It's opening season on Broadway! A ton of exciting theater will hit the boards this month, vying for Tony Awards love, but let's not forget the two Tony-winning musicals coming to an end. Catch them, along with a few star turns and innovative off-Broadway stagings, before it's too late.
APRIL 7: Travelin' Band
It’s called The Band’s Visit, so we knew it couldn't stay forever! The David Yazbek-Itamar Moses musical, based on the acclaimed 2007 film, swept the 2018 Tony Awards with 10 wins, including Best Musical. The show closes at the Barrymore Theatre with Tony-winning original cast members Katrina Lenk and Ari’el Stachel, as well as original film star Sasson Gabay.
APRIL 7: We’re all Mad for this Musical
Alice by Heart retells the classic Lewis Carroll story Alice in Wonderland through the eyes of a young woman in World War II-ravaged London. In the shelter of the London Underground, as her sick friend gets worse and bombs drop overhead, she escapes into her favorite story. The new musical, from Spring Awakening duo Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater as well as Waitress' Jessie Nelson, stars some of the best new talent in New York theater such as Molly Gordon, Colton Ryan, Wesley Taylor, Noah Glavin and more. Make sure to catch it, and look out for the upcoming cast recording, too.
APRIL 7: Going Out on a (Thigh) High
After more than six years on Broadway, Cyndi Lauper’s joyful musical Kinky Boots is closing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The show, which opened with leads Billy Porter and Stark Sands, has seen starry replacements like Wayne Brady as Lola and Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie as shoe factory owner Charlie Price. Six Tony Award wins (including Best Musical), a national tour and several international productions later, this uplifting tuner has certainly left a huge, six-inch-heel print on the Great White Way.
APRIL 7: There’s a New Doc on the Block
Joey McIntyre and Shoshana Bean are enjoying a reunion as Dr. Pomatter and Jenna in Waitress, after sharing the stage in Wicked as Fiyero and Elphaba 14 years ago. The New Kids on the Block singer will depart the production this month, making room for Broadway favorite Jeremy Jordan (last seen in American Son) beginning in the role April 8. You should hear his "It Only Takes a Taste."
APRIL 14: Get Rolling
Fiasco Theater's Merrily We Roll Along is coming to an end after a week-long extension. This Stephen Sondheim-approved production features six actors: Manu Narayan, Brittany Bradford, Ben Steinfeld, Paul L. Coffey, Jessie Austrian and Emily Young, in multiple roles each. Don't miss the first major New York staging of this beloved musical in almost 25 years.
APRIL 28: Get Him to the Hirschfeld on Time!
In his downtime between closing out the Boston run of Moulin Rouge! and opening the new musical on Broadway this summer, Danny Burstein took a pit stop in My Fair Lady. He plays his final performance as Eliza’s deadbeat dad Alfred P. Doolittle later this month. Alexander Gemignani, fresh from music directing the aforementioned Merrily production and a Tony-nominated turn in another classic revival, Carousel, replaces in the role starting April 30.
ALSO:
APRIL 7: The Other Josh Cohen ends its extended run early at off Broadway's Westside Theatre.
APRIL 7: Katie Rose Clark bubbles out of Wicked; tour favorite Ginna Claire Mason assumes the role of Glinda on April 9.
APRIL 14: Ira Fuch's new drama Vilna closes at Theatre at St. Clement’s.
APRIL 28: Mara Nelson-Greenberg's dark comedy Do You Feel Anger?, starring Justin Long, closes at the Vineyard Theatre.