• GRACE NOTES: Thursday, July 3, 2025

     

    Happy Holiday.  Grace Notes will return Mon. July 7.

     

     

    Upcoming Highlights:

     

    Thursday July 3:

     

    . Relax, let go, let fly…

     

    Friday. July 4

     

     Nice Girl, by Melissa Ross, directed by Ann Bronston, featuring Anaïs Fairweather (Jo), Bailey Humiston (Sherry), Jeff Lorch (Donny), and eahl (Francine, closes at LA’s Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre. https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/nice-girl.

     

    Saturday, July 5

     

      ECHO: (Every cold-hearted Oxygen), by Nassim Soleimanpour, directed by Omar Elerian, featuring Lolly Adefope, Milly Alcock, James Corden, Mel Goiedroye, Daniel Kaluuya, Nish Kumar, Simon McBurney, Reece Shearsmith, Juliet Stevenson, and Dominic West, closes at London’s Royal Court Theatre.

     

      A Wrinkle in Time, by Lauren Yee & Heater Christian, directed by Lee Sunday Evans, featuring Leanne Antonio, Nicholas Barrón, Michael Di Liberto, Kimberly Dodson, Amber Gray, Taylor Iman Jones, Andrea Jones-SoJola, Aidan Joyce, Vicki Lewis, Mateo Lizcano, Rebecca Madereira, Gabrielle Rice, Stacey Stareant, Jon Patrick Walker, Ronald Joe Williams, Jayke Workman, Alex De Bard, Edward Simon, Dilliam Smith, and Alyssa Enita Stanford, closes at DC’s Arena Stage.

     

    Sunday, July 6

     

      A House Full of Flies, written & directed by WillieAnn Gissendanner, featuring WillieAnn Gissendanner (as Savannah), Kai Brown, Marcia Hopson, Sania Hyatt, Lola Lukas, Obinna Nwako, Aubrey Smith, Bill Tatum, Douglas Walker and Scott Williams, closes at Off-Broadway’s Theater for the New City.

     

      Hamlet, directed by Robert O’Hara, featuring Patrick Ball (Hamlet), Coral Pena (Ophelia), Gina Torres (Gertrude), James T. Alfred (Head Attendant), Joe Chrest (Detective Fortinbras), Fidel Bomez (Gravedigger), Ty Molbak (Laertes/Rosencrantz), Ramiz Monsef (Polonius), Aruek Sgafur (Claudius), Jaime Lincoln Smith (First Player/Attendant) and Daniel Zuhike (Guildenstern, closes at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.

     

      Your Name Means Dream, written & directed by José Rivera, featuring Sara Koviak (Stacy) and Anne O’Sullivan (Aislin), closes at TheaterWorks Hartford.

     

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      The  world premiere of Damon Cardasis, Iames Ijames, Sia & Honey Dijon’s Saturday Church will run Aug. 27 – Oct. 12 (opening Sept. 15) at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Whitney White.

     

      Anamia,Primo Thee Ballerino, Veyonce Deleon, Michael Samarie George, J’Quay Gibbs, Fernell Hogan, Dava Huesca, Kristolyn Lloyd, Kareem Marsh, Jackson Kanawha Perry, Caleb Quezon, B Noel Thomas, Wade Watson, Bryson Battle, J. Harrison Ghee, and Joaquina Kalukango.

     

      The story of Ulysses—New York City kid, devoted son and the fiercest tenor at his aunt’s church. A chance encounter on the subway introduces him to the world of Saturday Church, a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ youth. Caught between two worlds, Ulysses wrestles with family and faith as he strives to find the place where he can love and be loved—in all his fabulousness. This new musical captures the joy of embodied liberation and the profound power of faith, with a score that soars from the transcendence of gospel to the exhilarating vibrations of house music and pop. Saturday Church boldly asks, “is faith only for the Holy?” and, more importantly, “are there any queens in the house?!!!!”

     

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      National Theatre Live will present a screening of London’s Hamlet, directed by Lyndsey Turner, will take place Sun. Aug. 17 at 3 PM at UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre.

     

      Benedict Cumberbatch

     

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      MA’s Williamstown 2025 Theatre Free  2025 Theatre Festival has announced 3 new plays to run July 17 – Aug. 3.  Click the link above for complete details.

     

      Many Happy Returns a dance piece by Monica Bill Barnes & Robbie Saenz de Viteri, with choreography by, and writted by Saenz de Viteri,  The work, originally commissioned by Off-Broadway’s WP Theater, sees both Barnes and Saenz de Viteri taking on the role of Barnes, with Barnes as the artist’s body and Saenz de Viteri as the artist’s voice. The partially scripted and partially improvised piece tracks Barnes as she voices doubts she’s desperate to mask via dance.

