Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy (Skylight); Ben Miles and Lydia Leonard (Wolf Hall); Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer (Finding Neverland)
Breaking Down Broadway’s Spring Season WHAT’S TRENDING on Broadway? Not
IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU
A Tale of Two Davids David Hyde Pierce (far right) makes his Broadway-directing debut with the original musical comedy It Shoulda Been You, featuring David Burtka (right) as a manic groom on his wedding day. “After performing and getting all sweaty, there is often a standing ovation,” Burtka jokes of the similarities between appearing on Broadway and marriage, while his director is quick to point out the difference: “One is a life-changing religious experience, the other is marriage,” Pierce laughs. “But they both involve unions.”
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Chita Rivera (The Visit). (Larry David’s death comedy Fish in the Dark, however, remains the season’s top seller.) There’s also a marked return to classicism: grand but not gaudy revivals of The King and I and Gigi, and adaptations of An American in Paris, Wolf Hall, and Doctor Zhivago, each hoping to be the hottest period piece this side of the 20th century (not to be confused with the madcap tuner On the Twen-
tieth Century). Even with the added flair of glitzy movie-turned-musical Finding Neverland and the operatic comedy Living on Love, Broadway wants you to think this season. Or, at the very least, admire all the pretty costumes. As the heartbeat of Tony Awards season draws near, EW checks in with the stars and creative minds behind the shows you should know this spring. —MARC SNETIKER AND ESTHER ZUCKERMAN
GIGI
“I’m like, Do I have to go back to film? I absolutely adore being in the theater. I love the rehearsal process, I love being on stage, I love only having one shot to get it right. It’s left such a lasting impression on me that I kind of don’t want to leave.” —VANESSA HUDGENS
SKYLIGHT: JOHN HAYNES; WOLF HALL: JOHAN PERSSON (2); BURTK A , PIERCE: ANDREW ECCLES (2); HUDGENS: MAT THEW MURPHY
the jukebox musicals and frothy indulgence projects from seasons past, that’s for sure. This spring’s theater favors highbrow over Hollywood, though there’s no lack of star power among A-list women dominating the box office—Helen Mirren (The Audience) and Carey Mulligan (Skylight) are filling seats as easily as Broadway divas Kelli O’Hara (The King and I) and
