April 2019 Highlights on Broadway and Beyond

Check out our guide to the biggest theatrical events of the month...

No April Fools from us today! Just a big bag of theatrical treats as we head into perhaps the busiest month in New York's theatre calendar! As Broadway productions rush to open ahead of this season's Tony Awards cut-off eligibility date (April 25), this month will see no less than 10 official openings on the Great White Way! We start the month with the last two Broadway shows of the 2018-2019 season beginning performances, as Roundabout Theatre Company and Manhattan Theatre Club bring us their final offerings of the season with Arthur Miller's All My Sons and the London transfer of Ink, respectively. And we end the month with the nominations announcement for The 73rd Annual Tony Awards on April 30. Fasten your seat belts, Broadway fans, we're hitting the fast lane!

But before that, we'd like to take this opportunity to urge you to catch two critically acclaimed, Tony Award-winning "Best Musicals" before they end their respective Broadway runs at the end of this week. That's right. They came, they saw and they conquered and all good things come to an end. On April 7, the 2013 Tony winner Kinky Boots will strut its stuff one final time at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, whilst last season's winner The Band's Visit will strike up the Egyptian band one last time at the Barrymore Theatre.

Kinky Boots Tickets are available now for performances through to April 7, 2019.

The Band's Visit Tickets are available now for performances through to April 7, 2019.

And a special shout out goes to six-time Tony Award nominee Danny Burstein, who is scheduled to play his final performance as Alfred P. Doolittle in Lincoln Center Theater's celebrated revival of My Fair Lady on April 28. Get yourselves to the church... er, we mean the Vivian Beaumont Theater... on time and catch this Broadway veteran's master class! Tony Award nominee Alexander Gemignani assumes the role from April 30.

My Fair Lady Tickets are available now for performances through to September 15, 2019.

So, let's leave the Last Chance Saloon behind and look ahead to all the exciting happenings on Broadway this April...

April 2

Stop the press! The first new production this month, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club, brings a hit London production across the pond... and Rupert Murdoch to the stage! The American premiere of James Graham's Ink sees Tony Award nominee Bertie Carvel reprising his Olivier Award-winning performance as media mogul Rupert Murdoch for New York audiences. Set in 1969, the Olivier-nominated "Best New Play" follows the young Murdoch as he purchases a struggling newspaper by the name of The Sun and hatches a plan, along with his rogue editor Larry Lamb, to dominate the British printed press industry by establishing tabloid journalism for the common man. This isn't fake news, but make-or-break news in this period piece that also speaks volumes about today's climate. Olivier Award winner Jonny Lee Miller (perhaps best known to US audiences for his TV role as Sherlock Holmes on CBS' "Elementary" and his film role as Sick Boy in the "Trainspotting" movies) takes on the role of Larry Lamb for the Broadway production, which begins previews at the Samuel J Friedman Theatre on April 2, ahead of an official opening on April 24.

Ink Tickets are available now for performances from April 2 through to June 9, 2019.

April 4

All my days I've been longing to see Golden Globe winner and Oscar, Tony & Emmy Award nominee Annette Bening on the Broadway stage! Now, thanks to Roundabout Theatre Company, I'm getting my wish! Yes, for the first time since 1987, Ms. Bening will be treading the New York boards again and taking on the role of Kate Keller in an eagerly anticipated revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons at the American Airlines Theatre from April 4 (set for an official opening on April 22). To sweeten the deal, she'll be joined on stage by Tony Award winner Tracy Letts as Joe Keller and Benjamin Walker as Chris Keller to tell the timeless story of a family's long-hidden secret that unearths itself during the aftermath of World War II to devastating consequences. Experience the play that launched Miller as the moral voice of the American Theater.

All My Sons Tickets are available now for performances from April 4 through to June 23, 2019.

Also on April 4, it's time for the king to face the critics! And when we say king, we mean Tony and 2-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson, who is currently starring in the titular role of the new gender-blind Broadway production of Shakespeare's great tragedy King Lear at the Cort Theatre. This legendary figure of stage and screen scored rave reviews in the fall of 2016, following her turn as Lear at London's Old Vic, solidifying her triumphant return to theatre after almost 23 years in British politics... But how will she fare on this side of the pond? 

King Lear Tickets are available now for performances through to July 7, 2019.

April 7

Next up to celebrate its official opening on the Great White Way is the Great American musical Oklahoma!   Director Daniel Fish's modern re-imagining of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic has embraced the casting of actors regardless of ethnicity or physcial disability and has also created a wonderfully intimate and immersive atmosphere at the Circle in the Square Theatre (with bubbling pots of chilli to boot). The official opening is set for April 7... But will the cast be singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' " when dawn breaks on April 8?

Oklahoma! Tickets are available now for performances through to September 1, 2019.

April 8

On April 8 Tony Award nominee and Broadway favorite Jeremy Jordan returns to the stage to add yet another Broadway musical credit to his already-impressive résumé. Having won our hearts and earned a Tony nomination for his celebrated turn as Jack Kelly in Disney's Newsies and boasting starring roles in Bonnie and Clyde and West Side Story on the Great White Way, Jordan now turns his attention to the romantic lead of Dr. Pomatter, opposite Shoshana Bean, in hit musical Waitress. His limited engagement at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre runs through to May 12, 2019.

Waitress Tickets are available now for performances through to September 1, 2019.

April 16

The next Broadway production to officially open is the first-ever Broadway revival of Lanford Wilson's Burn This, which celebrates its Opening Night at the Hudson Theatre on April 16. With two Hollywood heavyweights leading the cast in Oscar and 3-time Emmy Award nominee Adam Driver and Golden Globe winner Keri Russell, it will certainly be interesting to see if the New York critics warm to them on the Broadway stage or whether they'll be burned by the experience... We have a feeling that this explosive drama, exploring a turbulent relationship of two souls brought together by the tragic death of another, is going to be on fire!

