This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, February 21
The Price, by Arthur Miller, directed by Noelle McGrath, featuring Bill Barry, Michael Durkin, Janelle Farias Sando, and Cullen Wheeler, with Benjamin Russell, Monica Lowy, John Palacio, and Joe Bowen, opens at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Clements.
A.R.T, by Yasmina Reza, directed by Courtney O’Connor. featuring Remo Airaldi, Michael Kaye, and John Kuntz, opens at Boston’s Lyric Stage.
These Shining Lives,by Melanie Marnich, directed by Thom Babbes, featuring John Colella, Isaac Jay, Michael Kachintwe, Allison Schilcher, Abigail Stewart, Jessica Woehler, and Shannon Woo, opens at LA’s Actors Co-Op, directed by Thom Babbes.
Speak Easy Stage‘s A Man of No Importance, by Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Ahrens, directed by Paul Daigneault, featuring Eddie Shields, Aimee Doherty, Kerry A. Dowling, Jennifer Ellis, Meagan Lewis-Michelson, Will McGarrahan, Billy Meleady, Keith Richardson, Rebecca Rae Robles, Sam Simahk, and Kathy St. George, begins previews at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
Saturday, February 22
Vanya, screening, by by Simon Stephens, starring Andrew Scott. at 3 PM at UCLA‘s James Bridges Theatre.
Stephanie J. Block in Concert, at 7:30 PM at Theater Aspen‘s Concert Hall.
Sunday, February 23
Speak Easy Stage‘s A Man of No Importance, by Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Ahrens, directed by Paul Daigneault, featuring Eddie Shields, Aimee Doherty, Kerry A. Dowling, Jennifer Ellis, Meagan Lewis-Michelson, Will McGarrahan, Billy Meleady, Keith Richardson, Rebecca Rae Robles, Sam Simahk, and Kathy St. George, opens at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
Hamlet, adapted & directed by Margaret Shigeko Starbuck, featuring Will Block (Hamlet), Jono Eiland (Horatio), Matt Foyer (Polonius/Captain/Gravedigger), Rafael Goldstein (Laertes/First Player/Barnardo), Sammy LInkowski (Marcellus/Orsic/Guildenstern/Priest), Corey Jones (Orsic/Guildenstern/Priest), Paige Lindsey White ((Gertrude), and Ana Nicolle Chavez (Ophelia/Francisco), closes at Santa Barbara’s New Vic.
The Civil Twilight, by Shem Bitterman, directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, featuring Taylor Gilbert and Andrew Elvis Miller, closes at LA’s Broadwater Studio Theatre.
The Sphere of Fixed Stars in the Heavens, written & directed by J. Holtham, featuring Tiffany Smith and VonDexter Montegut II, closes at North Hollywoods’ Theatre 68 Arts Complex.
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The world premiere of All Out: Comedy About Life by Simon Rich will run in the 2025-26 Broadway season (dates TBA), directed by Alex Timber. Click here for more information.
Casting TBA.
The companion piece to All In. It’s about ambition, envy, ego, spite, and the blind pursuit of fame and fortune. I think some New Yorkers might find the theme even more relatable tha
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MD’s Olney Theater will present Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini’s Sleepova Mar. 26 – Apr. 27, directed by Paige Hernandez.
Tymetrias L. Bolden (Funmi), Ciara Hargrove (Elle), Nykila Norman (Rey), and Jasmine Proctor (Shan).
Whether or not sleepover parties with friends were part of your upbringing, you’re invited to join Elle, Shan, Funmi, and Rey at theirs. These four Black British teenagers are growing up fast, each coping with their unique challenges of disability, sexuality, religion, and family. But even these issues – whether living with sickle cell disease, coming out, a crisis of faith, or a romantic misadventure, are confronted with humor, sincerity, and optimism.
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David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson & Zoë Roberts’ Operation Mincemeat has been extended through July 13 at Broadway’s Golden Theatre, directed by Robert Hastie.
David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall, Natasha Hodgson, Jak Malone and Zoë Roberts, with Brandon Contreras, Sam Hartley, Jessi Kirtley, Gerianne Pérez and Amanda Jill Robinson.
The year is 1943 and right now we’re losing the war. Luckily, we’re about to gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse.
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Billy Barne’s Bash, in support of the Billy Barnes Foundation, will take place Sun. Apr. 27 at 1 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club (link TBA), directed by Kay Cole, with music direction by Michael Orland, and hosted by Jason Graae.
TBA.
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In Some Dark Valley, written & performed by Robert Bailey, will run Feb. 28 – Mar. 9 at Pacific Resident Theatre, directed by Billy Siegenfeld.
One moonlit night, Reverend Brand, a fiery 19th century circuit preacher, emerges from the shadowy mountains of Appalachia and our collective history to weave a tale of religious fervor set against a landscape scarred by war and poverty… a story that also shines a light on rare moments of tender and resilient redemption. Robert Bailey’s solo performance grapples with the inevitable clash between an unyielding vision of moral rectitude and the tragic personal destruction it leaves in its wake. Embodying multiple characters while also singing gorgeous traditional songs handed down through generations of Southerners, Bailey transports the audience to a land and era that is haunting and illuminating in its relevance to today.
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Così Fan Tutte will run Mar. 8-30 at LA Opera, conducted by James Conlon, directed by Shawna Lucey.
Erica Petrocelli (Fiordiligi), Rihab Chaieb (Dorabella), Ana Maria Martinez (Despina), Anthony Elon (Ferrando), Justin Austin (Giglielmo), and Rod Gilfry (Don Alfanso).
The wine is flowing a little too freely, and two young men enter into a risky (and risqué) bet: Each will try to seduce the other’s fiancée. Hijinks ensue, with dashing disguises, outrageous flirting, and, of course, wedding bells—but we won’t say who ends up together!
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The cast album of Broadway’s Swept Away, by The Avett Brothers, is now available.
John Gallagher, Jr., Stark Sands, and Adrian Blake Enscoe, with Adrian Blake Enscoe, and Wayne Duvall, with Hunter Brown, Matt DeAngelis, Taurean Everett, Cameron Johnson, Brandon Kalm, Michael Mainwaring, Orville Mendoza, Tyrone L. Robinson, John Sygar, and Jamari Johnson Williams
Listen to the complete album here.
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Video: Hue Park & Will Aronson’s “The Rainy Day We Met,” From Maybe Happy Ending, directed by Michael Arden.
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss star as, respectively, Claire and Oliver, South Korea-based Helperbots that have been deemed obsolete. The pair form an unlikely bond, setting off a surprising and romantic adventure. The music is by Aronson with lyrics by Park and a book by Park and Aronson. The cast also includes Marcus Choi (James/Junseo,) Dez Duron (Gil Brentley), Arden Cho (Jiyeon,) Young Mazino (Suhan), and Jim Kaplan (Young Junseo), with Hannah Kevitt, Steven Huynh, Christopher James Tamayo, Claire Kwon, and Daniel May.