Spring 2017 Broadway Preview

Y'all know that if there is anything I love in this world it is a great diva turn, and this spring on Broadway we will have a plethora. We have Bette in Hello Dolly, Patti & Christine in War Paint, Glenn in Sunset Boulevard...the list goes on! But who will win that TONY? I'm not going to preview all of the winter and spring offerings, but I am going to highlight a few that really excited me!

Sunset Boulevard
Palace Theatre
Previews begin February 2nd
I always look for the drama in all aspects of life and this show brings it in the form of shade that will be thrown by Patti LuPone from the Nederlander. She famously threw a floor lamp out of her dressing room window when Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber fired her from the London Production in the mid-90s. Thanks to a successful lawsuit, Patti has a beautiful pool in Connecticut. I am looking forward to some star power and screlting from Ms. Close who will not be TONY eligible.

Sunday in the Park with George
Hudson Theatre
Previews begin February 2nd 
I have loved Annaleigh Ashford ever since I saw her buying chips in a 7-11 in Chicago with my mom. She was so sweet to me at the Wicked stage door when I told her that I was at Legally Blonde the day that Laura Bell Bundy's wig fell off during the Bend & Snap. Continuing with the Chicago connection, a few years later on my annual vacation I saw the famous Seurat painting and sat and stared at it for an hour while listening to the cast recording. This is one of the most beautiful scores in Broadway history. I was so upset to have missed it at City Center and I think we are all in for a real treat. This is a limited engagement so get those credit cards out!

Come From Away
Schoenfeld Theatre
Previews begin February 18th
I've heard fabulous things about this show from friends who saw it in DC during the out of town tryout. The subject matter is incredibly intriguing. I'm not going to lie, the casting isn't making me do somersaults, but I'm hoping that the material will knock my socks off.

War Paint
Nederlander Theatre
Previews begin March 7th
Two two-time TONY winners in a musical about makeup mavens...I am so exited for this that I don't even know what to do with myself. I missed the out of town tryout in Chicago by about a week and I was really broken up about. Luckily for me, these broads are coming to the Great White Way. I would die to be involved in this production and get to hear about the drama between Patti and Christine. I am having dreams about the costumes and the makeup. And hello, there is a song called "Pink"...sign me up! Are the Nederlander ceilings high enough for all this Divatude? Who will Antoinette Perry prefer?

The Little Foxes
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Previews begin March 29th
Cynthia Nixon and Laura Linney star in a play about greedy Southern Belles. What could be better? To make it more interesting, they will be alternating in the roles of Regina and Birdie. Honestly, when you're as talented as these two, you need a challenge.

Hello Dolly!
Shubert Theatre
Previews begin March 15th
This is so exciting there's an exclamation point in the title. Bette Midler hasn't done a musical on Broadway in 700 years and this is the moment Kweens have been waiting for. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I don't really even like this show, but I would see Bette in a musical about coal miners...end of story.

Rasheeda Speaking

Speaking, starring Tonya Pinkins and Dianne Wiest, marks the directing debut of acclaimed actress Cynthia Nixon. Written by Joel Drake Johnson, this workplace drama brings to light the racial tensions that are still so present in America today. Ileen (Wiest) is the eager-to-please manager of Dr. Williams' (Goldstein) office, while Jaclyn (Pinkins) seems to always rub everyone the wrong way. The stark contrast between these two women is amplified by the staging--two desks splitting the stage--and the obvious difference of one woman being black while the other is white.

The tension between Jaclyn (Pinkins) and the white employees in the office is palpable immediately as Ileen and Dr. Williams discuss how to get Jaclyn fired without creating an HR nightmare. This motif of Jaclyn walking into a room stealthily as she's being gossiped about is repeated several times throughout the play. At the beginning, Jaclyn and Ileen are friendly, with Ileen saying "you are full of drama, I missed your stories, your yammerings." Then things start to unravel as Jaclyn starts showing up late, mixes up details when she tells stories, and grows increasingly negative. This wears on Ilene until she reaches a point of such hysteria that she brings a gun to work and quits.

