This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, April 26
Red Bull Theater‘s The Rover, by Aphra Behn, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch, featuring Amara James Aja, Isabel Arraiza, Francois Battiste, Kelley Curran, Santino Fontana, Rebecca S’Manga Frank, Andy Grotelueschen, Lauren Karaman, Will Rogers, and Jon Norman Schneider, opens at Off-Broadway’s Sheen Center.
The Lonely Few, by Zoe Sarnak & Rachel Bond, directed by Trip Cullman & Ellenore Scott, featuring Damon Daunno, Taylor Iman Jones, Peter Mark Kendall, and Lauren Patten, opens at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater.
tick, tick…BOOM, by Jonathan Larson, directed by David Saint, featuring Daniel Marconi (Jon), Cathryn Wake (Susan), and John Yi (Michael), opens at NJ’s George Street Playhouse.
Abby Mueller in concert opens at NYC’s 54 Below.
Speak Easy Stage Company‘s A Strange Loop, by Michael R. Jackson, directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent, featuring Kai Clifton (Usher), with Grant Evan, De’Lon Grant, Jonathan Melo, Zion Middleton, Davron S. Monroe, and Aaron Michal Ray, opens at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
Singularities or the Computers of Venus, written & directed by Laura Stribling, featuring Blaire Chandler (Julia), Avery Clyde (Caroline), Susan Diol (Maria), Kate Huffman (Lena), Noelle Mercer (Elizabeth, and Krishna Smitha (Sophia), opens at North Hollywood’s Road on Magnolia.
The Verdi Spring 2024 Concert: Star-Crossed, featuring special guests Jamie Chamberlin Granner, Nathan Granner and Colin Ramsey, opens at LA’s Santa Monica’s First Presbyterian Church.
The Actors, by Ronnie Larsen, directed by Stuart Meltzer, featuring Jason Guy, Jeni Hacker, Ronnie Larsen, Allen Lewis Rickman, and Gabriell Salgado, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row.
Half Hard, Half Soft solo show, written & performed by Joseph Vecsey, at 8 PM Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater.
Victoria Lavan: Dance Me to the End of Love (My Love Affair with Music) concert, directed by Brooks Almy, at 8 PM at LA’s Theatre West.
The Motive and the Cue screening, by Jack Thorne, directed by Sam Mendes, featuring Mark Gatiss (John Gielgud) and Johnny Flynn (Richard Burton), at at 3 PM at UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre (also May 25).
Saturday, April 27
Little Women concert production, by Allan Kneee, Mindi Dickstein & Jason Howland, directed by Kate Simone, featuring Kennedy Cuaghell (Jo), Kelly Gabrielle Murphy (Meg), Francesca Mehrotra (Beth), Carla Rose DiPietro (Amy), Ethan Riordan (Laurie), Michael F. McGuirk (Professor Bhaer), Jack Shapiro (John Brooke), and William Squier (Mr. Laurence), opens at CT’s New Canaan Library.
Grief Hotel, by Liza Birkenmeier, directed by Tara Ahmadinejad, featuring Nadine Malouf (Em), Ana Nogueira (Winn), Naren Weiss (Rohit), Susannah Perkins (Teresa), Susan Blommaert (Aunt Bobbi), and Bruce McKenzie (Asher), closes at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater.
Red Bull Theater‘s The Rover, by Aphra Behn, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch, featuring Amara James Aja, Isabel Arraiza, Francois Battiste, Kelley Curran, Santino Fontana, Rebecca S’Manga Frank, Andy Grotelueschen, Lauren Karaman, Will Rogers, and Jon Norman Schneider, closes at Off-Broadway’s Sheen Center.
LA Opera‘s La Traviata, conducted by James Conlon, featuring Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Violetta), Liparit Avetisyan (Alfredo,) and Kihun Yoon (Father). closes at LA’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Abby Mueller in concert closes at NYC’s 54 Below.
