As summer ends and winter is yet to take shape, entertainment takes
center stage around the world with an impressive list of new openings,
debuts and headline shows from Sydney to the West End. Down under,
Muriel Heslop gets her stage debut in Sydney with Muriel's Wedding The Musical
- that's one of the most exciting film-to-theater revamps in recent
memory. Debuting at the Sydney Theater Company in early November, the
film's original writer-director PJ Hogan upgrades his screenplay into a
dazzling new stage show with new hits and those classic Abba songs. Also
at the Muriel's Wedding The Musical,
look for more serious Three Sisters and Green Day's American Idiot to
debut later in the season with Madam Butterfly at the Opera and one-off
concerts by Feist and Evanescence.
In London, we are thrilled to see the talents of Natalie Dormer known for her roles in the Tudors, Game of Thrones and now Venus in Fur running at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Big FIsh
opens with a theatrical spin on the existential tale of late-life
coming of age film set to the music of the American South and now
starring Kelsey Grammar. Another big name coming to the stage, Breaking
Bad actor Bryan Cranston makes his London theater debut in Lee Hall's
adaptation of Network based on the 1976 Paddy Chayefsky film. The offbeat appeal of Everybody's Talking About Jamie
is equal parts Billy Elliot and Cabaret as a 16-year-old boy comes to
terms with his fabulousness in a council estate. And if you haven't
seen Hamilton
on Broadway or on tour throughout the US, this theatrical rapping
revolution arrives in London in December for a long-term occupation.
In terms of NYC this season, Springsteen on Broadway
is a one-man acoustic performance written and performed by Bruce
Springsteen in an intimate 2-hour show at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Julie
Taymor directs Clive Owen in M Butterfly
(pictured), a love affair that spans east and west and includes
espionage, romance and betrayal among the glamorous visual display of
one of theater's most innovative directors. Meteor Shower
by Steve Martin headlines the comedic genius of Amy Schumer in a tale
of marital woes under an ignited sky in inland California. And for
something a bit more political, there's the witty colonial musical Farinelli and the King with Mark Rylance or more serious The Parisian Woman that stars Uma Thurman in a DC drama by Pam MacKinnon. And don't forget Las Vegas,
with shows this month that include THE WEEKND, Bob Dylan at the
Cosmopolitan, Bruno Mars at the MGM and Jay-Z in what is still the
world's #1 entertainment capital.
