Concluding April 4
John & Jen (Off-Broadway at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row). Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan co-star in the Keen Company's Off-Broadway revival of Andrew Lippa's musical John & Jen. The musical features music by Lippa, lyrics by Tom Greenwald and a book by Greenwald and Lippa. This production includes the premiere of a new song, "Trouble with Men." Here's how the production is billed: "John & Jen is an intimate story about connections, commitments and the healing of the human heart." Visit KeenCompany.org.
Concluding April 5
Honeymoon in Vegas (Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre). The new musical Honeymoon in Vegas is based on the 1992 Castle Rock Entertainment film of the same name. The cast is led by Tony nominee Rob McClure, Brynn O'Malley and Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Tony Danza with David Josefsberg, Tony Award nominee Nancy Opel and Matthew Saldivar. Honeymoon in Vegas has a book by "Blazing Saddles" and "Fletch" writer Andrew Bergman and a score by three-time Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown. The musical, according to press notes, "tells the story of Jack Singer (McClure), a regular guy with an extreme fear of marriage, who finally gets up the nerve to ask his girlfriend Betsy (O'Malley) to marry him. But when they head to Las Vegas to get hitched, smooth talking gambler Tommy Korman (Danza), looking for a second chance at love, falls head over heels for Betsy. What happens next is anybody's bet!" Visit HoneymoonBroadway.com.
Little Children Dream of God (Off-Broadway at the Black Box Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre). The Roundabout Underground world-premiere production of Little Children Dream of God is directed by Giovanna Sardelli and features Gilbert Cruz, Maurice Jones, Carl Hendrick Louis, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Chris Myers, Deirdre O'Connell and Carra Patterson. Here's how the new work is billed: "On a balmy night in Miami, a soon-to-be mother, Sula, floats ashore on a car tire. Having braved a perilous journey to escape her native Haiti, Sula is determined to forge a better life in America for her unborn son. She soon finds safety in an apartment building that shelters refugees in need, joining a diverse community of immigrants, each with their own unique dreams and dilemmas. But even though the life she has hoped for seems within reach, Sula knows she can't outrun her demons forever. Laced with wisdom, wit and grace, Little Children Dream of God is a timely new drama about learning to start a new life by facing the one you left behind." Visit RoundaboutTheatre.org. Posterity (Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater). The Atlantic Theater Company's world premiere of Posterity by Tony Award winner Doug Wright stars Hamish Linklater and John Noble. The cast also includes Dale Soules, Henry Stram and Mickey Theis. In Posterity, "Norway's most celebrated sculptor (Linklater) is commissioned to create the last official portrait of the country's most famous writer, but Henrik Ibsen (Noble) proves to be an irascible, contentious sitter, as the two men wage war over both his legacy and his likeness. Doug Wright explores the nature of artistic success and the fear of being forgotten." Visit AtlanticTheater.org.
Placebo (Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons). Playwrights Horizons presents the world premiere of Melissa James Gibson's Placebo, about a female arousal drug. The cast features Tony nominee Carrie Coon, William Jackson Harper, Alex Hurt and Florencia Lozano. Placebo is the new play from Obie Award winner Gibson and is directed by fellow Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin. According to Playwrights Horizons, "A minty green pill – medication or sugar? Louise (Connolly) is working on a placebo-controlled study of a new female arousal drug. As her work in the lab navigates the blurry lines between perception and deception, more and more these same questions pertain to her life at home. With uncanny insight and unparalleled wit, Melissa James Gibson's affectionate comedy examines slippery truths and the power of crossed fingers." Visit PlaywrightsHorizons.org.
Josephine and I (Off-Broadway at Joe's Pub). Olivier Award-nominated actress Cush Jumbo brings her one-woman play Josephine and I to Joe's Pub at the Public Theater. Jumbo premiered the biographical play about the life of Josephine Baker at London's Bush Theatre in 2013. Tony Award nominee Phyllida Lloyd directs. Here's how it's billed: "Born into poverty in the slums of St. Louis, Josephine Baker became one of the most famous and groundbreaking stars of the 20th century. The first African-American performer to rise to international prominence, she was a French Resistance spy and civil rights activist who was married twice by age 16 and served as muse to Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, who called her 'the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.' Now, nearly 40 years after her death, Baker’s life inspires a young woman to face up to the sacrifices required to follow one’s dreams. A performance featuring swinging jazz and ragtime rhythms, this theatrical event interweaves a modern day story of an ambitious young woman with the fascinating life of the peerless, fearless, Josephine Baker." Visit PublicTheater.org.
