Concluding Nov. 23
The Country House (Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre). Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies' The Country House, starring Tony and Emmy winner Blythe Danner, also features Kate Jennings Grant, Eric Lange, David Rasche, Sarah Steele and Tony nominee Daniel Sunjata. Danner stars as Anna Patterson, "the matriarch of a brood of famous and longing-to-be-famous creative artists who have gathered at their Berkshires summerhouse during the Williamstown Theatre Festival," according to MTC. "But when the weekend takes an unexpected turn, everyone is forced to improvise… inciting a series of simmering jealousies, a flurry of romantic outbursts and a bout of passionate soul-searching." Visit TheCountryHouseBway.com.
Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Off-Broadway at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre). Second Stage Theatre's fall production of Terrence McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart stars Michael Chernus as Sam, Tracee Chimo as Chloe, America Ferrera as Sally and Austin Lysy as John. Here's how it's billed: "It's the 4th of July on Fire Island where a brother and sister and their spouses are spending the quintessential American summer weekend in an unfamiliar setting. As their season in the sun unfolds, the two couples do their best to enjoy themselves despite their prejudices and insecurities. The grill is fired up, the drinks are cold and the pool is open but no one is going in. Terrence McNally's trenchant comedy receives its first New York revival in 23 years under the direction of Peter DuBois." Visit 2ST.com.
Billy & Ray (Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre). Billy & Ray, Mike Bencivenga's new comedy about the making of the classic film "Double Indemnity," features Vincent Kartheiser as Billy Wilder with Larry Pine as Raymond Chandler. Also in the cast are Sophie von Haselberg as Wilder's secretary and Drew Gehling as a studio chief. The play "follows literary odd couple writer-director Billy Wilder and novelist Raymond Chandler as they contentiously collaborate to adapt the novel 'Double Indemnity' for the silver screen. Set in 1940s Hollywood, Billy & Ray is the true story of how two brilliant and thorny artists battled the Hollywood censors and each other to create a groundbreaking movie classic." Visit VineyardTheatre.org.
The Belle of Amherst (Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre). Golden Globe Award nominee Joely Richardson stars in The Belle of Amherst, a one-woman play by William Luce about the reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, under the direction of Steve Cosson. "In The Belle of Amherst, Emily Dickinson welcomes audiences into her lifelong Amherst homestead in mid-19th century Massachusetts," press notes state. "While Dickinson found solace in solitude through much of her life, acclaimed playwright William Luce weaves her poems, diaries, and letters into a one-woman portrait of one of America's greatest and most prolific poets, mixing Dickinson’s encounters with close friends and family with the poet’s own, often amusing observations. The Belle Of Amherst illuminates a brilliant wordsmith through the words she left behind." Visit BelleOfAmherstPlay.com. Chairs and a Long Table/Livin' La Vida Imelda (Off-Broadway at the Clurman Theater at Theatre Row). Carlos Celdran's Livin’ La Vida Imelda and Han Ong's Chairs And A Long Table run in repertory under the title "Breaking the Myth." According to Ma-Yi Theater Company artistic director Ralph B. Peña, "The two exciting and provocative works respond to our prevailing assumptions about colorblind casting, the quest for equality in the arts, along with the eccentricities of Imelda Marcos and the remixing of a dictator's dubious legacy into an innocuous disco party. The 'myths' referred to in the play are myths about post-racial America, myths about shoes and jewelry and myths about historical and cultural authenticity." Visit Ma-YiTheatre.org.
