Sharon is Metrotwin’s resident New York theatre buff. Last October she wrote about the Fall Season on Broadway, and just last month we wrote a joint post on our transatlantic theatre picks. Today Sharon casts her eye over the upcoming Spring Season on Broadway.
The Spring season on Broadway has heated up and the some new shows previewing and recently opened on Broadway are definite contenders for nods when the TONY awards take place in June.
A revival of August Wilson’s ‘Fences’, now playing at the Cort Theater proved to be a riveting night of drama. Denzel Washington steps once again onto a Broadway stage and along with the always wonderful Viola Davis does a marvellous job in bringing the play, set in 1957, to life. There is a good supporting cast and the audience is definitely involved, judging by the ‘call and response’ to some of the lines. A happy crowd exited the theater the night I attended.

Musicals do not get short shrift this season with ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at the Nederlander and ‘American Idiot’ at the St James rocking the house. In MDQ one hears the music of the famous Sun Studios and on one night we visit Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash as they sing some of their well-known songs and reminisce with Sam Phillips on the importance of t
his recording studio to them all. There is an outstanding performance by Levi Kreis who portrays Jerry Lee Lewis, this is one performer definitely to keep an eye on – those piano keys were smoking! On the other end of the spectrum is the band Green Day’s offering of ‘American Idiot’, a punk rock opera that dazzled. High, high energy, innovative staging and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are familiar with the music, you’ll be carried along throughout the performance.
American audiences are now lucky enough to see two new British imports as well. ‘Red’ st the St John Golden Theater and ‘Enron’ at the Broadhurst offer up thoughtful looks on the artist Mark Rothko and the financial shennanigans that brought a once solid multi-national corporation crashing down. I found ‘Enron’ fascinating, with pop-culture icons interspersed with fine performances telling the tale of the rise and subsequent ruin of the now infamous energy company. As for ‘Red’, as an artist myself, I especially enjoyed this play. The opening scene of the artist sitting quietly in an armchair contemplating his painting truly captures what it is to be a painter, with all that goes along with the job description. There are fine performances too, by Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne.
All in all, it’s not a bad season at all on the Great White Way – now off to see several Off-Broadway productions next week!
Photos by feastoffools and kamikazecactus used under a Creative Commons License