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Top 5 New 2012 Broadway Musicals I’m Excited About

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Make sure you read the updated version of this post here.

Last night, the first musical of 2012, Porgy & Bess, opened to great reviews. This upcoming six months on Broadway should be a very exciting. At least, it’s going to be a lot better than the 2010-2011 season, and the first half of this season. The 2011-2012 Broadway season started off with a few major flops: Bonnie & Clyde, Lysistrata Jones, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Another revival, Godspell is doing fairly well but might be overlooked come Tony season, especially with the new revivals that are opening in the next couple of months.

There’s a few shows this Spring that you can not miss! Here are my top five Broadway shows that I’m most looking forward to this upcoming season:

5. Evita

Starting previews on April 10th, this is a musical revival that I’ve been waiting for an extremely long time. Out of all of the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals, Evita is my absolute favorite. I fell in love with it a long time ago, and I’ve never seen it produced professionally. Pop star Ricky Martin and Olivier Award-winning actress Elena Roger portray Che Guevara and Eva Perón and it also stars Michael Cerveris as Peron — can’t get much better than that!

4. Leap of Faith

It has Raul Esparza in it. What else do you want? I’ve seen him in Tick, Tick Boom, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Company (twice). And luckily, Brooke Shields is not part of the project anymore!! Leap of Faith received mixed reviews during its out-of-town tryout, but it looks like they’ve revamped it for Broadway and they are ready to go. They only announced this Broadway production yesterday, when it was announced that On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is closing at the end of January.

3. Ghost

Straight from the wildly successful West End production, Cassie Levy and Richard Fleeshman are starring in this new musical. It apparently has some incredible stage illusions that I’m dying to see. Generally, I’m not too thrilled in seeing 80′s movies reimagined for the theatre but every once in awhile it works (like Hairspray). We will see though. This show’s success will come from two main things: brand recognition (just like how Addams Family ran on Broadway a lot longer than it should have) and reviews. Let’s hope they are good reviews, because if not, I could see it running through the summer months and dying off. I’m still very excited to see it.

2. Once

If you had to turn a movie into a musical, then Once is the perfect choice. Straight from its hugely successful, sold-out run at the New York Theatre Workshop, Once is going to be a huge hit on Broadway. I’m dying to see this for a number of reasons, but mainly because the music is absolutely fantastic. And from what I’ve heard from clips, the new arrangements sound gorgeous. Lucky for us, the cast recording is being recorded fairly soon and will be released this Spring. So even if you don’t get a chance to go to New York City, you’ll be able to get your hands on the CD. I have a feeling that Best Musical will either go to Once or Newsies – either way I’m happy.

1. Newsies

If you have read my review of Newsies when it premiered at Papermill Playhouse, then you’ll know that I’m absolutely crazy for it. The music, choreography, set, and performances were all sensational. I was on the edge of my seat the entire show. The audience was eating it up, clapping mid-number, and hollering like it was a concert! This stage adaptation is absolute gold! Currently, it’s being sold as a limited run, but after the reviews come out and winning a few Tony Awards (namely for Jeremy Jordan, choreography and score), this show will sell and sell and sell. This is going to be a huge hit! Make sure you get your tickets early, because it will sell out in the small Nederlander Theatre.

Honorable Mentions:

  • Rebecca - It has Sierra Boggess attached, so I am interested in seeing her once again. (I loved her in Love Never Dies in London.) But, I don’t know anything about the show besides there is suppose to be a huge fire on the stage. It seems to be an epic show like The Pirate Queen, but hopefully it will be a lot better.
  • Nice Work If You Can Get It - I love Kelli O’Hara and Gershwin’s music, but I’m not that excited about this one. Maybe after some word-of-mouth hits the blogosphere, I might jump on the bandwagon, but right now, I’m playing it safe and will wait.
  • Jesus Christ Superstar - If I had a 6th place, this is the show that would be in that slot. I’ve heard great things about this production and it’s gotten rave reviews! I just don’t have any personal attachment to this show, yet. Maybe after seeing it, I will see what all the fuss is about.

What musical are you most excited to see this upcoming season? Be sure to take the poll below.


Filed under: Broadway, News Tagged: 2011-2012 Season, Broadway, Evita, Ghost, Jesus Christ Superstar, Leap of Faith, Newsies, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Once, Porgy & Bess, Rebecca, Top 5

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