Sunday, April 28
Staff Meal, by Abe Koogler, directed by Morgan Green, featuring Jess Barbagallo (Server), Susannah Flood (Mina), Hampton Fluker (Waiter), Greg Keller (Ben), Erin Markey (Vagrant), and Coral Peña (Server), with Stephanie Berry, opens at Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons.
Center Theatre Group‘s CTG: The Gala 2024, honoring Sir Matthew Bourne, featuring Lea Salonga, Melissa McCarthy, and an excerpt from Bourne’s groundbreaking Swan Lake, at 5 PM at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.
Varla Jean Merman’s Stand By Your Drag concert, at 4 & 7 PM at CT’s TheatreWorks Hartford.
“Waiting in the Wings” book reading & discussion, with authors Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton, at 3:30 PM at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater.
Kimberly Akimbo, by David Lindsay-Abaire & Jeanine Testori, directed by Jessica Stone, featuring Victoria Clark, Bonnie Milligan, Justin Cooley, Steven Boyer, Alli Mauzey, Olivia Elease Hardy, Fernell Hogan, Michael Iskander, and Nina White. closes at Broadway’s Booth Theatre, after 32 previews and 612 regular performances.
Teeth, world premiere of Anna K. Jacobs & Michael R. Jackson, directed by Sarah Benson, featuring Alyse Alan Louis (Dawn O’Keefe), Courtney Bassett (Promise Keeper Girl Becky), Phoenix Best (Promise Keeper Girl Fiona), Will Connolly (Brad O’Keefe), Jason Gotay (Tobey/Truthseeker), Jenna Rose Husli (Promise Keeper Girl Trisha), Jared Loftin (Ryan/Truthseeker), Lexi Rhoades (Promise Keeper Girl Rachel), Wren Rivera (Promise Keeper Girl Stephanie), and Helen J Shen (Promise Keeper Girl Keke), closes at Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons.
Do Re Mi, by Betty Comden, Adolph Green & Garson Kanin, directed by Robert W. Schneider, featuring Ian Lowe (Huey Cramm), Rebecca Spigelman (Kay Cramm), Caitlin Belcik (Tilda Wheeler), Tyler Okunski (Wheeler), Erick Michael Gillett (Fatso), John Leone (Skin), and Richard Rowas (Brains), with Caleb Funk, Mallory Nolting, and Kaylee Verble, closes at Off-Broadway AMT Theater.
Funny Girl national tour, directed by Michael Mayer, featuring Melissa Manchester (Mrs. Brice), Katerina McCrimmon (Fanny Brice), Stephen Mark Lukas (Nick Arnstein), Izaiah Montaque Harris (Eddie Ryan), Walter Coppage (Florenz Ziegfeld), Leah Platt (Emma/Mrs. Nadler), Cindy Chang (Mrs. Meeker), Eileen T’Kaye (Mrs. Strakosh), and David Foley Jr. (Tom Keeney), with Vinny Andaloro, Lamon Brown, Kate E. Cook, Julia Grondin, Jacks on Grove, AlexHartman, Dot Kelly, Ryan Lambert, Kathy Liu, Meghan Manning, Bryan Charles Moore, Sami Murphy, Emily Nester, Hannah Shankman, Jordon Taylor, Rodney Thompson, Sean Thompson, and Annaliese Wilbur, closes at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre.
Penelope, by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean & Eva Steinmetz, directed by Steinmetz, featuring Jessica Phillips, closes at DC’s Signature Theatre.
Ride, by Freya Catrin Smith & Jack Williams, directed by Sarah Meadows, featuring Alex Finke (Annie), and Livvy Marcus (Martha), with Aubrey Matalon, closes at San Diego’s Old Globe.
