Spidey goes into hibernation…. Alice goes down the Broadway rabbit hole…. A new habit finds Kathleen Turner…. and The Normal Heart finds a Main Stem beat.
Blake
Saturday, April 16 
LAST CHANCE? What we’ll call the “original” version of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark (as director Julie Taymor intended it to be), will play its last few performances before the show goes on what we’ll call a “makeover hiatus.” The beleaguered show’s new creative team — director Philip William McKinley, writer Roberto Aguirre Sacasa and choreographer Chase Brock — will reopen the show on June 14. (Foxwoods Theatre, 213 W. 42nd St., btwn. 6th & 7th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
Sunday, April 17
OPENING? Frank Wildhorn’s newest musical, Wonderland, lends a pop-music, modern-day twist to the classic Lewis Carroll tale "Alice in Wonderland." In Wonderland, we find Alice (played by Janet Dacal) exploring the depths of a fantastical version of New York City, where she encounters a host of characters like the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter (here the Mad Hatteress) and the White Rabbit. (Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway, btwn. 46th & 47th Sts., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
Monday, April 18 
GO? Oscar winner Marisa Tomei and Frank Whaley star as the titular Marie and Bruce, a dysfunctional couple wadding their way through a hellish marriage in Wallace Shawn’s 1979 comedy. The result is an emotional pas de deux through the couple’s noxious marriage. Directed by Scott Elliot. (Through May 7, Acorn Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St., btwn. 9th & 10th Aves., info/tickets)
Tuesday, April 19 
OPENS? Kathleen Turner plays a nun struggling with a dark past in Matthew Lombardo’s High. Sister Jamie (Turner) is tasked with helping a young homeless addict get clean. Upon coming to his aid, this former sinner will question her own values and explore what true faith is all about. (Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
PREVIEWS? Last year’s star-studded benefit reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart will get a Broadway upgrade starring Tony-winning director Joe Mantello. Mantello makes a rare return to acting playing Ned Weeks, the early AIDS activist and notorious firebrand. Fellow Tony winner Joel Grey will co-direct the production which also stars John Benjamin Hickey as Ned's lover, Felix, and Ellen Barkin, in her Broadway debut, as Dr. Emma Brookner. (John Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., info/tickets. Officially opens April 27)
Wednesday, April 20 
GO? Hamish Linklater and Mamie Gummer star in The School of Lies, David Ives’ new interpretation of Molière’s seminal comedy The Misanthrope. Ives re-teams with longtime collaborator, director Walter Bobbie. (Through May 22, Classic Stage Company, 136 E. 13th St., off of 1st Ave., info/tickets)
Thursday, April 21 
OPENING? Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem officially opens stateside bringing Mark Rylance back to Broadway for what will be a rare second go at a leading-man role in one season. Rylance (who won an Olivier Award for his performance) plays Rooster Byron, a modern-day piped-piper who dispels wisdom (and a lot of booze) to a bunch of rag-tag misfits from a trailer in the woods. Joining Rylance for the Broadway version of this West End hit is Tony winner John Gallagher, Jr. (Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
GO? New York City opera continues its celebration of the work of Stephen Schwartz with Defying Gravity, a one-night event featuring Schwartz’s music sung by some of Broadway’s biggest names including Kristin Chenoweth, Ann Hampton Callaway, Raúl Esparza and Victor Garber. Schwartz’s first opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon is currently playing at the New York City Opera through May 1. (8 PM, David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, info/tickets)
OPENING (CHICAGO)? When Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s show Grease moved from a small theatre in Chicago to the Broadway big-time, it abandoned its R-rated roots and went for a more commercial-friendly, family vibe. Now, nearly 40 years since that original version premiered, The Original Grease returns to the Windy City — and to its greased-up roots. (Through June 26, American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St., Chicago, IL 60613, info/tickets)
Friday, April 22 
OPENING (D.C.)? Washington, DC’s Arena Stage launches its production of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined, the first time the title has played an in-the-round space. This critically acclaimed play depicts the harrowing struggle that women in the Democratic Republic of Congo endure at the hands of both the government soldiers who are supposed to protect them, and the rebel forces they so fear. (Through June 5, 1101 Sixth Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024, info/tickets)
