Two plays coming to Boston before Broadway next season

Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Megan Tench

Globe Staff / May 5, 2008

Two pre-Broadway premieres - a new musical featuring Gershwin music and starring Harry Connick Jr., and a revival of "Brigadoon" - headline Broadway Across America-Boston's 2008-09 lineup.

The season will bring six musicals and two plays. Among them are the touring version of "Spring Awakening," winner of eight Tony Awards; "A Bronx Tale," starring Academy Award nominee Chazz Palminteri; and the Tony-nominated "Frost/Nixon," starring Stacy Keach.

Drew Murphy, president of Broadway Across America-Boston, said that having two shows open in Boston before Broadway is a significant development and part of his goal for the presenting organization.

"I really wanted to push to get Boston back to being a tryout city because it used to be back in the day," he said in a telephone interview. "To get one show before Broadway would have been great. But to get two is fantastic."

The season was scheduled to be unveiled last night at the Colonial Theatre, with several writers, producers, and choreographers from upcoming productions in attendance. Connick was expected to address the crowd in a prerecorded message, and cast members of "Brigadoon," "Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage," "Legally Blonde the Musical," "Spring Awakening," and "A Chorus Line" were slated to perform.

"A Chorus Line" is the longest-running American Broadway musical, winner of nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for drama. Depicting dancers auditioning for a chance on Broadway, it kicks off the season at the Opera House Sept. 11 to Oct. 5.

Before hitting Broadway next spring, the revival of "Brigadoon" will make its world premiere at the Colonial Oct. 14 to Nov. 9. Directed and choreographed by Tony winner Rob Ashford ("Thoroughly Modern Millie") and featuring a revised book by Tony winner John Guare ("Six Degrees of Separation"), "Brigadoon" is the story of two American tourists who, while vacationing in Scotland, stumble into a village that comes alive once every 100 years. The score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe includes such classics as "Almost Like Being in Love."

"Legally Blonde the Musical," based on the 2001 movie comedy, will run at the Opera House Oct. 28 to Nov. 9. The story follows underestimated sorority star Elle Woods, who puts down her credit cards, hits the books, and sets out to go to Harvard Law School. Reese Witherspoon made the role famous in the movie.

"Nice Work If You Can Get It," starring Connick, gets its world premiere at the Colonial Dec. 16 to Jan. 11. Directed and choreographed by Tony winner Kathleen Marshall, the musical features a book by Joe DiPietro ("All Shook Up") and songs from the legendary catalog of George and Ira Gershwin. The show follows a Long Island playboy (Connick) and his comedic encounters with bootleggers and gold diggers.

Keach, best known for his television portrayal of Mike Hammer, stars in "Frost/Nixon" at the Colonial Jan. 27 to Feb. 8. Written by Peter Morgan ("The Queen," "The Last King of Scotland"), "Frost/Nixon" is a Watergate-themed play exploring the tension-filled TV interviews between David Frost, the talk-show host, and former president Richard M. Nixon (Keach).

"Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage" will run at the Opera House Feb. 7 to March 15. A love story set in 1963 between a doctor's daughter and a dancer from the wrong side of the tracks, the musical is based on the 1987 movie and will feature songs from the film's popular soundtrack, including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes."

Palminteri's semi-autobiographical solo show, "A Bronx Tale," will run at the Colonial March 31 to April 11. An Oscar nominee for "Bullets Over Broadway," Palminteri wrote the play and depicts more than a dozen characters in this tale of a young boy's childhood in the 1960s-era Bronx. Palminteri also wrote the 1993 movie adaptation starring Robert De Niro.

The season will end with "Spring Awakening" at the Colonial, April 28 to May 24, 2009. The musical is a coming-of-age story about 19th-century German teens who are coming to grips with sexuality and morality and whose innermost feelings are expressed through the language of contemporary rock songs, co-written by Tony winner Duncan Sheik.

For further information call 866-523-7469 or visit broadwayacrossamerica.com.