Santino Fontana sweeps Laura Osnes off her feet in “Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” in previews on Jan. 25. (Jenny Anderson/Broadway.com)
IT’S Boxing Day, when one typically returns the gifts you don’t want for things you do. Isn’t it a shame you can’t get the same deal at the theater?
If that were the case, we’d return most of the fall season. How nice it would be to get back the hours spent at “Scandalous” and “The Performers,” both now mercifully closed. And how about a real vehicle next time for Katie Holmes other than Theresa Rebeck’s thin excuse for a comedy, “Dead Accounts” — which serves only to prove it’s hard to do better than Norbert Leo Butz.
We’d like to say “Refund, please” the next time David Mamet gives us a screed clumsily disguised as a drama, a k a “The Anarchist.” And while we didn’t shell out $377 each for the latest revival of his “Glengarry Glen Ross,” we’d rather Al Pacino try speaking to the actor next to him instead of staring into the orchestra.
So much for regrets. Hope springs eternal, especially during the holidays. Here are the shows, on Broadway and off, that we’re looking forward to in the next dark months of winter.
* “THE OTHER PLACE”
Having missed this thriller during its 2011 off-Broadway outing, I’m keen to see it for one reason: Laurie Metcalf, who shares with Nathan Lane the almost alchemical ability to make everything she’s in better. (Together, they found a silver lining in Mamet’s silly “November.”) This time, the former “Roseanne” star plays a neurologist whose life is falling apart. Joe Mantello directs — another plus — and one wonders how Daniel Stern (“The Wonder Years,” “Diner”) will do as the neurologist’s husband, who’s just asked for a divorce. (Now in previews at the Samuel Friedman, opening Jan. 10)
B.H.
* “CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF”
Yes, we know: ScarJo. But she’s hardly the only reason I’m rarin’ to see this. After a torrent of tepid or downright terrible Tennessee Williams rarities — anybody else suffer through “In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel”? — I’m craving a shot of the good stuff. Well, here it is: a beauty of a play that promises you’ll never take the word “mendacity” for granted. Along with Scarlett Johansson’s Maggie, we’ll get studly Benjamin Walker as Brick, who’d rather have another whiskey on the rocks than a sexy wife in the sack. And don’t forget the other couple in this red-hot mess: Ciarán Hinds as Big Daddy and Debra Monk as Big Mama. Pass the grits! (Now in previews at the Richard Rodgers; opens Jan. 17.)
B.H.
* “CINDERELLA”
Big gowns, a rapacious family, a big-shot prince who falls in love with a beautiful commoner, lots of songs: What is this, “William & Kate — The Musical”? Close enough, as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s made-for-TV tuner finally lands on Broadway, 55 years after its premiere on CBS. The good news is that witty Douglas Carter Beane — a big reason “Xanadu” and “Sister Act” were so fun — spruced up the book. Even better: dreamy Santino Fontana (“Sons of the Prophet”) and Laura Osnes (“Bonnie & Clyde”) play the lovebirds. This gang may just make us believe in fairy tales. (Previews start Jan. 25 at the Broadway Theatre, opening March 3)
E.V.
* “THE MADRID”
The formidable Edie Falco returns to the stage in this new play by Liz Flahive, one of the writers of Falco’s “Nurse Jackie.” Falco stars as a kindergarten teacher who seemingly has it all — only to give it up and desert her family. The cast is filled with fine actors — Heidi Schreck, Frances Sternhagen and Christopher Evan Welch among them. (Previews start Feb. 5 at MTC’s New York City Center/Stage 1, opening Feb. 26)
B.H.
* “THE REVISIONIST”
As odd couples go, this one may edge Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, or maybe even Turner and Hooch: Jesse Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave are co-starring in Eisenberg’s new drama “The Revisionist.” He plays a sci-fi writer who travels to Poland and encounters an elderly cousin. Kip Fagan — who helmed Eisenberg’s playwrighting debut, 2011’s “Asuncion” — directs at the 179-seat Cherry Lane. When was the last time you could see a legend like Redgrave in such close quarters? (Previews start Feb. 6 at the Cherry Lane Theatre, opening Feb. 21)
E.V.
* “OLD HATS”
For many, clowns are just a half-step above mimes on the ladder of entertainment horror. Trust us: Bill Irwin and David Shiner are clowns, and they rock. They took Broadway by storm in 1993 with their hit “Fool Moon,” but then went on to explore separate pastures. Irwin developed a “legit” acting career that earned him a Tony in 2005, while Shiner, a longtime Cirque du Soleil associate, lives in Germany and focuses on circus. Now they’re working together again for the first time since the third Broadway run of “Fool Moon,” back in 1998-99. Not that we needed a bonus, but there’s one anyway: Nellie McKay wrote and will perform an original score live. (Previews start Feb. 12 at Signature, opening March 4.)
E.V.