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Broadway’s hot tickets: Patti LuPone in ‘Company’ and Dylan’s songs in ‘North Country’

The pop musical "Six" about Henry VIII’s wives is in previews now. "The Lehman Trilogy" starts in early March.

Patti LuPone performs "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" during a tribute to Leonard Bernstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden in 2018.
Patti LuPone performs "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" during a tribute to Leonard Bernstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden in 2018.Read moreMatt Sayles

Toby Zinman rounds up news, notes, and deals on Broadway for Philly readers who like to hit the New York shows.

These can-spring-be-far-behind days are filled with exciting possibilities in NYC, including these two hot tickets:

  1. Girl From the North Country. A play by the celebrated Irish dramatist Conor McPherson (The Weir, The Night Alive) featuring some of Bob Dylan’s most famous songs. “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Hurricane,” and “Forever Young” are among the 19 included in the show. Now in previews at the Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St. Opens March 5.

  2. Company. The Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant musical about Bobby (now Bobbie) who’s about to turn 35 and has serious commitment issues. Iconic songs like “The Ladies Who Lunch” and “Being Alive” sung by the luminous Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone make this show a Do Not Miss. Previews begin March 2. At the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St.

Care for a spot of theater?

North Company originated at London’s Old Vic. Company had a successful run in the West End last year. And here are some more British imports:

  1. The Lehman Trilogy. A thrilling show, with some of the best acting seen on any stage anywhere, about the brothers who arrived from Germany in the 19th century and built the bank “too big to fail.” This is its second trip to NYC. (lt was at the Park Avenue Armory last season). Previews begin March 7 at the Nederlander Theatre 208 W. 41st Street.

  2. Hangmen. Playwright Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, In Bruges) is back, still hilariously morbid, in a show lamenting the end of execution-by-hanging in Britain. The cast features Mark Addy (Game of Thrones) and Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey). Previews begin next week, booking through July.

  3. Six. A pop musical about Henry VIII’s six wives: Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Sing your hearts out, girls, you married a rat. In previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 256 W. 47th St.

More of Letts

If you want something from a contemporary master, consider The Minutes, by playwright Tracy Letts, (August: Osage County). This big play about a small town begins previews next week — with Armie Hammer and the playwright in the cast. At the Cort Theatre, 138 W. 48th St.

And Off-Broadway …

  1. The Headlands. Remember Christopher Chen’s Caught at InterAct a few years ago? Never have I been so delighted and outfoxed by a sort-of comedy. Chen returns with a new play in which a young man plays detective to solve the mystery of his father’s murder. At the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center. Through March 22.

  2. Dana H. Playwright Lucas Hnath’s mother, a chaplain at a psychiatric facility, lived through a harrowing kidnapping by one of the patients. The script is based on interviews after her rescue; the wonderful actress Deirdre O’Connell will lip-synch her words. (BTW: Hnath is pronounced as to rhyme with “faith.”) At the Vineyard Theatre, 108 E. 15th St. Through March 23.

  3. The Perplexed. From playwright Richard Greenberg, best known for the sensational baseball play, Take Me Out, comes this one about another kind of dangerous sport: family quarrels on the day of a wedding. Expect smoldering bad feelings. City Center Stage, 131 W. 55th St. In previews, opens March 3.

  4. Two wild-and-wooly-sounding shows debut at the Signature Theatre (42nd St. & 10th Ave). Lauren Yee’s The Cambodian Rock Band is an upbeat musical about the very downbeat subject of the Khmer Rouge. (Through March 15.) The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) takes us to her hometown of Memphis. (Through March 22.)

City sights

If you’re strolling around the theater district, take a look at the 12th annual Times Square Valentine’s Day heart, up until March 1 in Duffy Square (Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets). This year’s winning sculpture, Heart Squared, is made of many, many mirrors that reflect the urban spectacle.

If you’re out between 11:57 p.m. and midnight, look up at the huge electronic billboards on 42nd to 49th Streets, between 7th and 8th Avenue, to see the current iteration of Midnight Moment, a digital art exhibit running since 2012 and billed as the world’s largest digital exhibition. Three minutes and then it’s gone. Every night.