Podcast Summary: “Previewing the 2024 Spring Theater Season”

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Jackson McHenry (Theater Critic, Vulture & New York Magazine)
Air Date: February 19, 2024

Episode Overview

Alison Stewart and guest theater critic Jackson McHenry provide an enthusiastic and insider’s guide to the vibrant upcoming 2024 spring theater season in New York City. Their discussion covers the Broadway and Off-Broadway landscape, from blockbuster adaptations and anticipated revivals to experimental new works and star-driven productions. Through listener call-ins and texts, the segment highlights the collective passion of NYC’s theatergoers and industry professionals alike.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why Spring Is Peak Theater Season

• The anticipation of the Tony Awards in June prompts a mad rush for new shows to open before the awards eligibility cut-off at the end of April. This creates an “immense pileup” of openings, sometimes making it financially risky for producers and challenging for deserving shows to get noticed.
  • Quote: “It’s very risky. And this year it’s an immense pileup. I think there are 19 shows left to open before the End of April…”
    —Jackson McHenry, [02:27]

2. Adaptations Dominate the Field

• Major musicals this spring are based on famous films or books: The Notebook, The Great Gatsby, Water for Elephants, Days of Wine and Roses.

  • Why so many? It’s smart business: familiar titles attract audiences, especially with film adaptation nostalgia.
  • The Great Gatsby is newly in the public domain, making it a cost-effective property.
  • Quote: “There’s all sorts of reasons why it incentivizes something familiar, which is too bad for sort of risk taking, but it is certainly business sense.”
    —Jackson McHenry, [03:02]

• Most promising adaptation?

  • Cabaret revival (“immersive element”), and strong buzz for The Notebook musical due to Ingrid Michaelson’s score and cast of exciting newcomers.
  • Quote: “The Notebook musical… got great buzz in Chicago. So I’m excited to see that.”
    —Jackson McHenry, [03:43]

3. Big Names from Film and TV on Stage

• Anticipation runs high for Broadway debuts and returns from stars like Steve Carell (Uncle Vanya), Eddie Redmayne (Cabaret), Jeremy Strong (An Enemy of the People), and Rachel McAdams (Mary Jane).
  • Recent successful transitions: Jodie Comer (Prima Facie) lauded for both her theater and television prowess.
  • Quote: “She was doing this one woman show… And it was one of those moments where you really saw… she had the stage chops.”
    —Jackson McHenry, [04:53]

4. Listener Favorites and Buzzed-About Shows

• Stereophonic (by David Adjmi, music by Will Butler of Arcade Fire):

  • “Knocked my socks off” for its immersive look at a 1970s rock band’s creative process ([05:37]).
    • Quote: “It’s really about them working through, okay, how do we figure out the baseline, how do we figure out the vocals… that really makes it feel so real.”
      —Jackson McHenry, [06:57]

• Days of Wine and Roses:

  • Praised for its moving story, intricate music, and powerhouse performance from Kelli O’Hara ([10:53]).
  • Quote: “Each time it just grabbed my heart at a different moment and I walked out just so moved by it.”
    —Jeannie from Glen Cove, [10:53]

• Brooklyn Laundry and The Outsiders mentioned for creative potential.

5. Spotlight: New and Unique Musicals

• Lempicka:

  • Life of Tamara de Lempicka, an early 20th-century Polish-born, queer, self-mythologizing Art Deco artist.
  • Directed by Rachel Chavkin, lauded for her immersive, earthy approach (from Hadestown to her own upcoming Great Gatsby).
    • Quote: “She was also queer and… kind of interesting figure in the early 20th century.”
      —Jackson McHenry, [09:04]

• Teeth:

  • A new “coming-of-rage” musical comedy based on the cult horror film, about a Puritan teen facing sexuality and the myths surrounding it. Written by Michael R. Jackson (“A Strange Loop”) and Anna K. Jacobs.
    • Quote: “It is based on the movie… This sort of Puritan girl… rebelling against… Christian teachings of, you know, purity and everything are maybe not exactly how the world works…”
      —Jackson McHenry, [12:06]

• Illinois:

  • Experimental “musical performance” and dance piece at Park Avenue Armory, based on Sufjan Stevens’ album, with choreography by Justin Peck.
    • Quote: “If anyone knows the Sushant Stevens album, this is based on their wonderful little meditative pieces about Chicago and Illinois in general.”
      —Jackson McHenry, [13:09]

6. Revival and Classic Appeal

• Little Shop of Horrors: Currently Off-Broadway with a rotating cast including Evan Rachel Wood and Darren Criss, capturing old and new fans.

  • Quote: “It feels intimate and exciting and hilarious and bloody and all of the things you want from a kind of cult horror thing.”
    —Jackson McHenry, [15:22]

• The Wiz:

  • Returning with a refreshed book by Amber Ruffin, known for smart and modernized comedic sensibility.
  • Using pre-Broadway tryouts to refine the show for today’s audience.
    • Quote: “She did a great job I think with some like at hot of just keeping up… and can enliven it…”
      —Jackson McHenry, [16:13]

7. Experimental, Highly Praised Off-Broadway and New Plays

• Oh Mary! Coles Escole as Mary Todd Lincoln: Listener describes it as a “demented gem… My face hurt from non stop laughing” ([16:55]).

  • Quote: “It is so hilarious… Col Scola is really just a killer talent.”
    —Jackson McHenry, [17:23]

• An Enemy of the People: With Jeremy Strong—explores contemporary resonance of environmental and economic debates through a classic Ibsen play.

  • Quote: “It becomes this debate about essentially a lot of debates that we’ve had about climate change and Covid…”
    —Jackson McHenry, [17:57]

• New play Time No Time for Peace by Deb Margolin, centers on the historical and present-day impact of public institutional persecution ([18:50]).

• “Suffs” musical about the suffragettes (producer: Hillary Clinton) coming to Broadway ([19:25]).

8. Upcoming: Uncle Vanya

• Steve Carell’s Broadway debut alongside an all-star cast.

  • Opportunity to see if Carell brings out the comedic elements in Chekhov’s work.
  • Quote: “In American productions with Chekhov, we underplay the comedy… They can be sort of wonderfully… looking at the omni of what the universe is up to.”
    —Jackson McHenry, [20:08]

• The Seven Year Disappear: A new Off-Broadway play starring Cynthia Nixon and Taylor Trensch, by playwright Jordan Seavey ([20:59]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s exhausting as a theater critic, and it’s really hard because things that might not get the buzz just don’t get the attention, and they’re just drowned out in this kind of cacophony of openings.”
  —Jackson McHenry ([02:27])

• “It's often business sense… as with film adaptations… It's that much cheaper to make a Great Gatsby musical… incentivizes something familiar… too bad for sort of risk taking.”
  —Jackson McHenry ([03:02])

• On Stereophonic: “All of this sort of process stuff really grounds it in this really lived in sense… like, who’s going to make the coffee? …and how we actually collaborate. And that really makes it feel so real.”
  —Jackson McHenry ([06:57])

• Listener on Oh Mary: “The show was tight and hilarious and insane. My face hurt from non stop laughing for 20 minutes.” ([16:55])

Timestamps for Standout Segments

• 01:42 – Why spring is peak theater season (Tony’s deadline, economics)
• 03:02 – Adaptation trend on Broadway
• 03:43 – Most creative adaptation picks (Cabaret, The Notebook)
• 04:53 – Big names making the leap from film/TV to stage
• 05:37 – Call-in: Stereophonic (“knocked my socks off”)
• 09:04 – What is Lempicka? (artist bio, musical premise)
• 10:53 – Call-in: Days of Wine and Roses passionate fan review
• 12:06 – Teeth: new Michael R. Jackson dark musical comedy
• 13:09 – Illinois at Park Avenue Armory (Sufjan Stevens/Justin Peck)
• 14:01 – Call-in: Little Shop of Horrors and its NYC legacy
• 15:53 – The Wiz revival, Amber Ruffin’s influence
• 16:55 – Call-in: wild praise for Oh Mary at Soho Rep
• 17:57 – An Enemy of the People explained
• 19:25 – Broadway artisan describes work on Days of Wine and Roses and upcoming Suffs
• 20:08 – Anticipating Steve Carell in Uncle Vanya

Conclusion

This rapid-fire, listener-engaged episode offers a comprehensive (and at times comedic) overview of the must-see productions, behind-the-scenes trends, and the personalities making headlines in NYC theater this spring. Whether you’re a Broadway buff, fan of Off-Broadway experimentation, or a newcomer drawn by big names, All Of It gives you the information and excitement you need to navigate the rich upcoming season.

Catch Alison Stewart’s upcoming shows for more cultural deep dives!