Amadeus, by Peter Shaffer, directed by Laura Gordon, featuring Josh Bates, Will Blum, Madeline Calais-King, Scott Campbell, Cate Castelli, Ellen Grace Diehl, Victoria Alev Duffy, Liz Huff, Dylan Ireland, Shunté Lofton, Steve Marvel, Gavin Michaels, Alfredo Ruiz, Jonathan Smoots, September Stanton, Owen Connor Stout, and Price Waldman, closes at Cleveland Playhouse.
A Thousand Maids, by Tony Meneses, directed by Aneesha Kudtarkar, featuring Deonna Bouye (Butterfly), Natalie Woolams-Torres (Cordelia), Kate Rigg (Vivian), and Maria Elna Ramiriz (Lupe), closes at NJ’s Two River Theater.
Million Dollar Quartet, directed by Tim Seib, featuring Will Riddle (Carl Perkins), David Lee Elkins (Johnny Cash), Garrett Forrestal (Jerry Lee Lewis), L J Benet (Elvis Presley), Summer Breer (Dyanne), Benny Lipson (Jay “Brother Jay” Perkins), Lonn Hayes (W.S. “Flude” Holland), and Adam Poole (Sam Phillips), closes at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West.
Little Women concert production, by Allan Kneee, Mindi Dickstein & Jason Howland, directed by Kate Simone, featuring Kennedy Cuaghell (Jo), Kelly Gabrielle Murphy (Meg), Francesca Mehrotra (Beth), Carla Rose DiPietro (Amy), Ethan Riordan (Laurie), Michael F. McGuirk (Professor Bhaer), Jack Shapiro (John Brooke), and William Squier (Mr. Laurence), closes at CT’s New Canaan Library.
A Train, written & performed by Annie Torsiglieri, directed by Risa Brainin, closes at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre.
King Hedley II, by August Wilson, directed by Gregg T. Daniel, featuring Aaron Jennings (King), Veralyn Jones (Ruby), Kacie Rogers (Tonya), and Evan Lewis Smith (Mister), Ben Cain (Elmore), and Gerald C. Ribers (Stool Pigeon), closes at Pasadena’s A Noise Within.
Dinner with Friends, by Donald Margulies, directed by Peter Allas, featuring Jack Esformes (Gabe), Marieh Delfino (Karen), Lieth Burke (Tom), and Amy Mottoa (Beth), with Chala Savino and Rick Segall, closes at LA’s Zephyr Theatre.
The Verdi Spring 2024 Concert: Star-Crossed, featuring special guests Jamie Chamberlin Granner, Nathan Granner and Colin Ramsey, closes at LA’s Santa Monica’s First Presbyterian Church.
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Reviews for The Great Gatsby at Broadway’s Broadway Theatre:
NY Times (Laura Collins-Hughes): …this ultimately underwhelming new adaptation, which has a book by Kait Kerrigan (making her Broadway debut), music by Jason Howland (Paradise Square) and lyrics by Nathan Tysen (also Paradise Square). Comedy and romance are strong suits of this production by Marc Bruni.. The darker elements of The Great Gatsby prove more elusive, which blunts the impact overall. So does the show’s anodyne Broadway sound, which is poppy and pleasant without being memorable… It summons neither the Jazz Age, like the soundtrack to Jack Clayton’s 1974 movie adaptation did, nor a spirit of wild abandon, like the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 take. The score to this Great Gatsby is missing a vital urgency… Bruni’s Broadway production has the tremendous asset of a terrific core cast…
Variety (Christian Lewis): With The Great Gatsby finally falling under the public domain, it’s no surprise that it’s become a hot property for musical adaptation. The first of these to land on Broadway has music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Nathan Tysen, book by Kait Kerrigan, and direction by Marc Bruni… they’ve made a devilish bargain, trading the novel’s soul for flashy visuals — and it almost even works… Jeremy Jordan makes a dashing Jay Gatsby. He successfully differentiates himself from his predecessors, finding a softer dialect and leaning into Gatsby’s humorous nervousness and sometimes alarming intensity. He proves himself a top-notch leading man, a feat made more laudable by the fact that he’s surrounded by sub-par performances… As Daisy, Eva Noblezada’s casting goes against type, and though this could have been an exciting change, Noblezada misses the mark entirely…
The Guardian (Gloria Oladipo): The musical currently playing at the Broadway Theatre, twirling drunkenly in 1920s opulence… Though, perhaps, the latest revival of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel should be renamed The Gimmicky Gatsby. An attempt to evoke awe through hyper-extended dance intervals and flaccid sets, this remount prioritizes a good time over any purposeful recreation of the American classic… The production splashes in excess, but of the Las Vegas residency kind… The book by Kait Kerrigan swings for laughs, which begin to thin by the musical’s second act… All of Howland’s songs, a cascading list featuring the brassy fixtures of 20s jazz, are sung beautifully… Kerrigan’s book tries to capture all of Gatsby with a thudding recall.
