Today’s Highlights:
New York Theater Workshop‘s 2026 Gala, honoring Colman Domingo, Mara Isaacs, and Nicole Ari Parker, directed by Kevin Cahoon, and hosted by J. Harrison Ghee, at 6 PM at NYC’s Gotham Hall (1356 Broadway).
The Stardust: From Tin PanAlley to Broadway concert, directed by Kathleen Marshall, featuring Krystal Joy Brown, T. Oliver Reid, Ana Villafañe, and more, closes at 92NY Lyrics & Lyricists.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Executive Suite by Jim Bernhard
Fill in the missing words:
| 1. ___ of the Pack, musical by Ellie Greenwich | A. Boss |
| 2. The ___ of the Family, play by Clyde Fitch and Leo Ditrichstein | B. Manager |
| 3. A Gentleman’s ____ to Love and Murder, musical by Robert L Freedman and Steven Lutvak | C. Chief |
| 4.. “____ Tweed” song from Up In Central Park | D. Head |
| 5. Mr. ____, musical by Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, and Irving Berlin | E. Governor |
| 6. “Stage ____’s Chorus,” song from Garrick Gaieties | F. Director |
| 7. Questions from ____ Mao Tse-Tung, play by Edward Albee | G. President |
| 8. “Oh, Joy, Our ____ Is Saved,” song from Princess Ida |
H. Leader |
| 9. The ____’s Son, musical by George M. Cohan | I. Chairman |
| 10. “Ballad of a Social ____,” song from Wish You Were Here | J. Guide |
Scroll down for the answers
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Winners of London’s 2026 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, have been announced, the oldest and largest international playwriting award dedicated to honoring women + (including women and non-binary) playwrights writing for the English-speaking theatre, have been announced for the English-speaking theatre.
Winners:
Ro Reddick (Cold War Choir Practice)
Hannah Doran (The Meat Kings! (Inc. of Brooklyn Heights).
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Pearl Cleage’s Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous will run Mar. 20 – Apr. 12 (opening Mar. 22 ) at Lyric Stage Boston, directed by Jacqui Parker.
Patrice Jean Baptiste, Deannah “Dripp” Blemur, Inés De La Cruz, and Yasmeen Duncan.
As a young artist in the 1990s, Anna Campbell sparked a theatrical firestorm with a staging of August Wilson monologues spoken from a female perspective performed entirely in the nude. Decades later, her provocative performance that changed the trajectory of her career, rises like a ghost, when it is to be included at a women’s theater festival. But there;s a catch. A much younger and inexperienced actress whose credits are less than desirable has been asked to perform, causing Anna to spiral in a whirlwind of insecurity and hesitancy. With support from her manager and long-time friend Betty, Anna grapples with the choice to step aside on a road she helped to pave so that a new generation can continue the journey.
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Off-Broadway’s Irish Rep has announced its 2026 Spring/Summer season:
The Loved Ones (June 13 – Aug. 2, opening June 3), by Erica Murray, directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey.
The Approach (previews Apr. 23 / opens Apr. 12), by Mark O’Rowe, directed by Conor Bagley.
Tagann Godot/Godo Turns Up, ann Irish-Language reading (Mar. 26 at 7 PM), by Alan Titley, directed by Nocola Murphy Dubey & Caoimhe Nic Collarnáith. …and additional information TBA.
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Chris DiGiovanni’s Twisted will run Apr. 3 – May 3 at Theatre West, directed by Marc Antonio Pritchett.
Crystal Yvonne Jackson, Isaiah Frazilus, and Monty Renfrow.
How far would you go to discover the truth? Scilla Claroe, an African American woman, is a writer. She is interviewing Renton Downey, a Death Row inmate and the subject of her next book, Downey awaits execution because he murdered multiple people in a mass shooting. As their discussions continue, Scilla is brought to the chilling realization that Downey is somehow linked to her biracial son, Jason Abernathy…. What does she do now?
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Ensemble Theatre Company will present Randy Johnson’s A Night With Janis Joplin Apr. 1-26 (opening Apr. 4) at Santa Barbara’s New Vic, directed by Bridget Davies & Brian McDonald, with choreography by Miss James Alsop, and music direction by Brent Crayon.
Bridget Davies (Janis Joplin) with Sadé Ayodele, Jenna Gillespie Byrd, Melissa Musique, and Sha’Lea Nikole.
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The world premiere of LA’s Rogue Machine‘s My Son the Playwright, by Justin Tanner, has been extended through Mar. 16 at the Matrix Theatre, directed by Lisa James.
Mark Fite, Wayne Wilderson, and Peter Trencher.
Tanner dives head first with courage and sharp humor into a story that centers around the strained relationship between a playwright and his estranged father. In his most autobiographical play yet, two men in different apartments prepare for a meeting that they would rather avoid – but desperately need. What begins as a messy and comic struggle against pride and past resentments becomes a reckoning with vulnerability and forgiveness.
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The world premiere of Jacques Lamarre’s Circus Fire will run Apr. 16 – May 23 at CT’s Theater Works Hartford, directed by Jared Mezzocchi.
Olivia Nicole Hoffman, Caroline Kinsloving, Janelle Anne Robinson, Mike Boland, Constantino Fernandez, Stuart Rider, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., Marco Verna, Rebecka Jones, and Dan Wheltonm with Anastasia Maglaras and Eric Orsini.
In July of 1944, with the nation at war and a heat wave settling over the city, the residents of Hartford, Connecticut eagerly await the arrival of “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The unthinkable occurs when a fire turns the big top into an inferno. In the minutes, hours and days following the blaze, two communities – Hartford and the Circus – find themselves irretrievably intertwined by tragedy, blame, heroism, and healing.
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Michael Griffo’s Pen Pals will run Mar. 20-21 at Theater Aspen, directed by Hannah Ryan.
Kate Burton and Patricia Kalember.
The extraordinary story of two friends that unfolds over decades. Bernie and Mags live in two different countries, they’ve never met, and yet they’re best friends. Because they’ve been pen pals for over fifty years. Since they were teenagers, they’ve shared every aspect of their lives with each other. The trivial bits, the most intimate details, all the happiness, all the heartache. They’ve told each other things they wouldn’t dare tell another soul. Even though Bernie lives in New Jersey and Mags is from England, the women are closer to each other than anyone else in the world.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: answers: Executive Suite by Jim Bernhard
1. Leader of the Pack, musical by Ellie Greenwich.
2. The Head of the Family, play by Clyde Fitch and Leo Ditrichstein
3. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, musical by Robert L Freedman and Steven Lutvak
4. “Boss Tweed” song from Up In Central Park
5. Mr. President, musical by Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, and Irving Berlin
6. “Stage Manager’s Chorus,” song from Garrick Gaieties
7. Questions from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, play by Edward Albee
8. “Oh, Joy, Our Chief Is Saved,” song from Princess Ida
9. The Governor’s Son, musical by George M. Cohan
10. “Ballad of a Social Director,” song from Wish You Were Here