Welcome to GRACE NOTES – the industry standard for daily theatre news since 1999.
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SAMPLE ISSUE: Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Today’s Highlights:
Bedknobs and Broomsticks world premiere UK tour, by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman & Neil Bartram, directed by Candice Edmunds, with choreography by Neil Bettles, featuring Dianne Pilkington (Price) and Charles Brunton (Emelius Browne), with Mark Anderson, Jessica Aubrey, Georgie Buckland, Kayla Carter, Jonathan Cobb, Jacqui Dubois, Matthew Elliot-Campbell, Sam Lupton, Rob Madge, Vinnie Monachello, Nathaniel Morrison, Conor O’Hara, Sadie-Jean Shirley, Robin Simoes Da Silva, Emma Thornett, Susannah Van Den Berg, Dexter Barry, Izabella Bucknell, Haydn Court, Poppy Houghton, Evie Lightman, and Aidan Oti, opens at Theatre Royal Newcastle.
Cinderella, world premiere by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Emerald Fennell & David Zippel, directed by Laurence Connor, featuring Carrie Hope Fletcher (Cinderella), Ivano Turco (Prince Sebastian), Rebecca Trehearn (The Queen), Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (The Stepmother), Georgina Castle (Marie), Laura Baldwin (Adele), Claudie Onitiri (The Godmother), Caleb Roberts (Prince Charming), Georgina Onurorah (Alternate Cinderella), Sam Robinson (Dorian), Giovani Spano (Gawain), and Vinny Coyle (Arthur), with Michael Afemaré, Lydia Bannister, Lauren Byrne, Michelle Bishop, William Bozier, Sophie Campbell, Tobias Charles, Nicole Dion, Jonathan David Dudley, Dominic Adam Griffin, Michael Hamway, Leah Harris, James Lee Harris, Kate Ivory Jordan, Jessica Kirton, Kelsea-Rae Marshall, Andy Rees, Lauren Stroud, Georgia Tapp, Matthew Vinetot, Alexandra Waite Roberts, and Rodney Vubya, resumes previews at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes, featuring Kendra Kassebaum (Milly Bradon), Edward Watts (Adam Pontipee), Raymond Baynard (Caleb), Leslie Donna Flesner (Dorcas), Shonica Gooden (Sarah), Garett Hawe (Ephraim), Sarah Meahl (Ruth), Harris Milgrim (Benjamin), Mikayla Renfrow (Alice), Carly Blake Sebouhian (Martha), Ryan Steele (Daniel), Brandon L. Whitmore (Gideon), Kristin Yancy (Liza), and Kyle Coffman (Frank), with Matthew Davies, Joel Douglas, Duane Martin Foster, Anna Gassett, Michael Hartung, Lynn Humphrey, Kamal Lado, John Peterson, Rich Pisarkiewicz, Emilie Renier, Cooper Stanton, Daryl Tofa, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva, Jerry Vogel, and Rebecca Young, closes at the St. Louis Muny.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.” ~ Stephen Sondheim
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Video: Stars in the House, offering Broadway By the Decades – the 60s, with special guests Penny Fuller, Anita Gillette, and Karen Morrow. (1:45:59)
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Initial casting has been announced for Dan Gillespie Sells & Tom MacRae’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, to run Jan. 16 – Feb. 20, 2022 at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Jonathan Butterell, with music direction by Richard Weeden.
Layton Williams (Jamie New) and Roy Haylock (Loco Chanelle), and more TBA.
The film adaptation will be released Sept. 17 on Amazon.
Jamie New is sixteen and lives in public housing in Sheffield, England. Jamie doesn’t quite fit it, he’s terrified about the future and he’s going to be a sensation. Supported by his loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies, and steps out of the darkness and into the spotlight.
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Article: Broadway’s COVID expert talks about returning to theaters safely.
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The Stage Managers’ Association has announced the recipients of the 2021 Del Hughes Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Art of Stage Management:
* Ruth E. Kramer
* Lynda A. Lavin
* Arthur Lewis
* Charles Allen Blackwell
Instituted in 1986, the award is named for Del Hughes, whose career as a Broadway and television stage manager as well as a TV director spanned from 1933 to the 1970s. Honorees are chosen each February from nominations submitted by industry members.
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Theatre West presents the world premiere of Mark Wilding’s Our Man in Santiago Sept. 24 – Oct. 24, directed by Charlie Mount.
Steve Nevel (Richard Nixon) and Michael Van Duzer (Henry Kissinger), with Presciliana Esparolini, Nick McDow Musleh, and George Tovar.
A raucous comedy spy thriller, inspired by the true story of a spectacular botched U.S. attempt to overthrow Chile’s democratically elected leader.
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Jeff Whitty’s new adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is now available here.
Alexandra Henrikson (Helena), Amari Cheatom (Oberon), Armando McClain (Egeus/Snug), Cedric Lamar (Flute), Christopher Livingston (Demetrius), Daisuke Tsuji (Puck), David Furr (Theseus), Gopal Divan (Lysander), Jamie Ann Romero (Hermia), Jeena Yi (Quince), Jenn Harris (Bottom), Manila Luzon (Hippolyta), and Michelle Beck (Titania).
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Chess in Concert will run Sept. 24-26 at San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon, directed by Daren A.C. Carollo, with music direction by Daniel Thomas.
Casting TBA.
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A benefit filmed production of Nice Work If You Can Get It, in support of Project ALS, will stream Tues. Sept. 28 at 7 PM ET here, in honor of Rebecca Luker, and hosted by Judy Kaye.
Jesse Walker (Jimmy Winter), Cooper Grodin (Cookie), and Dinanda Klassen (Billie Bendix), Estelle Balsirow (Eileen), William Broan (Chief Berry), Loren Dunn (Duke Mahoney), Carol Flanagan (Milicent Winter), Nancy Homan (Duchess Estonia Dulworth), Wolf Krebs (Senator Max Evergreen), and Rose Taylor (Jeannie Muldoom).
