Broadway Fall 2012 Preview

You can look at the Broadway 2012-2013 season in terms of the movie stars that will be on the stage: Al Pacino and Katie Holmes and Debra Winger — or how about Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon and Ed Asner all in one show?

You can judge it by the number of literary and theatrical classics (Charles Dickens, Henry James,Ibsen, Albee) and revivals – or the shows with buzz (Matilda is a big hit in London) or fresh new voices. (Those you are of course more likely to find Off-Broadway). Or look for trends and patterns: Both Clifford Odets and David Mamet are getting two plays on Broadway (and one of each is starring Bobby Cannavale!), there are THREE musicals about a young girl overcoming adversity

Or, if you’re a dedicated theatergoer, you can just comb carefully through the list below of Broadway shows scheduled so far for the 2012-2013 season, presented chronologically by opening date. The list is not final or complete, and will be updated.

Chaplin (September 10th)

Ethel Barrymore Theater

A new musical about Charlie Chaplin, born in the slums of London, who became the first international movie star

Official Website: ChaplinBroadway.com

Twitter: @ChaplinBway

http://youtu.be/LhYcauEq98I

Buy tickets to Chaplin

An Enemy of the People (Opening: September 27. Closing: December 2)

Samuel J. Friedman Theater

First preview: September 4, 2012

Boyd Gaines and Richard Thomas star in this adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play about the fight between Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who discovers toxic contamination in the water used at the local baths, and the community that fights to silence him.

Twitter: @MTC_nyc

Buy tickets to An Enemy of the People

Grace (Opening: October 4. Closing: December 6)

Cort Theater

First preview: September 13

Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon and Ed Asner star in this new play by Craig Wright pitting a skeptic against a prayer warrior involved in a sketchy real-estate deal to convert hotels into Christian inns

Twitter: @GraceonBroadway

Buy tickets to Grace

Running on Empty (Oct 9-Oct 14)

Richard Rodgers Theater

Stand-up comic, political commentator and playwright Lewis Black delivers his screeds against Romney AND Obama, as well as Facebook and the weather.

This is not his Broadway debut: He appeared for one night eight years ago to make an HBO special, Black on Broadway.

Twitter: @TheLewisBlack

Cyrano de Bergerac (Opening: October 11. Closing: November 25)

American Airlines Theater

First preview: Sept. 14

A play by Edmond Rostand starring Patrick Page (the most praised aspect of Spider-Man) about Cyrano de Bergerac, witty, intelligent but big-nosed, who pines for the beautiful Roxane but is too shy to pursue her.Instead, Cyrano writes eloquent love letters to Roxane on Christian’s behalf.

Twitter: @Rtc_nyc

Buy tickets to Cyrano De Bergerac

Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (October 13)

Booth Theater

First preview: Sept 27

Steppenwolf Theatre members Tracy Letts (author of August: Osage County) and Amy Morton are the dysfunctional couples in the revival of this landmark play by Edward Albee.

Twitter: @WoolfonBroadway

Facebook: WoolfonBroadway

Buy tickets to Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on Broadway (October 19-27)

Broadway Theater

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the singing group chronicled in the Tony-winning musical Jersey Boys, makes its Broadway debut in this limited-run concert event.

Buy tickets to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on Broadway

The Heiress (Opening: November 1, 2012. Closing February 10, 2013)

Walter Kerr

First preview: October 7

A revival of the stage adaptation of Henry James’s novel Washington Square about a lonely heiress and the man who may or may not be a golddigger. Starring Jessica Chastain (The Help), Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”) and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck)

Twitter: @TheHeiressBway

Buy tickets to The Heiress

Annie (November 8th)

The Palace

First preview: October 3

A revival of the 1977 musical based on the newspaper character Little Orphan Annie. Directed by James Lapine, the musical will feature Kate Finneran as Miss Hannigan, and, yes, there will be an actual dog from the pound.

Twitter: @AnnieonBroadway

Buy tickets to Annie

Elf (November 9-January 6)

A return of a show first presented on Broadway in 2010 based on the 2003 movie starring Will Ferrell about a Santa’s helper who travels to Manhattan to find his real father. My review of the 2010 Elf.

There will be a different cast.

Glengarry Glen Ross (November 11th)

Gerald Schoenfeld Theater

First preview: October 16

The 30th anniversary of David Mamet’s play stars Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale, about a new boss in a real estate firm, who tries to edge out some of the firm’s older salesmen by giving the better leads to the younger reps.

Twitter: @GlengarryBway

Buy tickets to Glengarry Glen Ross

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (November 13th-February 10)

Studio 54

First preview: October 19, 2012

Who killed Edwin Drood? Practically everyone is a suspect in this rousing Tony Award-winning musical mystery. And since author Charles Dickens left the story unfinished, it’s up to the audience to decide.

