Today’s Highlights:

Relax … let go … let fly…

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    World Leaders by Jim Bernhard

Provide the missing world leader in these show titles.

Scroll down for the answers.

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   The world premiere of Mark Wilding’s The Feel Good Story America Needs Right Now will run Oct. 2 – Nov. 8 at Theatre West, directed by Charlie Mount.

  Samantha Gregory (Felicity Davenport), Jill Remez (Leslie Finch), Danielle Weeks (Tayylor Griffin), Clara Rodriguez (Marjorie Dombrowski), John Combs (Mitch Dombrowski), Steve Nevil (Gerald Pott), and Bella Balsamo (Jenna Rubin).

  It’s a year after six brave Americans escaped the Hand of God, the most notorious group of terrorists on the planet. The heroes have gathered for a reunion on a 60 Minutes–type news magazine. We’ll come to find out that not all was as it seemed during their captivity. In addition, the hostages are making demands that could scuttle the broadcast. Will they get to tell their harrowing story to America or not?

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  Windows, by Tawni O’Dell, will run Sept.  10 & 12 at Arizona Theater Company, directed by Mitchell Maxwell.

   Bryan Batt, Peter Bradbury, Bob Cuccioli, Jeffrey Donovan,  Priscilla Lopez, Alyssa Melani, Jesse Nager, Gayle Samuel, Cheryl Stern, Rachel York, and, Rachel Zatcoff.

  Fear, hilarity, anger, loss, and love unfolding behind curtains, blinds, broken glass, and bars. Whether navigating the self-reflection of isolation, or the unease of a chance meeting between strangers in need, or the simple realization of how much we value our most basic connection with others, Windows delves into the devastation and new beginnings found in a world forced to face an abyss together but alone. What we each endured as individuals when time suddenly stood still may have differed, but we were all changed by the experience. Our characters reshaped. For better or worse.

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   Our Sinatra, A Musical Celebration will run Sept. 11 – Nov. 29  (opening Sept. 15), at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (10 West 64th S.), directed by Kurt Stamm.

  Eric Comstock, Christopher Gines and Hilary Kole.

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    The 2026 New Works Selected has been announced, to take place Sept. Sept. 18-19  at CA’s Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West.

Participating works:

  A Collectible Sensation, by Amy Engelhardt, Ben Zeadman, Arianna Rose & Amy Engelhardt.

   A Folklorico Superhero Musical,with music, lyrics, and book by Jesse J. Sanchez.

  A Collectible Sensation, Amy Engelhardt, and  Arianna Rose, and Miss Hysteria, Ben Zeadman, and book and lyrics by Laura Schein, and Zapata.

  A Folklorico Superhero Musical, by  Jesse J. Sanchez.

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  Buyer & Cellar, by Jonathan Tolins, will run Oct. 7 – 25 (opening Oct. 10) at Santa Barbara’s Ensemble Theatre, directed by Jamie Torcellini.

   Brian McDonald

  Alex is an out-of-work actor, who lands the strangest gig of his life: working in the private shopping mall that Barbra Streisand built in the basement of her Malibu estate. As he tends to the antique doll shop, gift wrapping station, and frozen yogurt counter in the deserted mall, his only customer is Barbra herself. What begins as a surreal job becomes an unexpected friendship as Alex navigates the absurd reality of playing shopkeeper to one of the world’s biggest stars. Jonathan Tolins‘ solo comedy is a witty, warm, and wonderfully theatrical meditation on celebrity, consumerism, and the price of living in someone else’s fantasy.

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 Memoirs of Amorous Genetleman, by Lea Nanako Winkler Duncan Sheik, &  Lah Nanako Winkler will begin previews Sept. 25  at open Jan. 3, 2027  The Night Egg’ at the Culture Club, directed & choreograph by Rob Ashford. 

  Sophia Anne Caruso (Colettez0,  Cory Jeacoma ((Léon),  Nkeki Obi-Melekwe ( Nana, Andy Bakun (Sakae), and Jenny Powers (Madame), with Leanne Antonio), Kailin  Brown,  Michael Everett , Elsa Keefe, Jaedynn, Austin Lesch, Nika Lindsay, Caleb Marshall, Jessie Peltier, Michael Starr, and Thomas Winter.

  Colette (Caruso), a witty young dreamer in 20th-century Paris, finds her power through writing. While working at an elusive maison close called Night Egg, she begins chronicling the fantasies, confessions, and private sorrows of her eccentric clients, slowly transforming herself from object to observer—turning perversions into art. But underneath her sharp intelligence and growing independence, Colette has her own perversion she cannot outrun: a lingering, destructive attachment to Léon (Jeacoma), her child.

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  Answers:  World Leaders by Jim Bernhard

1-D. The Chinese Prime Minister, play by Enid Bagnold

 2-J. The Selling of the President, musical by Bob James, Jack O’Brien, and

Stuart Hample

3-G.   The Elder Statesman, play by T. S. Eliot

4-C.  The Sultan of Sulu, musical by George Ade and Alfred C. Wathall

5-I.  The Sleeping Prince, play by Terence Rattigan

6-B.  Exit the King, play by Eugene Ionesco

7-H.  The Queen and the Rebels, play by Ugo Betti

8-F.  The Emperor Jones, play Eugene O’Neill

9-E. The Governor’s Son, musical by George M. Cohan

10-A.  Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, play

This Weekend’s Highlights:

Friday, Aug. 21

  Hairspray, directed by Robbie Roby, featuring Ginger Minj(Edna Turnblad), and Kaitlyn Louise Smith (Tracy Turnblad), with  Jamie Torcellini, Altamiece Carolyn Cooper, Michael Starr, Hannah Sedlacek, Will Savarese, Kathryn Brunner, Jamonté D. Bruten, Madeleine Doherty, Dave Pierini, Olivia Elease Hardy, and Sara Gettelfinger, opens at Broadway Sacramento.

Saturday, Aug. 22

  A Month in The Country, by Brian Friel, directed by Lyndsey Turner, featuring Sophie Okonedo (Natalya Petrovna), Thomas Arnold (Arkady Islayev), Jessica Brindle (Katya), Susan Brown (Anna Islayeva), Rachelle Diedericks (Vera Aleksandrovna), Patrick Gibson (Aleksey Belyayev), Mark Hadfield (Herr Schaaf,), Michael Hodgson (Alfanasy Bolshintsov), Jonathan Livingstone (Matvey), Alistair Petrie (Michel Rakitin), Daniel Rigby (Ignaty Shpigelsky), and Amanda Wilkin (Lizaveta Bogdanovna), opens at London’s Donmar Warehouse.

  Love, Loss, and What I Wore concert, directed by Dana Schwartz, featuring Julie Dove, Patrika Darbo, Amir Levi, Jill. Remez, and Roni Paige, opens at North Hollywood’s Sawyer’s Playhouse (11301 Camarillo St.),

  Enemy of the People, newly adapted, directed by Bart DeLorenezo, featuring Jay Paulson, Jason McBeth, Cara Mitsuko, Dennis Dun, DeJuan Christopher, Clay Hollander, and Lauren Campedelli, opens at LA’s Odyssey Theatre.

  A Walk on the Moon, by Pamela Gray & Ann Marie Milazzo, directed by Sheryl Kaller, featuring Talia Suskauer (Pearl Kantrowitz), Max Chernin (Marty Kantrowitz), Sam Gravitte (Walker), and Andréa Burns (Lillian), closes at Off-Broadway’s Laura Pels Theatre.

  Shakespeare in the Park’s Winter’s Tale, directed by Daniel Sullivan, featuring Teagle F. Bougere (Camillo), Chuck Cooper (Old Shepherd), Matthew Eby ( (Mamillius/Time), Raúl Esparza (Leontes), Isabela Ferrer (Perdita), Katie Griffith (Mopsa), Alex Hernandez (Cleomenes), Michael Khalid Karadsheh (Young Shepherd), Daniel Kyri (Florizel), Aubie Merrylees (Archidamus), Jennifer Mogbock (Emilia), Gilbert Owuor (Polixenes), Lily Rabe (Hermione),  Matthew Russell (Dion), Steven Skybell and  (Antigonus/Autolycus), with Heschel Bay Peter Douskalis, Denise Kolodja, Violeta Picayo, Bianca Rogoff,  Michael Thanh Tran, and Jackson Whitman, closes at Central Park’s Delacorte theatre.

Sunday, August. 23

  Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, by August Wilson, directed by Gregg T. Daniel, featuring Kai A. Ealy, Bert Emmett, Alex Morris, Gerald C. Rivers, Amber Liekhus, Jamar Gilbert, Francis Edemobi, Matt Moyer, Jim Nardina, and CJ Obilom, begins previews at LA’s A Noise Within.

  Birthright, by Jonathan Spector, directed by Teddy Bergman, featuring Hale Appleman, Molly Bernard Eli Gelb, Abbi Jacobson, Liz Larsen), Nate Mann, and Zoë Winters, closes at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater.

  Hungry Woman, by Melissa Maney, directed by Daniella Caggiano, featuring Julia Lester, Zoe Dean, and Sophie Zmorrod, closes at Off-Broadway’s SoHo Playhouse.

    Love, Loss, and What I Wore concert, directed by Dana Schwartz, featuring Julie Dove, Patrika Darbo, Amir Levi, Jill. Remez, and Roni Paige, at North Hollywood’s Sawyer’s Playhouse (11301 Camarillo St.)

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  The World Goes Round will run  Sep. 11 – Nov. 1 at Milwaukee Rep, directed & choreographed by Kelly Faulkner.

  Joe Kinosian, RJ Christian, Paula Gaudier, Jillian Louis, Brett Ryback, and  Tiffany Topol.

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   Musical Theatre Guild‘s concert presentation of Here’s to Us!—The Musical Theatre Guild Celebrates 30 Years, conceived & created by Kim Huber & Michael Kostroff, will take place Sun. Oct. 11 at 7 PM at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage, written by Michael Michael Kostroff, and directed by Kim Huber, with music direction by Brad Ellis.

   Elizabeth Adabale, Eydie Alyson, Eileen Barnett, Anastasia Barzee, Roger Befeler, Jennifer Bennett, Patrick Beller, Teri Bibb, Jill Marie Burke, Melissa Lyons Caldretti, Barbara Carlton Heart, Stan Chandler, Will Collyer, Karen Culliver, Lauren Curet, Tami Damiano, Matthew Patrick Davis, Susan Edwards Martin, Melissa Fahn, Joshua Finkel, Tal Fox, Ashley Fox Linton, Spencer Frankeberger, Zachary Ford, Julie Garnyé, James Gleason, Jason Graae, Jennifer Gordon, Scott Harlan, Damon Kirsche, Carol Kline, Maura M. Knowles, Michael Kostroff, Valarie Larsen, Brian Kim McCormick, Kevin McMahon, Dana Meller, Mia Michaud, Barbara Minkus, Domonique Paton, Lisa Picotte, Teri Ralston, Trisha Rapier, Jenna Lea Rosen, Glenn Rosenblum, Brent Schindele, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Chantal Tribble, Mary VanArsdel, Shannon Warne, Paul Wong, Robert Yacko.

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   The world premiere of Anon -A Tempest at our Kitchen Table, by Anne Washburn, will run Sept. 25 –  Nov. 1 (opening Oc.t 14) at  MCC Theatre, directed by Anne Kauffman.

  Jeff Biehl, Crystal Finn, Andrew Garman, and Jeremy Shamos.

  The play centers on terminally online TikToker Jeanie after a gay pride flag is unfurled in front of the home across from hers in her sheltered Texas suburb. As the fantasy and reality of living in 21st-century America collide, she is forced to question how well she actually knows the people she lives amongst.

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  The Music Man, will run Oct. 27 – Nov. 8 at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Joshua Bergasse.

 Elliott Andrews (Professor Harold Hill), Elizabeth D’Aiuto  (Marian Paroo), Paul Urriola (Marcellus Washburn), Savannah Stevenson (Mrs. Paroo), Patrick Blashill (Mayor Shinn), Emmanuelle Zeesman (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn), Dylan Patterson (Winthrop Paroo), Addie Jaymes (Amaryllis), Michael Santora (Charlie Cowell), Charles Antenen (Tommy Djilas), and more TBA.

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  Something Rotten continues through Aug. 23 at the St. Louis Muny, directed by Rob Ruggiero.

  Matt Doyle (Nick Bottom), Matt Doyle (Nick Bottom), Will Burton (Nigel Bottom), Jacob Dickey (William Shakespeare), Bryonha Marie (Bea), Elizabeth Teeter (Portia), Lara Teeter (Brother Jeremiah), Adam Heller (Shylock), and more.

Click here to watch highlights.

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   Laura Benanti in Concert will run Oct. 1-4 at LA’s The Wallis.

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   The world premiere of Mfoniso Udofia’s Creation Stories and All the Important Importants will begin previews Sept. 15 and open Oct. 1 at the Lincoln Center’s  Claire Tow Theater, directed by Tamilla Woodard.

Svannah Comodore, Donetta Lavinia Grays, Abigail Onwunali, and Justyce Taylor.

  Centering on a midlife Black woman pulled between her many selves—child, future daughter, artist, possible mother—the play pulses with longing as its heroine races against the clock and the limits of her own body. Moving across time and space, from ancestor to AI, from dream cycle to IVF cycle, through music and ritual, Udofia weaves her own surprising folktale on the cost of creation and the impossible work of becoming.

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   Little Women will run Nov. 6-22 at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West, directed & choreographed by Cate Caplin.

  Jenna Lea Rosen (Jo March) and more TBA.

Today’s Highlights:

  Noises Off, by Michael Frayn, directed by Gordon Greenberg, featuring Erin Davie (Belinda Blair), Abby Leigh Huffstetler ( Poppy Norton-Taylor), Nehal Joshi (Garry Lejeune), Leslie Margherita (Dottie Otley), Orville Mendoza (Selsden Mowgray), James Josephe O’Neil (Frederick Fellowes), Geoff Packard (Lloyd Dallas), Jennifer Sánzhez (Brook Ashton), and Evan Alexander Smith (Tim Allgood), opens at MA’s Barrington Stage Company.

  Captain Show Biz free benefit reading, by Bruce Vilanch, featuring Lesley Ann Warren, Alec Mapa, Garrett Clayton, and more, at 8 PM at LA’s Harmony Gold.

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   Shelter in Place, by Henry Feldman, continues through Oct. 4 at Theatre Row, directed by Joan Kane.

   Mike Roche (Frank Bennett, the hotel keeper), Martin Revere (George Bennett, his father), Alyssa Simon (Heidi Murphty, the TV spychologist, Aaron Lamm (Sam Bennet, Frank’s son, and Haley Zale (Mildred Bennett, Frank’s Wife).

   A category 3 hurricane is heading toward the Pelican Bay Bed and Breakfast, but the real storm is brewing inside. A Gulf Coast innkeeper who, attempting to secure his bed and breakfast during a hurricane, finds himself trapped inside with the people who complicate his life the most.

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   Our Man in Santiago, by Mark Wilding, will run Sept. 10 – 20 at the Odyssey Theatre, directed by Elizabeth Herron.

  Mark Irvingsen (Jack Wilson), Toby Guthrie (Daniel Baker), anfelina Ramirez (Maria Troncoso), allen Wasserman (Henry Kissinger), and Edward Giron (President Richard Nixon).

  A comic political spy thriller about a bothched 1970 operation in Chile.  Not everything goes smoothly. Especially regime change. Of course, when the CIA sends a glee club to overthrow Chile’s President, what can you expect next? The answer is OUR MAN IN SANTIAGO. Chile. 1973. After the first bungled attempt to overthrow President Allende, the CIA sends in two decidedly unsuitable agents to oust the Chilean President.

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   Rent continues through Sept. 13 at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse, directed & choreographed by Jennifer Weber.

   Austin Turner (Roger Davis), Sam Primack (Mark Cohen), Alysia Velez (Mimi Marquez), Owen Scales (Tom Collins,) David Merino (Angel Schunard), Veronica Otim (Joanne Jefferson), Tiernan Tunnicliffe (Maureen Johnson) and Kevin Trinio Perdido (Benjamin Coffin III), with Dré Hinds, Aubrey Jones, ack Hopewell, Michael Marrero, Lauren Soto, and Sunayna Smith.

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  Unconditional, A Musical Memoir, by William Mellon, will run Oct. 15 – 25  at Club La Mama, directed by Anne Kenny.

  Margot Rose

   The remarkable true story of two women who dared to build a family on their own terms. In a time when LGBTQ+ families had few roadmaps and even fewer legal protections, the story follows their years-long journey through fertility treatments, financial sacrifices, community support, and unwavering commitment to becoming parents until… the unspeakable happens. What begins as a deeply personal quest becomes a celebration of chosen family, perseverance, and the extraordinary things people will do for love.

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   Kaiju, by Dan Caffrey will run Sept. 22 – Nov. 1 (opening sSept. 25) at North Hollywood’s Road Theatre, directed by Ken Sawer.

  Leandro Cano, Cherish Monique Duke, Jon Snow, Gabie Faulkner, Noa Lev-Ari,  Billy Baker, Sapna Kumar, Ann Hearn, and Genki Hall.

  The play follows two 250-foot tall mythical monsters debating the morality of a citywide destruction they just caused, cutting back and forth with a group of human theatergoers aggressively arguing at a post-show talkback, serving as an audacious satire on ar t, destruction, and live performances.

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   Newsies will run Sept. 8-13 at (opening Sept. 9) at Kansas City Starlight, directed & choreographed by David Grindrod.

   Lucas Pastrana (Jack Kelly), Graham Rowat (Joseph Pulitzer), Aubrey Matalon (Katherine Plummer), Bryonha Marie (Medda Larkin), Andy Bakun (Davey), Ryan Jacobs (Crutchie), Carson Cornwell (alternating as Les), and Lucas Gutierrez-Sullenger (alternating as Less), Maddox Bane (Oscar Delancey, and Jake Bartley (Sepcs), with Tessa Brethowr.

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   Musical Theatre Guild  will present of Here’s to Us!—The Musical Theatre Guild Celebrates 30 Years on Sun. Oct. 11 at 7 PM at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage, conceived and created by Kim Huber  & Michael Kostroff.

  Elizabeth Adabale, Eydie Alyson, Eileen Barnett, Anastasia Barzee, Roger Befeler, Jennifer Bennett, Patrick Beller, Teri Bibb, Jill Marie Burke, Melissa Lyons Caldretti, Barbara Carlton Heart, Stan Chandler, Will Collyer, Karen Culliver, Lauren Curet, Tami Damiano, Matthew Patrick Davis, Susan Edwards Martin, Melissa Fahn, Joshua Finkel, Tal Fox, Ashley Fox Linton, Spencer Frankeberger, Zachary Ford, Julie Garnyé, James Gleason, Jason Graae, Jennifer Gordon, Scott Harlan,  Damon Kirsche, Carol Kline, Maura M. Knowles, Michael Kostroff, Valarie Larsen,  Brian Kim McCormick, Kevin McMahon, Dana Meller, Mia Michaud, Barbara Minkus, Domonique Paton, Lisa Picotte, Teri Ralston, Trisha Rapier, Jenna Lea Rosen, Glenn Rosenblum, Brent Schindele, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Chantal Tribble,  Mary VanArsdel, Shannon Warne, Paul Wong, Robert Yacko, and David Zack.

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  BBC Radio the Royal Court Theatre will celebrate  contemporary playwriting  with a new radio production of Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children, to be curated by Mark Ravenhill, and broadcast across the UK onSat. Sept. 26 on BBC Radio 4 from 3 – 4:30PM.

  Anastasia Hille and Stanley Holloway.

  The play follows retired nuclear physicists Hazel  and Robin (Stanley Holloway), who wonder why their former colleague Rose (Emma Fielding) has turned up at their house near the damaged power station where they used to work. Over the course of the play, old alliances and divisions are exposed and it becomes clear that Rose has a challenging proposition for her old friends, as the play explores personal and professional responsibility within the context of a global crisis.

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   BBC Radio 4 & the the Royal Court Theatre will present a radio broadcast of Les Misérables on Sept. 26 – Oct. 2  from 3-4:30 PM, directed by David Byrne.

   Aimee Doherty (Madam Thenadier), Paul Mesendy (Mr. Thenardier), with Christopher Chew, Kristian Espiritu, and De’Lon Grant.

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  Little Women will run Nov. 6 – 22 at Musical Theatre West at Long Beach’s Carpenter for the Performing Arts Center, directed & choreographed by Cate Caplin.

   Jenna Lea Rosen ( Jo March), and more TBA.

Today’s Highlights:

  Noises Off, directed by Gordon Greenberg, featuring Erin Davie (Belinda Blair), Abby Leigh Huffstetler (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Nehal Joshi (Garry Lejeune, )Lesli Margherita (Dottie Otley), Orville Mendoza (Selsden Mowbray), James Joseph O’Neil (Frederick Fellowes,) Geoff Packard (Lloyd Dallas), Jennifer Sánchez (Brooke Ashton), and Evan Alexander Smith ((Tim Allgood), opens at MA’s Barrington Stage Company.

  A new adaptation of An Enemy of the People, directed by Bart DeLorenezo, featuring Jay Paulson, Jason McBeth, Cara Mitsuko, Dennis Dun, DeJuan Christopher, Clay Hollander, and Lauren Campedelli, opens at LA’s Odyssey Theatre.

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  Broadway Grosses for the week ending Aug.16.

Click here for the complete analysis.

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   Arthur Miller’s All My Sons will run Sept. 18 – Oct. 18 at Lyric Stage Boston, directed by Scott Edmiston.

  Laura Marie Duncan, Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Allison Beauregard, Cara Clough, Julian Hirshfield, and Eric McGowan.

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  All these Pretty Things, written & performed by Tracey Yarad, will run Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 at Theatre Row, directed by David Deblinger.

  Mike Roche(Frank Bennett, the hotel keeper) Martin Revere (George Bennett, his father); Alyssa Simon (Heidi Murphy, the TV psychologist), Aaron Lamm (Sam Bennett, Frank’s son),  and Haley Zale (Mildred Bennett, Frank’s wife).

   When a 23-year marriage implodes, one woman turns heartbreak into a razor-sharp musical confession that’s as funny as it is fearless. #TrueStory Part memoir, part concert, part catharsis, All These Pretty Things is Tracey Yarad at her most vulnerable —and most powerful. What begins as a deeply personal unraveling becomes an outlandish, seemingly impossible dream brought to life. From Australia to New York City, this is a skin shedding story of reinvention, resilience, and radical honesty. Performed more than 80 times worldwide — including two seasons at Edinburgh — the show has left audiences floored, many moved to tears, others laughing out loud. Yarad’s ability to “bridge dreams into reality,” as one audience member described it, is one of her superpowers. Nuanced with razor wit and underscored by her skill as a world-class musician and songwriter, the evening unfolds like music itself: tension, release, resolution. A masterclass in turning poison into medicine and how to move on.

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  Broadway’s Ragtime closing performance shattered the Lincoln Center Theatre box office shattered its own box office record for the fourth time at the Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, by grossing $1,963,666.00 for 8 performances for the week ending Aug. 26.

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   Henry Feldman’s Shelter in Place will run Sept. 18 – Oct 4 at Theatre Row, directed by Joan Kane.

Mike roche (Frank Bennett, the inkeeper), Martin Revere (George Bennet, Frank’s Father), Alyssa Simon (Heidi Murphy (the TV psychologist), Aaron Lamm (Sam Bennet, Frank’s son), and Haley Zale (Mildred Bennett, Frank’s wife).

   A category 3 hurricane is heading toward the Pelican Bay Bed and Breakfast, but the real storm is brewing inside. When it rains, it pours.  Hurricane Claudia, a Category 3 monster, is heading toward the Pelican Bay Bed and Breakfast. Frank Bennett, its hapless, high-strung hotel manager, is preparing to both evacuate the place and sell it. An unexpected series of arrivals upends his carefully laid plans. His suicidal father comes to “help” but is quietly plotting to end his own life.  A famous female TV psychologist, fleeing a professional and personal crisis, holes up in the room off the lobby, seeking solitude. Frank’s flamboyant ex-wife seeks refuge after discovering that the muscular young man she left Frank for has abandoned her. Their twenty-year-old son is desperately in love and must convince his fiancee that he “comes from a good home” by reuniting his divorced parents. With a mandatory shelter-in-place order in effect, all these ragtag characters, including Frank himself, areforced to confront emotional storms they have been avoiding. A lifelong people-pleaser, Frank has spent years putting everyone else’s needs before his own. Now he finds himself confronting a question many members of the “sandwich generation” eventually face: when does he get his own turn? “Shelter Inn Place” comically explores the process of starting over, accepting family members for who they are, and finding happiness even when there’s nowhere else to go.

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   Out With A Bang, by Tony Pasqualini, continues through Sept. 6 at Venice, CA’s Pacific Resident Theatre, directed by Andy Weyman.

  Brooke (Betty Amalfitano), Robert Lesser (Daniel Katzenberg), and Tony Pasqualini (Eddie Capiello).

Eddie Cappiello is trapped living out his life in the Out With A Bang Senior Living Community. When his ex-wife Betty – recently widowed from her second husband – arrives at his door one day and asks him to help her get revenge on a neighbor who has made her life intolerable, Eddie, longing to reawaken the love he and she once had, makes the fateful decision to help. He enlists his good friend and next-door neighbor, a former Israeli accountant and professional mourner, Daniel, and the three of them devise a dangerous and blatantly illegal plot to deal with her recalcitrant neighbor.

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  Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, by Duncan Sheik & Leah Nanako Winkler, will run Sept. 25 – Jan. 3, 2027 (opening Oct. 15) at “The Night Egg” at the Culture Club,  directed & choreographed by Rob Ashford.

  Sophia Anne Caruso (Colette), Cory Jeacoma (Léon), Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Nana), Andy Bakun (Sakae), and Jenny Powers  (Madame),  with Leanne Antonio, Kailin Brown, Michael Everett, Elsa Keefe, Jaedynn Latter, Austin Lesch, Nika Lindsay, Caleb Marshall),Jessie Peltier, Michael Starr, and Thomas Winter.

 Colette is a young woman workking in a brothel (maison close) in early 20th century Parris. She navigates a difficult life of satisfying eccectric clients, finds solace in writing, and struggles with a toxic romance.

Today’s Highlights:

Relax … let go … let fly…

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   The Snow Goose, world premiere by Scott Gilmour & Claire McKenzie, will run Aug. 28 – Oct. 10 at CT’s Goodspeed, directed by Marshall Paile.

   Eric Graise (Philip Rhayader), Ashlyn Maddox (Frith), Ally Bonino (Harper), Sam Sherwood (The Bard), Charlie Webb (Wilf), David Aron Damane (Garrick), Gabriel Marcus Omlor (Farley), Ayanna Nicole Thomas (Clara), Amy Nillner Larsen (Mrs. Frumsey), and Ayanna Nicole Thomas (Clara), with Alan Chandler, Matthew Davies, Leah Hofmann, Kiersten Kelly, Sophia Anna O’Brien, Patrick Tombs, John Viggiano, Sam Hoffman and Jessica Money, Alan Chandler, Matthew Davies, Leah Hofmann (Lead Puppeteer), Kiersten Kelly, Sophia Anna O’Brien, Patrick Tombs, John Viggiano, Sam Hoffman, and Jessica Mone.

  On the windswept coast of England an unlikely bond forms between Philip, a reclusive artist shunned by society, and Frith, a resilient young woman, when they rescue a wounded snow goose. With World War II looming, their friendship allows her to imagine a life beyond her village, and him to confront his own humanity as he sets sail on a daring journey to save soldiers trapped at Dunkirk.

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  The world premiere of Alleegra & The Cello, in Movements, a New Opera , by Catherine Filloux  & Julia Schwartz, will run Dec. 10-20 at Off-Broadway’s La MaMa, directed by Elena Araoz.

  Catherine Filloux, Julia Schwartz, Brittany Renee, and Akua Dixon.

    In a canon spanning more than four centuries, no opera has ever placed a woman doctor at its center until now. Allegra, the opera’s protagonist, is believed to be the first female physician to serve as the lead character in the history of the art form, a milestone achieved not through an institutional commission but through an act of artistic will.

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   Come From Away, by Irene Sankoff & David Hein, will run Sept. 2-20 at virginia Stage Company,directed by Tom Quaintance.

   Marika Aubrey (Capt. Beverley Bass/Annette/), Liz Brydge, (Beulah Davis/others), Melissa Cartwright (Diane Gray/Others), JohnCauthen (Nick/Doug/Others), (Hannah O’Rourke/Others), Alexandra Fleshman   (Janice Mosher/Others), Wallis Herst  (Bonnie Harris/Others), and Travis Murad Leland (Kevin J/Ali/& others).

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  The original cast recording of Nick Blaemire’s Soon is now available on most platforms.

Ava Delaney (Charlie), Nicholas Podany (Jonah), Mike Millan (Steven), and Mylinda Hull (Adrienne).

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  Our Sinatra, a musical celebration, will  run Sept. 11 – Oct. 29 (opening Sept. 15) at  at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre, directed by Kurt Stamm.

Eric Comstock, Christopher Gines, and Hilary Kole.

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   The world premiere of Jacob Ryan Smith & Caroline Pernick’s Like Father will run Oct. 8 – Nov. 15 (opening Oct. 16) at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, directed by  Tinashe Kajese-Bolden.

  Charity Angél Dawson (Lillian Clark),  Hannah Elless ( Michelle), Benjamin H. Moore (Ben), Sophie Pollono (Chris), Frankie Rodriguez (Trevor), and Billy Harrigan Tighe (John Grady), with Mila Bolash, Aavyn Lee, and Nevaeh Riddle.

  A coming-of-age story set against America’s true-crime obsession. 17-year-old Chris, who moves i with her estranges mother and stepfather after her father is arrested. When a hut true-crime podcast exposes their dart family history, they must face their past or be torn apart.

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  Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, by Duncan Sheik & Leah Nanako Winkler, will begin previews Sept. 25 and open Oct. 15 at The Night Egg at the Culture Club (530 W. 27th St.), directed & choreographed by Rob Ashford.

   Sophia Anne Caruso (Colette), Cory Jeacoma (Léon), Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Nana), Andy Bakun (Sakae), and Jenny Powers  (Madame),  with Leanne Antonio, Kailin Brown, Michael Everett, Elsa Keefe, Jaedynn Latter, Austin Lesch, Nika Lindsay, Caleb Marshall),Jessie Peltier, Michael Starr, and Thomas Winter.

    Based on Moyoco Anno’s award-winning manga of the same name, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen is a daring new musical about Colette, a witty young dreamer in 20th-century Paris, who finds her power through writing. While working at an elusive maison close called Night Egg, she begins chronicling the fantasies, confessions, and private sorrows of her eccentric clients, slowly transforming herself from object to observer—turning perversions into art. But underneath her sharp intelligence and growing independence, Colette has her own perversion she cannot outrun: a lingering, destructive attachment to Léon (Jeacoma), her childhood love, whose toxic hold on her continues to blur the line between devotion and self-destruction.

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   Like Father, world premiere by Branden Jacobs Jenkins, will run Oct. 8 – Nov. 15 (opening Oct. 16) at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, directed by Keith Arthur Bolden.

  Hannah Elless (Michelle), Benjamin H. Moore (Ben), Sophie Pollono (Chris), and Frankie Ridriquez (Trevor), with Billy Harrigan Tighe, Mila Bolash, Aayvn Lee, and Nevaceh Riddle.

  What happens when the stories we tell about ourselves start to unravel? A coming of age story set against America’s true-crime obsession.

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 Long Island’s Bay Street Theatre will present  Bonkers In The Boroughs Sept. 2-6, by  Joy Behar.

   Joy Behar, Craig Bierko, Veanne Cox, Robert Cuccioli, Illeana Douglas and Lou Liberatore.

   Five original comedies about New York families, relationships and everyday absurdity.

Today’s Highlights:

  did you charge your phone for the end of the world?, written & directed by Fletcher Michael , featuring Sean Hayes, Lucy Boisvert, Collin Dennis, and Fletcher Michael, opens at ff-Broadway’s Kraine Theater

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  Dog Days by Jim Bernhard

Provide the missing word in these show titles that mention dogs.

Scroll down for the answers.

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   The Music Man will run Oct. 27 – Nov. 8 at  at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Matt Lenz, with choreography by Joshua Bergasse.

  Elliott Andrews (Professor Harold Hill), Elizabeth D’Aiuto  (Marian Paroo), Paul Urriola (Marcellus Washburn), Savannah Stevenson (Mrs. Paroo), Patrick Blashill (Mayor Shinn), Emmanuelle Zeesman (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn), Dylan Patterson (Winthrop Paroo), Addie Jaymes (Amaryllis), Michael Santora (Charlie Cowell), Charles Antenen (Tommy Djilas), and more TBA.

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  Mint Theater Company‘s Phyl, by Cecily Hamilton, will run Oct. 3 – Nov. 7 at Theatre Row, directed by Davis McCallum & Britt Berke.

  Lily Ganser(Phyllis “Phyl” Chester), Tessa Blimes, Curzon Dobell, Katie Firth, Livvy Marcus , Anthony Michael Martinez, Talia Sulla, and Charlotte Van Ledtje.

  The play follows the life of Phyllis Chester, a governess who craves a new life until a moment of lost temper that could lead her to lose everything.

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    The Hudson Valley Dance Festival will take place Sat. Oct. 10 at 2 & 5 PM at  at the Historic Catskill Point, in support of Dancers Responding to AIDS.

The lineup of performers and choreographers will be announced soon.

Click here for additional information.

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  Illene Graff: Travelin’ thru: A Roadmap of Gratitude will take place Wed. Oct. 28 at 8:30 PM at LA’s Catalina Jazz Club, with music direction by Sam Krieger.

   A journey through my life, celebrating the people, events, and places that have brought me great joy, meaning, comfort, and gratitude. Singing a wide range of favorite musical genres (and some special surprises!), I’ll be sharing my love and appreciation of life through music.

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   Theater4All  will present the world premiere of Crone Creed, by John Epstein, Casey Morgan and T. Theresa Scarano, to run Sept. 30 – Oct. 17 (opening Oct. 22) at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, directed by Marc Morgenstern.

  Brennen Amonett (Noble), Corey Dorris (Wiley), Carolina Hoyos (Roya), Matt Kirkwood (Supervisor), Vivianna McCormick (Robert Cohen Vita), April Nixon (Dara), Avery Norris (Tessca), Jacquelyn Ritz (Reika), and Ben Ubinas (Yanni), with Austin Peytonand Evah Elizabeth Doheny.

   A mythic  drama spanning centuries, following Vita, a young woman whose life is shattered by religious  upheaval and betrayal in medieval Europe. Reborn in the late 1800s American frontier as part of  an ancient lineage of mystical women known as the Crones, she discovers her brother has also  returned through time as part of a corrupting force known as the Fallen. As their conflict unfolds  across eras, Vita must confront questions of power, loyalty, and resistance in a struggle where  belief itself shapes reality.

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  Sutton Foster in Concert with the Pacific Jazz Orchestra will take place  Sat. Sept. 19, at 8 PM, at Northridge CA’s The Soraya

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  The Snow Goose, world premiere by Scott Gilmour & Claire McKenzie, will run Aug. 28–Oct. 18 at CT’s Goodspeed Musicals, directed by Marshall Paile.

    Eric Graise (Philip Rhayader), Ashlyn Maddox (Frith), Ally Bonino (Harper), Sam Sherwood (The Bard), Charlie Webb (Wilf), David Aron Damane (Garrick), Gabriel Marcus Omlor (Farley), Ayanna Nicole Thomas (Clara), Amy Nillner Larsen (Mrs. Frumsey), and Ayanna Nicole Thomas (Clara), with Alan Chandler, Matthew Davies, Leah Hofmann, Kiersten Kelly, Sophia Anna O’Brien, Patrick Tombs, John Viggiano, Sam Hoffman and Jessica Money, Alan Chandler, Matthew Davies, Leah Hofmann (Lead Puppeteer), Kiersten Kelly, Sophia Anna O’Brien, Patrick Tombs, John Viggiano, Sam Hoffman, and Jessica Mone.

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   Water for Elephants, by Rick Ellis, directed by Jessica Stone, will run Sept. 8 – May 2, 2027  at LA’s Pantages Theatre.

  Zachary Keller (Jacob Jankowski), Helen Krushinski (Marlena), Connor Sullivan (August), Robert Tully (Mr. Jankowski), Javier Garcia (Camel), Ruby Gibbs (Barbara), Grant Huneycutt (Wade), and Tyler West (Walter), with Kinker & Roust, Fran Alvarez Jara, Yves Artieres, Chris Carsten, Adam Fullick, Nancy Gutierrez, Ella Huestis, Sam Kellar-Long, ZaKeyia Lacey, Andrew Meier, Marina Mendoza, John Neurohr, Bradley Parrish, Carl Robinett, Summer Severin, Serafina Walker, and Yemie Woo.

  Jacob Jankowski, an orphaned veterinary student who loses everything, jumps ont a moving circus train, and finds a new family, love, and a fresh start among a ragtag troupe of performers.

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   The Music Man will run Oct. 27 – Nov. 8 at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Matt Lenz, with choreography by Joshua Bergasse.

  Elliott Andres (Professor Harold Hill), Elizabeth D’Aiuto (Marian Paroo), and more TBA.

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Answers    Dog Days by Jim Bernhard

1-D. Dog Day Afternoon, play by Stephen Adli Guirgis

2-G. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, play by Simon

       Stephens

3-I. The Gingham Dog, play by Lanford Wilson

4-J. The Little Dog Laughed, play by Douglas Carter Beane

5-H. The Man in the Dog Suit, play by Albert Beich and William H. Wright

6-F. The Waltz of the Dogs, play by Leonid Andreyev

7-A. Woman Bites Dog, play by Sam and Bella Spewack

8-E. Topdog / Underdog, play by Suzan-Lori Parks

9-C. The Mad Dog, play by George Scarborough

10-B. Beware of Dogs, play by William Hodge

This Weekend’s Highlights:

Friday, August 14

  The Festival, featuring Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Alex Newell, Christopher Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Adrienne Warren, Amber Ardolino, Ben Levi Ross, Cara Rose DiPietro, Casey Likes, Denée Benton, Eva Noblezada, Gianmarco Soresi, JJ Niemann, Jason Robert Brown, Jenn Colella, Julie Benko, Lauren Patten, Mandy Gonzalez, Mitch Wood, Norbert Leo Butz, Reeve Carney, Seth Rudetsky, Talia Suskauer, Tommy Bracco, Tom Kitt, Tyler Joseph Ellis, Adam Pascal, Aiko Nakasone, Anthony Rapp, Byron Utley,  Fredi Walker-Brown, Jesse L. Martin, Kristen Lee Kelly, Taye Diggs, Timothy Britten Parker, Rodney Hicks, and  Wilson Jermaine Heredia Taye Diggs, Aiko Nakasone, Gianmarco Soresi, and Mitch Wood, opens at NYC’s Kingston’s historic Hutton Brickyards.

  Paranormal Activity, by Levi Holloway, directed by Felix Barrett, featuring Cher Álvarez (Lou), Travis A. Knight (James), Shannon Cochran (Carolanne), and Andrea Syglowski (Etheline Cotgrave,) with Caron Buinis, Caroline Hendricks, and Michael Holding, begins previews at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre.