Burn This Tickets are available now for performances through to July 14, 2019.

April 17

The "Road to Hell" reaches its Opening Night on April 17. Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell's critically acclaimed folk opera Hadestown has been entertaining audiences off-Broadway, in Edmonton, in London and now at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre with its unique, genre-defying style! Will this post-apocalyptic adaptation of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice garner a thumbs up from the critics one more time or will it be sent crashing down to the Underworld?

Hadestown Tickets are available now for performances from March 22 through to September 1, 2019.

April 18

The avalanche of Opening Nights continues as Tony Award nominee Lucas Hnath's new play Hillary and Clinton takes its turn at the Golden Theatre on April 18. With some serious stage credibility in both the cast and creative team, we're sure that the play, set during Hillary's first bid for the presidency in 2008, will be embraced by the Broadway community just as much as its subject and former First Lady is in real life. We can't wait to see Oscar nominee & two-time Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf's take on Hillary and two-time Oscar nominee & two-time Tony Award winner John Lithgow's take on her husband, Bill. Throw in Hillary's campaign manager, Mark Penn, and one Barack Obama, and you have the ingredients for a most intriguing evening at the theatre!

Hillary and Clinton Tickets are available now for performances through to July 21, 2019.

April 21

It's been somewhat of a bumpy road for Taylor Mac's world premiere comedy Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, having lost the incomparable Andrea Martin due to injury just before previews were meant to start. Nevertheless, following the delay to previews and the postponement of the initial April 11 opening night, Gary will finally officially open at the Booth Theatre on April 21, as one of our all-time favorites three-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane graces us with his presence in the titular role, joined by Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen and new addition to the cast Tony Award winner Julie White. So, if you've ever sat and wondered whatever happened in the aftermath of Shakespeare's infamously bloody banquet scene at the conclusion of Titus Andronicus and who on earth had to clean up all that mess, then you can satisfy your curiosity with this new play that may well turn out to be the comedic hit of the season!

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Tickets are available for performances through to August 4, 2019.

April 23

Who's ready for Tootsie?! The new musical comedy, based on the beloved 1982 movie, celebrates its official opening at Broadway's Marquis Theatre on April 23. We've heard nothing but great things from the world premiere in Chicago last fall and we have a sneaking suspicion that Tootsie might become the surprise hit of the season. Tony Award nominee Santino Fontana took on the unenviable task of stepping into the mighty shoes (and fancy high heels) of Dustin Hoffman and re-imagined the role of Michael Dorsey (and alter-ego Dorothy Michaels) for the stage, passing with flying colors in Chicago. And as a true love letter to Broadway, the story's setting has been switched from a soap opera (as portrayed in the film) to a starring role in a Broadway show. We can't wait!

Tootsie Tickets are available now for performances through to December 22, 2019.

April 25

The final opening of the season is finally upon us on April 25 as the ghost with the most celebrates his official opening at the Winter Garden Theatre. Yes, it will be Showtime, indeed as the Broadway premiere of Beetlejuice looks set to turn the Great White Way into the Great Fright Way! Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman takes on the titular role, alongside Sophia Anne Caruso as Lydia (the role originated on screen by Winona Ryder in the cult 1988 film), to bring us this raucous tale from beyond the grave, complete with that signature Tim Burton aesthetic we all know and love, lashings of adult-themed humor, a healthy dose of the macabre and the biggest sandworm Broadway has ever seen! What's not to love?!

Beetlejuice Tickets are available now for performances through to October 6, 2019.

April 30

And now that all eligible productions of the 2018-2019 Broadway season will have officially opened, it's full speed ahead to The 73rd Annual Tony Awards (Sunday, June 9 at Radio City Music Hall)! First stop, of course, is the nominations announcement which this year will be hosted by two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth and two-time Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 8:30am (ET) from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Be sure to tune into "CBS This Morning" for the live announcement, as we find out which shows, actors and creative team members will be blessed with this season's all-important nods!

And to round up our monthly highlights report, here's a selection of our picks from off-Broadway this April...

April 2 - The world premiere of Socrates, starring Golden Globe, Emmy & Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg, begins previews at the Public Theater, ahead of an official opening on April 16.

April 3 - Classic Stage Company's revival of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, starring Tony Award nominee Tony Yazbeck, officially opens.

April 4 - Oscar Hammerstein II bio-musical Sincrely, Oscar officially opens at Theatre Row.

April 11 - 17 Border Crossings, created and performed by Thaddeus Phillips, begins performances at New York Theatre Workshop, ahead of an official opening on April 15.

April 20 - Peformances begin for the third and final Sean O'Casey play, The Plough and the Stars in Irish Repertory Theatre's current O'Casey Cycle (with an official opening set for April 30) and MCC Theater continues its 2018-2019 season as performances begin for the New York premiere of BLKS.

April 22 - The world premiere of The Pain of My Belligerence officially opens at Playwrights Horizons.

April 23 - Signature Theatre continues its 2018-2019 season with Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class, which begins performances at Pershing Square Signature Center.

April 30 - Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon returns to the New York stage in The New Group's world premiere of Jesse Eisenberg's Happy Talk and performances also begin for Signature Theatre's first-ever musical Octet, both at Pershing Square Signature Center.

Join us next month as we find ourselves slap bang in the middle of the always exciting Broadway Awards season... and as we welcome six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon back to the Broadway stage in an eagerly anticipated revival of Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune!