Theatre News: Funny Girl. Plaza Suite and Hadestown

The complete cast and creative team for the highly anticipated new Broadway production of Funny Girl. stars previously announced Beanie Feldstein, Tony and Olivier Award nominee Ramin Karimloo, Jeff Award winner Jared Grimes, and five-time Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch will be joined by Peter Francis James as Florenz Ziegfeld, Ephie Aardema as Emma/Mrs. Nadler, Debra Cardona as Mrs. Meeker, Toni DiBuono as Mrs. Strakosh, Martin Moran as Tom Keeney and Julie Benko as Fanny Brice Standby.

The musical is set to feature an acting company that includes Amber Ardolino, Daniel Beeman, Colin Bradbury, Kurt Thomas Csolak, Leslie Donna Flesner, Afra Hines, Masumi Iwai, Aliah James, Jeremiah James, Danielle Kelsey, Stephen Mark Lukas, Alicia Hadiya Lundgren, John Thomas Manzari, Liz McCartney, Katie Mitchell, Justin Prescott, Mariah Reives, and Leslie Blake Walker.

Tony Award winner Michael Mayer will direct this brand-new Funny Girl, featuring the classic score by Tony, Grammy and Academy Award winner Jule Styne and lyrics by Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Bob Merrill, (comprising additional songs from Styne & Merrill). The original book by Isobel Lennart, from an original story by Miss Lennart, is revised by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein.

Funny Girl, will feature choreography by Ellenore Scott, tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, scenic design by Tony Award winner David Zinn, costume design by Tony Award winner Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Tony Award winner Kevin Adams, sound design by Tony Award winner Brian Ronan, hair & wig design by Campbell YoungAssociates, orchestrations by Chris Walker, music direction and supervision by Emmy Award winner Michael Rafter, casting by Jim Carnahan, CSA and Jason Thinger, orchestrations by Chris Walker, dance, vocal and incidental music arrangements by Alan Williams, and additional arrangements by David Dabbon and Carmel Dean.

Performances begin Saturday, March 26, 2022 and officially opens on Sunday, April 24, 2022 at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). Prices start at $39.00.

Two-time Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick and two-time Emmy Award^® winner Sarah Jessica Parker lead a cast which also includes Danny Bolero as The Waiter, Drama Desk Award^® nominee Molly Ranson as Jean McCormick/Mimsey Hubley, and Eric Wiegand as The Bellhop/Borden Eisler. The cast is completed by Tony Award winner Michael McGrath and Tony Award nominee Erin Dilly, who will standby for Broderick and Parker, respectively; in addition to understudies Laurie Veldheer and Cesar J. Rosado.

The complete cast for the first-ever New York revival of Neil Simon’s classic comedy about marriage, Plaza Suite, started rehearsals under the direction of Tony Award^® winner John Benjamin Hickey.

As previously announced, the production will begin preview performances on Friday, February 25, with the official opening night set for Monday, March 28, at Hudson Theatre (141 West 44^th Street).

Tickets are available at www.plazasuitebroadway.com or www.thehudsonbroadway.com.

Amber Gray

Amber Gray, who originated the role of Persephone in Hadestown, the Tony Award^®-winning Best New Musical, will play her final performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48^th Street) on Saturday evening, February 19. Casting for the role of Persephone will be announced shortly.

Gray’s involvement in Tony Award winner Anaïs Mitchell’s beguiling musical began during early developmental readings with Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin. She went on to play the role of the Queen of the Underworld in all three developmental productions prior to Hadestown’s 2019 Broadway premiere: New York Theatre Workshop (2016); the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Canada (2017); and London’s National Theatre (2018). For her performance, she received a Grammy Award^®, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and was nominated for Tony^® and Lucille Lortel^® Awards.

In addition to Gray, the Broadway cast is led by Grammy Award winner Reeve Carney, Tony Award winner André De Shields, two-time Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada, and Tony Award nominee Patrick Page. They are joined by Jewelle Blackman, Jessie Shelton, and Kay Trinidad as the Fates and Lana Gordon as the Persephone alternate. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Timothy Hughes, Trent Saunders, Grace Yoo. The cast includes swings Sojourner Brown, Tara Jackson, Tomás  Matos, Sayo Oni, Yael “YaYa” Reich, and T. Oliver Reid.

Tickets for Hadestown on Broadway are available at www.seatgeek.com/hadestown-tickets or by visiting the Walter Kerr Theatre box office (219 West 48^th Street).