Theatermania (David Gordon): …it’s awfully refreshing to see all the proverbial dollar signs gliding on and off the stage in the new musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby… The show itself isn’t all that nuanced, but the money talks… Kerrigan’s script keeps the plates spinning admirably enough… It’s hardly the most urbane take on the material, but Kerrigan knows what her baseline task is: refashion Fitzgerald’s novel as a melodramatic romance and condense it enough to leave room for songs… Jordan, who gets the lion’s share, sells these unspecific tunes to the balcony with such confidence it’s breathtaking… Surprisingly, Noblezada is a smaller-than-life Daisy…
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Reviews for Second Stage Theatre’s Mother Play at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre:
NY Times (Alexis Soloski): Paula Vogel’s antic, mournful new drama… Versions of Phyllis and Carl have stalked Vogel’s past plays… Mother Play is of course a showcase for [Jessica] Lange. Her Phyllis, dressed in Toni-Leslie James’s chic costumes, is on the blousy end of elegant. Nearly parodic in her feminine grace, she is also as hard as buffed, polished nails. Phyllis is in some ways a monster, but Vogel doesn’t traffic in monsters. As a writer, she understands that people do terrible things for unterrible reasons — out of love, out of fear, out of loneliness… Another actress as Phyllis might have done more to communicate the small ravages of time, but Lange concentrates instead on her ageless ferocity and charm. She is supported, sturdily, by [Celia] Keenan-Bolger, who imbues Martha, a playwright like Vogel, with goodness, righteousness and a gift for plain speaking, and by [Jim] Parsons, a born clown savvy enough to show the pain behind the buffoonery…
Variety (Aramide Tinubu): … Mother Play, written by Paula Vogel, is not a story about modern-day mothers. Instead, it’s a tale centering on a bitter, disillusioned woman, Phyllis (Jessica Lange), who feels duped by the circumstances of her life. Directed by Tina Landu, Mother Play showcases how Phyllis’ resentments trickle into her relationships with her two children, Carl (Jim Parsons) and Martha (Celia Keenan-Bolger)… The kids exist in their own bubble as Phyllis orbits around them. In disbelief following her abusive husband’s abandonment of them, she seems content only when smoking cigarettes and guzzling gin… a mostly devastating narrative about a woman who can neither connect to her children nor adjust to the rapidly changing society around her. However, the narrative doesn’t sit in sadness. Instead, the dialogue boasts a web of humor and wit…
Theatermania (Rachel Graham): At the beginning of Paula Vogel’s Mother Play, protagonist Martha (Celia Keenan-Bolger) notes “family in, family out.” She’s not only talking about the many times her family has been evicted from their home. Parents break from children when they don’t meet their expectations, and the children come back when there’s a possibility of change. Though the story of Mother Play treads familiar ground, the virtuoso performances make it feel fresh and engaging… The family dynamic is immediately clear: Mother dotes on her hyper-verbal, occasionally flamboyant son, and relegates her daughter to cleaning the house and taking typing classes… The battle over Martha’s future between her brother and mother is dramatized in ways that are delicious to watch… In a play that shifts from realistic to surreal, Tina Landau’s direction perfectly showcases the actors’ performances…
New York Theatre Guide (Allison Considine): Paula Vogel’s latest world premiere, Mother Play, bears all the hallmarks of a family drama, with a fiery, alcoholic parent at the center of the dysfunction and conflict. The play also features dancing cockroaches, funny one-liners, and tender moments. It’s the perfect vehicle for Jessica Lange’s return to Broadway after an eight-year hiatus… Martha serves as the memory play’s narrator, chronicling the family’s struggles over a four-decade stretch. The passage of time is marked by cocktails (countless) and evictions (five)… The play works because of the cast’s incredible ability to play both young and old characters, and solemn and funny ones. In particular, Parsons’s humor shines as Carl, a quick-witted genius who holds the family together…
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The 2024 Chita Rivera Awards Nominations will be announced Mon. Apr. 29 on ABC’s “GMA3.”
