'Next Fall' lands on Broadway with positive opening night reviews

Broadway welcomed "Next Fall," a play by Geoffrey Nauffts, on its March 11 opening night at the Helen Hayes Theatre. Sheryl Kaller resumes her role as director of the split drama-comedy, which earned rave reviews during an Off Broadway run in 2009.Switching between flash-backs and present-day scenes, the play tracks the five-year relationship of 45-year-old atheist Adam (Patrick Breen) and his 30-year-old boyfriend Luke (Patrick Heusinger), a conservative Christian. As the play opens, Luke is in a coma as a result of an accident, and Adam is left in the waiting room with Luke's equally conservative parents, Arlene (Connie Ray) and Butch (Cotter Smith), who are in-the-dark about their son's sexuality.The cast and creative team for "Next Fall" is largely preserved from its critically acclaimed run Off Broadway last year.

However, since that time the play has gained a couple A-list supporters. Notably, the play has among its producers Elton John and his partner David Furnish. The play's 22 previews attracted 9,256 theatergoers, according to numbers from the Broadway League.

Variety
David Rooney
"The play had a quieter appeal in its hit Off Broadway run last summer; the slicked-up transfer pushes harder, particularly for laughs. But it remains a moving domestic drama."

New York Times
Ben Brantley
"'Next Fall'... is that genuine rara avis, a smart, sensitive and utterly contemporary New York comedy."

USA Today
Elysa Gardner
"'Fall' touches on daunting questions about faith, love and mortality."

Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
"Under the skillful direction of Sheryl Kaller, the play crackles with emotional force and acerbic humor."

News Flash: Elton John clarifies his gay Jesus quote, didn't mean to offend

According to Metro Weekly:

''I think everyone's individual faith is their own business. And I do believe in Jesus, and I do believe he was a compassionate person. And I see him from my point of view, and that's just my point of view, as a compassionate gay person -- someone who was persecuted, someone who forgave people....That's how I see him. That's my idea of faith.... If I've offended anybody, Idon't see why they should be offended by it, because I'm not saying, 'That's how he definitely was.'... I don't really want to cause a controversy.''