     

     The Things Around Us,  a new solo musical created and performed by Ahamefule J. Oluo,   collection of seemingly unrelated stories about trying and failing to find order in chaos, backed by a live musical score created through looped trumpet, clarinet, and drums.

     

     Late at the Annex, a series of late-night performances by musicians, comedians, and theatre artists on weekends July 17-Aug, 2. Participating artists and additional information TBA.

     

      The complete cast will feature renowned skaters Danila Berdnik, Dan Donigan, Canadian elite skater Benjamin Guthrie, Isaac Lindy, and U.S. Nationals qualifier Rohene Ward.

     

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    Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe’s Masquerade will open July 31  at a renovated space (218 W. 57th St.), directed by Diane Paulus.

     

     Baby Byrne, Nicholas Edwards, Gabriella Enriquez, Haile Ferrier, Nkrumah Gatling, Cooper Grodin, Maxfield Haynes, Bryan Hernandez-Luch, Satomi Hofmann, Kody Jauron, Francisco Javier González, Maree Johnson, Tia Karaplis, Nathan Keen, Joe Kerr, Jeff Kready, Jacob Lacopo,  Eryn LeCroy, Raymond J. Lee, Telly Leung, Claire Leyden, Francesca Mehrotra, Georgia Mendes,  Betsy Morgan, Riley Noland, Charles Osborne, Hugh Panaro, Chris Ryan, Kyle Scatliffe, Paul Adam Schaefer, Clay Singer, Phumzile Sojola, Jeremy Stolle, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Nik Walker,  Andrew Wojtal, Kevin Zambrano, and Anna Zavelson.

     

      Guests are invited to dress with a flair for the dramatic, and always remember… hide your face.

     

      The musical blurs the lines of reality, bringing audiences inside and closer than ever before to the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera – a mystery never fully explained. From the highest rooftop to the subterranean lair deep below the Opera Populaire, guests will be invited to experience the music of the night more intimately than ever before.

     

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       The world premiere of Chris Collins’ Achilles in Arcadia will run Aug. 8 – Sept. 21 (opening  aug. 9) at the Skylight Theatre, directed by Kiff Scholl.

     

      Krit McClean, Yulia Belyaeva, Timothy Willard, Devyn Kohl, Gloria Tsai, and Jeff LeBeau.

     

      The play is set in a Chinese restaurant. George, a student filmmaker of mixed Chinese and Anglo parentage, has taken over the restaurant to rehearse a scene for a short film he is making for his class project at Pasadena City College. His actors include his younger sister Rose, his ingenue; his Chinese-American girlfriend Lilly; and his Anglo best friend Pat. George and Pat were combat buddies in the Afghanistan conflict, and both have the war wounds to show for it. George’s and Rose’s mother has died. Their Aunt Amy, a Chinese immigrant, is the executor of her sister’s estate and has moved into the family home, a point of contention with George, who sees the house as the seat of generational wealth. When his long-lost father, who abandoned the family a decade earlier, turns up in Arcadia, it throws a wrench into George’s plans.

     

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      LA’s Blank Theatre has announced Week 1 for its 3rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival.

     

    Click the link above for the calendar of presentations.

     

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      New Musicals, Inc. has announced its presentations for New Musicals.  See all 5 shows on either Mon., July 14 or Tues., July 15 at 8 PM at Hollywood’s  Broadwater, directed by Mohn Coppola, with music direction by Ron Barnett. Mainstage Theatre.  here.

     

      Elise Dewsberry, Jack Little, Lia Peros, and Ryland Shelton

     

      Hholy Hell!, by Emily Beaver, Robert Intriligator & Teresa Bernadette.

     

      Purrfectly Evoloved, by Abshishek Pandit, Nicholas Alston & Abhhishel.

     

     The Hive, by Marisa Mitchell & Dana Lewis

     

       Secondhand Souls, by Angela Harrer & Nomi Abadi

     

      Another Door opens, by Kelly Krebs & David Thomas Joones.

     

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      David Snyder’s The Piano Says It Better: Reimagined will take place Sat. July 12 at 7:30 PM at Burbank’s Colony Theater.

     

      David Snyder

     

      The play is a blends virtuosic performance with humor, storytelling, and an unforgettable musical journey. With a background spanning America’s Got Talent, sold-out shows across the nation, millions of streams on his compositions, and a passion to teach music that transcends traditional spheres, David brings the piano to life in a way that transverses genres and inspires audiences of all ages. Fast-paced, heartwarming, and family-friendly, this show is a celebration of music’s power to tell stories beyond words.