Saturday, August 15

  The Festival, featuring Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Alex Newell, Christopher Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Adrienne Warren, Amber Ardolino, Ben Levi Ross, Cara Rose DiPietro, Casey Likes, Denée Benton, Eva Noblezada, Gianmarco Soresi, JJ Niemann, Jason Robert Brown, Jenn Colella, Julie Benko, Lauren Patten, Mandy Gonzalez, Mitch Wood, Norbert Leo Butz, Reeve Carney, Seth Rudetsky, Talia Suskauer, Tommy Bracco, Tom Kitt, Tyler Joseph Ellis, Adam Pascal, Aiko Nakasone, Anthony Rapp, Byron Utley,  Fredi Walker-Brown, Jesse L. Martin, Kristen Lee Kelly, Taye Diggs, Timothy Britten Parker, Rodney Hicks, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia Taye Diggs, Aiko Nakasone, Gianmarco Soresi, and Mitch Wood, closes at NYC’s Kingston’ historic Hutton Brickyards.

Sunday, August 16

  Ragtime, directed by Lear deBessonet, featuring Cassie Levy (Mother) Joshua Henry (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Brandon Uranowitz (Tateh), Colin Donnell (Father), Nichelle Lewis (Sarah), Ben Levi Ross (Mother’s Younger Brother), Shaina Taub (Emma Goldman), Anna Grace Barlow (Evelyn Nesbit), John Clay III (Booker T. Washington), Rodd Cyrus (Harry Houdini), and Nick Barrington (The Little Boy), with with Ellie May Sennett, and more, closes at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theater.

  The Festival, featuring Reeve Carney, Alex Newell, JJ Niemann, and five new members of the  Rent original Broadway company including Rodney Hicks, Kristen Lee Kelly, Timothy Britten Parker, Byron Utley and Fredi Walker-Brown, with more TBA, closes at NYC’s Kingston’ historic Hutton Brickyards.

  Iceboy! Or, The Completely Untrue Story of How Eugene O’Neill Came to Write the Iceman Cometh, world premiere by Mark Hollman, Jay Reiss & Erin Quinn Purcell, directed by Marc Bruni, featuring Megan Mullally (Vera Vimm), Nick Offerman (Eugene O’Neill), Grey Hendon (Iceboy), Cedric Yarbrough (Floyd), Sarah Stiles (Lambert), and Alex Goodrich   (Frankenstein), with Donterrio, Melanie Brezill , Will Koski, Linda Mugleston, Will Lidke, Leah Morrow, and Jeff Parker, closes at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

  Crazy for You, directed byMichael Fling, featuring Will Burton (Bobby Child), Brittany Zeinstra (Ppolly Baker), Edward Juvier (Bela Zangler), Hailey Thomas (Irene Roth), Jeremy Davis (Everett Baker), David Andrew Morton (Lank Hawkins), and Michele Ragusa IMother/Pariciam, with Claire Avakian, Willie Clyde Beaton II, Colin Bradbury, Courtney Brady, Kailee Regan Brandt, Katie Scarlett Brunson,  Samuel Colina, Bradley Gibbins-Klein, Kelly Gleason, Taylor Lane, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Griffin Wilkinsm Lexi Baldachino, and Brandon J. Morris, closes at CT’s Goodspeed Musicals.

  How High the Moon, by Barbara Nell Beery, directed by Asaad Kelada, featuring 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), closes at LA’s Theatre West.

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  Going Bacharach: The Songs of an Icon returns Sept. 9 – Nov. 29 (opening Sept. 16) to Off-Broadway  The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, directed by David Zippel.

  Hilary Kole, John and Pagano, Tay-Tynisa Wilson.

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   The Music Man will run Oct. 27 – Nov. 8 at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Matt Lenz, with choreography by Joshua Bergasse.

  Elliott Andrews (Professor Harold Hill), Elizabeth D’Aiuto  (Marian Paroo), Paul Urriola *Marcellus Washburn), Savannah Stevenson (Mrs. Paroo), Patrick Blashill (Mayor Shinn), Emmanuelle Zeesman (Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn), Dylan Patterson (Winthrop Paroo), Addie Jaymes (Amaryllis), Michael Santora (Charlie Cowell), Charles Antenen (Tommy Djilas), and more TBA.

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  The Rocky Horror Show, directed by David Zippel, has been extended again, now through Feb. 28, 2027 at Studio 54. 

  (current) Luke Evans, Rachel Dratch, Andrew Durand, Stephanie Hsu, Amber Gray, Juliette Lewis, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez,  Harvey Guillén, and Sherie Rene Scott.

  Purpose, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, will run Sept. 10 – Oct. 16 at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion, directed by Josiah Davis.

  Ezra Knight (Solomon Jasper), Phyllis Yyvonne Stickney (Claudine Jasper), Omari K. Chancellor (Nazareth Jasper), Ugo Chukwu (Solomon “Junior” Jasper), MarHadoo Effeh (Morgan Jasper), and Kalyne Coleman (Aziza Houston), with Chris Everett, Kiera Prusmack, Omar Robinson, and Joshua Wolf Coleman.

  Encircled by civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen for decades, the Jasper family is a foundational pillar of Black American society. That is, until their youngest son returns home with an unexpected dinner guest, and their carefully curated existence begins to fracture. Purpose is a searing and hilarious exploration of faith, class, ambition, and heritage that The Washington Post called “a feast of jaw-dropping tea and riveting food for thought.”

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Today’s Highlights:

  Rent, directed & choreographed by Jennifer Weber, featuring Austin Turner (Roger Davis), Sam Primack (Mark Cohen), Alysia Velez (Mimi Marquez), Owen Scales (Tom Collins,) David Merino (Angel Schunard), Veronica Otim (Joanne Jefferson), Tiernan Tunnicliffe (Maureen Johnson) and Kevin Trinio Perdido (Benjamin Coffin III), with Dré Hinds, Aubrey Jones, ack Hopewell, Michael Marrero, Lauren Soto, and Sunayna Smith, opens at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse.

  Meet Me in St. Louis, directed by Maggie Burrows, featuring Beth Leavel (Katie Connelly), Patti Murin (Mrs. Anna Smith), Colin Donnell (Mr. Alonzo Smith), Katerina McCrimmon (Esther Smith), Stan Brown (Grandpa Prophater), Andrew Poston (John Truitt), Kyla Stone (rose Smith), Ilan Eskenazi (Lon Smith), Lilah Levinson (Tootie Smith), Joylin Bass (Agnes Smith), and Lissa deGuzman (Lucille Ballard), closes at the St. Lous Muny.

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  A benefit reading of Captain Show Biz, by Bruce Vilanch, will take place Thurs. Aug. 20 at 8 PM at LA’s Harmony Gold, directed by Nell Teare.

  Bruce Vilanch, Marilu Henner, Sally Struthers, Grant Show, Jai Rodriguez, Alec Mapa, Garrett Clayton, Sharon McNight, and Jason Michal Snow.

  A gloriously fictionalized account of where it all began: Vilanch’s chaotic, hilarious first ceremony in 1989. He test-drove the play this January in front of a sold-out crowd in Wilton Manors, Florida — and walked away certain of one thing: this show’s true home is Los Angeles, the only audience guaranteed to catch every inside-Hollywood joke.

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    Catch Me If You Can, by Terrence McNally & Marc Shaiman, will run Sept. 17 – Oct. 18 at Burbank’s Colony Theatre, direccted by Michael Donovan.

   Blake Jenner, Joe Abraham, Kevin Bailey, Leslie Stevens, Gabbie Adner, Brad Griffith and Whitney Kathleen Vigil, with Leonel Ayala, Matthew Mason Baker, Johnisa Breault, Luc Clopton, Sophie Liu David, Spencer Del Carmen, Jesse Graham, Anne Hart, Caleb Kocsis, Samantha Lawrence-Mata, Almand Martin Jr., and Lucy Schene.

  Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., is a teenager who runs away from home for a glamorous life. Using charm and millions in forged checks, he poses as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer. FBI agent Carl Hanratty relentlessly chases him in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game.

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 Truly, Howard Hughes, by Frank Evans, Jennifer Paulson-Lee, James Scully & Chad Gorn, directed & choreographed by Jennifer Paulson-Lee, will  run Sept. 9 – Oct. 4 (opening Sept. 17) at Theatre at St. Jeans.

  Brenda Braxton (Rita Randolph), Matthew Eby (Boy Howard), David Elder (Noah Dietrich), Eric Michael Gillet (Howard Hughes, Sr.), Jill Paice ( Allene Hughes),  Brenda Braxton (Rita Randolph), Matthew Eby (Boy Howard), David Elder Noah Dietrich, Eric Michael Gillet (Howard Hughes, Sr.), Jill Paice (Allene Hughes),  Sean MacLaughlin (Howard Hughes), Madison Claire Parks (Ella Botts Rice), Abby Church (Katharine Hepburn), Melvin Tunstall (Glenn), Dana Winkle (Aunt Annette), Candice Hatakeyama (Nadine Henley), Antonio Beverly (Charles), and James Judy (Uncle Rupert) with Bryan Hunt, Kelly SheehanMadison Claire Parks (Ella Botts Rice), Abby Church (Katharine Hepburn), Melvin Tunstall (Glenn), Dana Winkle (Aunt Annette), Candice Hatakeyama (Nadine Henley), Antonio Beverly (Charles), James Judy (Uncle Rupert), with Bryan Hunt, Harrison Drake) and Kelly Sheehan.

  An unconventional love story following one of the 20th century’s most fascinating figures: aviator, filmmaker, businessman, and recluse, Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. The story unfolds as Hughes revisits his extraordinary life during his final moments, confronting the one thing his power and fortune could never secure, and leaves us with a haunting question: …Would you, if you could?

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   Beauty and the Beast national tour, directed & choreographed by Matt West, continues through Sept. 6 at LA’s Pantages Theatre.

  Kyra Belle Johnson (Belle, Fergie L. Philippe (Beast), aStephen Mark Lukas (Gaston), Danny Gardner (Lumiere), Javier Ignacio (Cogsworth), Harry Francis (Le Fou), Holly Ann Butler (Madame), Cameron Monroe Thomas (Babette), and Levi Blaise Coleman & Kanoa Edgar (alternating as Chip), Christina Rose Hall (Mrs. Potts), and Aaron Kaburick (Maurice), with Vinny Andaloro, Benjamin Cheng, Spencer Dean, Julian Marcus De Guzman, Michael Dikegoros, Leigh-Ann Esty, Masumi Iwai, Darrell T. Joe, Emily Larger, Lena Matthews, Caleb McArthur, Melaina Rairamo, Ellen Roberts, Grace Marie Rusnica, Ben Sears, Michael Seltzer, Jasmine Pearl Villaroel, and Kate Wesler.

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   LA Opera‘s Candide, conducted by Lina González-Granados, will run  Nov. 21 – Dec. 13 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

   Duke Kim (Candide), Meghan Picerno (Cunegonde), Patti LuPone (Old Lady), Mario Manzo ( (Maximilian / Father), Kristen Choi (Paquette), Katie Trigg (Baroness / Vanderdendur), Vinícius Costa (James / Martin), Samuel Wallace (Cacambo), and Bernard Holcomb (Barron/Don Issachar/Govenor), with Erin Alford,  Erin Alford, Andrea Beason, Julia Harnett, Amber Liekhus, Peter Murphy, and David Prottas.

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   Duncan Sheik & Leah Nanak0 Winkler’s Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen will run Sept. 25 – Jan. 3, 2027 (opening Oct. 15) at The Night Egg at the Culture Club (530 W. 27th St.), directed & choreographed by Rob Ashford.

   Sophia Anne Caruso (Colette) and more TBA.

   The play follows Colette, a witty young dreamer in 20th-century Paris who works at an elusive maison close called Night Egg. By chronicling the fantasies and sorrows of her eccentric clients, she transforms from an object into an observer turning perversions into art, while battling a destructive attachment to her toxic childhood love, Léon.

**********************

   “Still, Bill: Gay Adventures From Cowboyland to Gay Adventures”, a new memoir by Bill Russell, will be released Oct. 27 on most platforms.

Today’s Highlights:

  Beauty and the Beast national tour, directed & choreographed by Matt West, featuring Kyra Belle Johnson (Belle, Fergie L. Philippe (Beast), Stephen Mark Lukas (Gaston), Danny Gardner (Lumiere), Javier Ignacio (Cogsworth), Harry Francis (Le Fou), Holly Ann Butler (Madame), Cameron Monroe Thomas (Babette), and Levi Blaise Coleman & Kanoa Edgar (alternating as Chip), Christina Rose Hall (Mrs. Potts), and Aaron Kaburick (Maurice), with Vinny Andaloro, Benjamin Cheng, Spencer Dean, Julian Marcus De Guzman, Michael Dikegoros, Leigh-Ann Esty, Masumi Iwai, Darrell T. Joe, Emily Larger, Lena Matthews, Caleb McArthur, Melaina Rairamo, Ellen Roberts, Grace Marie Rusnica, Ben Sears, Michael Seltzer, Jasmine Pearl Villaroel, and Kate Wesler, opens at LA’s Pantages Theatre.

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   Broadway Grosses for the week ending Aug. 9.

Click here for the complete analysis.

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   The cast album of Dylan MarcAurele ‘s Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody will release its original cast album on Sept. 18. The critically acclaimed production has been has been extended twice, and is playing at Off-Broadway’s The Culture Club  (530 W 27th St.) through Sun. Nov. 1.

  Jay Armstrong Johnson (Iya Rozanov) and Jimin Moon (Shane Hollander), with Ryann Redmond, Cherry Torres, Ryan Duncan, Shelby Acosta and Daniel Brackett.

   Video:  “Gym Song.”

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 The forthcoming publication of Everybody, by Pulitzer Prize–, Tony Award– and MacArthur Fellow Branden Jacobs-Jenkins will  be published by TCG Books on Aug. 25, and is available now for pre-order here.

   Inspired by the 15th-century morality play Everyman, the play is an inventive and deeply moving meditation on mortality, identity, and the human experience. At each performance, the role of Everybody is assigned by lottery from among five actors, making every production uniquely unpredictable.

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  Meet Me in St. Louis continues through Aug.13 at the St. Louis Muny, directed by Maggie Burrows.

 Patti Murin, Colin Donnell, Katerina McCrimmon, Beth Leavel, Stan Brown, Andrew Poston, Kyla Stone, Ilan Eskenazi, Lilah Levinson and Joylin Bass. Also rounding out the cast are Kaley Bender, Chloe Chamberlin, Jason Goldston, Beau Harmon, Ava Noble, Ben Nordstrom, Sandra Valeska Orozco, Jasmine Overbaugh, Gregory Lee Rodriguez, Ronan Ryan, Michael Santomassimo, Leann Schuering, Gordon Semeatu, Drew Tanabe, Bronwyn Tarboton, Allie Villhard and Justus Wheatley.

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   Faydra, by Sarah Ruhl, will run in Feb. 2027 (dates TBA) at New York City Center Stage I, directed by Les Waters.

  Julianne Moore and one more TBA.

  Aphrodite aims her bow at Faydra and lets an arrow of love fly. Nothing is ever the same. Mostly because the object of Faydra’s sudden, all-devouring lust is her soon-to-be stepson.

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  The Echo Theater Company will present the world premiere of Janine Nabers’ The Peterson Show will run Sept. 19 – Oct. 26 at the Atwater Village Theatre , directed by Michelle Bossy.

  Kelly McCreary, Tamberla Perry,and, John Clarence Stewart, Kristen Ariza, Deanna Reed-Foster, and Journee Rose.

