This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, March 22
Eleri Ward: Under Construction concert, at 7 PM at NYC’s City Winery (25 11th Ave (Pier 57).
Saturday, March 23
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles‘ Boy Bands opens at Beverly Hills’ Saban Theatre.
Celebration Theatre‘s Celebration Honors Gala, featuring Boni Alvarez, Sock Whitmore, Reggie Lee, Amanda Kruger, Daniel Chung, Allen Lucky Weaver, David Tran, Edwin Osaze, the a capella group 8TPS, Kyle Montgomery, and John Erickson, at 2 PM at LA’s LGBT Center.
Kissed by a Prince concert, a tribute to the late Prince, featuring Dawnette Darden, Mike Mazzarco, Klyph Black, Ellis Holmes III, Sean Willis, and Bopa Kin Carré, at 8 PM at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
The Motive and the Cue, by Jack Thorne, directed by Sam Mendes, featuring Johnny Flynn Richard Burton), Mark Gatiss (John Gielgud), Tuppence Middleton (Elizabeth Taylor), Allan Corduner (Hume Cronyn), Sarah Woodward (Eileen Herlie), Rebecca Collingwood (Linda Marsh), Luke Norris (William Redfield), Laurence Ubong Williams (Hugh McHaffie), Elena Delia (Jessica Levy), Huw Parmenter (Clement Fowler), Shaun Yusuf McKee (Robert Milli), Adam Sina (Frederick Young), Ryan Ellsworth (George Voskovec), Daniel Krikler (Dillon Evans/Waiter), David Tarkenter (Alfred Drake), Kate Tydman (Christine Cooper), Mark Extance (Mick Burrows), and Stephanie Siadatan (Susannah Mason), closes at London’s Noël Coward Theatre.
Sunday, March 24
My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert, directed & choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, featuring special guests Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rita Moreno, along with. Joanna Ampil, Michael Ball, Daniel Dae Kim, Maria Friedman, Audra McDonald, Julian Ovenden, Lucy St. Louis, Aaron Tveit, Marisha Wallace, Patrick Wilson, Anna-Jane Casey, Lily Kerhoas, Jonny Labey, Jordan Shaw, Jade Albertsen, Alex Louize Bird, Matthew Caputo, Dan Cooke, Barry Drummond, Harry Francis, Matt Gibson, Bethany Huckle, Brenda Newhouse, Emily Ann Potter, Sophie Pourret, Stephen Quildan, and Rachel Wang-Hei Lau, begins FREE streaming on YouTube.
Purpose, world premiere by Branden Jacob-Jenkins, directed by Phylicia Rashad, featuring Harry Lennix (Solomon “Sonny” Jasper), Tamara Tunie (Claudine Jasper), Alana Arenas (Morgan Jasper), Glenn Davis (Solomon “Junior” Jasper), Jon Michael Hill (Nazareth “Naz” Jasper), an Ayanna Bria Bakari (Angela Houston), opens at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Distinguished Concerts International’s Total Vocal with Deke Sharon concert, at 2 PM at NYC’s Carnegie Hall.
My Uterus: A Womb with a View solo show, written & performed by Dina Morrone, at 2 PM at LA’s Theatre West.
LA Theatre Works‘ The Motive and the Cue screening, by Jack Thorne, directed by Sam Mendes, featuring Mark Gatiss (John Gielgud) and Johnny Flyn (Richard Burton), at 3 PM at UCLA’s James Bridge’s Theatre.
Make Me Gorgeous! The True Story of Kenneth “Mr. Madam” Marlowe, written & directed by Donnie, starring Darius Rose, closes at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Lukes.
The Matchbox Magic Flute, adapted & directed by Mary Zimmerman, featuring Marlene Fernandez (Pamina), Keanon Kyles (Sarastro), Russell Mernagh (Monostatos), Lauren Molina (Papagena/Lady), Tina Muñoz Pandya (Lady), Reese Parish (The Spirit), Shawn Pfautsch (Papageno), Emily Rohm (Queen of the Night), Billy Rude (Tamino), and Monica West (Lady), closes at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
Dreamgirls, directed by by Lili-Anne Brown, featuring Ta-Tynisa Wilson (Deena), Keirsten Hodgens (Lorrell), Trejah Bostic (Effie), Evan Tyrone Martin (Curtis), Jos N. Banks (CC), Saint Aubyn (Jimmy), and Robert Cornelius (Marty), with Chuckie Benson, Shantel Cribbs, Arnold Harper II, Alia Hodge, Alfred Jackson, Melanie Loren, Kwame M. Remy, Aalon Smith, Montria Walker, Sean Walton, and Jalisa Williams. Swings are Lois Ellise and Joel Oliver, closes at NJ’s McCarter Theatre Center.
I Am Delivered’t, world premiere by Jonathan Norton, directed by Robert Barry Fleming, featuring E. Faye Butler, Naiqui Macabroad, Liz Mikel, and Zachary J. Willis, closes at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Something’s Afoot, by James McDonald, David Voss, Robert Gerlach & Ed Linderman, directed & choreographed by Bill Berry, featuring Porscha Shaw (Lettie), Brandon O’Neill (Flint), Ashley Lanyon (Hope Langdon), Yusef Seevers (Dr. Grayburn), Adam Standley (Nigel Rancour), Anne Allgood (Lady Grace Manley-Prowe), Allen Fitzpatrick (Colonel Gillweather), Sarah Rudinoff (Miss Tweed), Jonathan Luke Stevens (Geoffrey), and Jason Weitkamp (Clive), with Bianca Raso, Cassi Q Kohl, Karen Skrinde, Harter Clingman, and Jonathon Royse, closes at Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theatre.
