Exciting spring season for plays

13 plays are set to open between March 9 and April 30. Too many, of course, but given that The Seagull, All My Sons and Speed-the-Plow are the only shows that have recouped this season, maybe it's not such a bad thing. For once, it's not about the musicals!

On paper, the pedigree of what's coming seems unusually high - and a spring season that includes Eugene Ionesco, Friedrich Schiller, Samuel Beckett, Alan Ayckbourn, August Wilson, Neil LaBute, Noel Coward, Yasmina Reza and by my count, four new plays by American authors (now that Moises Kaufman is an American citizen) is ok with me.

So, here's the list of what's coming. Which ones are you excited about? For me, I cannot wait for Norman Conquests, Exit the King, Mary Stuart and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (my fave of August Wilson's cycle).

33 Variations (opens March 9 at the O'Neill)
Impressionism (opens March 12 at the Schoenfeld)
Blithe Spirit (opens March 15 at the Shubert)
God of Carnage (opens March 22 at the Jacobs)
Exit the King (opens March 26 at the Barrymore)
Irena's Vow (opens March 29 at the Kerr)
reasons to be pretty (opens April 2 at the Lyceum)
Joe Turner's Come and Gone (opens April 16 at the Belasco)
Mary Stuart (opens April 19 at the Broadhurst)
The Norman Conquests (opens April 23 at Circle in the Square)
The Philanthropist (opens April 26 at American Airlines)
Accent on Youth (opens April 29 at the Friedman)
Waiting for Godot (opens April 30 at Studio 54)

---

The spring does indeed look especially bright. I'm really looking forward to a marathon day of The Norman Conquests, as well as seeing Blithe Spirite and Exit the King. Everything coming in looks worth seeing. I can't say the same for the musicals, but I generally don't see musicals, so this spring season works out quite well for me.

God of Carnage has Tony Soprano in it, right?

The big confrontation scene in Mary Stuart between Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I is really one of the great scenes in world theatre, plus Janet McTeer is fabulous in everything she touches. I also can't wait to see the rain!

---

No. James Gandolfini was Tony Soprano.

He is not Tony Soprano. He is James Gandolfini.

Lot of people get that confused.

That is a great list. MARY STUART is a pretty fantastic play. I'd love to see it again.

---

It'll be interesting to see how JOE TURNER is received, especially with a Caucasian director. Didn't Wilson famously once state that he'd never want a non-African American to direct his work?

The plethora of non-musical plays coming up is mind boggling -- most I've seen in years. I usually like to see anything during the late preview period, but I'm going to have the forego that practice for now. I've already got tickets for Blithe Spirit, with reasons to be pretty (didn't see it off-Broadway) and Exit the King high on my list.

Two itsy-bitsy cavils. The number of revivals appears to be disproportionate to the number of new plays. And, although I know it's all tied up with Tony expectations and other reasons, I really wish the plays could have been spread out more evenly throughout the season. When you consider that we didn't really have all the much in the way of non-musicals during the fall, it would have made for a more varied season earlier on. By Tony time, Equus and Dividing the Estate will probably be forgotten entities -- undeservedly so, IMO.

---

Will the Norman Conquest do a marathon day like Coast of Utopia did? Also, why in its original run was it not acknowledge (i butchered that one) as a play?

---

The Spring Preview episode of Theater Talk is now up on their website. They really didn't cover everything because they were too busy with the sarcastic remarks and quips. Not a Musto fan and didn't like his remark about the economy. But it is worth a watch. Some good conversation did get in there. And they seem to think that "HAIR" will be at the Walter Kerr!

---

Updated On: 2/15/09 at 10:54 PM

I'm an unabashed Ayckbourn fan, and think these plays are his best work. Reviews for the Old Vic's production were uniformly wonderful, and friends who saw it raved.

Here are a few of the notices:

Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/the-norman-conquests-the-old-vic-954355.html

International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/22/arts/lon22.php

Times
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article4908252.ece

Time Out London
http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/115472/the-norman-conquests.html

---

My two favorite playwrights with plays I haven't seen or read!

Something's just wrong with that phrase.

*****

Well, I'm excited to see ALL of them. After a really disappointing Hedda Gabler and simply compelling The American Plan (not to mention the truly hilarious You're Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush, can't wait for what's to come this season in plays.

Next up: 33 Variations this Wednesday.

I am looking forward to two plays this Spring: IRENA'S VOW and THE NORMAN CONQUESTS. I have been waiting for THE NORMAN CONQUESTS to appear on Broadway Box or Givenik. Does anyone know when that may happen?

---