This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, April 11
A Knight’s Tale, written &, directed by Brian Helgeland, featuring Emily Benjamin (Kate), Max Bennett (Chaucer), Andrew Coshan (William), Emile Ruddock (Roland), Jay Saighal (Prince Edward), Eva Scott (What), Giles Taylor (Father), Oliver Tompsett (Count Adhemar), and Meesha Turner ( Jocelyn) with Robbie Alexander, Lauren Arney, Arcangelo Ciulla, Georgia Clements, Zac Frieze, Elliot Gooch, Gabriela Gregorian, Benedict Hastings, Danielle Huntley, Thomas Inge, Lisa Kerr, Zera Malvina-Aitken, Mehran James McCullough, Ryan North, Ryan Pidgen, Chioma Uma, Cristian Buttaci, Cristiano Cuino, Nicholas Teixeira, and Theo Wake, opens at the UK’s Manchester Opera House.
In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel, by Tennessee Williams,directed by Jack Heller, featuring Paul Coates, Remington Hoffman, Susan Priver, and Rene Rivera, opens at Hollywood’s Hudson Backstage Theatre.
Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, by Lonne Elder III, directed by Clinton Turner Davis, featuring Norm Lewis, Jeremiah Packer, Calvin M. Thompson and Bryce Michael Wood, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Clements.
Saturday, April 12
Elektra, by Sophocles, directed by Daniel Fish, featuring Brie Larson (Elektra), Stockard Channing (Clytemnestra), Marième Diouf (Chrysothemis), Greg Hicks (Aegisthus), and Patrick Vaill (Orestes), and more, closes at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre.
Theatre People, by Paul Slade Smith, directed by Mark Shanahan, featuring Joe Delafilield, Mia Dillon, Keir Dullea, Anne Keefe, and Michael McCormick, closes at CT’s Westport Country Playhouse.
Sunday, April 13
Irishtown, by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey, featuring Kate Burton, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Kevin Oliver Lynch, Brenda Meaney, and Angela Reed, with Roger Clark, opens at Off Broadway’s Irish Rep.
2025 Gala fundraiser, One Night Only – A Celebration of Broadway Divas singing Broadway Showstoppers, featuring Ashley Blanchet, Sara Jean Ford, and Angela Ingersoll, at 7 PM at CA’s Laguna Playhouse.
White Rose: The Musical, by Brian Belding & Natalie Brice, directed by Will Nunziata, featuring Collette Guitart (Sophie), Tobias Turley (Hans,) Owen Arkrow (Will), Danny Colligan (Max), Charley Robbie (Lila), Thomas Sutcliffe (Karl), Danny Whelan (Christoph), Mark Willshire (Kurt Huber), and Ollie Wray (Frederick), with Millie Robins and Nathan Shaw, closes at London’s Marylebone Theatre.
York Theatre‘s According to Howard: A New Musical, by Frank Evans, James Scully & Jennifer Paulson-Lee, directed & choreographed by Jennifer Paulson-Lee, featuring Christine DiGiallonardo, Michael Dikegoros, Matthew Eby, David Elder, Eric Michael Gillett, Michael Halling, Candice Hatakeyama, Michelle Beth Herman, Mya Ison, James Judy, Gina Milo, Jill Paice, Haley Swindal, and Josh Tower, closes at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Jeans.
Into the Woods, directed by Kari Hayter, featuring Amanda Angeles (Little Red), Antwon Barnes (Rapunzel’s Prince), Richard Bermudez (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf), Wayne Bryan (Narrator/Mysterious Man), Janna Gardia (Stepmother), Dillon Jade Costa (Jack)m Camryn Hamm (Rapunzel), Kayman Ilka (Baker’s Wife), Derek Manson (Baker), Brian Kimm McCormick (Steward), Marisa Moheno (Step Sister), Christine Neghrbon (Cinderella’s Mother/Granny), Madison Claire Parks (Cinderella), Daebreon Poiema (Witch), Aya Sherian (Stepsister), Aya Sherian (Stepsister), and Michael J. Washington (Cinderella’s Father), closes at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West.
Crazy Mama, by Sharon Scott Williams, directed by Anson Williams, starring Linda Purl, closes at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre.
Rogue Machine‘s Bacon, by Sophie Swithinbank, directed by Michael Matthew, featuring Jack Lancaster (Darren) and Wesley Guimarães (Mark), closes at LA’s Actors Gang Theatre.
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Reviews for Smash at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre:
New York Times (Jesse Green): Great musical comedies are great mysteries, and not just because they’re so rare. They’re also mysteries in the way they operate. To succeed, they must keep far ahead of the audience, like thrillers with twists you can’t see coming. They are whodunits with songs instead of murders. Smash, which opened on Thursday at the Imperial Theater, is more of a who’ll-do-it, and when the big song comes, it’s a killer. But the effect is the same: It’s the great musical comedy no one saw coming. Or at least I didn’t… I’ll try to be careful about spoilers… there’s so much to enjoy at the Imperial… in this version the actresses are not midlevel hopefuls; rather Ivy Lynn (Robyn Hurder) is already a star, and Karen Cartwright (Caroline Bowman) her longtime understudy. They are not in competition — at first… The book, by Bob Martin and Rick Elice, has already been demonstrating enormous skill in introducing the characters and tone…
Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez): A ruthless, sensational smash … this show provides a delectably nasty view of show business to rival that of Bob Fosse. Energetically cynical and committed to upending easy audience comforts, it’s best viewed as a play tracing the creative process with high-octane choreography, vocals, and just enough earnestness to save it from choking on itself. It likely won’t be for everyone, but it’s vicious fun for those along for the ride…. It’s a risky gambit, typically indicative of a creative laziness that seeks to wink its way out of presenting bad material. But the sharpness of the production’s cynicism shines through, assisted by the strength of the musical numbers and the all-around stellar performances, which imbue a palpable love of the form with an even stronger frustration with its mechanics…
Theatermania (Meg Masseron): Fade in on a show with a dazzling score, a ludicrous plot, and bravura performances across the board. That’s both the NBC series “Smash” and its brand-new stage adaptation, now playing Broadway’s Imperial Theatre…. It’s clear in the first uptempo chords of “Let Me Be Your Star” that we’re in for a different experience from the 2012 series. Though her vocals are breathtaking, Hurder is not taking the song in the seductive, drawn-out direction Megan Hilty did onscreen, but delivering a softer, straight-toned interpretation… While some might find Proctor’s insertion into the plot a shoehorned device to avoid the complexity of Ivy’s competition with Karen, it felt refreshing to see a different perspective …
Daily News (Chris Jones): …That quality of surprise, crucial to the best episodes of the TV show, is missing from the new live musical staging,… Especially given the level of talent involved here, the adaptation will be deeply disappointing even for die-hard fans of the source material… The new book by Bob Martin and Rick Elice is still the story of the making of “Marilyn the Musical,” and there is still a long-suffering producer (now played by Jacqueline H. Arnold) a director named Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas) and a lively, feuding duo of songwriters (Krysta Rodriguez and John Behlmann)… But it’s not about the battle between Ivy Lynn and Karen for the leading role, although Ivy (now played by Robyn Hurder) and Karen (Caroline Bowman) are still in the company. This time, Ivy already has the Marilyn role and Karen is her (underwritten) understudy. But the show also introduces a third character, an associate director named Chloe (Bella Coppola) who might also vie for the role. Or it seems at the end of Act One. The main conflict is now mostly within Ivy herself, as she gets involved with a method acting-obsessed coach from the Actor’s Studio (Kristine Nielsen) who sends Ivy off the deep end…
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MISCAST25 will offer a free worldwide digital broadcast on Mon. Apr. 21 at 7 PM ET.
Click here to watch.
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Twelfth Night will run May 13 – June 22 at DC’s Folger Theater, directed by Mei Ann Teo.
Alinea Collins Maldonado (Olivia), Lilli Hokama (Viola/Cesario), Alyssa Keegan (Orsino), Hunter Ringsmith (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), Todd Scofield (Antonio), El Beh (Sebastian/Fabian), Che Kabia (Sir Toby Belch), and Futaba (Feste), Nicholas Yenson (Malvolio).
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The Second Annual Summer Cabaret Conference will run July 14-18 at NYC’s 92NY, with music direction by Yasuhiko (Yaz) Fukuoka and Alex Rybeck.
Faith Prince and Michael Kirk Lane.
Panelists: Tom Dangora, Jeff Harnar, Barry Kleinbort, Lina Koutrakos, Tanya Moberly, Sidney Myer, Amanda Raymond, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Darnell White, and Kelly Wohlford.
