It’s April and Broadway is buzzing with new productions opening in time for the last weeks of Tony Award-eligibility.
We asked the 2024 Power Players in Arts and Culture, “If you could attend any event, show, or exhibit in the city tonight, what would it be and why?”
Many answered that they would go see a show: on Broadway, off-Broadway, or something in between.
Rocky Bucano, CEO of The Hip Hop Museum, is looking forward to seeing the revival of “The Wiz” at the Marquis Theatre. “The Wiz”, now in previews, is back on Broadway for the first time in nearly 40 years. Starring Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy, Wayne Brady as the Wiz and Deborah Cox as Glinda, the production is one of 2024’s most anticipated premieres.
Wendy Arimah Berot of the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning is looking forward to catching Camille A. Brown’s choreography in “Hell’s Kitchen,” currently in previews at the Shubert Theatre. Featuring music and lyrics by 16-time Grammy award-winner Alicia Keys, the coming-of-age musical combines the everyday rhythms of the city with the Keys catalog for an unforgettable theatrical experience.
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, president of the Writers Guild of America East, is excited to take her daughter to “Merrily We Roll Along” at the Hudson Theatre. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez, the beloved revival features one of Steven Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal scores.
When it premiered in 1981 the show closed after only 16 performances. Now, the production has broken house records at the Hudson Theatre and was extended from its original limited run until July 2024.
Patrick Willingham, executive director of The Public, said “I cannot recommend enough going to see “The Ally,” which is currently on at The Public. Written by Itamar Moses, it’s a master class in emotional raw performances and really provokes deep thought and discussion on some of the most significant topics of the day.”
Elsewhere on Broadway, the exciting new production of “Cabaret,” now “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” is in previews at the August Wilson Theatre, starring Gayle Rankin and Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne will be reprising his Olivier-winning role as the Emcee.
“Succession” and “The Sopranos” stars combine off Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre’s staging of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” starring Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli. But Strong and Imperioli are hardly the only beloved stars of the small screen gracing New York stages this season.
Steve Carell will lead a talented cast in a new translation of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater for a limited run.
Rachel McAdams will make her Broadway debut this month in the play “Mary Jane”. And one of McAdams’ most iconic roles, Allie from the 2004 movie “The Notebook,” is also receiving the Broadway-treatment this season in a musical adaptation of the fan-favorite romance. The new musical has played at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre since mid-March.
Later this month music-lovers will soon be able to delight in “Illinoise,” a musical based on the landmark Sufjan Stevens album of the same name at the St. James Theatre.
You can read more about each honoree and find all of their recommendations in amNY Metro and PoliticsNY’s 2024 Power Players in Arts and Culture list.
