GRACE NOTES: Friday, August 4, 2023

 

This Weekend’s Highlights:

Friday, August 4

  Rent, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, featuring Lincoln Clauss (Mark Cohen), Vincent Kempski (Roger Davis), Ashley De La Rosa (Mimi Marquez), Tré Frazier (Benjamin Coffin III), Lindsay Heather Pearce (Maureen Johnson), Anastacia McCleskey (Joanne Jefferson), Evan Tyrone Martin (Tom Collins), and Adrian Villegas (Angel Dumott Schunard), with Shelby Brown, Ricky Cardenas, Josh Hoon Lee, Sage Lee, Alicia Revé Like, Jhardon DiShon Milton, Eric Shawn, Erica Stephan, and Julia Yameen, opens at the St. Louis Muny.

  The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion, starring Linda Purl, opens at Pinehurst, NC’s JTC 2023 Summer Theatre Festival.

  Songs by an Immigrant FREE concert, featuring Jaime Lozano, Krystina Alabado, Mayelah Barrera, Florencia Cuenca, Matías De La Flor, Robi Hager, Mauricio Martínez, Shereen Pimentel, and Marina Pires, at 7:30 PM at Lincoln Center’s Atritum. Doors open at 7 PM.  Seating and entry are first-come, first-served.

  WestFest, a FREE celebration of new short plays, opens LA’s Theatre West. Reservations not required.

Saturday, August 5

  Faith Healer, by Brian Friel, directed by Julianne Boyd, featuring Christopher Invar (Frank), Mark H. Dold (Teddy), and Gretchen Egolf (Grace), opens at MA’s Barrington Stage Company.

  Beneatha’s Place, written & directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, featuring Cherrelle Skeete (Beneatha), Zackary Momoh (Joseph Asagai/Wale Oguns), Sebastian Armesto (Daniel Barnes/Prof Mark Bond), Jumoké Fashola (Prof Shirley Jones/Aunty Fola), Tom Godwin (Mr. Nelson/Prof Gary Jacobs), and Nia Gwynne (Mrs. Nelson/Dr Harriet Banks), closes at London’s Young Vic.

  Disruption, world premiere by Andrew Stein, directed by Hersh Ellis, featuring Nathaniel Curtis (Ben), Oliver Alvin-Wilson (Nick), Sasha Desouza-Willock (Raven), Rosanna Hyland (Mia), Debbie Korley (Suzie), Nick Read (Paul), Kevin Shen (Barry), and Mika Simmons (Jill), closes at London’s Park Theatre.

  In Dreams, by David West Read, directed by David West Read & Luke Sheppard, featuring Lena Hall (Kenna), Oliver Tompsett Ramsey), Sian Reese-Williams (Jane), Noël Sullivan (Donovan),  Manuel Pacific (Oscar), Gabriela Garcia (Nicole), Alma Cuervo (Ana Sofia), Richard Trinder (George), and Leon Craig (Tom), closes at at the UK’s Leed’s Playhouse.

  Clyde’s, by Lynn Nottage, directed by Mikael Burke, featuring Ayanna Bria Bakari, Michael Chenevert, Samuel María Gómez, David T. Patterson, and LaTonia Phipps, closes at Theaterworks Hartford.

Sunday, August 6

  Pay the Writer, by Tawni O’Dell, directed by Karen Carpenter, featuring Marcia Cross, Bryan Batt & Ron Canada, opens at Off-Broadway’s Signature Theatre.

  Peter Pan Goes Wrong, by Mischief Company, directed by Adam Meggido, featuring Barltley Booz, Matthew Cavendish, Bianca Horn, Harry Kershaw, Chris Leask, Henry Lewis, Ellis Morris, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit, Stephen James Anthony, Ryan Vincent Anderson, Fred Gray, and Brenann Stacker, with special guest Bradley Whitford (Aug. 9-20), Daniel Dae Kim (Aug 30 – Sept. 10) begins previews at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre.

