B'way Update: Illinoise, Ben Platt, Stranger Things

The cast of Illinoise which will 
transfer to the St. James in time for the Tonys.
Credit: Stephanie Berger

As if this Broadway season couldn't get any more crowded or crazy, we have a last-minute entry in time for the Tony Awards. Illinoise, the dance-theater adaptation of Sufjan Stevens' concept album Illinois, will transfer from its run at the Park Avenue Armory to the St. James Theater, on April 24--just before the Tony cut-off of April 25. The show will open the same night as Lincoln Center Theater's all-star revival of Uncle Vanya. The St. James became available when Monty Python's Spamalot ended its limited run earlier than expected. Illinoise will play a limited engagement through Aug. 10.

"We're absolutely thrilled to bring Illinoise to the St. James Theatre on Broadway.  This project has been ruminating in my mind for nearly 20 years, which makes this moment even more sublime,” says director-choreographer Justin Peck. The audience response throughout our engagement at Fisher Center at Bard, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Park Avenue Armory has been extraordinary, and we feel lucky that we get to continue sharing this unique show with future audiences on Broadway. Illinoise is a coming-of-age story that takes the audience on a journey through the American heartland -- from campfire storytelling to the edges of the cosmos -- all told in through a unique blend of music, dance, and theater. On behalf of my team, we welcome this rare opportunity with full hearts."

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, who collaborated on the story with Peck said, “Supporting the craft of each of the artists involved in making up this show has been a joy and an inspiration. For me, the thing that makes Illinoise so special is how it allows incredible performers to come together with an audience and welcome emotion and connection with open arms. It is rare to have an experience, in a public space, that is moving on an elemental level, so we are all incredibly gratified to bring Illinoise to the St. James on Broadway.”

Ben Platt

Ben Platt at the Palace: From the end of the 2023-24 season, we go to the beginning of 2024-25. Tony, Emmy and Grammy winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) will play an 18-performance concert run at the newly renovated Palace Theater from May 28 through June 15, in celebration of his upcoming album Honeymind. Tony winner Michael Arden (Parade) directs. 

Ben Platt said, "It is far beyond my wildest imagination to play a residency of my own music in a house as storied as the Palace. I feel blessed to be part of the theater community, and to have the opportunity to perform as myself and from my own perspective on a Broadway stage is one of the greatest honors of my life. I can't wait to introduce my new record on the beautifully revived stage. My hope is to bridge my musical theater roots that I hold so dear with the world of classic Americana songwriting that I've fallen so deeply in love with. I mean, Liza! Judy! ‘Dreams come true' doesn't even begin to cover it!"

Stranger Things Transfer: It's not official yet, but Broadway World reports a theatrical prequel to Netflix's Stranger Things will be transferring from London to Broadway. An Equity casting notice has been posted for a Broadway production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow sometime in 2025.

2023-24 Broadway/Off-Broadway/Awards Calendar (and Beyond)
Spring 2024
March 21--Water for Elephants (Imperial)
March 24--Philadelphia, Here I Come (IRT)
March 28--The Who's Tommy (Nederlander)
April 1--Brynolf & Ljung in Stalker (New World Stages)
April 1--Bistro Awards (Gotham Comedy Club)
April 2--Orlando (previews begin; opening TBA) (Signature Theatre)
April 2--Fish (Keen Co./Working Theater/Theater Four) 
April 4--Lortel Award nominees announced
April 5--Macbeth (an undoing) (TFANA/Polonsky Center)
April 11--The Outsiders (Jacobs)
April 11--Jordans (Public) (previews begin; opening TBA)
April 12--Staff Meal (previews begin; opening TBA) (Playwrights Horizons)
April 14--Lempicka (Longacre)
April 15--MAC Awards (Peter Norton Symphony Space)
April 16--Sally & Tom (Public Theater)