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An industry reading of Joe Langworth & Steve Marzullo’s Fixing Frankie will take place Thurs. Apr. 17 at NYC’s ART/New York Rehearsal Studios, directed by Michael Blatt & Joe Langworth.
Ryan Alvarado ( Eduardo), Andrea Bianchi (Mom), Greyson Chapman (Young Frankie), Felicia Finley (Patti/Sister Agatha), Laura Pavles (Margaret), George Psomas (Frankie), Steven Scionti (Dad) and Joe Verga (Lucas).
Young Frankie Scordato wrestles with sexuality, faith and approval, amidst the endearing chaos of an Italian-American household. Searching for self-acceptance, Frankie escapes to New York City in the 1980s. We follow this coming-of-age story from AIDS to the legalization of gay marriage, raising the question of a survivor’s place, in an ever-changing world.
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Hamlet will run May 28 – July 6 (opening June 4) at the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Robert O’Hara.
Patrick Ball (Hamlet), Coral Peña (Ophelia), Gina Torres (Gertrude), James T. Alfred (Head Attendant), Joe Chrest Detective Fortinbras), Fidel Gomez (Gravedigger), Ty Molbak (Laertes /Rosencrantz), Ramiz Monsef (Polonius,) Jakeem Powell (Horatio), Ariel Shafir (Claudius), Jaime Lincoln Smith (First Player /Attendant), and Daniel Zuhlke (Guildenstern).
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Suzan-Lori Parks’ The Book of Grace continues through May 18 at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III.
Banur Smallwood (Buddy), Jerome Preston Bates (Vet), Zainab Jah (Vet), and Zainab Jah (Grace), with Edwin Ed Vanzd, Patrese D. McClain, and Frederick Williams.
Grace looks for the good in everything: in her husband’s rules, in the border he patrols, in the return of his estranged son. But a want for goodness cannot unwind the past, as this taut family reunion explodes in all directions. An incendiary family portrait, which is a startling reminder that the search for common ground can be a brutal journey for those on every side of the divide.
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The Great War and The Great Gatsby will run Apr. 21 – 22 at NYC’s Carnegie Hall, directed by Michael Mayer, and narrated by John Monsky, with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Adam Chanler-Berat, Nicholas Christopher, Micaela Diamond, Gracie McGraw, and Diego Andres Rodriguez.
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York Theatre‘s According to Howard: A New Musical, by Frank Evans, James Scully & Jennifer Paulson-Lee, continues through Apr. 13 at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Jeans, directed & choreographed by Paulson-Lee.
Christine DiGiallonardo, Michael Dikegoros, Matthew Eby, David Elder, Eric Michael Gillett, Michael Halling, Candice Hatakeyama, Michelle Beth Herman, Mya Ison, James Judy, Gina Milo, Jill Paice, Haley Swindal, and Josh Tower.
An unconventional love story and a reminder that money can never buy (or substitute for) what love can offer. It’s about winning—but at what cost? It’s about decisions, choices, ideas, and incredible intuition. Through a score reminiscent of the golden age of Broadway, According to Howard delves into the unique life and times of one of the most fascinating individuals of the 20th Century, a human being who shaped the world of aviation, film, business, and Hollywood gossip: Howard Robard Hughes, Jr.***********************
A free staged reading of Nicky Silver’s The Food Chain will take place Sun. May 18 at 3 PM at LA’s Theatre West, directed by Michael Van Duzer.
here. Donations are welcome.
TBA.
A sex comedy with adult content. Some parents may consider it inappropriate for those under 13 years of age.Amanda and Ford are a just-married couple. Serge and Otto are former gay lovers. This unlikely quartet has more in common than they realize. Uniting them all is Bea, a telephone crisis counselor with surprising connections to them all. For all of Bea’s apparent neuroses, she may hold the key to unraveling the other characters’ problems.
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Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust, currently in previews, will open Apr. 16 and continue through May 11 at TheaterWorks Hartford, directed by Jennifer Chang.
Justin Weaks (Kenneth), Samuel Stricklen (Bert), Hilary Ward (Corrina/Wally’s Waiter/Bank Customers), and Ricardo Chavira (Clay/Sam/Le Pousselet Bartender).
Meet Kenneth, a 38-year old bookstore worker who spends his evenings sipping mai tais at the local tiki bar. When he’s suddenly laid off, Kenneth finally begins to face a world he’s long avoided – with powerful and even comical results. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Eboni Booth is a touching and inventive play about new beginnings, old friends, and seeing the world again for the first time.