New York Fall Theater Preview

Beast: Michael Weller's black comedy concerns two injured Iraq war veterans who take a road trip to Crawford, Texas, in hopes of presenting the president with their plan to save America. It works. The play premieres at New York Theater Workshop on September 15th, and Weller also has another play opening this month. Called Fifty Words, the two-character domestic drama stars Norbert Leo Butz and the extraordinary Elizabeth Marvel.

All My Sons: Katie Holmes, meet Arthur Miller. Producers of this revival are banking on Tom Cruise's talentless beard to draw in the rubes, but there's reason to believe the rest of the ensemble will make the evening worthwhile. John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest can certainly be counted on to hold up their end, and Miller's 1947 tragedy about a war profiteer is so well-made that it just might survive the Scientologist's heavy thetans. Opens October 16th.

Billy Elliot the Musical: With tunes by Elton John, this West End transfer tells the colorful tale of a working-class kid's fantasy about being a ballet dancer during the British miner's strike in the mid-'80s. Opens November 13th.

Blasted: Down on Walker Street, one of the more anticipated plays of the year will have its New York premiere at Soho Rep, over ten years after it was written by Sarah Kane, who committed suicide in '99. The controversial drama is rich with rape, cannibalism, and Kane's incisive and penetrating poetry. On Tuesday, the company's "99 cent Sunday" tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. and sell out immediately. Starts October 2nd.

Speed the Plow: David Mamet's satire of Hollywood douchebaggery stars the excellent Raul Esparza, who wowed us last season in that enthralling revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming. Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men and Jeremy Piven from Entourage round out the impressive ensemble. Opens October 23rd.

American Buffalo: This is the second David Mamet play being revived on Broadway. The characteristically profanity-laced comedy about con men and a rare coin scam stars John Leguizamo, Cedric the Entertainer, and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense.) Robert Falls, artistic director of the Goodman in Chicago (where the play premiered in 1975) directs. Opening November 17th at the Belasco, where the ghost of Passing Strange still lingers.

P.S. 122, The Chocolate Factory, 3 Legged Dog and St. Ann's Warehouse all have some exciting shows in store for the fall as well. What are you looking forward to?