April 17--The Wiz (Marquis)
April 18--Suffs (Music Box)
April 19--Stereophonic (Golden)
April 20--Hell's Kitchen (Shubert)
April 20/21--Cabaret (August Wilson)
April 22--The Heart of Rock and Roll (James Earl Jones)
April 22--Patriots (Barrymore)
April 22--Outer Critics Circle nominations announced
April 22--Drama League nominations announced (NY Library for the Performing Arts)
April 23--Mary Jane (MTC/Friedman) 

April 24--Illinoise (St. James)
April 24--Uncle Vanya (LCT/Vivian Beaumont)
April 25--Mother Play (Second Stage/Hayes)
April 25--The Great Gatsby (Broadway)
April 26--Chita Rivera Award nominations announced
April 29--Drama Desk Award nominations announced
April 30--Tony Nominations Announced
April 30--Three Houses (previews begin; opening TBA) (Signature Theatre)
May 2--Wine in the Wilderness (previews begin; opening TBA) (CSC)
May 5--Lortel Awards (NYU Skirball)
May 13--Here There Are Blueberries (NYTW)
May 13--Outer Critics Circle winners announced
May 17--Drama League Awards (Ziegfeld Ballroom)
May 20--Chita Rivera Awards Ceremony (NYU Skirball)
May 23--Outer Critics Circle Awards ceremony

May 28--Ben Platt at the Palace

Summer 2024

June 5--Home (Roundabout/Todd Haimes)

June 10--Drama Desk Awards

June 10--Theater World Awards

June 12--The Welkin (Atlantic Theater Company)

June 12--Titanic (Encores/City Center)

June 16--Tony Awards (David Koch Theater/Lincoln Center)

June 20--Cats (Perelman Performing Arts Center)

TBA--All of Me (The New Group/Signature Center)

Aug. 15--Forbidden Broadway on Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song (Hayes)

2024

Sunset Boulevard

Fall 2024

Nov. 11--What a Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical (Studio 54)

The Counter (Roundabout/Laura Pels)

King Lear (Kenneth Branagh Theater Company/The Shed)

Yellowface (Roundabout/Todd Haimes Theater)

Winter 2024-25

English (Roundabout/Todd Haimes Theater)

Liberation (Roundabout/Laura Pels)

2024-25

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)

Our Town

Smash

Tammy Faye

Spring 2025

Othello

The Pirates of Penzance (Roundabout/Todd Haimes Theater)

Show Boat (Target Margin/NYU Skirball)

Future--Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death; Beaches the Musical; Black Orpheus; BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical; Come Fall in Love--The DDLJ Musical; Death Becomes Her; The Devil Wears Prada; Ella: An American Miracle; Everybody's Talking About Jamie; Frida, the Musical; Game of Thrones; The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation; High Noon; Imitation of Life; The Interestings; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; The Karate Kid; La La Land; Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; The Mousetrap; Nancy Drew and the Mystery at Spotlight Manor; Pal Joey; Purple Rain; The Queen's Gambit; Rear Window; The Nanny; The Normal Heart/The Destiny of Me; The Queen of Versailles; The Secret Garden; Sing Street; Soul Train; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; Working Girl.

2023-24 Broadway Season Breakdown:
New Plays:
The Cottage
Grey House
I Need That
Jaja's African Hair Braiding
Mother Play

Patriots
Prayer for the French Republic
The Shark Is Broken

Stereophonic

New Musicals:

Back to the Future

Days of Wine and Roses

The Great Gatsby

Harmony

The Heart of Rock and Roll

Hell's Kitchen

How to Dance in Ohio

Illinoise

Lempicka

The Notebook

Once Upon a One More Time

The Outsiders

Suffs

Water for Elephants

Play Revivals:

Appropriate

Doubt: A Parable

An Enemy of the People

Mary Jane

Purlie Victorious

Uncle Vanya

Musical Revivals:

Cabaret

Gutenberg! The Musical

Here Lies Love

Merrily We Roll Along

Monty Python's Spamalot

The Who's Tommy

The Wiz

Solos/Specialties:

Alex Edelman: Just for Us

Melissa Etheridge: My Window