Following in the footsteps of fellow Americans Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close makes her London stage debut in September, starring as fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’s steamy classic “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Directed by Trevor Nunn, fresh from producing “The Coast of Utopia,” Tom Stoppard’s new trilogy of plays, star power alone virtually guarantees that the production will be the National Theatre’s hit of the autumn. But will Close measure up to her character’s complex, weather-vane temperament? We’ll know this week, when the curtain goes up. Lyttleton Theatre, London. Sept. 28-Nov. 23
THE BREATH OF LIFE
Two dames, one stage. At London’s Theatre Royal, Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith star in “The Breath of Life,” Sir David Hare’s exploration of the unexpected personal renaissances of sixtysomething women. In their first onstage appearance together, Smith plays a retired curator living on the Isle of Wight (the British island name-checked as a cottage-rental destination in the Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four”); Dench plays a popular novelist who turns up at her door. Directed by Howard Davies (“The Iceman Cometh”), “Breath” chronicles a single night when the two women, who’ve met only once, mine the hidden connections between their lives. Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London; Opens Oct. 15.
CURSIVE
With dancers dressed in ink-black costumes, renowned Taiwan choreographer Lin Hwaimin translates the energy of Chinese calligraphy into a performance that unfolds on a stage designed to be as plain as rice paper. Lin, the founder and artistic director of the critically acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theater Company, has become Asia’s most respected contemporary dance master by blending disciplines. And in “Cursive,” elements of ballet, tai chi and martial arts produce a modern theater work told in the language of ancient Asian tradition and esthetics. The show makes its overseas debut in Hong Kong before touring –festivals in Europe and the United States next year. Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, Nov. 8-10.
MOVIN’ OUT
Twyla Tharp has always had a thing for pop music. She made her name as a choreographer creating dances to the Beach Boys and jazz. Now she’s trying her hand–or would that be foot?–with the bard of Hicksville, Billy Joel. “Movin’ Out” weaves together 24 of Joel’s most famous songs into a story about five friends from Long Island muddling their way through the ’60s and ’70s. There’s not a single word of dialogue–Tharp’s naturally narrative dancing does all the talking–though that’s not necessarily a good thing. When “Movin’ Out” opened in July in Chicago, it received scathing reviews. Tharp’s been busy reworking the show for Broadway. We’ll have to see if she’s got a way about her after all. Richard Rodgers Theater, New York. Opens Oct. 24.
BOHEME
Long before Hollywood ever heard of Baz Luhrmann, he was a famous opera director in Australia. Now the man who created “Moulin Rouge” brings his “La Boheme” to the New York stage. This is no dumbed-down Broadway production–Luhrmann resets the opera in 1957 Paris, but Puccini’s music will be sung in its original Italian (with English super-titles). Given Luhrmann’s spectacular visual panache, his “Boheme” won’t need much translation. Broadway Theater, New York. Opens Dec. 8.
ALSO CHECK OUT: ‘Hollywood Arms’ is Carol Burnett’s autobiographical play about her childhood, written with her late daughter, Carrie Hamilton. Linda Lavin plays Burnett’s beloved Nanny–the one she tugged her ear for on TV all those years. In New York, Oct. 31. But New York’s toughest ticket may be Bertolt Brecht’s ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.’ Brecht? Yep. It stars Al Pacino, Billy Crudup, Dominic Chianese and John Goodman. Oct. 3.
