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New York's Sizzling Summer Theater Scene

Every June and July, Broadway has a reputation for becoming a tad, shall we say, predictable. The Tony Awards have impacted the box office landscape with big winners going viral in terms of ticket sales, while limited-run shows, many with superstar clout, bow out in droves within a week or two of 80-degree days. As for new shows, we’re talking arid wasteland, unfilled until September.

But the summer of 2015 is nothing if not atypically busy/awesome. First off, there’s the critically acclaimed An Act of God (starring The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons)—a show that kicked off the 2015-2016 theater season in May and will be around through August 2nd.

Jim Parsons makes a bang in An Act of God. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

Secondly, there’s Amazing Grace—a new musical telling the emotional abolitionist story behind the iconic title song—starring Tony-winner Chuck Cooper (The Life) and Tony-nominee Josh Young (Jesus Christ Superstar). Described in variety as “A musical of raw power with superb intense performances,” Amazing Grace begins performances on June 25th with opening night set for July 16th. TRIVIA SNIPPET: Christopher Fitzgerald (who costars with Parsons in Amazing Grace) and Chuck Cooper costarred in Finian’s Rainbow on Broadway a few years back.

Sliding in at third (to hit the boards this summer) are Penn Jillette and his silent partner Teller, the celebrated bad boys of illusion, who are taking break from their successful Las Vegas gig to give Broadway audiences an eye-opening jolt of magic as only they can dish it out. PENN & TELLER runs for a limited engagement July 7th-August 16th. Notably, its been 30 years since the duo first performed in the Big Apple, and as Jillette observes, “Our hearts never left.” So much for the warm and cozy...make room for the dark and audacious!

Finally, in the “already boasting sellout performances,” let’s hear it for Hamilton, the new musical by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights) – the past season’s Off-Broadway mega-mustsee that transferred uptown in a theatrical heartbeat (it begins previews at the Richard Rodgers on July 13th). During its downtown sell-out, Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis said “Hamilton has burst on the world in a blaze that has amazed and delighted all of us...We have never experienced such...wild enthusiasm from our audiences.” Even non-history buffs are lining up for the Broadway run.

Meanwhile, Off-Broadway is soaring with a line-up of crowd pleasers from the musical parody Disenchanted!, offering a send-up of Disney princesses (hilarious), to Dan Lauria’s comedic culinary take on a gaggle of loopy “goodfellas” called Dinner With the Boys to New World Stages’ two political pleasers, Churchill, a fascinating look at Britain’s former Prime Minister starring Ronald Keaton, and the maniacally funny Clinton: the Musical, starring Tony-nominee Kerry Butler and Broadway vet Tom Galantich.

Happy summer in the city, guys!

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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