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Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman

Marc Shaiman to Score Plaza Suite Revival

The Broadway-bound revival of Neil Simon’s classic comedy Plaza Suite will have an original score when it arrives at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre this spring. Marc Shaiman (Hairspray, Mary Poppins Returns) will compose original music to accompany the production set to star Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. The strictly-limited, 17-week engagement, to be helmed by John Benjamin Hickey, is set to begin previews on March 13, 2020, with an official opening night set for April 13.

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Director John Benjamin Hickey said, “In terms of beloved New York icons, Marc is right up there with… well… with Neil Simon, Matthew Broderick, and Sarah Jessica Parker. To have Marc, our dear friend, writing music for this play that celebrates love and marriage in New York City is a dream come true.”

Marc Shaiman has enjoyed a prolific career as a composer, Oscar-nominated for his work on Sleepless In SeattlePatch AdamsThe First Wives ClubThe American President, and South Park-Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Other film credits include BeachesWhen Harry Met SallyCity SlickersThe Addams FamilySister ActA Few Good Men, and The Bucket List. For the Broadway stage, Shaiman and co-lyricist Scott Wittman have written Hairspray (Tony and Grammy Awards), Martin Short: Fame Becomes MeCatch Me If You CanCharlie & The Chocolate Factory, and they are currently writing a new musical version of Some Like It Hot. Shaiman composed original music for the revival of The Odd Couple with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Television credits include Saturday Night Live and Smash.

Before landing at the Hudson Theatre, Plaza Suite will travel to Boston for a strictly limited 22-performance pre-Broadway engagement at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, the same theater where Plaza Suite had its 1968 world premiere. Plaza Suite first opened on Broadway in 1968 under the direction of Mike Nichols. It starred George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton, running for a total of 1,097 performances. Simon and Stapleton were nominated for Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, respectively, while Nichols won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.

The design team for Plaza Suite will feature two-time Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty (set design), Tony Award winner Jane Greenwood (costume design), five-time Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (lighting design), and Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (sound design).

Plaza Suite is three, one-act plays, each about a different couple staying in a suite at the Plaza. Two performers play each set of couples in this delightful comedy by Neil Simon that takes a “piercing look at marriage” and all the hilarity that goes with it.

Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. His latest book, Sitcommentary: The Television Comedies That Changed America, released on October 15. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.

Learn More About Plaza Suite