THEATRE

MUSICALS

DRAMAS

MUSICALS:

 
A Catered Affair
Set in The Bronx in 1953, A CATERED AFFAIR reveals relationships strained to their limits when a couple must decide whether to spend their life savings on a family business or to launch their only daughter's marriage with a lavish catered affair. With a book by Harvey Fierstein (Hairspray), the production has assembled an all-star cast which includes Fierstein, Tom Wopat (Annie Get Your Gun), Faith Prince (Guys and Dolls), and Leslie Kritzer (Legally Blonde).
Performances begin March 25, 2008

A Chorus Line
Broadway gypsies bare their souls and put their lives "on the line" as they audition for an unnamed Broadway musical. The 1975 show won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Musical. The score includes "What I Did for Love," "The Music and the Mirror," "At the Ballet" and "Dance Ten, Looks Three. "

Avenue Q
Avenue Q (2hr 15min) - The place you live when you can't afford to live anywhere else, AVENUE Q is set on a street in New York City where people and puppets live as neighbors and deal with some of life's most thorny issues: romance, sex, money, career, rent and other matters unmentionable. A smart new musical.

Billy Elliot
Based on the enormously popular film, this powerful new musical is the story of a boy who discovers he has a special talent for dance, while the boys all around him are more interested in boxing. An unprecedented smash in the West End, where it has won 8 Best Musical awards. The creators of the show are joined by music legend Elton John.
Performances begin Sept. 17, 2008

Chicago
Chicago (2hr 30min) - A new “concretized” production of the 1975 musical with an all-star cast. Set in the 1920’s, this Tony Award winning, razzle-dazzle musical tells the story of Roxie Hart, a fading chorus girl who gains dubious notoriety when she kills her lover. The sensational murder trial is acted out in vaudeville specialties. Includes famous songs “All that Jazz!” and “Class.” NOTE: Performance schedule varies. Please call the Briggs office for specific dates and times.

Cry-Baby The Musical
Baltimore, 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism and Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker is the coolest boy in town. He's a bad boy with a good cause — truth, justice and the pursuit of rock 'n' roll. When he falls for a good girl who wants to be bad, her charm-school world of bobby sox and barbershop quartets will never be the same. Wayward youth, juvenile delinquents, sexual repression, cool music, dirty lyrics, bizarre rejects…Finally, the '50s come to life!
Performances begin March 15, 2008

Curtains
It's the golden age of musicals and a new show is in Boston for some pre-Broadway polish. But this tuner has more problems than most. The leading lady is dead, and everyone in the company is a suspect. Can Frank Cioffi, homicide detective (and musical theatre fan), solve the murder – and save the show?

Grease
Grease is gearing up for a Broadway return following a nationally broadcast talent contest to find the next Sandy and Danny! In addition to the smash songs "Summer Nights," "Greased Lighting" and "We Go Together" made famous by the Broadway production, the new revival will include "You're the One That I Want," "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy" from the 1978 film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as the lovelorn teens.

Gypsy
A consummate show-biz musical suggested by the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. She was once just plain Louise, the awkward daughter of an unstoppably ambitious stage mother (Patti LuPone). When her pretty sister runs away from the family's minor vaudeville act, Louise tries to fulfill her mother's dreams. But it's not until trouping with Mama dwindles to appearing in burlesque, that Louise finally finds pleasure in the spotlight. The vibrant score includes “Some People,” “Let Me Entertain You,” “Together,” “Everything's Coming Up Roses” and “Rose's Turn.”
Performances begin March 3rd

Hairspray
Based on the John Waters' film of the same name, this new musical relays the tale of Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teen who longs to show the city of Baltimore and the rest of the country that she can move, groove, shake and shimmy as well as the rest of the cast of the Corny Collins Show. On her journey she overcomes a variety of prejudices and fulfills all her dreams.

In the Heights
A quintessential NY musical about a vibrant and tight-knit community at the top of the island of Manhattan. The music pulses with the hopes and dreams of three generations as they struggle to forge an identity in neighborhood on the brink of transition. Stars Priscilla Lopez.

Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys - Jersey Boys is the musical about the rise and fall of Jersey natives, The Four Seasons. The story follows a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who become the biggest doo-wop sensation of all time, writing their own songs, inventing their own sounds and selling 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.

Legally Blonde
A sorority-sister valley girl goes to Harvard Law to get her boyfriend back, and ends up defying expectations while staying true to herself. Based on the 2001 hit film starring Reese Witherspoon.

Les Misérables
The legendary musical returns to Broadway for a six-month engagement to celebrate becoming the world's longest-running musical (on October 9 in the West End of London).

Lion King, The
The Lion King (2hr 45min) - The 1998 Tony Award winning musical based on the successful Walt Disney animated feature. The show tells the story of the epic adventures of a young lion cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role as king. Fantastical costumes, puppets and theatre magic bring the African animals to the “Circle of Life!” It’s a celebration of joy for any age. Don’t miss this modern musical miracle.

Little Mermaid, The
In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above, but first, she’ll have to defy her father – the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she’s the girl with the perfect voice. Based on one of the most beloved Disney films of all time and the classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, THE LITTLE MERMAID is the sparkling new Disney musical that’s poised to make a splash on Broadway.

Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia (2hr 30min) - A musical with a disco beat, featuring the music of Swedish singing group ABBA. The setting is a Greek island where 20 year old Sophie is due to be married. Her mom, Donna, is there - but no dad. That's because they aren't sure who dad is. So, Sophie researches mom's diary and chooses three former lovers as likely candidates and invites them to the wedding, thinking she will figure it out when she sees them.

