This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, August 27
Huntington Theatre‘s Hurricane Diane, by Madeleine George, directed by Jenny Koons, featuring Esme Allen (Carol Fleischer), Marianna Bassham (Beth Wann), Jennifer Bubriski (Pam Annunziata), Rami Margron (Diane), and Kris Sidberry (Renee Shapiro-Epps), opens a Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
International City Theatre‘s Closely Related Keys, by Wendy Graf, directed by Saundra McClain, featuring Oscar Best, Sydney A. Mason, Mehrnaz Mohammadi, Nick Molari, and Adrian Mohamed Tafesh, opens at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.
“Burning Man: The Musical” world premiere film, by Matt Werner & Gene Back, directed by Tyler Milliron, featuring Morgan Siobhan Green, Tally Sessions, Max Crumm, Michelle Duffy, Troy Iwata, Allison Griffith, Ari Grooves, Mila Jam, Ysabel Jasa, and Michael F. McBride, begins streaming on Broadway On Demand.
Frozen, directed by Michael Grandage, featuring Samantha Barks (Elsa), Stephanie McKeon (Anna), Obioma Ugoala (Kristoff), Craig Gallivan (Olaf), Oliver Ormson (Hans), Richard Frame (Weselton), Mikayla Jade & Ashley Birchall (alternating as Sven), Minaii K, Sasha Watson-Lobo, Freya Scott & Tilly-Raye Bayer (all sharing the role of Youn Elsa), and Kanon Narumi, Asanda Masike, EllieShenker & Summer Betson (all sharing the role of Youn Anna), with Jeremy Batt, Cameron Burt, Lauren Chia, Laura Emmitt, Emily-Mae, Hannah Fairclough, Danielle Fiamanya, Chris Fung, Matt Gillett, Joe Griffiths-Brown, Emily Lane, Justin-Lee Jones, Jason Leigh Winter, Jacob Maynard, Leisha Mollyneaux, Gabriel Mokake, Sarah O’Connor, Jemma Revell, Joshua S. Clair, Jacqui Sanchez, Jak Skelly, Jake Small, Kerry Spark, Isabel Snaas, Monica Swayne, and Anna Woodside, begins previews at London’s Theatre Royal Drury.
Durang!, 4 one-act plays by Christopher Durang, directed by Kristin Towers-Rowles, featuring Michelle Bonebright-Carter, Megan Cochrane, James Everts, Shayna Gabrielle, Don Lovato, Michael J. Marchak, Michael Mullen, Will Potter, Chris Ramirez, Jen Talton, Neil Unger, and Mouchette Van Helsdingen, closes at LA’s Crown City Theatre.
On Your Feet!, directed by Maggie Burrows, featuring Arianna Rosario (Gloria), Omar Lopez-Cepero (Emilio), Natascia Diaz (Gloria Fajardo), Alma Cuervo (Consuelo), and Lee Zarrett (Phil), Isabella Iannelli (Little Gloria), and Jordan Vergara (Nayib/Young Emilio/Jeremy), with Karmine Alers, Ryan Alvarado, Dhanny Burgos (Emilio Standby), Alexander Cruz, Tami Dahbura, Gina de Pool, Ruben Flores, Henry Julián Gendron, Stephanie Gomérez, Rebecca Kritzer, Tomás Matos, Natalia Nievers-Melchor, Marina Pires (Gloria Standby), Matthew Rivera, Cristina Sastre, Sarah Sigman, Martín Solá, Alora Tonielle, and Julien Valme, closes at the St. Louis Muny.
Saturday, August 28
What Happened?: The Michaels Abroad, world premiere written & directed by Richard Nelson, featuring Charlotte Bydwell, Haviland Morris, Maryann Plunkett, Jay O. Sanders, Matilda Sakamoto, Rita Wolf, and Yvonne Woods, opens at NYC’s Frederick Loewe Theater (at Hunter College).
Sunday, August 29
“Wicked in Concert: A Musical Celebration of the Iconic Broadway Score” concert, hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, featuring Mario Cantone, Gavin Creel, Ariana DeBose, Cynthia Erivo, Stephanie Hsu, Rita Moreno, Jennifer Nettles, Alex Newell, Isaac Powell, Amber Riley, Gabrielle Ruiz, and Ali Stroker, airs at 9 PM on PBS (check local listings).
Semblance, written & directed by Whitney White, featuring Nikiya Mathis, closes in person & streaming at Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop.
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, featuring Adia Alli (Gifty), Kyrie Courter (Ericka Boafo), Ashley Crowe (Nana), Ciera Dawn (Paulina Sarpong), Tiffany Renee Johnson (Mercy), Adhana Reid (Ama), Tania Richard (Headmistress Francis), and Lanise Antoine Shelley (Eloise Amponsah), closes at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
Theater Works Hartford‘s Walden, written by & starring Amy Berryman, directed by Mei Ann Teo, closes at Hartford’s Riverfront Recapture.
Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical, written by Laiona Michelle & Devanand Janki, starring Laiona Michelle, closes outdoors at Goodspeed Musicals.
Together Apart, 10 mini-musicals about connecting on Zoom at the beginning of the pandemic, written, directed, and starring Brown University alumni (Lisa Loeb, Julie Bowen, Josh Hamilton, Ann Harda, and JoBeth Williams, concludes streaming on Broadway on Demand, in support of The Actors Fund.
Minnesota, world premiere written & performed by Justin Tanner, directed by Lisa James, concludes streaming at LA’s Rogue Machine.
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Video: Stars in the House, a “Julie Jubilee: Sending Juli to College,” with special guests Andrea Martin and Jack Plotnick. (1:43:52)
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SpeakEasy Stage presents Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside to run Sept. 24 – Oct. 16 at Boston’s Calderwood Pavillion, directed by Bryn Boice.
Nathan Malin and Jennifer Rohn.
An intensely quiet play that introduces us to Bella Baird, a novelist who, the 17 years since was last published, has almost completely isolated herself from the world. But everything changes when she meets Christopher, a brilliant but enigmatic student in her creative writing class at Yale. As their friendship deepens, their lives and the stories they tell about themselves become intertwined in unpredictable ways, leading to a shocking request.
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Milwaukee Rep will present its Free Day of Theater on Sat. Oct. 2, with events at the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex.
* Welcome Back Concert, featuring Jessie Hooker=Bailey, Emma Rose Brooks, Jeffrey Kringer, and Nygel Robinson.
* A showcase of New Play Development projects, including a piece by West Side Story choreographer Jon Rua
* A performance by the theatre’s Professional Training Institute teen ensemble.
* Dance workshop with Jon Rua.
* Panel discussion about the Play Development program
* ….and more.
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Audio: Ben Platt sings the new version of “Waving Through a Window,” from the upcoming “Dear Evan Hansen” film, with Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, and more.
The album will be released Sept. 24 on all platforms.
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“Let It Be,” the final release of the Beatles’ original catalog, will be released Oct. 15 here.
Like the expansive treatments for “Sgt. Pepper,” the “White Album” and “Abbey Road”, this album will be available in several configurations, all with a new remix by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell.
The set will be available in bare-bones or intermediate editions, as well as the “super-deluxe” package, which includes 5 CDs, an audio Blue-Ray, and a 105-page hardback book.
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Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” will be released on Netflix on a date TBA.
Benedit Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Based on the novel by Thomas Savage, the film is set in 2925 and tells the story of Montana ranchers Phil and George Burbank, the former of which stokes fear in those around him. However, when George marries Rose, a widower, and brings her home with her son Peter, Phil takes the boy under his wing, bringing unexpected consequences.
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Steven Brinberg: On A Clear Day You Can See SIMPLY BARBRA Forever will take place Thurs. Sept. 2 at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Green Room 42, with music direction by Christopher Denny.
Daniel Lopez.
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Construction is underway on the new 470-foot hotel in Times Square (1568 Broadway). The project also includes the raising of the Palace Theater to add additional retail space at ground level.
The project will create 75,000 square feet of retail space with 15,000 sqaure feet on the ground floor alone, as well as 100 feet of storefront facing Times Square. A 4,000-square-foot performance venue will also be included, featuring Time’s Square’s only permanent outdoor stage.
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Video: Trailer for “Cinderella,” which premieres Sept. 3 0n Netflix.
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Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West (link TBA) will present its New Works, New Voices new play reading series Sept. 18-19 at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free, although parking is $12/day. The program will culminate in an outdoor mixer on Sun. Sept. 19. Suggested donation $25. Casting TBA.
Angels of the Southern Accents (Sept. 18 at 2 PM PT), by Rus McCoy. Author Margaret Mitchell had a secret held for over 40 years after her death. She was married to two men, Red Upshaw and John Marsh, who were best friends in college and had a secret of their own. Her closest confidant was her maid, Bessie Jordan, who challenged her White privilege. Finally there was Benjamin Mays, President of the prestigious Black university, Morehouse College, that led Mitchell down a controversial path that could ruin her reputation. The only thing more dramatic that her novel, was her life…
The Importance of Being Earnest – A Wilde New Musical (Sept. 18 at 7 PM PT), by Bret Simmons & David Howard.
On This Side of the World (Sept. 19 at 2 PM PT), by Paulo K. Tiról. The musical gives voices to Filipino immigrants navigating old lives and new beginnings, as a one-way ticket sends them on a journey 8,0000 miles from home.
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Candace H. Caplin & Kim St. Leon’s Marry Murder F*&%k – A Ballroom Comedy will run Sept. 24 – Oct. 3 at The Flea Theater, directed by Kim St. Leon & Dutra.
Candace H. Caplin, Audrey Rose Young, and Gary Wolf.
Rae Applebaum comes home to find her mother in the arms of a half-naked dance teacher.
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Video: Trailer for filmed version of “Come From Away on Broadway”
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Marie Osmond‘s new album, “Unexpected,” will be released Dec. 10 on her own label Oliveme LLC (not yet available for download/purchase), which features songs from some of Broadway’s favorite composers.
Audio: “Unexpected Song”