In the Woody Allen film “Bullets Over Broadway,” Helen Sinclair, the self-dramatizing theatrical diva, tells her young playwright-lover that he is on the brink of great success. “The world will open to you like an oyster,” she says breathlessly, before going on to elaborate in, well, a more graphic manner.
While there is no sure thing in the musical theater, Broadway does appear to be throwing out the welcome mat for Allen, who has adapted his 1994 film for the musical stage. Inevitably every other musical on the spring roster — and there are nine more — will live in the shadow of this highly-anticipated musical, which boasts one of Broadway’s best A-teams, including director-choreographer Susan Stroman, a winner of five Tony Awards, and Zach Braff, making his Broadway debut as an aspiring playwright in a Faustian bargain with a mobster.
“Bullets” is likely to open with the largest advance of any show this season. Fair warning: get your tickets now. But there are others muscling in on the action and ready to snatch the Best Musical Tony Award from the vaunted frontrunner. Sylvester Stallone is presenting the musical version of his iconic “Rocky.” Jessie Mueller is a star-in-the-making as Carole King in the catalog musical “Beautiful.” Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale play the star-crossed lovers in “The Bridges of Madison County.” And the quirky “If/Then,” starring Idina Menzel, should not be counted out as it comes from the creators of “Next to Normal”: writer Brian Yorkey, composer Tom Kitt, and director Michael Greif. Rounding out the original musical line-up is the stage adaptation of Disney’s “Aladdin,” directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw of “Book of Mormon” fame.
In the musical revival category, stars will power the box office with Michelle Williams making her debut as Sally Bowles in the return engagement of the Sam Mendes-Robb Marshal revival of “Cabaret” at Studio 54; and Neil Patrick Harris has chosen to return to Broadway in the renegade guise of an East German transsexual in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Also in the mix will be “Les Miserables,” hoping to cash in on the film version’s success. Ramin Karimloo, who starred in “Love Never Dies,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ill-fated sequel to “Phantom of the Opera,” plays the fugitive Jean Valjean.
Here’s a chronological scratch sheet of some of this year’s most promising prospects, although handicapping theater is a fool’s errand. Sometimes, as Helen Sinclair puts it, it’s best that we “don’t speak. Don’t speak. Please don’t speak. No. No. No.”
“Beautiful,” opening January 12. The world of 1960s pop music comes alive in this “Jersey Boys” wannabe, which tells the story of the multi-Grammy-winning artist Carole King. In the show, her professional success rises as her troubled marriage to songwriting partner Gerry Goffin falters. The couple’s friendly rivalry with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill adds spice to the goings on in the Brill Building. But the question here is whether or not Mueller’s fortunes will rise alongside those of the woman she’s playing. Since her Tony-nominated debut in “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever,” the Chicago-bred Mueller has been threatening to break out. Maybe the earth will move under her feet this time.
“The Bridges of Madison County,” opening February 20. Bartlett Sher, one of Broadway’s most protean directors, spearheads this adaptation of Robert James Waller’s schmaltzy bestseller about a brief adulterous affair in the 1960s between an Italian émigré housewife and a photographer. The intimate musical, which features the songs of Jason Robert Brown, received solid, if not enthusiastic, reviews during a tryout run this past summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. But if the show is to succeed, it will be up to Sher to locate the bittersweet and elegiac tone that worked so well for the book and the 1995 movie, which starred Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Taking on their roles are Kelli O’Hara and Steven Pasquale.
“Rocky,” opening March 13. Although his iconic character isn’t the brightest bulb, Sylvester Stallone was no dummy when it came to assembling a first-rate team for this musical version of the beloved film: director Alex Timbers, librettist Tom Meehan, and songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Also in his corner are the stars, Andy Karl as Rocky, and Margo Seibert as Adrian. Since musicals about boxing are rare — Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1964’s “Golden Boy” is the only one that comes to mind — the producers are quick to bill this as a romance. But the coup de theatre comes at the finale when 20’ x 20’ regulation boxing ring descends into the audience for a bloody match between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. To the strains of “Gonna Fly Now,” of course, one of two songs interpolated from the original movie. Can you guess the other one?
“Bullets Over Broadway,” opening April 15. Here’s the big question: Can Woody Allen write a musical libretto? He’s two for four with his Broadway comedies — his last was 2011’s “Relatively Speaking” — and his debut, the 1960 musical revue “A to Z,” flopped. In “Bullets” he has chosen to interweave standards from the period, the 1920s, so expect lots of Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hart. Will it seem more like a play with music than a musical? Will it matter, given that his Oscar-nominated screenplay is one of the funniest ever written about show folk? Also hanging in the balance will be Marin Mazzie’s performance as Helen Sinclair, the role that won an Oscar for Dianne Wiest. Thrice-nominated for a Tony, Mazzie stands a good chance of finally snagging the trophy this time.
“Violet,” opening April 20. This is composer Jeanine Tesori’s season. Fresh on the heels of critical raves for her score for the recent Public Theater production of “Fun Home” is this Broadway transfer of the Encores production of “Violet,” her 1997 musical with Brian Crawley. The show, about a disfigured young Southern woman who makes a pilgrimage for a miracle cure, was a modest success when it had its world premiere off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. But it has since become a cult classic spurred on by the smart libretto and some of the best songs ever written for the musical stage. Director Leigh Silverman takes on the tough challenge of sustaining emotional momentum in what is a picaresque tale. Helping her do that is two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster as the feisty, if naïve, North Carolina heroine. This could well be the sleeper of the season.
“Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” opening April 22. Neil Patrick Harris could pretty much have picked any role in the musical theater canon with which to return to Broadway for the first time since 2004’s revival of “Assassins.” Kudos to him for not playing it safe. A show about an East German transsexual housewife abandoned in Kansas by her American GI husband? Who recovers by forming a rock band comprised of Korean-born Army wives and falling in love with a shy Christian teenager dubbed Tommy Gnosis? The 1998 musical, written by John Cameron Mitchell with songs by Stephen Trask, was a long-running off-Broadway hit and later made into a 2001 movie. But a musical inspired by Plato’s “Symposium” that begins with a song about a botched transgender operation (hence, the angry inch) is still fairly risky, star or no star. Can’t wait to hear “Wicked Little Town” again.
“Cabaret,” opening April 24. The legendary Sally Bowles has been a glittering lure for a long line of great actresses, including Julie Harris, Judi Dench, Liza Minnelli, and Natasha Richardson. The latter starred in the 1998 smash hit revival, winning a Tony Award for what would turn out to be the high point of her career. So why shouldn’t Michelle Williams take a crack at it, joining Alan Cumming, who will reprise his role as the emcee? Can she sing? If any musical role was written for a non-singer, it is this one. After all, Sally is supposed to be more charismatic than talented. What’s required is serious acting chops. Williams has proved that over and over again in such films as “Brokeback Mountain,” “Blue Valentine,” and “My Week With Marilyn.” Will that transfer to the stage on which she has had little to no experience? We’ll see.
