By Barbara & Scott Siegel . . .
Let’s Hear It For Broadway’s Senior Stars!
Just before the run-up to the bumper car finale of the 2023-24 theater season, we wanted to pause to make an observation. After all, as a season unfolds, one can finally see the things that stand out from the rest. For instance, in what theater season of the past can you recall as many as three major Broadway productions anchored not by TV or movie stars, not even by hot, in-the-moment theater stars, nor even marquee theater names—but rather by somewhat senior character actors who, on the far sides of their careers, have been elevated to the consequential leading roles of their respective shows.
We are speaking of 77-year-old Chip Zien (in Harmony), seventy-one-year-old Maryann Plunkett and 73-year-old Dorian Harewood (both in The Notebook); and the kid in the bunch, 65-year-old Gregg Edelman (in Water for Elephants). This is not to say that these actors have been asked to literally carry their shows; they don’t—but they are essentially the most important characters of their respective shows. In all instances, they are the emotional heartbeats of these major Broadway productions.
Having noticed this, what does it mean? Well, it means that in the case of all three of these shows, looking down the cast lists, they are not trying to make their box office nut as star-driven vehicles. The casts of all of these shows were clearly picked on the basis of their theater skills. That’s a rare thing these (or any other) days. Instead, the producers appear to be relying on other elements to help sell tickets.
Harmony tried to bank on the fame of the show’s composer, Barry Manilow. That didn’t quite work; the show closed long before it could recoup its costs. (If Chip Zien is denied a Tony nomination because of the show’s closing, that would be a terrible shame.) Meanwhile, the jury is still out on The Notebook, which opened to mixed reviews but features its two elder leads in extremely persuasive performances facing the end of their lives in a desperate attempt to reconnect in a battle with Alzheimer’s. Not a Saturday date night kind of show, but the producers are banking on the fans of the much-beloved movie, upon which it is based, to come out and see it.
Perhaps the show with the best chance of making it into the black is Water For Elephants because it not only has an appealing cast led by Edelman but also has delightful and somewhat inspiring stagecraft to help tell its story. And for anyone who ever dreamed about running away to join the circus, this is probably as close as you’re going to get! And Gregg Edelman, as the ostensible lead, has all the requisite charm to make such a leap seem entirely plausible.
So, three cheers for these older stars who have risen to leading roles, long after anyone might have expected them to fade away. As older critics, we like the message-:).
Cover Photo: Maryann Plunkett and Dorian Harewood in The Notebook (Photo by Julieta Cervantes)
