Robertson! All together, now: Shipoopi!
Also at The Cape Playhouse: Talley's Folly, The May Queen, Cabaret and The Mousetrap
The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd
July 7 through 9
Vassar & New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater (Poughkeepsie, NY: 1 1/2 hours from NYC)
Santino Fontana is a man of many talents, and this summer, he’s showing off a few of them simultaneously. The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star will star in a workshop presentation of Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s musical, featuring a book adapted by Fontana himself. You never know where a Vassar project will go, so if it turns into a cultural phenomenon, you’ll have bragging rights for a lifetime.
Also at Vassar: Transfers, The Wolves and Another Word for Beauty
The Pirates of Penzance
July 15 through August 13
Barrington Stage Company (Pittsield, MA: 3 hours from NYC)
Calling all models of a modern major general: Pirates are taking over Massachusetts. Following their Tony-nominated revival of On the Town (which also started at Barrington), director John Rando and choreographer Joshua Bergasse are reuniting to present Gilbert and Sullivan’s show about swashbucklers, poor wandering ones and a whole lot of patter songs. The cast features several stage favorites, including Will Swenson, Kyle Dean Massey and Scarlett Strallen.
Also at Barrington Stage Company: Kimberly Akimbo, American Son, Broadway Bounty Hunter and Tribes
My Fair Lady
August 2 through 28
Bay Street Theater (Sag Harbor, NY: 2 1/2 hours from NYC)
Here's a reason to leave the street where you live. This August, Michael Arden will follow up his Tony-nominated turn directing Spring Awakening by helming My Fair Lady. The cast is led by two Broadway favorites: Paul Alexander Nolan (Bright Star) as Henry Higgins and Kelli Barrett (Doctor Zhivago) as Eliza Doolittle, and the intimate staging will feature a two-piano arrangement of the score. Wouldn't a day trip to Sag Harbor be loverly?
Also at Bay Street Theater: The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey