Broadway will turn its gaze skyward this fall.
“Galileo,” a new musical inspired by the life of Galileo Galilei, will begin preview performances Nov. 10 at the Shubert Theatre, with an official opening set for Dec. 6. The production arrives following a world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
The musical centers on the famed 17th-century scientist whose astronomical discoveries challenged prevailing doctrine, dramatizing the clash between intellectual inquiry and institutional power. If the Berkeley run is any indication, the show aims for contemporary resonance as much as historical sweep, framing Galileo’s struggle as a story about the personal cost of defending inconvenient truths.
Four-time Tony Award nominee Raúl Esparza will star in the title role, marking his first Broadway appearance since the short-lived musical “Leap of Faith” in 2011. He will be joined by Jeremy Kushnier and Tony Award nominee Joy Woods. Additional casting has yet to be announced.
The book is by two-time Emmy Award winner Danny Strong (“Dopesick”), with an original score by Zoe Sarnak (“Empire Records”) and Michael Weiner (“First Date”). Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (“Spring Awakening,” “Chess”) directs.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson to Play Truman Capote in ‘Tru’ Revival
Jesse Tyler Ferguson will step into the highball glass and heartbreak of Truman Capote this spring.
The Tony Award winner and five-time Emmy nominee will star in the first New York revival of Jay Presson Allen’s one-man play “Tru,” running March 6 through April 12 for 34 performances at the House of the Redeemer on the Upper East Side.
Directed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford, the solo tour-de-force unfolds in December 1975, with Capote alone in his Manhattan apartment after the publication of excerpts from “Answered Prayers” alienated the society circle he cherished. Drawn from Capote’s own words, the play offers a portrait of the writer at a moment of professional and personal unraveling. It premiered on Broadway in 1989 and starred Robert Morse, who won the Tony Award for his performance as Capote.
The production will be staged in the House of the Redeemer’s 99-seat library — a Gilded Age mansion built between 1914 and 1916 for Edith Shepard Fabbri, a great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and later designated a New York City landmark.
‘Dreamgirls’ Revival Set for Fall
The long-anticipated revival of the musical “Dreamgirls” will open in the fall in what is being billed as its first newly directed and choreographed Broadway staging since the original 1981 production. Five-time Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown (“Hell’s Kitchen,” “Gypsy”) will direct and choreograph the new production. While casting has yet to be revealed, EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, who won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation, has joined the producing team.
‘Lamb of God’ to Receive NYC Premiere at the Met
Rob Gardner’s “Lamb of God,” a concert work dramatizing the final days of Jesus’ life with soloists, orchestra, and choir, will receive its New York City premiere on March 30 in a one-night-only performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in partnership with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Originally released as a concept album recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, Lamb of God has not previously received a fully realized New York staging. The piece unfolds through the perspectives of figures including Mary the Mother, John, Thomas, Martha, Judas, and Mary Magdalene. Gardner, a composer with a following in faith-based music circles, will conduct.
Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller and Tony nominee Joy Woods headline the cast, joined by Santino Fontana, Norm Lewis, Anna Zavelson, and Alex Joseph Grayson. An 80-piece orchestra will perform alongside the combined forces of the BYU Singers and BYU Concert Choir.
