7 Must-Sees Hitting Stages This November
New musicals, ballets, street-dance productions, and more—November’s must-see performances span genres while stretching from coast to coast and across the pond.
The Best Thing Since Post-its?
NEW YORK CITY The premiere of Romy & Michele: The Musical brings the ’90s nostalgia to off-Broadway. Adapted from the cult classic movie Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, with a book by the film’s screenwriter, Robin Schiff, it follows the titular duo—played by Broadway vets Laura Bell Bundy and Kara Lindsay—as they hatch a plot to impress their former high school classmates a decade after graduation. How will choreographer Karla Puno Garcia translate the iconic dance sequence at the film’s climax from screen to stage? Audiences will have to head to Stage 42, where the musical officially opens on Oct. 28, to find out. romyandmichelethemusical.com.
Andrea Miller on Motherhood
NEW YORK CITY Andrea Miller’s visceral, slippery, athletic choreography returns to The Joyce Theater with the premiere of MOTHER. GALLIM dancers perform movement created in collaboration with Miller to original electronic dance music by Frédéric Despierre, who last teamed up with Miller on YEAR for A.I.M by Kyle Abraham. Nov. 5–9. joyce.org.
About Time
SEATTLE Pacific Northwest Ballet soloists Christopher D’Ariano and Amanda Morgan co-choreograph AfterTime, their first main-stage work for their home company following years of collaborations elsewhere. The premiere debuts on a program with Twyla Tharp’s iconic (and notoriously challenging) In the Upper Room and Dani Rowe’s dramatic The Window. Nov. 7–16. pnb.org.
and Amanda Morgan. Photo by Elisabeth Olmstead, courtesy PNB.
An Immigrant’s Cinderella Story
NORTHERN IRELAND & IRELAND A young Irish immigrant named Ella arrives in 1950s New York City and finds work at the Plaza Hotel, where she’s swept off her feet by a young Vanderbilt at a lavish birthday party held in his honor—until the clock strikes midnight and she’s forced to flee, leaving behind a single shoe. Loughlan Prior’s fresh take on Cinderella for Ballet Ireland premieres in the Belfast metro area Nov. 7 and tours to a dozen theaters in Ireland through Dec. 20. balletireland.ie.
Split Selves
PHILADELPHIA Street dance choreographer Ephrat Asherie and jazz composer Arturo O’Farrill team up for Shadow Cities, an exploration of the amalgamation of identity and a celebration of the idea of being “in-between.” The evening-length premieres at Penn Live Arts, part of its America Unfinished season reflecting on the U.S.’s upcoming 250th. Nov. 14–15. pennlivearts.org.
Chess Moves
NEW YORK CITY A Broadway revival of Chess was already something of a meme in musical theater circles, with its critically acclaimed, cult favorite music by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson, and Björn Ulvaeus (the latter two of ABBA fame) contrasted with the seemingly endless retooling of its book since the first West End production in 1986. But with the trio at the center of the Cold War musical’s love triangle portrayed by a decidedly memeable cast—Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit, and Nicholas Christopher—a new book by Danny Strong, and the ever busy choreographer Lorin Latarro joining Tony-winning director Michael Mayer on the creative team, will this production finally find the winning moves? After beginning previews in October, the official Broadway opening is set for Nov. 16 at the Imperial Theatre. chessbroadway.com.
Scrooge, but Make It Fashion
LONDON Sadler’s Wells East gets its first holiday show with the premiere of Ebony Scrooge. In ZooNation’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is the formidable head of a fashion empire who goes on a journey to rediscover her Caribbean roots and the meaning of happiness after canceling Christmas for a fashion show. Led by ZooNation associate artistic director Dannielle “Rhimes” Lecointe and featuring music by Boy Blue artistic director Michael “Mikey J” Asante, the hip-hop and physical-theater evening-length runs from Nov. 26–Jan. 4. sadlerswells.com.
