Barry Manilow Brings Harmony, Johnny Rabe Meets Some Lions & More Cross-Country Highlights
Broadway.com road trip! We’re traveling across the country to highlight the most exciting regional theater productions across the United States. From a revamped Pal Joey in Little Rock to a New Kids on the Block alum's return to the stage in Denver, check out five can’t-miss productions in this week’s Countrywide Guide.
DENVER, CO
Joey McIntyre is the New Kid
After his stint in a little band called New Kids on the Block (maybe you’ve heard of it?), Joey McIntyre channeled Jonathan Larson off-Broadway in Tick Tick...Boom and danced through life in Wicked on Broadway. Now he’s telling his own life story in a new one-man musical, The Kid, about his rise to fame as the youngest member of the legendary boy band. Does he still have the moves? Find out at the Garner Galleria Theatre through September 15.
ATLANTA, GA
Barry Manilow Writes the Songs
Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow got our toes tapping last spring in Manilow on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. Now he’s made his way south, where he’s at work with lyricist Bruce Sussman on the musical Harmony, which premiered in 1997 at La Jolla Playhouse. Catch Manilow’s passion project, which tells the story of German vaudevillian group the Comedian Harmonists and features Broadway vets Tony Yazbeck, Leigh Ann Larkin and more, September 6 through October 6 at the Alliance Theatre.
LITTLE ROCK, AR
You’ve Got a New Pal in Arkansas
Pal Joey is getting a multicultural facelift at Arkansas Repertory Theatre, re-conceived and directed by Lion King producer Peter Schneider. Featuring a new book by theater journalist Patrick Pacheco and additional Rodgers and Hart hits like “The Lady Is a Tramp” and “Glad to Be Unhappy," the production stars African-American Broadway vets Clifton Oliver and Stephanie Umoh as Joey and Linda and white actress Erica Hanrahan-Ball as Joey's older lover, Vera. See this buzzed-about show through September 29.
LOS ANGELES, CA
Bare Comes Home
It’s been 13 years since Bare premiered in Los Angeles, and after two off-Broadway productions and mountings all over the world, the musical by Damon Intrabartolo and Jon Hartmere is having its homecoming. (This production is especially bittersweet, following the recent death of Intrabartolo.) Directed by Calvin Remsberg, Bare tells the story of a forbidden Catholic love triangle gone wrong, starring Glee’s Lindsay Pierce, Jonah Platt and Payson Lewis. Meet the new class September 5 at the Hayworth Theatre.
SEATTLE, WA
How Johnny Rabe Spent His Summer Vacation
What kinds of adventures are in store when a 14-year-old boy is sent to live with his eccentric uncles in Texas for the summer? Find out in Secondhand Lions, a new musical by First Date composers Michael Weiner and Alan Zachary, with a book by Tony winner Rupert Holmes. Based on the film of the same name, Secondhand Lions stars Broadway alums Gregg Edelman, Mark Jacoby, Jason Danieley, Kendra Kassebaum and Johnny Rabe. Directed by Scott Schwartz, this 5th Avenue Theatre production roars from September 7 through October 6.