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The John Gore Organization, presenter, producer, distributor and marketer of Broadway theater worldwide, has announced its partnership with Black Theatre Coalition, which is dedicated to eradicating racial inequities in the theater industry by creating sustainable and ethical hiring practices for Black Professionals on Broadway and in the American Theatre.
BTC and BAA’s collaboration is in the creation of a comprehensive paid fellowship program specifically for undergraduate college juniors and seniors and recent college graduates interested in pursuing a career in commercial theater. The program, called The Black Theatre Coalition/Broadway Across America Fellowship, sponsored by the John Gore Organization, will provide ten paid part-time fellowships across the United States with specific training in the areas of Marketing, PR, Sales, Programming, Accounting and Finance, Operations, Venue Management and Ticketing.
BTC-BAA Fellowships will initially be available in New York, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Louisville, and will launch Spring Semester, 2022. Fellows will gain practical experience through on-the-job learning in Broadway Across America offices and learn the intricacies of the business through an education curriculum taught by JGO professionals as they embark in an offstage career in the business of Broadway.
Fourteen-week, paid fellowships will provide undergraduate/postgraduate students with an opportunity to develop the job skills, broad understanding and network connections necessary to begin a professional career in the commercial theater industry.
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CA’s North Coast Rep has announced its 2021-2022 season:
Dancing Lessons (Sept. 8 – Oct. 3), by Mark St. Germain, directed by Richard Baird.
Ben Butler (Oct. 20 – Nov. 14), by Richard Strand, directed by David Ellenstein.
Always…Patsy Cline (Dec. 8 – Jan. 2, 2022), by Ted Swindley, directed by Allegra Libonati, featuring Katie Karel and Becky Barta
Desperate Measures (Jan. 12 – Feb. 6), by David Friedman & Peter Kellogg, directed by Christopher Williams.
The Homecoming (Mar. 2-27), by Harold Pinter, directed by David Ellenstein.
An Illiad (Mar. 31 – Apr. 10), by Lisa Peterson & Denis O’Hare, directed by David Ellenstein, featuring Richard Baird.
Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits (Apt. 20 – May 15), by Gerard Alessandrini, directed by William Selby.
The Outgoing Tide (June 8 – July 3), by Bruce Graham, directed by Nike Doukas.
The Remarkable Mister Holmes (July 20 – Aug. 14), world premiere by Omri Schein, David Ellenstein & Daniel Lincoln, directed by Ellenstein.
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Cynthia Erivo will discuss “Genius: Aretha” on Wed. Aug. 25 at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Click here to register.
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The world premiere of Alix Sobler’s Hindsight will run Sept. 18 – oct. 23 at the Paradise Factory, directed by Aaron Rossini.
Andrea Abello, Craig Wesley Divino, Lynnette R. Freeman, Daniel Pearce, Alix Sobler, and Luis Vegas.
In the theater, there has always been a grey area between what is fact and what is fiction. Grey areas can lead to confusion, disaster, and violence – especially when it comes to the news and our politics. Where did it all begin? An intrepid playwright traces the problem back to 1987 and the abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine. But as she builds her case, the facts, historical characters, and her own memories refuse to cooperate. Is it possible to trace our problems as a nation back to the one decision made in the 80s? And if so, is a play really the right place to unpack this conversation?
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Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre has announce the world premiere of Phillip Depoy & Kristian Bush’s Darlin’ Cory, to run Sept. 8 – Oct. 3 (opening Sept. 15), directed by Susan V. Booth, with choreography by John Welker, and music direction by Brandon Bush.
Jeremy Aggers, Jimez Alexander, Marcello Audino, John Bobek, Jewl Carney, Katie Deal, Kelli Dodd, Rob Lawhon, Rhyn McLemore, Gillian Rabin, Maria Rodriguez-Sager, and Asia Rogers.
In a tiny mountain town with no road in – and no road out – a community carries secrets of all sizes. But when a young woman with ambition and intelligence collides with a pastor deeply committed to preserving the status quo, cracks begin to appear in the town’s well-constructed façade. And when a stranger appears with a mysterious backstory and the best moonshine anyone’s every tasted – some of those secrets threaten to spill.
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it’s alive, IT’S ALIVE!, conceived & performed by John Fleck will run Sept. 18, Sept. 25, Oct. 2 and Oct. 9 at the Odyssey Theatre, directed by David Schweizer.
An outrageous satire that reflects on our national panic in the face of the pandemic. Fleck uses musical numbers, dance sequences, and broad characters to create a hilarious and uniquely ribald theatre rollercoaster that skewers our fears and assumptions about everything from COVID-19 to our identity as earth dwellers at the precarious moment.
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The 18-track studio cast recording of Rosabella Gregory, Dina Gregory & Corey Brunish’s My Marcello will be released Aug. 20 here.
Santino Fontana, Laura Osnes, Terrence Mann, Elizabeth Stanley, Derek Klena, Raymond Jaramillo McLeod, and Robert Cuccioli.
A romantic comedy about death set in a small Italian Village where there is a scarcity of burial plots particularly in light of a recent circus accident on the highwire. Marcello makes it his mission to keep everyone in town alive for as long as possible. Why? His beloved wife, Roseanna (Laura Osnes), is gravely ill and wishes to be buried next to her daughter. For a tiny town cemetery running low on plots, this is a dubious possibility. Enter gangsters, falling church bells, evil landowners, bodies hidden amongst the frozen peas, a passionate couple – all creating the perfect recipe to discover the true meaning of love.
Audio (scroll down): Santino Fontana performs “Rest in Peas”
