Fall Preview 2009, Part Three: The Stories

We’ve swooned over those mega-celestial celebrity bodies taking the Broadway stage and celebrated the formidable scribes who’ve spun yarns for our viewing enjoyment. For the third part of our Fall Preview, we turn to the essential building block of theater: a good story. Since truth is stranger than fiction, it’s a no-brainer that some of the most compelling tales on the Rialto this season are rooted in reality. Don’t worry: No one’s giving The Bachelor a one-man show or showcasing Rock of Love Bus bimbos in a musical revue. This is Broadway, so class acts like Carrie Fisher and Tony winner Terrence McNally are on tap, spinning real-life tales into theatrical magic.  


Ragtime
Based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel, this ambitious musical, winner of 1998 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Book, teems with historical personalities (Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington and Henry Ford, to name a few). But the heart of the show are the main characters: an aristocratic white matron who bonds with a poor young African-American mother; an immigrant Jewish father and his daughter, newly arrived and longing for a better life; and a proud, charismatic ragtime musician named Coalhouse Walker. Their interwoven stories create a unique portrait of life in New York at the turn of the 20th century, though themes like immigration, class divides and race relations couldn’t be more relevant today.
Previews begin October 23 at the Neil Simon Theatre; opens November 15.


Fela!
Many have heard the groundbreaking music of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti, but few know what lies behind the beat. The Nigerian mastermind who combined jazz, funk and traditional African rhythms to create a new genre of music, Kuti was also a passionate political and civil rights activist, one who started a commune in Africa, used music to mobilize citizens against an oppressive government and married two dozen women in one fell swoop. Sound interesting? Well, it is. Toss in direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones and the addition of Tony winner Lillias White to the cast, and it’s easy to see why this 2008 off-Broadway hit is high-stepping onto Broadway.
Previews begin October 19 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre; opens November 23.


In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play
We’d give anything to be in the room (or at least the next room) when this one was hatched. In the late 1800s, the dawn of electricity is changing the world. Inspired by this spark of innovation, a Victorian doctor (played by Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris) sets the medical field abuzz with experimental treatments for women’s depression which focus more on a very specific part of the body than on the patient’s heart and soul—much to the dismay of his proper wife (played by Tony Award winner Laura Benanti). And yes, those titillating experiments really happened. We can’t wait to find out how this new piece by rising playwright Sarah Ruhl climaxes.
Previews begin October 22 at the Lyceum Theatre; opens November 19.


Memphis
Would any Broadway season be complete without an against-all-odds love story? New tuner Memphis flashes back to the dawn of rock ’n’ roll on legendary Beale Street to introduce white radio DJ Huey Calhoun (Chad Kimball) and his muse, black blues singer Felicia Farrell (Montego Glover). Together they take on a segregated world, hoping to diversify both the air waves and the bigoted community around them—with  music as their olive branch, of course. The story continues backstage, with creative heavyweights like composer/Bon Jovi jammer David Bryan, book writer Joe DiPietro and director Christopher Ashley (Xanadu) rocking together to ensure this slice of history is served with style.
Previews begin September 23 at the Shubert Theatre; opens October 19.


Wishful Drinking
Bringing us the mother of all “truth is stranger than fiction” stories is the daughter of Hollywood royalty, Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher. For Fisher, being the offspring of Singing in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds and womanizing crooner Eddie Fisher is the least interesting part of her life story, vividly retold in the actress’ candid one-woman show. Electroshock therapy, waking up next to a dead gay Republican pal, being chided for LSD use by Cary Grant and ruling the box office as Princess Leia? Now that’s where it starts to get interesting. The wry and whip-smart Fisher airs all her dirty laundry (and some of her neighbors’) onstage for the wildest, and realest, story you’ll see all season.
Previews begin September 22 at Studio 54; opens October 4.