The Play’s The Thing This Fall
At BroadwayGPS, we preview shows so you get an insider scoop on each production. Our very own James Ballard has been checking out the new plays this fall. See his reviews below!
THE ROOMMATE
Playing thru December 15, 2024
Jen Silverman’s play The Roommate has arrived on Broadway this season with two legendary performers – Patti Lupone and Mia Farrow. The two notable actresses are giving it their all with roles that challenge their formidable acting chops. Mia Farrow, it turns out is a veteran of the stage having performed on Broadway in the 70’s and beyond before movies and family scooped her up. Her comic timing hasn’t lost a beat. She’s hilarious as a mid-western single mom looking for meaning in life. Patti as always, gives a persuasive, noteworthy performance as a “roommate” grifter trying to start a new life. They are an Odd Couple, to say the least but the journey they take in the play brings them together; they find meaning and purpose through their quirky relationship. We recommend theatre lovers snag tickets now to see this dynamic acting duo on stage! It’s a treat.
THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA
Playing thru December 22, 2024
Jez Butterworth, the playwright behind 2018’s exemplary Irish saga The Ferryman, returns to Broadway this season with his new play The Hills of California. Chronicling the lives of a quartet of musical sisters hailing from a seaside town in England, The Hills of California traverses decades back and forth between the 1950s and the 1970s, giving us a glimpse into their lives both as ambitious young girls with dreams of stardom and as the adults they would later become. The play features excellent performances from the entire cast, perhaps most notably from Laura Donnelly (Tony nominated for her previous Broadway turn in The Ferryman) as the girls’ ruthlessly ambitious mother (funnily enough, the Majestic Theatre next door is set to reopen in November with a revival of Gypsy starring Audra McDonald, so that stretch of 44th Street will soon play host to two Domineering Stage Mothers). Worth noting also is the spectacular set (courtesy of scenic designer Rob Howell), one of the most visually striking on Broadway in recent memory with sets of interweaving staircases and walkways stretching up into the rafters of the theater. For fans of great contemporary playwriting, The Hills of California is a must-see on Broadway this fall.
OUR TOWN
Playing thru January 19, 2025
The revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, currently playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, invites us to view a classic American play through fresh eyes. Pared down to a brisk 1 hour and 45 minutes (in 3 acts with no intermission), the play is stripped to its essential elements: Sets and costumes are minimal, props are mostly suggested through pantomime, changes of location indicated by a small shift in staging or a lighting cue. This deftly subtle approach to the material allows for the strength of Wilder’s writing to shine through and puts a spotlight on some terrific performances from the cast, most notably Jim Parsons in the role of the Stage Manager and Zoey Deutch and Ephraim Sykes as the young lovers Emily and George. In the play’s final act, when Emily asks the Stage Manager “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it – every, every minute?” and he replies “No… the saints and poets, maybe they do some”, it feels almost like a thesis statement for this production: How the most meaningful moments in our lives are the small everyday interactions that we frequently take for granted. This is a great show for students, we’d recommend 10 and up!
