Broadway draws the stars and the attention, but theater fans know there’s gold in them downtown hills — and this spring, off-Broadway is going to see plenty of action.
A lot of it is the musical kind. Leading the charge is David Byrne and electronica hit-maker Fatboy Slim’s “Here Lies Love,” opening April 23. For this immersive show about Imelda Marcos — yes, the Filipino ex-president’s wife and numero uno shoe collector — the Public’s LuEsther Theater will be turned into a full-on disco. Prepare to boogie.
On a much smaller scale is the new “The Memory Show,” about the relationship between a mother and her grown daughter (opens April 30 at the Duke on 42nd Street). Selling points? The show is produced by the adventurous Transport Group (“Lysistrata Jones”) and co-stars piquant local fave Leslie Kritzer (“Sondheim on Sondheim”).
Almost six years after the Tony-winning “Spring Awakening,” composer Duncan Sheik is making a soft reentry with his new score for Bertolt Brecht’s 1948 play “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” at Classic Stage Company, where previews start May 2. The show isn’t technically a musical, but Brecht always included songs — and the lyrics Sheik worked from are by W.H. Auden.
While musicals steal the off-Broadway spotlight this spring, things are quieter but no less intense on the play front, starting with two productions of tough plays by heavy-hitters.
The local Red Bull Theatre company is likely to put its usual stylish twist on Strindberg’s ferocious study of a rotting marriage, “The Dance of Death” (opening April 18 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre). Daniel Davis and sultry-voiced Laila Robins take on the roles of the feuding spouses.
More drama from the north follows with Ibsen’s tragic love triangle “The Master Builder” (starts May 12 at BAM), in which John Turturro plays husband to his real-life wife, Katherine Borowitz.
If you prefer stories ripped from the headlines, a couple of new works look promising. Digging deep, Richard Nelson’s new play, “Nikolai and the Others” (opening May 6, at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater), centers on a perfect storm of talent: a 1948 weekend when Russian emigrés such as composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer George Balanchine met up to work on a show. Hot director David Cromer (“Tribes,” “Really Really”) wrangles a large cast that includes Michael Cerveris, Blair Brown and Kathryn Erbe.
More contemporary in inspiration is “The Call” (opening April 14 at Playwrights Horizons). Tanya Barfield’s new play looks at the tensions and prejudices that arise when a white couple decides to adopt a kid from Africa.
It may just get tense enough to make you wish for some Scandinavian drama.