It's around this time of year when we begin to long for the arrival of
Spring and all the new productions and concerts that come with it.
Concerts in London include Drake from late-February, The Weeknd later in
March and Bruno Mars in April at extended engagements at the O2. In the
West End, Imelda Staunton tackles Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as Daniel Radcliffe headlines Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at The Old Vic. Later in the season, look for Damien Lewis in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? in March and Audra McDonald in Billie Holiday's Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill in previews early-June.
For those that haven’t seen Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden
in New York, the show continues through Spring with interruptions for
Lionel Richie with Mariah Carey in March, Bon Jovi in April and Neil
Diamond in early-June. In April, Stevie Nicks + The Pretenders take the
Prudential Center while Paris street-artist turned singing sensation
Benjamin Clementine ignites Carnegie Hall. On stage, Jake Gyllenhaal
headlines Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George later this month at the revamped Hudson Theatre. Opening in March, Come From Away
that tackles the aftermath of 9/11 for a group of travelers whose
planes are diverted to a small town in Newfoundland. And Broadway divas
Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole depict the rivalry of cosmetics
titans Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden in Warpaint opening in early-April.
In LA, much has been said for the latest season of the LA Opera with forthcoming Salome
that adapts the scandalous Oscar Wilde play with Patricia Racette in a
headline-making role. A bit more pop, Red Hot Chili Peppers takes
Staples Center early March, Van Morrison headlines the bohemian Theatre
at Ace Hotel later in the month and José González brings his own
20-person Göteborg String Theory chamber orchestra to Royce Hall in one
of his most intimate performances to date. And nothing says Spring like a
music festival, as South by Southwest (SXSM) lands in Austin from March 13th and Ultra Music Festival headlines Martin Garrix, Kygo and Icona Pop from March 24th. Coachella
does back-to-back weekends April 14th and 21st with a 2017 line-up that
includes Radiohead, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar at the world's top music
festival.
