Clay Aiken Dons a Dreamcoat, Beth Leavel Puts On Her Sunday Clothes & More Cross-Country Highlights

Broadway.com is hitting the road! We’re highlighting five exciting productions happening all over the United States right this minute. Hop aboard for a cross-country tour of the best regional theater offerings, from A Chrous Line high-kicking in Maryland to the debut of The Bridges of Madison County in Massachusetts.


OGUNQUIT, ME
Go, Go, Go See Clay Aiken Try On His Dreamcoat
Broadway and American Idol alum Clay Aiken gets flowing in the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Ogunquit Playhouse. (And by that, we mean he’s playing Joseph, not the particolored garment.) Running July 31 through August 25, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adventure follows the Biblical story of Joseph, the favorite son blessed with prophetic dreams, on his journey to Egypt after being sold into slavery by his brothers. Bonus Tony nominee: Keala Settle as the Narrator!


WILLIAMSTOWN, MA
Madison County Musical Crosses Bridge to Williamstown
The Broadway-bound musical adaptation of Robert James Waller's The Bridges of Madison County is bringing romance to the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Starring Steven Pasquale and Elena Shaddow (in place of pregnant Kelli O'Hara, who will join the cast in NYC), the musical features a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman and a score by Tony winner Jason Robert Brown. Fans can take their first trip across The Bridges of Madison County August 1 through 18.


OLNEY, MD
A Chorus Line is Alive and Kicking in the Old Line State
No musical has offered as harsh and heartfelt a look at the determination (and sometimes desperation) of Broadway dancers as A Chorus Line. Olney Theatre Center's revival, directed by Stephen Nachamie, marks the largest musical production ever mounted on the company's mainstage. Featuring Broadway vets Nancy Lemenager, Bryan Knowlton and Michelle Aravena, A Chorus Line is set to run August 1 through September 1.


CHICAGO, IL
Steppenwolf Goes Mad for Amy Herzog's Belleville
The troubled marriage of an attractive young couple—Zack (Cliff Chamberlain) and Abby (Kate Arrington, seen on Broadway last season in Grace)—is analyzed with disturbing intimacy in Amy Herzog's play Belleville at Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Downstairs Theatre. Directed by Anne Kaufmann, the Chicago premiere of Herzog's intense psychological drama asks, "Can we ever truly know anyone?" Don't miss the thrills and terror of Bellevile, playing through August 25.


DENNIS, MA
Beth Leavel is Cape Cod's Dolly Gallagher Levi
She's still glowin', she's still crowin'! Tony winner and Broadway scene-stealer Beth Leavel takes center stage as meddlesome matchmaker Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly! at the historic Cape Playhouse. Mark Martino directs this revival of the beloved Jerry Herman tuner, featuring James Brennan as Horace Vendergelder and Jennifer Cody as Minnie Faye. Hello Dolly! is set to keep the room swaying from August 5 through 17.