The awards ceremony will take place Mon. May 20 at NYC’s Skirball Center.
Award show tickets are available here.
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The world premiere of Robert Cary’s The Ballad of Johnny and Jane will run May 28 – July 7 at La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff, with music direction by Lisa LeMay, and choreography by Byron Easley.
Christopher Ryan Grant (Johnny Cash), Van Hughes (John Carter Cash), and Patti Murin (June Carter Cast), Maddie Shea Baldwin (Anita), Paula Leggett Chase (Carrie), Drew Wildman Foster (Carl Smith/Jack Cash/Marshall Grant), Gabriella Joy (Vivian), Bart Matthew Shatto (Ray Cash/Sam Phillips/W.S. Holland), and Correy West (Luther Perkins/Rip Nix), with Summer Broyhill, Michael Louis Cusimano, Cody Ingram, and Baily Day Sonner.
Created with the support of the Cash family and told through the eyes of Johnny and June’s son, John Carter Cash, The Ballad of Johnny and June covers it all: the country music stars’ childhoods, their 1956 meeting at the Grand Ole Opry, the onstage proposal in 1968, and the highs and lows of fame, life on the road, addiction, arrests, controversies, marriage, family and devotion.
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Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin will run May 16 – June 30 (opening June 12) at Atlantic Theater Company, directed by Sarah Benson.
Tilly Botsford, Paige Gilbert, Ann Harada, Jenn Kidwell, Mary McCann, Emily Cass McDonnell, MacKenzie Bercer, Sandra Oh, Dale Soules, Danny Wolohan, Haley Wong, HannahCabell,GlennFitzgerald, Nadine Malouf, Susannah Perkins, and Simone Recasner.
Set in rural England in 1759, the piece centers on a young woman who has been sentenced to death. When she tries to escape the noose by claiming she is pregnant, 12 ordinary women are gathered to decide whether she is telling the truth as the country awaits the return of Halley’s comet. **********************
Betty Buckley’s animated film, “The Mayfly” (which she also narrates), will be screened June 8-15 at NYC’s 2024 Tribeca Festival.
The story of Megalyn Mayfly, who goes against all expectations and dedicates her short life to music and dance. Her quest takes her from Central Park West to the Upper East Side’s Carlyle Hotel where she dances her final opus at the elegant Cafe Carlyle. Animated traditionally in 2D, “The Mayfly” is a love letter to music and New York City.
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Principal casting has been announced for Dreamgirls, to run June 27 – July 3 at the St. Louis Muny, directed by Robert Clater, with choreography by Lesia Kaye, and music direction by Anne Shuttlesworth.
Tiffany Mann (Effie), Aisha Jackson (Deena), Courtnee Carter (Lorrell), Charl Brown (Curtis Taylor, Jr), Nick Rashad Burroughs (James “Jimmy” Thunder Early), Ron Himes (Marty), Aramie Payton (C.C. White), Robby Clater (Wayne) and Natalie Kaye Clater (Michelle Morris), with more TBA.