As the audience, we get what Johnson is trying to do here. He wants to show us that as much as we try to push them under the carpet. Unfortunately, in making Jaclyn, or as she later refers to herself, the stereotypical Rasheeda, he undermines his point. We have to assume that Johnson wants us to pull for Jacylyn since he establishes her as an underdog early on, but she is just such a horribly unlikable character. The pacing is also quite slow, making it difficult to feel engaged in the piece. The subject is certainly an interesting one, but a play may not be the best vehicle. The drama of the piece never really ramps up until the final twenty minutes, with the highlight being Dianne Wiest's exquisite portrayal of the physical effects of emotional stress on Ileen. Cynthia Nixon does a fine job in her directorial debut, but I have to wonder what she could have done with a more interesting script?

My Review of Sex and The City 2

Sex and the City 2 appears to be exactly what women everywhere have been wanting for the past two years. After all, aren’t we all itching to know what Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda have been up to since the first film in the summer of 2008? Those with unbridled love for these four New York women won’t be disappointed, but if you are looking for a truly engaging plot or something that might surprise you, this sequel lacks the sparkle and wit of the original.

The film opens in typical fashion with the always-couture Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, in yet another stunning ensemble as she meets her three best girlfriends for a midday shopping excursion. We learn that they are wedding shopping for the Carrie’s gay best friend Stanford and Charlotte’s bff Anthony. We expect anything involving these four ladies to be lavish but this wedding is a spectacle beyond belief. From the ballad-singing choir and delicate white swans to Liza Minnelli-turned-minister, this movie could not have gotten any gayer if there were bedazzled drag queens in a Dolly Parton look-alike contest.

We soon realize that Carrie and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) do not have the perfect storybook marriage they had hoped for, but who really could have expected that after he dumped her at the altar in movie 1? But that’s neither here nor there. Carrie misses her party girl days of late dinners and film premiers while Big is content to spend his time in bed with the flat screen. When Samantha (Kim Catrall) offers the girls an all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi, it seems like the vacation that they all need, Carrie from her marriage, Charlotte from her kids, and Miranda from her chauvinist boss. Unfortunately, the minute the ladies leave the Big Apple, all of the magic stays behind.

Their Middle Easter holiday is nothing but a big fat cliché, but hey, at least the outfits match. We have come to expect fabulous fashion from Sex and the City and the wardrobe team certainly holds up their end of the bargain. From sunbathing by the hotel pool and visiting the town market to riding camels through the dessert, these girls know how to pick a look for the occasion.

In true Sex and the City tradition, each woman has her own unique coming-of-age moment. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) never wanted anything more than to be a mother, but realizes with her second child Rose that motherhood can have its downsides. Charlotte tries to put on a happy face, but in a charming scene with Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), the two share their horror stories of mommy hood over a few rounds of the signature cosmopolitan. Samantha sets out to single-handedly change the way women are viewed in the Middle East as she struts about, scantily-clad not to mention, after Rikard, a Danish architect and the object of her affections for this vacation at least. Ever the leading lady, Carrie experiences the greatest conflict as she shares a kiss with old flame Aiden and then proceeds to tell Big to clear her conscience.

Of course we end get a happy ending with Big forgiving Carrie’s indiscretion and giving the bedroom plasma screen the boot, Miranda quitting her high profile job in favor of a smaller firm that appreciates her, Charlotte realizing how much she loves her family, and Samantha—well Samantha being Samantha.

We do exactly what we wanted, a chance to catch up with four of our favorite girls. But as Sarah Jessica Parker once stated, “New York City is the fifth lady in our story.” Therefore, with Abu Dhabi as the primary setting, we lose a very special character, which somehow cheapens the entire experience. After all, what are we left with when Sex and the City loses “and the City”?