  Five former child stars reunite as the legacy of their beloved television father collapses into scandal. With cameras swarming outside and decades of unresolved history inside, they confront old rivalries, buried secrets and the complicated bonds forged while growing up on America’s favorite sitcom. At once hilarious and heartbreaking, The Peterson Show raises a difficult question: What happens to a family when the person who held it together becomes the one who tears it apart?

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   Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes will take place Thurs. October 1 at  7:30 PM at NYC’s 92nd Street Y, conceived by Scott Wittman and written by Jeffrey Richman, with music direction & arrangements by Joseph Thalken & Brad Phillips.

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  A new adaptation of Damon Horowitz’s Becoming Hamlet, directed by Sybille Bruun, will begin previews Oct. 5 and 0pen Sept. 10 at Five Angels Theater, directed by Sybille Bruun.

  The Audience (Hamlet),  David H. Littleton (Claudius), Désirée Baxter Gertrude),  Jim Pratzon (Polonius), Steven Lamont (Laertes), Judith Feingold (Ophelia), Tyler Moss (Horatio), Truman Gaudoin (Guildencrantz;), Equiano Mosieri (Ghost/Gravedigger),and Damon Horowitz (Hamlet Guide), with Tristan Andre Addy Paul Jenkins, Emily Jackoway, and Sevans Martinez as the Facilitators.

  The play reimagines Shakespeare’s masterpiece as a participatory event in which audience members assume the role of the troubled Danish prince. Through guided participation, spoken text, and direct interaction with a professional ensemble, audiences experience Hamlet’s journey from the inside—grappling with grief, love, betrayal, indecision, family, and the search for purpose. A groundbreaking theatrical experience in which the audience doesn’t simply watch Hamlet—they become Hamlet.

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  Due to popular demand, The  Gazillion Bubble Show has extended through Jan. 18, 2027 at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages.

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  Come From Away will run Sept.2-21 at Virginia Stage, directed by  Tom Quaintance.

   TBA.

  The  remarkable true story of what happened when American airspace closed on September 11, 2001, and thousands of passengers were diverted to the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland. What happened next was extraordinary. Locals opened their homes. Schools became shelters. Food appeared. Friendships formed. And in the middle of an incredibly difficult moment, thousands of complete strangers found reasons to laugh, sing, dance, and take care of each other.

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   LA’s Celebration Theatre will present a benefit reading of Bruce Vilanch’s Captain Show Biz on Thurs. Aug. 20 at 8 PM at Harmony Gold, directed by Nell Teare.

Marilu Henner,  Sally Struthers, Grant Show, Jai Rodriguez, Alec Mapa; Disney star Garrett Clayton (King Cobra, Hairspray Live!); Sharon McNight, and Jason Michael Snow.

  The story follows Harlon Star, a colorfully flamboyant and egotistical producer (loosely based on the late Oscar producer Alan Carr) whose grand dream of producing the Academy Awards spectacularly blows up in his face

Today’s Highlights:

  An American Daughter, by Wendy Wasserstein, directed by Sarna Lapine, featuring Montego Glover and Robert Sean Leonard, with Jean Lichty, Dakin Matthews,  Mary Beth Peil, Ryan Spahn, Will DeVary, Chris Ghaffari, and Carmen Zilles, opens at Off-Broadway’s Signature Center.

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    The world premiere of Goodtime Charlie, by Ryan J. Haddad, will run Sept. 24 –  Oct. 18 at the Public Theatre, directed by Danny Sharron.

   Sherz Aletaha, Timothy Bagley (Lou), , Nicholas Barrón, Michael Cristoferr (Sheldon), Ryan J. Haddad (Ryan), Beth Malone (Janice), Nael Nacer (Charlie Sr./ Bob), Artemis Pebdani (Joan / Judy), and Jonathan Raviv (Charlie), with Doug Shapiro.

  As a young man, Charlie wanted a life on the stage. His parents pushed for dentistry instead of theater.  Charlie redirects his love for culture and Broadway ambitions into his theater-loving nephew, Ryan.

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   A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Steven Maler, continues through Aug. 9 at the Boston Commons.

  Michael Broadhurst (Flute), Annika Burley (Helena), Meghan Carey (Hermia), Nick Cearley( Puck/Philostrate), Nora Eschenheimer (Hippolyta/Titania), De’Lon Grant (Theseus/Oberon), Jack Greenberg ( Demetrius), Jaime José Hernández (Lysander), Karen MacDonald (Quince), Paul Melendy (Bottom),  Brooks Reeves (Egeus/Starveling), Patrick Curran (Snout), Nicolas Bolton (Mustardseed), Evan Danyliw (Moth), Bella Grace Harris (Fairy), Alex Leondedis (Snug), Dani Grace Nissen (Peaseblossom), and Alexandra White (Cobweb).

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

    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).

  A young housewife questions her marriage and an estranged son returns home. A play about sibling conflict and family secrets during the early 1050’s housing boom in the San Fernando Valley.

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   Jackson Browne in concert will run Nov. 19 – 23 atHollywood’s Pantages Theatre.

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  Faydra, by Sarah Ruhl, will run in Feb. 2027 (dates TBA) at  New York City Stage 1, directed by  Les Waters.

  Julianne Moore and more TBA.

   A modern take on the classic Greek myth.  Faydra explores the impossibility of reconciling logic and longing – especially for a woman unwilling to deny desire.

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  LA’s Theatre Forty has announced its Play Reading Series, to run Aug. 19 -26 at Beverly Hills’ Greystone Mansion (905 Loma Vista Drive).  All readings are on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.

Aug. 19:  Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Elusive Ear, by David MacGregor, directed by Warren Davis.    Todd Andrew Ball, Quinn Ruby DeVries, Eric Keitel, Hisato Masuyama, Michael Mullen and Holly Sidell  A comedic mystery play set in Dec. 1888 at #21B Baker Street. It features a bandaged Vincent Van Gogh hiring Sherlock Holmes to find his missing ear, launching a wild Post-Impressionist conspiracy involving Irene Adler and a mysterious young woman named Marie Chartier. The cast includes.

Aug. 26: Quartermaine’s Terms,  by Simon Gray.  David Hunt Stafford, Nick Trafton, Quinn Ruby DeVries, Michael Mullen, Deanna Ruggieri, John Combs and Todd Andrew Ball.  With much humor and an undercurrent of pathos, the play looks at the lives and relationships of seven teachers who gravitate between classes to the faculty common room of their small British school for foreigners.  David Hunt Stafford, Nick Trafton, Quinn Ruby DeVries, Michael Mullen, Deanna Ruggieri, John Combs and Todd Andrew Ball.

Sept. 2:  The Lost Gospel of Pontius Pilate, by Michael Punter, featuring Maxwell Caulfield in a solo performance. The critically-acclaimed  star of stage, screen and television portrays Pilate. In this play – part-memoir and part-thriller, he is a man born into violence, surviving Rome’s worst defeat in Germany, then taking that experience to his next appointment: Judea. It seems that he must pass on his pain, until his encounter with a strange carpenter from Galilee who shows him another way.

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  Lionel Richie in Concert will take place  Sat, Aug 29, at  8 PM at the St. Louis Muny.

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

  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.

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   The world premiere of The Incredible True Story of Lawrence  v. Texas will run  Sept. 10 – Oct. 24 (opening Sept. 12) at Sherman Oaks’ Whitefire Theatre, written &  directed by Howard Skora.

  Drew Droege, Jabari, Matt McConkey, Celeste Pechous, Aaron Tone, Tom Trudgeon, and Dylan Vox, and Scott Victor Nelson.

  Houston, 1998. John Lawrence and Tyron Garner are arrested under Texas’s ‘Homosexual Conduct’ law. What begins as a drunken arrest grows into a constitutional battle stretching from Houston to Washington, DC. the play follows two ordinary working-class men and Lane Lewis—a Houston bartender and activist who becomes their closest ally and protector—as they join an unlikely coalition of lawyers and activists in a pivotal chapter of the American civil rights movement. Blending sharp comedy, gripping drama, and intimate character study, Texas Sodomy reveals the extraordinary human story behind one of the most important civil rights decisions in modern American history.