  Ensemble Theatre Company‘s Play It Forward benefit concert, directed by Enrico Douglas, featuring Joan Almedilla, David Burnham, Deedee Magno Hall, Jen Paz, Beverly Ward, Kirby Ward, and local student performers Cassidy Broderick, McKenna Gemberling, Hunter Hawkins, Beck Mortensen, Jett Mortensen, at 7 PM at Santa Barbara’s New Vic.

  Parade, by Alfred Uhry & Jason Robert Brown, directed by Michael Arden, featuring Ben Platt (Leo Frank), Micaela Diamond (Lucille Frank), Alex Joseph Grayson (Jim Conley), Sean Allan Krill (Governer Slaton), Howard McGillin (Old Soldier/Judge Roan), Paul Alexander Nolan (Hugh Dorsey), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Britt Craig), Kelli Barrett (Mrs. Phagan), Courtnee Carter (Angela), Eddie Cooper (Newt Lee), Erin Rose Doyle (Mary Phagan), Manoel Feliciano (Tom Watson), Danielle Lee Greaves (Minni McKnight), Douglas Lyons (Riley), Jake Pedersen (Frankie Epps), Florie Bagel (Nurse), Stacie Bono (Sally Slaton), Max Chernin (Mr. Turner), Emily Rose DeMartino (Essie), Christopher Gurr (Luther Rosser/Mr. Peavy), Beth Kirkpatrick (Nina Formby), Ashlyn Maddox (Monteen), Sophia Manicone (Iola Stover), William Michals (Detective STarnes), Jackson Teeley (Officer Ivey),  Charlie Webb (Young Soldier), and Ryan Vona (Leo Frank standby), with Harry Bouvy, Tanner Callicutt, Bailee Endebrock, Caroline Fairweather, Prentiss E. Mouton, and more,  closes at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

  The Public Theater‘s Hamlet, directed by Kenny Leon, featuring Ato Blankson (Hamlet), Brandon Gill (Guildenstern), Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Osric/Priest), Greg Hildreth (Gravedigger), Colby Lewis (First Player), Warner Miller (Horatio), Daniel Pearce (Polonius), Solea Pfeiffer (Ophelia), Nick Rehberger (Laertes), John Douglas Thompston (Claudius), Lorraine Toussaint (Gertrude), and Mitchell Winter (Rosencrantz), with Safiya Kaija Harris, Jaylon Jamal, TrÍ Lê, Cornelius McMoyler, Laughton Royce, Lance Alexander Smith, and Lark White. Rounding out the company as understudies will be Liam Craig, Myxolydia Tyler, William Oliver Watkins, and Bryce Michael Wood, closes at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre.

  The Negro Ensemble Company‘s Unentitled, by Charles White, directed by Florante Galvez, featuring C. Kelly Wright, Justine Hall, Adrain Washington, Ron Scott, and Gil Tucker, closes at Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters.

  The Who’s Tommy, re-imagined by Pete Townshend & Des McAnuff, directed by McAnuff, featuring Ali Louis Bourzgui (Tommy), Adam Jacobs (Captain Walker), Alison Luff Mrs. Walker), John Ambrosino (Uncle Ernie), Bobby Conte (Cousin Kevin), and Christina Sajous (Acid Queen), with Jeremiah Alsop, Stephen Brower, Haley Gustafson, Sheldon Henry, Aliah James, Gabriel Kearns, Tassy Kirbas Lily Kren, Nathan Lucrezio, Alexandra Matteo, Morgan McGhee, Mark Mitrano, Reagan Pender, Daniel Quadrino, Jenna Nicole Schoen, Zach Sorrow, Ayana Strutz, and Andrew Tufano. The role of Young Tommy will be in rotation with Ava Rose Doty, Presley Rose Jones, Annabel Finch, and Ezekiel Ruiz, closes at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

  Williamstown Theatre Festival‘s 2023 Summer Season’s Friday’@3 Reading Series concludes.

