• GRACE NOTES: Thursday, February 26, 2026

     

    Today’s Highlights:

     

      Antigone (This Play I Read in School), world premiere by Anna Zeigler, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, featuring Ethan Dubin (Cop 3/Achilles), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Chorus), Katie Kreisler (Cop 1/Proprietor), Susannah Perkins (Antigone), Dave Quay (Cop 2/Palace Guard), Tony Shalhoub (Creon), Calvin Leon Smith (Haemon), and Haley Wong (Ismene), begins previews at Off Broadway’s Public Theatre.

     

      Spare Parts, by David J Glass, directed by Michael Herwitz, featuring Jonny-James Kajoba Rob McClure, Michael Genet, Matt Walker, and Langston Reese, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row.

     

      Shadowlands, by Hugh Bonneville, directed by Rachel Kavanaug, starring Hugh Bonneville C.S. Lewis), closes at London’s Aldwych Theatre.

     

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      The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, by William Finn & Rachel Sheinkin, and directed by Danny Mefford, has been extended through Sept. 6 at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages.

     

     Cooley (Leaf Coneybear), Kevin McHale (William Barfée), Philippe Arroyo (Chip Tolentino), Leana Rae Concepcion and (Marcy Park),  Justin Cooley (Leaf Coneybear), Kevin McHale (William Barfée), Philippe Arroyo (Chip Tolentino), and Leana Rae Concepcion (Marcy Park), Jasmine Amy rogers (Olive Ostrovsky), Autumn  Best (Logaininne Schwartzgrubenierre, and Matt Manuel.

     

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      Quincy’s World will run Mar. 5-8 at Beverly Hills’ The Wallace, directed by Racheal Worby.

     

      Vanessa Bryan and Brandon Victor Dixon.

     

      From unforgettable pop hits like Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” to arrangements such as Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and Ray Charles’ “Let the Good Times Roll,” explore the world of Quincy Jones.

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       Lost Boys: A New Musical, by David Hornsby, Chris Hoch & The Rescuers, will  begin previews  Mar. 17 and open Apr. 26 at the Palace Theatre, directed by Michael Arden.

     

        Shoshana Bean (Lucy Emerson), L J Benet (Michael Emerson), Ali Louis Bourzgui (David), Benjamin Pajak (Sam Emerson), Maria Wirries (Star), and Paul Alexander Nolan (Max). with Maria Wirries, Paul Alexander Nolan, Jennifer Duka, Miguel Gil, Brian Flores, Sean Grandillo, and Dean Maupin. The cast also features Ryan Behan, Grace Capeless, Mateus Leite Cardoso, Ben Crawford, Dominic Dorset, Carissa Gaughran, Ashley Jenkins, Liesie Kelly, Cameron Loyal, Pierre Marais, Mason Olshavsky, Hank Santos, Colin Trudell, DeLaney Westfall, and Pierce Wheeler.

     

       Welcome to Santa Carla. Perfect weather. Beautiful beaches. And a charming boardwalk…as long as you ignore all the “Missing” posters. When a mother and her two teenage sons move to town in desperate need of a fresh start, they soon uncover the darker side of this sunny coastal community. While Lucy tries to piece her family’s life back together, Michael keeps pulling away in search of belonging. As he finds connection with a local rock band and its charismatic leader, his younger brother Sam comes face-to-face with a terrifying reality: When night falls, Michael’s new friends are even more dangerous than they first appeared.

     

       Video: Trailer

     

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      A reading of Paul Slade Smith’s Unnecessary Farce will take place Sat. Feb. 28 at LA’s Theatre 40, directed by Melanie MacQueen.  RSVP not rewuired.

     

      Kevin Dulude, Matt Landig, Dan Leslie, Meghan Lewis, LeeAnne Rowe, Michele Schultz, David Hunt Stafford.

     

      Two cops. Three crooks. Eight doors. Go. In a cheap motel room, an embezzling mayor is supposed to meet with his female accountant, while in the room next door, two undercover cops wait to catch the meeting on videotape. In this riotous, lightning-quick farce,there’s some confusion as to who’s in which room, who’s being videotaped, who has the money, who hired a hitman, and why the accountant keeps taking off her clothes.

     

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       New Dramatists has been announced the recipient of its annual Konecky Award, as Music Theatre International (MTI).  A celebration will take place on Tues. May 26 at a location TBA.

     

      The honor recognizes members of the theatre and entertainment industry who serve the field with passion, dedication, excellence, and leadership, with its namesake belonging to New Dramatists Board President Isobel Konecky and her husband, entertainment attorney Ron Konecky.

     

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      Hershey Felder: The Piano & Me: A New musical Play (and 16 other characters) will run Apr. 30 -May 10 Santa Barbara’s  New Vic.

      Felder now renders a different musical artist: himself. In this deeply moving new play, Felder pulls back the curtain on his own story. Growing up in Montreal as the child of Polish and Hungarian immigrants, a young Felder discovers the piano, its captivating music connecting him to his unsuspected heritage, while opening up a remarkable new world full of adventure, possibility, heartbreak, and connection. Featuring performances of beloved compositions by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Bartók, and more, Hershey Felder: The Piano and Me recounts the inspiration behind Felder’s illustrious career of more than 6,000 performances across the globe and offers a poignant and profoundly touching portrait of the power of music.

     

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      Claudia Shear’s The Recipe has been extended through Mar.  29 at CA’s La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Lisa Peterson.

     

      Christina Kirk (Julia Child) and Nobert Leo butz (Paul Child).

     

      The play is about the early life of an endlessly fascinating character — Julia, a girl from Pasadena — and her path from confusion to discovery, fear to strength, failure to success.

     

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      Musical Theatre West‘s Man of La Mancha, directed by James Vásquez, continues through Mar.1 at Long Beach’s Carpenter Performing Arts Center.

     

       Ricard Bermudez (Miguel de Cervates/Don quixote), Shirene Agahi-Patterson (Antonia), Daniel Sares (Pedro/Captain of the Inquisition), Ammon Swofford (Anselmo), and Colleen Swift (Paco/Barber), with  Reggie De Leon.

     

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       New Dramatists will honor theatrical licensor Music Theatre International with their 2026 Konecky Award at their annual spring luncheon, set for May 26.

    The event is in honor of Stephen Shwartz.