• GRACE NOTES: Thursday, July 30, 2026

     

    Today’s Highlights:

     

      Death Note: The Musical, by Frank Wildhorn, Jack Murphy, & Ivan Menchell, directed by Stephen Whitson, featuring Xander Pang and Colin Ryan, opens at London’s Barbican Theatre.

     

      The Cannibals of McGower County, world premiere by Drew Larimore, directed by Jen Winman, featuring Annalee Jefferies, Constance Shulman, Gus Birney, and Edward Hoke, opens at CT’s TheaterWorks Hartford.

     

      A Change of Position, by Jeffrey Sweet, directed by James Glossman, featuring Ephraim Birney, Elis Cahill, Todd Cerveris, and Sandy Clancy, previews at Long Branch’s New Jersey Rep.

     

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       Hadestown will welcome an all-new principal cast on Sept. 1. at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

     

      (All new) Jasmin Savoy Brown (Eurydice), Norbert Leo Butz (Hermes), amber Iman (Persephone), Kayko (Orpheus), and Geno Segers (Hades).

     

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      Kansas City’s Starlight Theatre will present Spamalot Aug. 4 – 9, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes.

     

      Major Attaway (King Arthur), Amanda Robles (The Lady of the Lake), Nathaniel Mahone (Patsy), Steven Telsey (The Historian / Prince Herbert), Sean Bell (Sir Robin), Major Attaway (King Arthur), Amanda Robles (The Lady of the Lake), Nathaniel Mahone (Patsy), and Steven Telsey, (The Historian/Prince Herbert), with Delaney Benson, Jack Brewer, Claire Kennard, Lindsay Lee Alhady, L’Ogan J’Jones, Maddie Mossner, Emilie Renier, Mark Tran Russ, Meridien Terrell, and Graham Keen.

     

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      LA’s Open-Door Playhouse, which offers short plays in podcast form, will present  Steven Doloff’s Buck, A Poem beginning Aug. 12, directed by Severina Mijan.

     

      Christine Uhebe as Carol, Rosemary Thomas as Noreen, Justice Davis as Matt, and Hessel Evelaar as Luca Diaz.

     

      Carol is a street poet, cranking out poems on her typewriter for a dollar per poem. She encounters several people who buy her wares, including one who offers her a path to elevate her craft.

     

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       Radio Galaxy, a new play by Michèle Aldin Kushner, will run Nov. 6-22 at The Wallis, directed by Kimberly Senior.

     

       Joey McIntyre, Leslie Margherita, Callan Farris, Meera Sinhan, and Bernard White.

     

      The play follows Tino, a 17-year-old science prodigy from a working -class New Jersey family who dreams of becoming and astronomer. When his biological astrophysicist father unexpectedly enters his life with a request to help save a half-sister needing a bone marrow transplant, Tino faces an impossible choice.

     

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       Classic Stage Company will present Clifford Odets’ Waiting for Lefty  Oct. 15 – Nov. 22 (opening Nov. 2) at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater, directed by Steven Pasquale.

     

       Tala Ashe, Raffi Barsoumian, Adam Chanler-Berat, Greg Hildreth, Doireann Mac Mahon, Zach McNally, Sahar Milani , Conrad Ricamora, Cameron Scoggins and Thom Sesma.

     

      One room. One choice. One movement. Exploited, exhausted, and pushed to the edge, the taxi drivers of Depression-era New York City gather to make a choice that will change their lives forever. But as they wait for their leader, the tension reaches a fever pitch. Marking the directing debut of acclaimed actor Steven Pasquale, this innovative production uses music and movement to breathe fresh life into Clifford Odets’ 1935 masterpiece, transforming the theater into a high-stakes union hall. Both then and now, speaking truth to power can come at a deadly cost. Don’t miss this visceral collision of classic social protest and contemporary sound. The clock is ticking – are you with us?

     

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       The Les Miserables all-star 40th A cast album, from both the London production and the Arena Spectacular World Tour, has been released on most platforms.

     

      Donnelly (Valjean), Jaden (Javert), Katie Hall (Fantine), Ako (Eponine), Adam Gillen  (Thénardier), Marina Prior (Madame Thénardier), Beatrice Penny-Touré (Cosette), Yarrow as Marius, and James D. Gish (Enjolras.

     

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       The Who’s Tommy will run Oct. 27 – Nov. 16 at the Pantages Theatre, directed by Des McAnuff.

     

       Collin Matthew Flanagan (Tommy Walder), Zach Fogel (Captain Walker), Mia Bergstrom (Ms. Walker), Payton Cassity (Uncle Ernie), and Kyle McFalls (Cousin Kevin).

     

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       Rocky Horror Show, directed by Sam Pincleton, has been extended again, now through Feb. 28, 2027 at Broadway’s Studio 54.

     

       Rachel Dratch (Narrator), Andrew Durand (Brad), Luke Evans (Frank-N-Furter), Amber Gray (Riff Raff), Harvey Guillén (Eddie/Dr. Scott), Stephanie Hsu (Janet)Josh Rivera (Rocky), Sherie Rene Scott (Magenta), and Valentina (Columbia) with Renée Albulario, Anania, Boy Radio, Tassy Kirbas, Caleb Quezon, Andres Quintero, Larkin Reilly, Paul Soileau, and John Yi.

     

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       The Center at West Park in East Hampton, NY will host a staged reading of the 1983 film The Big Chill on Mon. Aug. 31 at Guild Hall, directed by David Saint, followed by a talkback.

     

       Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams, Marisa Tomei, Matthew Broderick, Amy Brenneman, Spencer Garrett, Frederick Weller, Ilana Levine, and Jumaane D. Williams.

     

      The play centers on a group of college schoolmates reuniting 12 years after graduating when one of their friend circle ends their life.

     

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      The Broadway Revival of Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels, starring Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, will be screened in movie theaters world-wide, beginning Oct. 22.

     

      here.

     

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       How High the Moon, by Barbara Nell Beery, continues through Aug.16 at Theatre West, directed by Asaad Kelada.

     

      Jeanine Anderson (Violet), Kathie Barnes (Millie), Lane Compton(Harrison), Matthew Gademske (Russell), John Plsey (Carl), Anya Profumo (Allison), Matthew Gademske (Fussell), Caroline Quitley (Amy), and David Nathan Schwartz (Walter).

     

       On July 4th, 1952, the lives of neighboring families in the San Fernando Valley are forever changed. A young housewife questions her marriage and an estranged son returns home. A play about sibling conflict and family secrets during the early 1950’s housing boom in the San Fernando Valley.