Closing soon–or still playing– at a theatre near you

Ana Villafañe and the cast of On Your Feet! –one of few still standing even after a poor Tony showing.(c) Matthew Murphy

Among the end of summer rituals is the revving up of the theater season. New plays will open at the subscription houses, Broadway will host revivals and original productions; the fall will be the time to re-start.

Just as the fall brings new plays to our attention, so the summer sees old ones run their course. Here’s a list of what you need to catch up on before school starts:

Finding Neverland fits one of my favorite themes. It is another example of a musical undaunted by Tony denial. The production wasn’t even nominated and they survived well over a year! That is about to come to an end, and soon, when the show closes at the Lunt-Fontaine on Sunday, August 21st. It sets off for a national tour, beginning October 11th inm Buffalo.

Also nearing the end of its Broadway tenancy is the highly original and charming Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which shuts its light effects at the Ethel Barrymore on September 4th.

That day, the 4th of September, will also be the last performance of the Les Miz production currently at the Imperial Theatre. The epic Les Miserables will be missed, but we know we’ll raise a glass to its return.

Fun Home will depart Circle in the Square after its final performance on September 10th.

Meanwhile, Cats has slinked into the Neil Simon, opening for a limited run through January 15th. Jogs the “Memory,” when some 40 years ago, I sat on the stage of the Winter Garden to watch T.S. Eliot’s poetry turned to motion in the original Broadway production.

The ever bouyant and dramatic Phantom, another Andrew Lloyd Webber invention, continues to startle in its long-term home at the Majestic.

Among the more resilient musicals around is still Something Rotten!, which tall-tells the history of all musicals nightly (and twice on Wednesday and Saturdays) at the St. James.The musical, which was also light on TONY recognition in 2015 when it opened, is holding ticket lotteries even as we write.

Sort of like Hamilton, but… tix for the Perfect $10 are still a lot harder to score.