B'way Update: Left on Tenth, Boop!, CSC, Etc.

Juliana Margulies and
Peter Gallagher will star in
Left on Tenth.
Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews

Left on Tenth, Delia Ephron's new play based on her best-selling memoir, has announced dates, a theater and additional casting. The comedy-drama begins previews on Sept. 26 at the James Earl Jones Theater prior to an Oct. 23 opening. Joining previously announced Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher will be Obie winner Peter Francis James (Funny Girl, Hillary and Clinton) and Kate MacCluggage (The 39 Steps). Five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, Contact) will direct.

“Working on Left on Tenth has been a thrilling journey, collaborating with the incomparable Delia Ephron and bringing her story to life with the extraordinary talents of Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher,” said Stroman. “It's an experience that seamlessly blends the magic of her storytelling with the brilliance of these actors.”

Left on Tenth is a romantic comedy about second chances in life and love. When she least expects it, Delia, beloved novelist and screenwriter of You’ve Got Mail, makes a surprising connection with a man from her past and falls into her own romantic comedy. What starts with an unlikely spark blossoms into a love story that seems to defy all odds in the face of life’s challenges. Left on Tenth celebrates the messy, beautiful true story of two people with the courage to open their hearts again.

Jasmine Amy Rogers in Boop!
The Betty Boop Musical in Chicago
Credit: Matthew Murphy/Evan Zimmerman

Boop!: Boop! The Betty Boop Musical will open on Broadway in April 2025 at a Shubert theater TBA after a hit run in Chicago last year. Based on the Max Fleischer cartoon character of the 1930s, Boop! features a book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam), and direction and choreography by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots).

CSC Season: CSC has announced its season for 2024-25. First up is Our Class, Tadeusz Slobodzianek's drama of ten classmates--five Catholic and five Jewish--over several tumultous decades, seen last season at BAM presented by Arlekin Players Theater (Sept. 12-Nov. 3). Arlekin Players continue with a revival of The Merchant of Venice, starring Drama Desk winner Richard Topol as Shylock (Nov. 22-Dec. 22). Igor Golyak directs both.

In the spring, CSC presents a revival of Alice Childress' Wine in the Wilderness, originally scheduled for spring 2024. Tony winning actress La Chanze makes her directorial debut of this 1969 work about a Harlem artist and the woman who inspires him (March-April).

In May-June 2025, CSC will co-present with NAATCO and Transport Group, a revival of William Inge's 1955 Bus Stop about a group of strangers stranded in a Midwestern diner during a snowstorm, with an all-Asian cast. The 1955 production starred Kim Stanley and Elaine Stritch. Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray headlined the 1956 film version. The last Broadway revival was in 1996 and starred Billy Crudup and Mary-Louise Parker.

B'way Update: Forbidden B'way Postponed; Theater Award News

The first Broadway production of Forbidden Broadway has been postponed indefinitely. The latest edition of the long-running satirical revue was to have played the Hayes Theater beginning on July 29 with an opening set for Aug. 15. The limited engagement was to have played through Nov. 1. The producers cited the high volume of shows competing for theatergoers' attention and dollars.

“We made the difficult decision today to postpone the upcoming Broadway production of Forbidden Broadway on Broadway: Merrily We Stole A Song,” said producers Ryan Bogner, Victoria Lang and Tracey McFarland in a statement. “The Broadway landscape is enormously crowded at this moment, and while we adore Forbidden Broadway, we are disappointed that the show will not open at the Hayes on Broadway this summer. New programming for the Hayes Theater this summer will be announced soon.”

The Hayes is currently housing Paula Vogel's Mother Play which is scheduled to run until mid-June. The memory play has received excellent notices and might extend its run depending on cast schedules and if it reaps any Tony Award gold. 

This is the second recent Broadway production to announce a postponement. Rod Madge's solo My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) was to have played the Lyceum but plans were scuttled in February.

Bebe Neuwirth and Chita Rivera
Credit: Emilio Madrid-Kuser

Theater Award News: Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth, currently starring in the revival of Cabaret, will announce the nominees for the Chita Rivera Awards on Mon. April 29 on ABC's GMA3 during the 1pm block. This means we will have a double dose of theater award nominations. Earlier the same day, Kathleen Turner will give out the Drama Desk nominations on WNBC's New York Live at 11:30 am.

Then, the next day, April 30, the Tony Award nominations will be read by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Renee Elise Goldsberry. A portion of the press conference will be broadcast on CBS Mornings at 8:30am. The full announcement will drop on the Tony Awards' YouTube Channel beginning at 9am.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and
Renee Elise Goldsberry will
announced the 2023-24 Tony nominees.

B'way Update: Oh, Mary!, Crazy Rich Asians, etc.

Cole Escola in Oh, Mary!
will transfer to Broadway this summer.
Credit: Emilio Madrid

Mary Todd Lincoln is coming to Broadway. After a sold-out, twice extended run at the Lortel Theater Off-Broadway, Cole Escola's riotous comedy Oh, Mary! starring Escola in the title role, will transfer to the Lyceum Theater this summer. Performances begin June 26 in advance of a July 11 opening for a limited run through Sept. 15. 

Oh, Mary! stars Escola as a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Unrequited yearning, alcoholism and suppressed desires abound in this one act play that finally examines the forgotten life and dreams of Mrs. Lincoln through the lens of an idiot (Cole Escola). The show also stars Conrad Ricamora as Mary’s Husband, James Scully as Mary’s Teacher, Bianca Leigh as Mary’s Chaperone, and Tony Macht as Mary’s Husband’s Assistant, with Hannah Solow and Peter Smith completing the cast. 

Mrs. Lincoln has been portrayed on Broadway before in a more serious vein. In the Broadway season of 1972-73, she was portrayed in three productions by Julie Harris in The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play), Eva Marie Saint in The Lincoln Mask and Geraldine Page in Look Away.