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Saturday, December 8
OPENING→ The hard-hitting salesmen of David Mamet's testosterone-driven Glengarry Glen Ross return to Broadway, led by Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale. Cannavale plays Young Turk Ricky Roma (a role Pacino played to acclaim in the 1992 film version) with Pacino now graduating to the Old Guard role of Shelly Levine. John C. McGinley, David Harbour and Richard Schiff are among those fighting for their jobs (and a new Cadillac or a set of steak knives). Murphy Guyer plays a detective. Jeremy Shamos plays an easy mark. Reviews are expected to appear Dec. 10. (Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Aves. Info/tickets.)
CASTING→ Joining the cast of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark is TV "Degrassi" star Jake Epstein. The alum from the hit Teen Nick show will share the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man with Reeve Carney; Epstein plays Saturday and Sunday matinee performances. (Foxwoods Theatre, 213 W 42nd St., btwn. 7th & 8th Aves. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
Sunday, December 9
OPENING→ Director Stafford Arima has carved out quite a niche for himself taking musicals once left on the shelf and dusting them off for a new audience (see: last year's Carrie The Musical revamp). Now it's Bare's turn to get the Arima treatment. The rock musical that started as a "pop opera" in 2001 is now a book musical; additional tunes have been added to its pop-rock score by Damon Intrabartolo and Jon Hartmere (the additional composer is Lynne Shankel). Taylor Trensch and Jason Hite star as two teens who fall in love at a Catholic boarding school. (New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., btwn. 8th & 9th Aves. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
Monday, December 10
GO (Connecticut)→ Kelli O'Hara will join her husband, Greg Naughton, and father-in-law, Tony winner James Naughton, for a reading of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story. Also starring in the play about a spoiled socialite being interviewed for a gossip rag on the eve of her second wedding is Blythe Danner, Edward Hermann and Jordan Coughtry. The one-night-only event is a part of the Westport Country Playhouse's "Script in Hand" reading series. (7 PM, Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, CT. Info/tickets.)
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| Kelli O'Hara and Greg Naughton |
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| photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN |
PREVIEWS→ Quiara Alegría Hudes' 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Water by the Spoonful makes its New York debut. Spoonful is part of a series of plays dealing with soldiers returning from war. For Spoonful, Hudes looked to the music of John Coltrane to help mold the piece that drew inspiration from her own family. Officially opens Jan. 8, 2013. (Second Stage Theatre, 305 W. 43rd St, at 8th Ave. Click here for Playbill Club discount previews tickets.)
Wednesday, December 12
GO→ Michael Feinstein celebrates the holidays at his namesake venue with A Gershwin Holiday, a collection of classics by George & Ira Gershwin. This will mark the last holiday show the nightclub impresario will perform at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, as the venue will close Dec. 31 before moving to a TBD location in the New Year. (Through Dec. 22, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, 540 Park Ave., at 61st St. Info/tickets.)
Thursday, December 13
OPENING→ Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical returns to New York for a holiday visit at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. New York got its first glimpse of the show when it came to Broadway in 2006 starring Patrick Page as the mean ol' Mr. Grinch. This time, it's Urinetown star Jeff McCarthy's time to "go green" in the musical based on Dr. Seuss' classic children's fable about a cantankerous mountain-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes two small" and a distaste for the cheery Whos of Whoville. Features music by Timothy Mason, Mel Marvin and Albert Hague — including familiar tunes from the 1966 TV version, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and "Welcome Christmas." (Through Dec. 30, The Theatre at MSG, 4 Penn Plaza at 7th Ave btwn. 33rd & 34th Sts. Info/tickets.)
Friday, December 14
PREVIEWS→ William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winner Picnic receives a Broadway revival via director Sam Gold and Roundabout Theatre Company. Sebastian Stan stars as a handsome drifter who rattles a small town during a Labor Day picnic. The visitor's very presence stirs up a ton of drama, especially among the town's female population — chief among them a young beauty (Maggie Grace), her bookish sister (Madeleine Martin), their mother (Mare Winningham), a schoolteacher (Elizabeth Marvel) and the town's elder stateswoman (Ellen Burstyn). Officially opens Jan. 13. (American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St., btwn. 7th & 8th Aves. Info/tickets.)
Blake Ross is the editor of Playbill magazine. Follow her on Twitter @PlaybillBlake.
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