This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, August 6
Together Apart, 10 mini-musicals about connecting on Zoom at the beginning of the pandemic, written, directed by, and starring Brown University alumni (Lisa Loeb, Julie Bowen, Josh Hamilton, Ann Harda, and JoBeth Williams), begins streaming on Broadway on Demand, in support of The Actors Fund.
Allons Enfant! concert, starring Steve Ross & Jean Brassard, with special guests Karen Akers and Stephanie Biddle, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Pangea.
End of the World concept recording, by Ethan Slater & Nick Blaemire, featuring Lilli Cooper, Norbert Leo Butz, Ethan Slater, Nick Blaemire, and more, released on Broadway Records.
The 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival, offering 3 winning plays each week, concludes streaming at Hollywood’s Blank Theatre.
Saturday, August 7
Mary Poppins, directed by Richard Eyre & Matthew Bourne, featuring Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins), Charlie Stemp (Bert), Charlie Anson (George Banks), Amy Griffiths (Winifred Banks), Petula Clark (Bird Woman), Liz Robertson (Miss Andrew), Claire Machin (Mrs. Brill), Jack North (Robertson Ay), Paul F. Managhan (Admiral Boom/Bank Chairman), Katie Cox, Rose Dawson, Megan Donovan, Megan Judge, Ellie It Jones & Maddison Thew (alternating as Jane Banks), Logan Clark, George Hamblin, Charlie Irwin, Charlie Murphy, Frankie Treadaway, and Fred Wilcox (alternating as Michael Banks), and more, returns to London’s Prince Edward Theatre.
The Best of Broadway Concert, directed by Gary Griffin, featuring Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara, Adrienne Warren, and Megan Hilty, opens at San Diego’s Rady Shell at Jacob’s Park.
“Broadway Profiles with Tamsen Fadal” with special guests Kristin Chenoweth, Billy Porter, Sarah Steele, Tom Kitt, Norbert Leo Butz, Carleigh Bettiol, and Samantha Harris, airs here (also Aug. 8)
Most Happy in Concert, offering Frank Loesser’s songs from The Most Happy Fella, conceived & directed by Daniel Fish, featuring Mikaela Bennett, Tina Fabrique, Jules Latimer, April Matthis, Erin Markey, Mallory Portnoy, and Mary Testa, closes at NY’s Bard Summerscape.
Sunday, August 8
Liz Callaway in concert at 7 PM ET at 54 Below (also Aug. 9).
The Watering Hole, an immersive theatrical installation, by Lynn Nottage & Miranda Haymon, closes at Off-Broadway’s Signature Theatre.
Musical Theatre West‘s Forever Plaid 30th Anniversary Reunion Concert, featuring Stan Chandler, David Engel, Jason Graae, and Larry Raben, closes at Long Beach’s Blair Field.
Lines in the Dust filmed production, by Nikkole Salter, directed by Awoye Timpo, featuring Jeffrey Bean, Melissa Joyner, and Lisa Rosetta Strum, concludes streaming at New Normal Rep.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company‘s The Tempest, directed by Steven Maler, featuring John Douglas Thompson (Prospero), John Lam (Ariel), Remo Airaldi (Antonio), Siobhan Juanita Brown (Gonzala), Nora Eschenheimer (Miranda), John Kuntz (Trinculo), Nael Nacer (Caliban), Richard Noble (Alonso), Maurice Emmanuel Parent (Sebastian), Fred Sullivan, Jr. (Stephano), and Michael Underhill (Ferdinand), with Marta Rymer, Ekemini Ekpo, Duncan Gallaher, Jessica Golden, and Dylan C. Wack, closes at the Boston Commons.
The Best of Broadway Concert, directed by Gary Griffin, featuring Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara, Adrienne Warren, and Megan Hilty, closes at San Diego’s Rady Shell at Jacob’s Park.
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Video: Stars in the House, a “Glee” encore, with special guests Darren Criss, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, and Kevin McHale. (1:23:19)
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Complete casting has been announced for the return of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which will resume performances Oct. 8 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
Adrienne Warren (Tina Turner), Daniel J. Watts (Ike Turner), Myra Lucretia Taylor (Gran Georeanna), Dawn Lewis (Zelma), and Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Tina Turner at some performances), with Juliet Benn, Steven Booth, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Gerald Caesar, Julius Chase, Ayla Ciccone-Burton, Holli’ Conway, Kayla Davion, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Charlie Franklin, Judith Franklin, Matthew Griffin, Ari Groover, Sheldon Henry, David Jennings, Ross Lekites, Robert Lenzi, Rob Marnell, Jhardon DiShon Milton, NaTonia Monet, Phierce Phoenix, Justin Schuman, Allysa Shorte, Eric Siegle, Carla Stewart, Jayden Theophile, Sky Dakota Turner, and Katie Webber.
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Barbra Streisand’s “Release Me 2” has been released. Download here.
“Rainbow Connection” (with Kermit the Frog)
“I’d Want It To Be With You” (with Willie Nelson)
“Right As The Rain”
“Sweet Forgiveness”
“One Day (A Prayer)”
“If Only You Were Mine (with Barry Gibb)
“Be Aware”
“Once You’ve Been In Love”
“You Light Up My Life”
Audio: “Be Aware”
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Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre has announced its 2021-22 season:
Beauty and The Beast (Jan. 12 – Feb. 6, 2022), directed by Jay Woods.
Afterwords (Apr. 29 – May 21), world premiere by Zoe Sarnak & Emily Kaczmarek, directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt. 
Kali and Simone are at odds as to whether to sell their costly childhood home. They compromise by renting out the attic, and into their live walks Jo, a woman whose reasons for moving in are complex that the sister know. Haunted by the death of her beloved mentor, Jo is hellbent on untangling the mysteries contained in his journal…whose pages point straight to Kali and Simone.
And So That Happened… (May 17 – June 26), world premiere by a local team TBA.
The Prom (may 31 – June 19), directed & choreographed by Casey Nicholaw.
Come From Away (July 20 – Aug. 7) national tour.
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The world premiere of Fairycakes , written & directed by Douglas Carter Beane, will run Oct. 14 – Jan. 2, 2022 at the Greenwich House Theater.
Mo Rocca (Geppetto), Alfie Fuller Peaseblossom), Sabatino Cruz (Pinocchio), Jackie Hoffman (Moth), Kuhoo Verma (Cinderella), Julie Halston Titania/Elizabeth), Ann Harada (Musterseed), Brooks Ashmanskas (Oberon/Dirk), Jason Tam (Prince/Cupid), Z Infante (Cobweb), Jamen Nanthakumar (Changeling), and Chris Myers (Puck).
These are some pucked up fairy tales. An uproarious clash of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and old world fairy tales. One night in the forest, puckish mischief leads to mismatched lovers from across all your favorite stories. And what begins as love first sprite, grown into something more at the feelings from one midsummer night carry over to the bright light of day. So come and sit for a spell. Because in this theatre, magic is real.
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Lincoln Center presents BAAND Together Aug. 17-21 at The Restart Stage at Damrosch Park. The event offers a week of outdoor dance performances offering new works and repertory favorites. Free tickets are available through the TodayTix lottery.
Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.
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Michael John LaChiusa’s The Gardens of Anuncia will run Sept. 10 – Oct. 17 at San Diego’s Old Globe, directed & choreographed by Graciela Daniele, with music direction by Debra Abramson.
Carmen Roman (Older Anuncia), Kalyn West (Younger Anuncia) Enrique Acevedo (That Man), Andréa Burns (Tia Lucia), Eden Espinosa (Mamí), John Herrera (Grandfather), Tally Sessions (The Deer), and Mary Testa (Granmama Magdalena).
Anuncia tends the garden of her country house as she reflects on her life, looking back on her girlhood in Juan Perón’s Argentina, and paying homage to the family of women whose sacrifices allowed her to become and artist.
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Long Day’s Journey into Night will run Jan. 11 – Feb. 20, 2022 (opening Jan. 23) at the Minetta Lane Theatre (link TBA), directed by Robert O’Hara. The production will also be recorded for Audible.
