What does October have in store for Broadway and beyond? Our picks include a violent romantic obsession, epic sci-fi trilogy, and good old-fashioned musical revival. Go to the theater!
Fool For Love
Sam Shepard’s searing romantic drama premiered in San Francisco in 1983 starring Ed Harris and Kathy Baker before transferring to New York with the same cast. This revival features Manhattan Theatre Club favorite Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell. Be prepared for plenty of sparks as these two former lovers hole up in a seedy motel on the edge of the Mojave Desert and unpack the deep secrets and dark desires of their tangled relationship.
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street, NYC
Opening night: October 8
Through December 6
The Honeycomb Trilogy
Last year brought us the Royal Shakespeare Company’s epic Wolf Hall, a massive two-part theatrical endeavor that explored the reign of King Henry VIII. Not to be outdone, Off Broadway welcomes Gideon Productions’ sci-fi extravaganza, The Honeycomb Trilogy by Mac Rogers.
Advance Man centers on the family of Bill Cooke, the leader of a group of astronauts who have returned from the first manned mission to Mars bearing secrets and illicit cargo that could forever alter not only their lives, but all of humanity. Blast Radius follows a brother and sister on opposite sides of an extraterrestrial occupation as each rushes to carry out plans that will change the human race forever. In Sovereign, the final installment, the human race is slowly rebuilding. Ronnie, now a battle-scarred Governor, must decide the fate of the greatest war criminal still living: her brother Abbie, whose last desperate measure on behalf of the aliens forces a confrontation between species that will forever change the future of the human race.
The Gym at Judson
55 Washington Square South
Opening night: October 13
Through November 14
(l to r) Lesli Margherita, Eloise Kropp and Mara Davi in ‘Dames at Sea’ (Photo: Nathan Johnson via The Broadway Blog.)
Dames at Sea
There’s plenty of genre-busting theatrical innovation this season on Broadway with the arrival of Hamilton and Spring Awakening revival, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a warm-fuzzy show that celebrates the golden era of movie musicals with dazzling dames and a heart as big as the ocean. Dames at Sea originally starred legendary performer Bernadette Peters in its Off Broadway run. This is the show’s first appearance on Broadway.
Follow Ruby as she steps off a bus in Manhattan and into her first Broadway show. Hours before the opening night curtain is to rise, the cast learns their theater is being demolished, so it is “all hands on deck” to find a stage to put on the show. Featuring rollicking tap dancing, love at first sight, joyful music and a boatload of laughs, this glittering musical extravaganza has everything you need to sweep your glooms away.
Helen Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street, NYC
Opening night: October 22
Open ended run.