  Stew, by Zora Howard, directed by Tyler Thomas, featuring LisaGay Hamilton (Mama), Roslyn Ruff (Lillian), Jasmine Ashanti (Nelly), and Samantha Miller (Lil’ Mama), closes at Pasadena Playhouse.

  Commonwealth Shakespeare Company‘s FREE Macbeth, directed by Steven Maler, featuring Faran Tahir (Macbeth), Joanne Kelly (Lady Macbeth), Marianna Bassham (Malcolm), Jesse Hinson (First Witch), Nael Nacer (Macduff), Maurice Emmanuel Parent (Banquo), Joe Penczak (Duncan/Siward), Daniel Rios Jr. (Ross), Fred Sullivan Jr. (Seargeant/Porter/Doctor), and Eviva Rose (Young Macduff), with Lily Ayotte, Nick Baum, John Blair, Elijah Brown, Annika Burley, Alexa Cadete, Jack Greenberg, Jessica Golden, Bella Grace Harris, Cleveand Nicoll, and Xander Viera, closes at the Boston Commons.

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

Reviews for Back to the Future at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre:

NY Times (Jesse Green): The brand-extension musical…hinges on a star performance that would seem to be irreproducible onstage.And by star, I of course mean the car. So, good news: In the Broadway adaptation…  the famously souped-up DeLorean DMC, or a life-size replica thereof, is terrific — in some ways more exciting than the one in the movies because it does its tricks live…  directed by John Rando with Doc-like frenzy: mechanical, busy, distracting, foggy. Though large, it’s less a full-scale new work than a semi-operable souvenir… Still, you might hope that something in the musical, for instance music, would change the way the material lands. It doesn’t… The inventiveness and surprise of the climactic sequence …  makes the show’s obsessive concern with faithfulness elsewhere feel like a cheap compromise…

Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones): …a frenetic new spectacle… Frenetically paced, relentlessly comedic and visually chaotic, “Back to the Future” is aimed squarely at middle America… but the show still misses opportunity after opportunity to make people actually feel… that flaw is as confounding as it is frustrating… The problem here is an age-old one: a lack of truth… It is as if the characters all were living in some parody version of Hill Valley, California… There are laughs to be found from turning everything into jokesville, and director John Rando surely mines them, but entirely at the cost of the central transformational poignancy baked into the show…

Hollywood Reporter (Frank Scheck): …What is surprising is how effective and damn fun it all is… It’s a terrifically fun and amusing story that works nearly as well onstage as it did on film, although the original songs, as is so often the case with these adaptations, mainly come across as superfluous…. Where the show pulls out the stops is with its technical elements, including dazzling projections, … and innovative sound and lighting designs to give the production the feel of a, no surprise here, theme-park attraction… Director John Rando… gives the fast-paced proceedings a necessarily light, farcical air that produces many genuinely funny moments (and some groan-inducing ones as well).

Variety (Frank Rizzo): … an underwhelming screen-to-stage duplication… Yogi Berra said the future ain’t what it used to be. We know how he feels… seem more fitting for a theme park than Broadway…the musical’s so-so new songs… But beyond its two time-traveling rides, this musical trip is on auto-pilot with conventional musical tropes and an exposition-crammed narrative that rarely veers from the film… The plot — and show — finally gets going when Marty gets into that DeLorean and is accidentally taken back 30 years… But with the frequent breaking of the fourth wall and the milking of some meta moments, you wonder what exactly the show’s aiming to be: a self-aware joke for fans or a thrill ride with sincerity…

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

  Sister Act will run Aug. 14-20 at the St. Louis Muny, directed & choreographed by Denis Jones, with music direction by Sheilah V. Walker.