Bill Camp (James Tyrone), Elizabeth Marvel (Mary Tyrone, Ato Blanson-Wood (Edmund Tyrone), and more TBA.
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The live & streamed production of Amy Berryman’s Walden has been extended through Aug. 29 at Theaterworks Hartford, directed by Mei Ann Teo.
Diana Oh, Jeena Yi, and Gabriel Brown.
The play is set in the not-so-distant future and explores themes of climate change, space travel, and sibling rivalry. After returning from a year-long Moon mission, Cassie, a NASA botanist, finds herself in a remote cabin in the woods, where her estranged twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, has found a new life with climate activist Bryan. Old wounds resurface as the sisters attempt to pick up the pieces of the rivalry that broke them apart.
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Costa Mesa’s South Coast Rep has announced its 2021-22 season:
A Shot Rang Out (Oct. 2 – Nov. 6), world premiere by Richard Greenberg, directed by Tony Taccone, and starring David Ivers. After a long period of isolation, an actor returns to the stage, alone and shaken. This is his story — his moment of reckoning — about what led to his seclusion. Along the winding journey, he draws inspiration from movies and theatre, and reflects on missteps, and unravels mysteries of love.
A Christmas Carol (Nov. 27 – Dec. 26), adapted by Jerry Patch, directed by Hisa Takakuwa, featuring Richard Doyle (Ebenezer Scrooge).
Last Stop Market Street (Jan. 7-23, 2022), by Cheryl L. West, Lamont Dozier & Paris Dozier, directed by Oanh Nguyen, with music direction by Shammy Dee, and choreography by Kelly Todd. CJ is staying with his Nana in the city, where everything is different than home. The food, the people, the noise – it’s too much. He just wants to stay inside and watch videos, but Nana’s having none of that. So together they board the Number 5 bus for an adventure.
What I Learned in Paris (Feb. 12 – Mar. 12), by Pearl Cleage, directed by Lou Bellamy. It’s 1973, Maynard Jackson has just been elected Atlanta’s first African American mayor and the city is poised to become the “new Black capital of America.” Change is in the air – and so is love! As Jackson’s campaign operatives make history, passions ignite and lives get turned upside down – especially when an unexpected visitor breezes back into town.
Clean (Mar. 20 – Apr. 10), by Christine Quintana, directed by Lisa Portes. At a luxury resort in Cancún, a storm is brewing. Adriana, a floor manager at the hotel, reels from the news of her father’s death. Sarah, a guest for her sister’s wedding, is haunted by a secret. Brough together by the torrential rain, they’re forced to examine the past, envision the future – and face the present.
Our Town (May 7 – June 4), directed by Beth Lopes, featuring Hal Landon Jr. as the Stage Manager.
Tiger Style! (May 15 – June 12), by Mike Lew, directed by Ralph Peña. What happens when the “tiger parenting” goes wrong? Meet Albert and Jennifer Chen — brother and sister, once brilliant students and musicians, now epic failures leading unfulfilling lives. The problem? Their parents set unrealistic standards. The solution? Escape from Irvine and go on an “Asian Freedom Tour” to Shenzen, China.
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Broadway On Demand has announced it will be accepting submissions for its new film festival, to honor the groundbreaking ways creators approach theatre in a digital age and socially-distant world. The festival will stream Aug. 16-31, and the top five winning entries will be live streamed on the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ platform this Fall.
Submission Guidelines:
* Submissions are open now through Aug. 13
* The winning entry will be announced on Aug. 31.
* Submissions should highlight the combination of theatre and film (i.e. theatrical content, films based on scripts, or content filmed in a theater.
* Films must be no longer that 30 minutes in length.
* Submissions should be in an mp4 file with a brief 2-5 sentence synopsis and any additional materials (trailers, graphics, etc.)
Click here for additional information and to submit.
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“Wicked in Concert: A Musical Celebration of the Iconic Broadway Score” will air Sun. Aug. 29 at 9 PM on PBS (check local listings), co-hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.
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.