The mad rush to make Tony eligibility becomes a full on avalanche this week. Let’s ride the wave of openings with multiple review round-ups today and tomorrow. First up, two shows that earn gasps from the audience — when their leading men take off their shirts. (I’m not kidding.)

Caissie Levy & Richard Fleeshman in "Ghost". Photo by Sean Ebsworth Barnes.

GHOST

The teary-eyed “classic” film about romance in the afterlife, sexy pottery throwing and sassy mediums, makes it to Broadway as a visually spectacular musical with songs by pop heavyweights Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart.

“…thrill-free singing theme-park ride.” New York Times

“Overall, it’s an ambitious, carefully orchestrated work that raises the bar on technological innovation.” Associated Press

“…a lumbering megatuner with little to offer beyond a limitless array of dazzling effects.” Variety

“Much of Ghost is loud and tacky enough to wake the dead, yet there are undeniable signs of vitality from the machine side of this Broadway cyborg.” New York Magazine

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Wood Harris, Nicole Ari Parker, Blair Underwood & Daphne Rubin-Vega in "A Streetcar Named Desire". Image via streetcaronbroadway.com.

Spend just a few minutes in a room with the company of A Streetcar Named Desire and one thing is immediately clear: this is the hottest cast on Broadway. And I don’t just mean physically attractive, though Blair Underwood (In Treatment), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Nicole Ari Parker (Boogie Nights) and Wood Harris (The Wire) are a stunning foursome . No, their heat is also a product of their passion for the work and an outspoken determination to make this revival, the first multicultural Streetcar on Broadway, a richer, deeper experience.

In the run-up to their first preview (tonight at the Broadhurst), the entire cast and their director Emily Mann gathered at B. Smith’s to talk about the genesis of this production, the ghosts of prior versions of the play and why this will be one of the steamiest stage trips to New Orleans you’ll ever take. (And just to sweeten the deal, check out our special discount code for tickets at the end of the post!)

On the decision to do an interracial production:

Mann: “It’s sort of why not? What took so long? It’s such an obvious way to do this play. It’s the meaning of New Orleans; to have that gumbo of ethnicities and races makes the city the incredible and unique place it is in America. …Tennessee [Williams] himself wanted always to see the play done this way. He had hoped it would be done on Broadway in 1955 but it was Sweet Bird of Youth, I think, that was premiering and they didn’t want two of his own shows to be competing on Broadway. So it never happened. But he gave permission all through his life to have this done and I think he’d be thrilled by what we are doing today.”

On the draw of Streetcar: 

Underwood: “…it’s Tennessee Williams. It’s beautiful. Poetry. It’s human. It’s brutal. It’s vulnerable. It’s passionate. It’s desire. It’s all of those things. That’s why it’s an iconic play. That’s why it’s a classic. That’s why people should come see it.”

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