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Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre has announced its 2024-25 season:
Something Moving: A Meditation on Maynard (Aug. 2-11), by Pearl Cleage. written for the 50th anniversary of the landmark election of Maynard Jackson as Atlanta’s first Black mayor. Cleage brings an artist’s unblinking eye to her experiences as a member of Maynard Jackson’s administration.
The Mountaintop (Aug. 30 – Sept. 2), by Katori Hall, directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden.
The Chinese Lady (Sept. 18 – Oct. 13), by Lloyd Suh. The play is inspired by the true story of the first Chinese woman to step foot in America and is a unique portrait of a young country struggling with its identity and role in the world as seen through the eyes of an idealistic migrant.
A Christmas Carol (Nov. 9 – Dec. 24).
Business Ideas (Nov. 16 – Dec. 15), by Milo Cramer, directed by Matt Torney. A cross-generational comedy about wealth – who has it and why? – and the value we place on it
Doctor De Soto (Jan. 18 – Mar. 2, 2025), world premiere adapted by Idris Goodwin. This new play for youth and family audiences proves that even the smallest creatures can make a big difference with kindness and a little quick thinking.
Bust (Feb. 3 – Mar. 16), by Zora Howard, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz Retta and Reggie are enjoying their usual evening on the porch when a longtime neighbor is pulled over by the police just before turning into his driveway. Everything goes as expected—until the unexpected happens. Humor, spectacle, and surrealism converge in this interrogation of what it costs to be Black and free.
The Reservoir (Mar. 29 – May 4), world premiere by Jake Brasch. Josh has returned home from college to get his life together but can’t manage to stay sober. Desperate for camaraderie, he decides to bring his four loveable grandparents on his road to recovery.
Millions (May 10-15), world premiere byBob Martin & Adam Guettel, directed by Bartlett Sher. A modern-day fable that will enchant and entertain the entire family.
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Noises Off will run May 17 – June 16 at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse, directed by Hunter Foster.
Jennifer Cody (Dotty/Mrs. Clackett), John Bolton ((Freddy/Phillip), Marylou Henner (Belinda/Flavia), Richard Kline (Selsdon/Burglar), John Patrick Hayden (Lloyd Dallas), Roe Hartrampf (Garry Leueune/Roger), Amanda Kristin Nichols (Brooke/Vicki), Folami Williams (Poppy), and Barrett Riggins (Tim), with Lisa Birnbaum and Patricia Richwood.
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Flayed, written & performed by Josiah Blount, will take place Fri. May 24 at 9:30 PM at LA’s Lyric Hyperion Theater & Café, directed by David Bridel.
A deeply closeted pastor attempts to deliver his first sermon, but is interrupted by the many obscene voices in his head.
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An Evening with Jason Robert Brown will take place Thurs. May 9 at 7:30 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and Mykal Kilgore.
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Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will present The Winter’s Tale July 16 – Aug. 4 on the Boston Common, directed by Bryn Boice.
Nael Nacer (Leontes), Marianna Bassham (Hermione), Omar Robinson (Polixenes), Paula Plum (Paulina/Time), Tony Estrella (Camillo), Richard Snee (The Shepherd), Robert Walsh (Antigonus), Ryan Winkles (Autolycus), Joshua Olumide (Florizel), Nettie Chickering (Emilia). Clara Hevia (Perdita), Cleveland Nicoll (Clown), John Blair (First Lord), Bella Grace Harris (Gaoler/Bohemian Servant), Ednilson Tavares (Second Lord), Ryan Richard Doyle (Cleomenes), Dyce Stephens (Dion), Chloe Boyan (First Lady/Dorcas), Rilyn Gardner (Second Lady/Mopsa), Anne Borzner (Doctor/First Gentleman), and Eviva Rose (Mamillius).