Broadway past and future is on the agenda for National Theatre during the 2017-2018 theater season — plus, for an extra fee, a ticket to Hamilton at the Kennedy Center.
The historic downtown DC theater, now under in programming hands of Jam Theatricals, will open its season with Tina Fey’s Broadway-bound Mean Girls, the story about Cody, a teenage girl who, after living most of her life in Africa, discovers the jungles of Illinois. There, she meets up with the — well, the mean girls, and decides to bring them down a notch. Easier said than done, Cody! With music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, this Lorne Michaels-Stuart Thompson musical will run from October 31 to December 3, 2017. Casey Nicholaw will direct and choreograph.
Internet sensations The Piano Guys will have a brief stopover at the National December 13-16. The Piano Guys, four dads from Utah, have been all over YouTube with their self-made music videos. Here’s a link to their version of Adele’s “Hello.”
Les Misérable will hit the National stage on December 20 of this year and run until January 7 of the next. This enormous, restaging of the Tony-winning production of the Victor Hugo epic of poverty, heartbreak, misery and resilience has just finished a highly successful two and a half year run on Broadway. Laurence Connor and James Powell direct.
Something Rotten! hits DC for the first time on February 6, 2018 at the National. Two 16th-century playwriting brothers, suffused with envy of some hack named Shakespeare, consult a soothsayer in an effort to obtain an edge. The soothsayer’s advice: there will some day be a new theatrical form called “the musical”. Get out in front of it. The brothers listen to the advice, and their subsequent efforts could bring an end of theater of all kinds. Nicholaw will again direct; until February 18.
Another DC-area premiere will close off the National’s season — Waitress, the story of a small-town girl in a bad marriage who sees a sudden opportunity to redeem her life in a baking contest in the next county over. Diane Paulus will direct this musical, which features lyrics and music by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson. From May 15 to June 13, 2018.
A full-season subscription to the National Theatre’s 2017-2018 season starts at $210. A premium subscription of $425 includes a ticket to Hamilton for the week of July 10-15, 2018. Hamilton is a story about…well, you know what Hamilton is about, don’t you?
The price for premium subscription is very good, I want to see Hamilton musical very much!