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Some good news for Broadway fans at a time when we can use all we can get: Roundabout Theatre Company announced today that its suspended productions of the musical Caroline, or Change and the new play Birthday Candles will not be canceled, but will instead be moved the company's fall season. Both shows were originally planned to have opened in April.
A profoundly soulful, tuneful and transformative musical about a maid in 1963 Louisiana, Caroline, or Change was ahead of its time in 2003, but the world has changed. With a libretto by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), this is the rare work of musical theater that can truly change the way you see the world. The show's first Broadway revival, directed by Michael Longhurst, stars Sharon D Clarke in the title role, which she played in Longhurst's West End production last season. Clark will remain in the show in the fall.
Debra Messing (Will & Grace) headlines Birthday Candles, a new play by Noah Haidle (Mr. Marmalade) that traces one woman's journey through more than 80 years of birthday cakes. Vivienne Benesch directs the New York premiere.
The recent cancelation of Broadway's Hangmen and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? gave cause for concern about the fate of both Roundabout productions, but Roundabout artistic director Todd Haimes quelled it in a statement today. “Our desire is to provide certainty and confidence to our artists, staff and audiences that we will come back from this hiatus with a full season,” Haimes said. “We are committed to the future of the theatre and its long-term sustainability in this crisis.”
In addition to the two Broadway shows, the Roundabout also plans to present Jiréh Breon Holder’s ...what the end will be at its Off Broadway Laura Pels Theatre and Dave Harris's Exception to the Rule at its smaller Roundabout Underground space.
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