The straight play made an emphatic splash on Broadway this past season鈥攎ore than usual鈥攁s marquee titles generate a palpable excitement in the Theatre District and a sea change in the national conversation.
With 14 new plays in the 2018鈥�2019 season鈥攆rom The Ferryman to What the Constitution Means to Me鈥擝roadway鈥檚 plays tackle Black Lives Matter, the gender gap, white privilege, homophobia, parental anxiety, institutional racism, sensationalist media, and the Time鈥檚 Up movement, and that doesn鈥檛 even include this season鈥檚 seven revivals. And in 2019鈥�2020 we already have Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune starring Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon, as well as upcoming Sea Wall/A Life starring Tom Sturridge and Jake Gyllenhaal, Linda Vista by Pulitzer winner Tracy Letts, Matthew Lopez鈥檚 Olivier-winning The Inheritance, Bess Wohl鈥檚 debut Grand Horizons, Laura Linney in My Name is Lucy Barton, another revival of Who鈥檚 Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Laurie Metcalf, a star-studded revival of Take Me Out, and Birthday Candles starring Debra Messing.
Plays are provoking the biggest buzz these days鈥攁 shift for the theatrical genre that many in the industry once thought needed saving.
鈥淚 do feel like there鈥檚 an influx of interest in more adventurous writing happening on Broadway,鈥� says director Leigh Silverman, who helmed this season鈥檚 Lifespan of a Fact, 鈥渁nd to have so many different kinds of plays, comedies and dramas, and to feel there鈥檚 diversity in terms of subject matter is just so exciting.鈥�
That diversity in storytelling reflects the diversity in authors, including seven Broadway debuts. 鈥淎 few years ago, if people had said Lucas [Hnath], Heidi [Schreck], Taylor [Mac], Tarell [Alvin McCraney], and Young Jean [Lee] are going to all have plays on Broadway, I just don鈥檛 think people would have believed it,鈥� says Lee, who made history this season as the first Asian-American woman playwright produced on Broadway with Straight White Men.
鈥淲e鈥檝e worked rigorously to make sure plays feel like they run the gamut of human experiences,鈥� says Choir Boy playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, 鈥渁nd to find ways to make sure that the prestige of the thing doesn鈥檛 outweigh its accessibility to folks.鈥�
In addition to variety, the buzz surrounding plays has increased to the type of roar usually associated with Broadway musicals. Last year鈥檚 Tony-winning Best Play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is selling out nightly. To Kill a Mockingbird is the first Broadway play to gross over $2 million in a single week. The sheer star power of big-name celebs in limited engagements hasn鈥檛 hurt: Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, and Matt Bomer in the star-studded cast of Tony-winning revival The Boys in the Band; the trifecta of Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, and Daniel Radcliffe in Lifespan; and stage veterans like Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow in Hillary and Clinton, Nathan Lane in Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, and Glenda Jackson in King Lear.
鈥淚 do think that one of the great reasons that people come to Broadway and have always come to Broadway is to see stars,鈥� says Silverman. (Data from The Broadway League demonstrate that the no. 1 reported driver in show selection for plays was to see a particular performer in a show.) 鈥淭hat is part of the delight, to be in the room with an actor that you have only seen before on a screen, who then you can see in the flesh.鈥�
Most of these stars began in theatre and excel on stage. Kerry Washington, who starred in (and produced) American Son, made her Broadway debut in Race long before hitting big with ABC鈥檚 Scandal. 鈥淚t helps at the box office that she鈥檚 a name in this play,鈥� McCraney says of Washington, but 鈥渟he鈥檚 a person whose initial instances and inclination in the art form came from the stage.鈥�
Plays are also harnessing the impact of an established title, some combining the power of a star and a brand, like the adaptations of the Oscar-winning film Network and America鈥檚 most beloved novel Mockingbird, starring Bryan Cranston and Jeff Daniels, respectively. As Harry Potter and the Cursed Child did last season, creators push the boundaries of imagination using an enduring brand as a launchpad for theatrical innovation that make plays an event.
鈥淵ou need something that brings people in to have that experience they can鈥檛 have any place else,鈥� says Tony-winning playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein, whose Torch Song returned to Broadway this year. 鈥淚 see plays as the thing you can only get in the theatre.鈥�
Be it star power, name recognition, or just compelling material鈥攑lays such as What The Constitution Means to Me, Choir Boy, The Ferryman, and more made a splash without an established title or big name attached鈥攊t鈥檚 all in service of exposing more people to the necessary stories, fresh voices, and the art of theatre. And audiences have responded with a renewed hunger.
鈥淧art of the resurgence of plays is because people are desperate to figure out how to live in these times and how to come together and understand ourselves and our culture,鈥� says Silverman. Our nation pulses with the need for 鈥渃atharsis and escapism, but also understanding and also resistance鈥攖hose tools belong to theatre so singularly.鈥�
But plays can provide that no matter the stage, so why is it important to produce on Broadway? 鈥淚t鈥檚 about how many people are coming in the door, seeing the story, and being impacted by the story,鈥� says TDF Executive Director Victoria Bailey.
That exposure also feeds the pipeline of artists. Silverman counts Lisa Kron鈥檚 Well as the play that launched her career and McCraney feels Choir Boy has opened a door to a potential Broadway future.
Put simply, 鈥測ou can reach a broader audience on Broadway,鈥� Fierstein states.
As Broadway continues to evolve, no doubt the fate of the play will follow suit. This year鈥檚 crop of artists is hopeful. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e on a great trajectory,鈥� says Lee. 鈥淲hat I hope this is heralding is that Broadway鈥檚 core values are shifting just a little bit,鈥� adds Silverman.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always a tricky little walk there between art and commerce,鈥� says Fierstein. But Silverman thinks this season is proof we can walk that tightrope. 鈥淧eople are investing in artists that they鈥檙e excited about and taking financial risks on them and trusting artists to continue to bring exciting work to them,鈥� she says. 鈥淏roadway鈥檚 the biggest stage we have. It鈥檚 the biggest risk and it鈥檚 the biggest reward.鈥�
