Evita, Queen and a Theatrical Blizzard Will Rock You in Our 5 Must-Do Events for the Week of November 11 to 17
Some vibrant leading ladies—stage vets Judith Ivey and Kate Mulgrew and two Eva Perons—take the stage this week. Add in limited engagements of a Queen jukebox musical and a surrealistic Snowshow, and you get five must-do events for the week of November 11 through 17.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Slava’s Snowshow has packed theaters in more than 80 countries for the past quarter century with its unique mix of classic clowning, gorgeous stage pictures, haunting music and "can you top this?" effects. A gauzelike spider web unfolds over the audience, mischief-making cast members climb over delighted theatergoers, gigantic balloons soar above the auditorium and a jaw-dropping blizzard descends directly from the stage. It all stems from the fertile imagination of Russian-born clown and theater artist Slava Polunin, who leads the cast in a holiday season return engagement of his timeless Tony-nominated show, beginning on November 11. Let it snow!
INFO: Limited run through January 5 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd Street). Tickets start at $49.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
ONSTAGE CHEMISTRY
Pop quiz: Who is the most produced playwright in America, other than Shakespeare? Answer: Lauren Gunderson, who specializes in historical dramas centering on women. Her latest, The Half-Life of Marie Curie, arrives off-Broadway starring Francesca Faridany. Curie is remembered today as a two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist, but in 1912, her achievements in radiation research were threatened by the revelation of an affair with a former student. To escape the press, she took refuge at the seaside home of her friend Hertha Ayrton, a pioneering engineer played by Orange Is the New Black and Star Trek favorite Kate Mulgrew. Commissioned by Audible Theater, The Half-Life of Marie Curie shows off Gunderson’s skill at giving voice to powerful women on stage.
INFO: Limited run through December 22 at the Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane). Tickets start at $45.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
EVA TIMES TWO
Phantom has haunted Broadway for 30+ years and Cats is getting a starry movie, but let’s throw our arms up in the Patti pose on behalf of Evita, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s irresistible pop opera. Last seen on Broadway six years ago, this mega-theatrical musical is headed to New York City Center for seven performances beginning with a big-bucks benefit on November 13. In a new twist, two actresses with share the role of Eva Peron, the "high flying, adored" first lady of Argentina: rising theater powerhouse Solea Pfeiffer (Hamilton, Almost Famous) and Argentinian pop star Maia Reficco. Sammi Cannold directs a cast that includes Jason Gotay as Che, Enrique Acevedo as Juan Peron and Philip Hernandez as Magaldi.
INFO: November 13-24 at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). Tickets start at $50. Click here for info.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
SCARAMOUCHE, SCARAMOUCHE
Attention, Freddie Mercury fans: More than 17 years after its London debut, the international hit We Will Rock You is finally getting its New York premiere at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. With a plot that blends characters from the Queen classics "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Killer Queen," the show focuses on revolutionaries Galileo (Trevor Coll) and Scaramouche (Keri Kelly), who join the outcast Bohemians to fight for the survival of rock 'n' roll in a post-apocalyptic world. West End critics dismissed the long-running show, but audiences around the world eagerly showed up to hear the title song, "We Are the Champions" and many more hits set within a futuristic book by playwright Ben Elton.
INFO: November 14-17 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden (4 Penn Plaza). Tickets start at $29.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
IVEY LEAGUE
Idaho native Samuel D. Hunter has won raves (and a MacArthur "genius grant") for plays that honor the lives of people struggling to find happiness on the edges of mainstream America. Following in the award-winning footsteps of The Whale, The Healing and Lewiston/Clarkston comes Greater Clements, set in an Idaho mining community inhabited by a variety of idiosyncratic characters. Leading the cast in Lincoln Center Theater’s off-Broadway premiere: two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey as the owner of a failing mine tour business who feels a spark of hope when an old friend (Ken Narasaki) returns to town. The combo of Hunter and Ivey, one of the greatest stage actresses of the past 40 years, makes Greater Clements well worth a visit.
INFO: Limited run through January 19 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65th Street). Tickets start at $82.
Illustrations by Tug Rice for Broadway.com