  Bryonha Marie Parham (Deloris Van Cartier), Mamie Parris (Mother Superior), James T. Lane (Eddie Souther), Alan H. Green (Curtis Jackson), Thom Sesman (Monsignor O’Hara), Meredith Aleigha Wells (Mary Robert), Madeleine Doherty (Mary Lazarus), Katy Geraghty (Mary Patric), Brandon Espinoza (Pablo), Darron Hayes (TJ), Rob Colletti (Joey), and Melanie Loren (Deloris Van Cartier standby), with Lexi Baldachino, Collin J. Bradley, Michele Burdette Elmore, Brady Foley, Talya Groves, Nigel Jamal Hall, Austin Wong Harper, Anita Jackson, Zakeyia Lacey, Janna Linae, Kaitlyn Mayse, Adelina Mitchell, Lizz Picini, Amber Alexandra Rose, Ronan Ryan, Cordon Semeatu, Cameron Monroe Thomas, and Rebecca Young.

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

  The Aug. 7 telecast of of Jamie deRoy & Friends (at 8PM on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network Spectrum HD Channel 1993 and Verizon FIOS Channel 37),  will honor Sheldon Harnick, who passed away in June at the age of 99.

  The event, co-hosted by Barry Kleinbort, with music direction by Paul Greenwood will intertwine archival footage, anecdotes, and more.

Christiane Noll and Bonnie Langford

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

  RIP: Broadway veteran Clifton Oliver died Aug. 2 after a lengthy illness.

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Oliver appeared on Broadway in The Lion King (Simba), In the Heights (Benny, opposite Jordin Sparks), Wicked (Fiyero) and in the National Tours of Motown (Berry Gordy), The Lion King (Simba), Rent (Benny and Collins), Ragtime (Ensemble).

Oliver attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts before moving to New York City in 2010 to start his career on Broadway, where he joined the ensemble of Wicked and served as an understudy for Fiyero. He also played the role of Benny in In the Heights alongside Jordin Sparks. Oliver also opened the Las Vegas production of The Lion King as Simba, a role he later played in the national tour, and finally on Broadway in 2011.

Oliver performed in several off-Broadway productions, including Miracle Brothers and Bella: An American Tall Tale. He was a cast member in the national tours of Dreamgirls and Motown the Musical. Oliver also performed in New York City Center’s Encores! production of The Wild Party in 2015.

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

  Initial casting has been announced for Evita, to run Nov. 27 – Jan. 13, 2024 at Leiester’s Curve, directed by Nikolai Foster, with choreography Adam Murray, and music direction by Ben van Tienen.

  Martha Kirby (Evita) and Tyrone Huntley (Che), and more TBA.

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

  Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced casting for its final week of performances:

  WTF Cabaret, with music direction by Joel Waggoner, featuring Kate Burto, John Cariani, Eden Espinosa, Asmeret GhbreMichael, Jon-Michael Reese, Eleri Ward, and Samantha Williams.

  The Pillowman reading, by Martin McDonagh, featuring Alison Pill, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Erica Ito, and Danny Chernus

  Wipeout reading, by Aurora Real De Asua, directed by Maggie Burrows, featuring Becky Ann Baker, Emily Kuroda, Candy Buckley, Brett Gray, and Gabrielle Policano.

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

  Crazy for You will run Nov. 15 – Jan. 4, 2024 at FL’s Asolo Rep, directed & choreographed by Denis Jones.

Casting and additional information TBA.

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

  Black Theatre United‘s inaugural Gala will take place Mon. Oct. 30 at 7 PM  at NYC’s  Ziegfeld Ballroom, and will include a live auction.

Kandi Burruss, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Robyn Coles, Dr. N Anthony Coles, and Dr. Indira Etwaroo.

  Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, LaChanze, Billy Porter, Capathia Jenkins, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Darius de Haas, Natasha Yvette Williams and Lillias White.

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

  The stage adaptation of Studio Ghibili’s film “Spirited Away” will premiere at the London Coliseum (beginning in April 2024, with dates TBA). Casting, creative team and additional information TBA,