Mary Poppins
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The smash London musical, a co-production of Disney Theatrical and Cameron Mackintosh, glides into the historic New Amsterdam Theatre. Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, this is the story of the Banks family and how their lives change after the arrival of nanny Mary Poppins at their home at 17 Cherry Tree Lane in London.

Phantom of the Opera, The
The Phantom of the Opera (2hr 30min) - This Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is a terrific technical achievement chock-full of gorgeous scenery and costumes. The action takes place in 1860, and tells of a mysterious creature who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House and exerts strange control over a lovely young soprano. Based on the novel Le Fantome de L'Opera by Gaston Leroux.

Rent
Rent (2hr 45min) – The new musical rock version of La Boheme that all the critics are raving about as the best new musical in decades. Latin Quarter Parisians are now Lower East Side Avenue B performance artists who live and love for their art. The ending is transformed from the opera, but the theme of love striving to endure beyond all obstacles remains. Includes songs "Seasons of Love" and "One Song Glory," – A Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner.
Closing June 1, 2008

Shrek The Musical
The most beloved swamp-dwelling ogre of all time makes his Broadway debut in SHREK THE MUSICAL. This all-new production is based on Shrek's adventures in the classic William Steig book and Oscar-winning film. Joining Shrek on his journey from the swamp to the stage will be his wisecracking sidekick Donkey, Princess Fiona, Lord Farquaad and a chorus of everybody's favorite fractured fairytale creatures. With more layers than ever and a completely original new score, SHREK THE MUSICAL proves that there's more to the story than meets the ears.
Performances begin on Nov. 11th, 2008

South Pacific
Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific is set on a tropical island in the Pacific during World War II, where US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush falls in love with local plantation owner Emile De Becque. Meanwhile, Lt. Joe Cable has fallen in love with young Liat, daughter of the irrepressible Bloody Mary. Both couples' happiness is threatened by the realities of the war and by their own prejudices.
Performance Dates Apr. 3, 2008 - Jun. 22, 2008

Spamalot
Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and the quest for the Holy Grail in song, Monty Python's Spamalot features "a chorus line of legless knights, men in tights (with legs), killer rabbits and sexy dancing divas." The production also promises "some of the most unforgettable musical numbers you will ever see in the theater on this evening!" If you haven't figured it out already, Spamalot is an adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the 1975 film that is the best loved and most successful of the Monty Python screen ventures.

Spring Awakening
Based on Franz Wedekind's play of the same name, Spring Awakening boldly depicts how a dozen young people make their way through the thrilling, complicated, confusing and mysterious time of their sexual awakening.

Stomp
The “smash” hit British percussion ensemble melds music, theatre and fun into wonderful and wacky performance art. Features buckets, brooms, trashcan lids and yes, even the kitchen sink.

Sunday In The Park With George
The Georges Seurat painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" serves as the inspiration for this musical fantasy celebrating the art of creation and the creation of art. The first half of Sunday in the Park with George, set in 1884, sees the painting and its rich comic tapestry come to life in a world where, for Georges, art comes before love, before everything. In the second half, set in 1980s New York, we see the great grandson of Georges and his search for inspiration in the world of contemporary art.
Closing on June 15, 2008

Wicked
The Wicked Witch of the West finally has her say as her own musical heads to Broadway. Learn "the true story of the Wicked Witch of the West", from her perspective in Stephen Schwatrz's Oz-flavored new musical based on Gregory Maguire's best selling novel.

Xanadu
Based on the film of the same name, Xanadu centers on a Greek muse who is sent to earth to inspire Californians during the 1980s. While on earth, she meets and falls in love with an artist and helps him realize his dreams.

Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks' hotly-anticipated follow-up to The Producers, will arrive on Broadway in the fall. The new musical will begin rehearsals in June and open out of town this summer prior to its Broadway bow. As with The Producers, music and lyrics are by Brooks, the book is by Brooks and Thomas Meehan, and Susan Stroman directs and choreographs.

DRAMATIC PLAYS:
Blue Man Group Tubes
Performance art with a special kind of nonsense. These three men with extraterrestrial imaginations perform a new-vaudeville type show that is smart and ridiculous at the same time.

Is He Dead?
Inspired by the posthumous bidding war that broke out between the United States and France over Jean-Francois Millet's painting "The Angelus," Is He Dead? is a fast-paced comedy about a group of poor artists who stage the death of their mentor to drive up the price of his paintings. Written by Mark Twain and starring Norbert Leo Butz, this posthumous work was recently discovered in 2002 and will make its world-premiere.

November
Set just days before a major presidential election, November involves civil marriages, gambling casinos, lesbians, American Indians, presidential libraries, questionable pardons and campaign contributions. Nathan Lane stars as beleaguered commander-inchief Charles Smith in this world premiere comedy by David Mamet. Also starring Laurie Metcalf.

The Homecoming
Undoubtedly Pinter's most sexually provocative work, The Homecoming is an edgy and compelling tale of lust, betrayal and seduction, telling the story of a dysfunctional family that welcomes the homecoming of its estranged brother and competes for the attention of his dangerously alluring wife. Star-studded cast features; Ian McShane, Raul Esparza, Eve Best and Michael McKean.

The Seafarer
It's Christmas Eve and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, aging brother who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul.