Hollywood continues to infiltrate Broadway as 2015 kicks off with the opening of another screen-to-stage adaptation as well as a number of notable Los Angeles transplants making their way to the stage. We’re gambling on these three as the top picks for January.
The cast of ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ (photo: Joan Marcus via The Broadway Blog.)
Honeymoon in Vegas
Broadway is gambling on Honeymoon in Vegas, the movie-turned-musical based on the 1992 film starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. The stage version features Tony Danza, Rob McClure and Brynn O’Malley as a trio caught up in this jet-setting romantic romp. Gary Griffin (The Apple Tree, The Color Purple) directs the production, which received solid reviews when it ran at Paper Mill Playhouse. The show features book and music by Jason Robert Brown, who is hoping for a longer lasting Broadway love affair than his last outing, The Bridges of Madison County, which ran for a mere 100 performances.
Honeymoon in Vegas
Nederlander Theatre
208 West 41st Street
Opening night: January 15
“Constellations” (photo: Joan Marcus via The Broadway Blog.)
Constellations
Manhattan Theatre Club presents the American premiere of Constellations, the Olivier Award-winning play by Nick Payne. Cryptically described as a “romantic journey” that raises questions about the difference between choice and destiny, the play stars Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Oliver Award winner Ruth Wilson.
When Nick Payne’s Constellations opened at the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in January 2012 under the direction of Michael Longhurst, it was hailed by London and New York critics. The New York Times said, “This superb play gets into your head and under your skin,” and The New Yorker said “Constellations is at once eloquent, mysterious, witty, and brilliant.” The play subsequently transferred to the West End and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Play. Will it be as warmly received on Broadway?
Constellations
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
Opening night: January 13
A Month in the Country
What better way to warm up a cold winter evening than an evening with Russian playwright Ivan Turgenev? If you’re a fan of heavyweight theatrics, kick back a shot of vodka and head to Classic Stage Company’s production of A Month in the Country. Translated by John Christopher Jones, the play chronicles the comic and erotic turmoil that befalls an otherwise quiet country estate when a handsome young tutor arrives to teach Natalya Petrovna’s young son. Soon Natalya is interested in a tutelage of another kind, much to the consternation of her husband and her long suffering friend, Rakitin, who is hopelessly and secretly smitten with her. Directed by Erica Schmidt, the play stars Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black).
A Month in the Country
Classic Stage Company
136 East 13th Street
Opening night: January 29