PREVIEWS
Aug. 2: Sara Bareilles, the acclaimed singer-songwriter who penned the pop hits "Love Song" and "Brave," is making her musical theatre debut as the composer of the new musical Waitress, premiering at A.R.T with direction by Tony winner Diane Paulus.
Aug. 5: Off-Broadway's The New Group kicks off its new season with Philip Ridley's Mercury Fur, set in a society ravaged by war gangs and a hallucinogenic-drug epidemic. In this unsettling future, Elliot and Darren throw parties for the wealthy and help them live out their darkest fantasies, until some unexpected guests upset the balance.
Aug. 5: London's Barbican Theatre begins its staging of Hamlet starring Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch with direction by Lyndsey Turner. The production is one of the most anticipated productions of the U.K. season, attracting more than 30,000 people waiting in line to buy tickets last year. See rehearsal photos here.
Aug. 4: The creative team behind the Tony-nominated Everyday Rapture reunites for the world-premiere production of Whorl Inside A Loop. Sherie Rene Scott, who co-wrote and starred in Rapture, does the same again, playing a celebrity actress who ventures behind the bars of a men's maximum security prison in order to help them tell their stories. OPENING
July 30: Dear Evan Hansen, the new, original musical by Tony Award-nominated songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul that stars "Pitch Perfect" and Book of Mormon actor Ben Platt, officially opens at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The story is inspired by Pasek's real-life high school experience, following the tragedy of a fellow student's death.
Aug. 6: There's no doubt that the Off-Broadway transfer Hamilton has been the talk of the town, attracting hundreds daily to its ticket lottery as well as big-name guests like President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden. Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical about America's founding fathers opens on Broadway.
LAST CHANCE:
Aug. 1: "Seinfeld" creator Larry David made his Broadway debut with the laugh-out-loud comedy Fish in the Dark. The cast takes their final bows, including Tony Award-winning comic actor Jason Alexander, best known for playing the neurotic George Costanza in David's hit TV series.
Aug. 2: Grammy winner Brandy Norwood takes her final bow on Broadway this week, concluding her stellar run as Roxie Hart in the Broadway revival of Chicago. Whilst in New York, Norwood made headlines for belting on the subway to unknowing commuters. Watch the clip here.
Aug. 8: NAATCO's staging of Awake and Sing concludes its extended engagement at the Public Theater Off-Broadway. Set in the Bronx during the Depression era, the play is about a Jewish family struggling to survive, performed by an all-Asian cast.
Aug. 9: It Shoulda Been You, the new musical comedy about a wedding gone awry that stars Tyne Daly, Harriet Harris, Lisa Howard and Sierra Boggess, ends its Broadway run. Catch Howard's show-stopping delivery of "Jenny's Blues" before its closing.
SPECIAL EVENTS
July 31: 2005 Tony winner for Best Musical, Monty Python's Spamalot, is revived at The Hollywood Bowl featuring Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Idle and Christian Slater, among others.
July 31: Vassar College and Powerhouse Theater stage a four-day workshop of Noir, the new musical from Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik, inspired by classic film noir. With a book by Kyle Jarrow and direction by Rachel Chavkin, the newest work is centered on a heartbroken man who, spending days alone in his apartment, becomes obsessed with the couple next door and is subsequently caught up in a web of lies.
Aug. 3: The cast of the Tony-winning Beautiful: The Carole King Musical perform songs in a free, one-night-only concert in Central Park as part of the SummerStage Festival. The popular musical chronicles the early life and career of the legendary singer/songwriter.
Aug. 4: Tony winner Betty Buckley will star as Big Edie in the Bay Street Theater revival of Grey Gardens, the musical based on the 1975 cult documentary about a mother and daughter who become notorious recluses in a crumbling house full of memories and cats.
Aug. 5: The Williamstown Theatre Festival invites six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald and her Tony-nominated husband Will Swenson to the stage in Nobel laureate Eugene O'Neill's final masterpiece A Moon for the Misbegotten, directed by Gordon Edelstein.
Aug. 6: Broadway in Bryant Park continues its free summer lunchtime series of performances from the best of on and Off-Broadway musicals. Hosted by 106.7 Lite FM, this week's schedule is set to feature performances from Amazing Grace, Something Rotten, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and more.