Twitter: @RTC_NYC

Buy tickets to The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Performers (November 14th)

Longacre Theater

First preview: October 23

Henry Winkler, Cheyenne Jackson and Alicia Silverstone star in a new play by David West Read about performers in the porn industry. Described as a romantic comedy, it focuses on two high school friends who reconnect at the Adult Film Awards in Las Vegas.

Twitter: @PerformersBway

Buy tickets to The Performers

Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson (November 15th)

Neil Simon Theater

First preview: October 13

A musical with book and lyrics by TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford about the life of the world’s first media star evangelist, set in 1920′s Los Angeles.

Twitter: @ScandalousBway

Buy tickets to Scandalous

Rebecca (November 18th)

Broadhurst Theater

First preview: October 30, 2012

The musical, based on the classic Daphne du Maurier novel (also made into a Hitchcock movie), depicts the life of an insecure young woman who marries a wealthy widower with a terrible secret.

http://youtu.be/P-Spf721c4c

Twitter: @RebeccaMusical

Buy tickets to Rebecca

A Christmas Story (November 19th-December 30th)

A musical based on the holiday movie, about a boy named Ralphie in 1940s Indiana who has one wish for Christmas — a Red Ryder BB gun. The composer-lyricist team, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, created Dogfight at Second Stages.

Twitter: @AChristmasStory

http://youtu.be/mSzkb0eWU7g

Buy tickets to A Christmas Story

Dead Accounts; (November 29)

Music Box Theater

First preview: November 3

Katie Holmes and Norbert Leo Butz star in a play by Theresa Rebeck (returning to Broadway after creating the TV show Smash) about a man who unexpectedly returns home, throwing his family into a frenzy of questions: Is he coming home or running away? Where is his wife everyone hates? And how did he get all that money?

Twitter: @deadacctsbway

Buy tickets to Dead Accounts

The Anarchist (December 2)

Lyceum Theater

First preview: November 13

A female prisoner, who was once part of a Weather Underground-like radical group, pleads her case for parole with the warden. A play by David Mamet starring Patti LuPone and Academy Award nominee Debra Winger in her Broadway debut.

Twitter: @AnarchistBway

Buy tickets to The Anarchist

Golden Boy (December 6)

Belasco Theater

First preview: November 8

Tony Shalhoub, Danny Burstein and Seth Numrich (Albert Narracott in War Horse) star in this 75th anniversary revival of the play by Clifford Odets, charts the swift rise of a gifted twenty-one-year-old violinist, Joe Bonaparte, who is corrupted by fame and fortune when he chooses to become a professional boxer.

Twitter: @LCTheater

2013

The Other Place (Opens: January 10th, 2013. Closes: March 3)

Samuel J. Friedman Theater

First preview: December 11, 2012

Laurie Metcalfe reprises her Obie-winning performance in a play by Sharr White about a woman unravelling. My review of The Other Place when it was Off-Broadway.

Twitter: @MTC_nyc

Buy tickets to The Other Place

Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella The Musical (February 21)

Broadway Theater

First preview: January 21

This new version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein television musical adds songs from the celebrated team and puts a new spin on the fairy tale: it’s Cinderella’s turn to aid the prince! Songs include “In My Own Little Corner” and “Impossible/It’s Possible.”

Buy tickets to Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella The Musical

Kinky Boots (April 4)

Al Hirschfeld Theater

First preview: March 5

A musical by Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein based on the movie about a conservative but failing British men’s footwear factory that enlists a drag performer named Lola to help them survive by creating a suitable and durable boot for drag queens.

Twitter: @KinkybootsBway

Buy tickets to Kinky Boots

Matilda (April 13)

Sam S. Shubert Theater

First preview March 4

A musical by Tim Minchin bsed on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, Matilda, an award-winning hit in London, is about a gifted child, unloved at home but supported by her teacher, who tries to rid her school of its evil headmistress.

Twitter: @MatildaBroadway

Buy tickets to Matilda

The Assembled Parties (April 17)

Judith Light and Jessica Hecht star in a new play by Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out) that tells the story of an affluent Jewish family on the Upper West Side between 1980-2000.

Shows set for Broadway but without either a theater or a specific opening date.

The Big Knife

American Airlines Theater

March 22 – June 2, 2013

In this revival of a play by Clifford Odets, Charlie Castle is a Hollywood actor longing to walk away from his studio contract when an incident from his past threatens to enslave him. Starring Bobby Cannavale and directed by Doug Hughes.

New York Theater blog

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