The Three Musketeers, by Ken Ludwig, directed by Tom Quaintance, featuring Chandler Alston, Keighton Bell, Brandon Bradley, Joey Cassella, Jeff Davis, Derion Felton, Davis Haymes, Mia Haymes, Brooklynn Jacobs, Christopher Marquis Lindsay, Gabriel Mensah, Adam E. Moskowitz, Meredith Noël, Shad Ramsey, Meg Rodgers, Jason Paul Tate, Scott Witchmann, and Lauren Wilkerson, closes at Virginia Stage Company.
Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Elizabeth Margolis, featuring Mark David Kaplan (Tevye), Janna Cardia (Golde), Emma Rosenthal (Tzeitel), Yael Chanukov (Hodel), Abby Goldberg (Chava), Lea Grace Biwer (Schprintze), Estella Mccarthy Schultz (Bielke), Michael Kurowski (Motel), Zach Sorrow (Perchik), Grant Kilian (Fyedka), Molly Dibble (alternate Schprintze/Bielke), Janet Ulrich Brooks (Yenta), Joel Gelman (Lazar Wolf), Jeff Parker (Constable), with Dara Cameron (Fruma-Sarah), Thom Cox (Nachum/Yussel), Bill Mcgough (Rabbi), Karl Hamilton (Mordcha), Susan Hofflander (Grandma Tzeitel), Nathan Kabara (Avram), and Sam Shankman (Mendel), with Mack Alexander, Jenessa Altvater, Jessica Deahr, Daniel Hurst, Dani Johns, Will Leonard, Jordan Radis, Elizabeth Romero, Jacob Simon, Mitzi Smith, and Jodi Snyder, closes at Chicago’s Drury Lane Theatre.
Sunday in the Park with George, directed & choreographed by Eamon Foley, featuring Graham Phillips (George), Talia Suskauer (Dot), Joy Haermalyn (Old Lady), and Bernard Dotson (Jules), Kevin Arnold, with Kevin Arnold, Giuliana Augello, Anthony Cataldo, Katie Davis, Bridget Cooley, and James C. Harris, Isabel Lagana, Ella Mangano, Dylan Randazzo, Allie Seibold, Alyssa Harris, Giana Carroll, Lindsay Jorgensen, Olivia Miranda, Sarah Takash, and Gillian Worek, closes at NJ’s Axelrod PAC.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles‘ Boy Bands closes at Beverly Hills’ Saban Theatre.
Million Dollar Quartet, directed by Tim Seib, featuring Peter Oyloe (Johnny Cash), LJ Benet (Elvis Presley), Will Riddle (Carl Perkins), Garrett Forrestal (Jerry Lee Lewis), Summer Nicole Greer (Dyanne), Adam Poole (Sam Phillips), Benny Lipson (Brother Jay), and Lonn Hayes (Fluke), closes at Thousand Oaks Kavli Theatre.
Power to the Queendom, world premiere by Shawanna Renee Rivon, directed by Diane Reneé, featuring Raymond Donahey, Angela Fairley, Michael Houston, Barbera Ann Howard, Shamya Jamerica, Ritzi Lanier, Matt Lorenzo, Ravyne Payne, Jessica Perkins, Trodarius Provo, Max Reed III, and Kyle Wallen, closes at North Hollywood’s Loft Ensemble.
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Reviews for Water for Elephants at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre:
NY Times (Jesse Green): First come her ears, floating like ginkgo leaves. Then, from behind a screen, her shadow appears, followed by the marvelous sound of her trumpet. Next to arrive is her disembodied trunk, with a mind of its own, snuffling out friends and enemies and food. Finally, at the end of Act I of the new musical “Water for Elephants,” she is fully assembled: Rosie, the star of the circus, big as a bus and batting her pretty eyes. This gorgeous sequence, played out over perhaps 20 minutes, is emblematic of the many wonders awaiting audiences at the Imperial Theater… What a pleasure it is to be treated that way by a brand-extension musical, a form usually characterized by craftlessness and cynicism…
Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones): …has one of the more remarkable ensembles ever seen on Broadway… But this hugely talented crew sings, dances and are laudably believable as acrobats, aerialists and roustabouts from the tawdry touring circus culture of America in the early 20th century, the setting of a sentimental sawdust story wherein an elephant named Rosie busts her trunk through a love triangle… it’s the seamless integration of what’s really a compartmentalized ensemble that reveals the fusing visual talents of the director, Jessica Stone. Here, by blending the worlds of Broadway and the not-so-big top, a tent always in danger of collapse, Stone captures a milieu that has slipped away from many hands…
Theatermania (Zachary Stewart): You can see the American musical leaping forward at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre. It leaps, contorts, climbs to dizzying heights, and rotates at impossible speeds…the death-defying new musical by Rick Elice (book) and PigPen Theatre Co. (score), the indispensable theater troupe and band now making a giant splash in its Broadway debut… Elice has smartly condensed characters while preserving the bulk of the plot — not an easy task when adapting a novel to the stage… we’re chomping at the bit by the time this truly spectacular number arrives. PigPen has a knack for showmanship and a keen understanding of what music can do onstage.
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz): …a surprising and satisfying new Broadway musical… the show fuses musical theatre and circus artistry. The story is filtered through sawdust-coated memories of nursing home resident Jacob (Gregg Edelman). He recalls his Depression-era younger days, when his plans to be a veterinarian get upended by a fatal family tragedy… everything ascends thanks to its energizing and poetic elements… Director Jessica Stone deserves a big shout-out for combining all of the elements – the actors, circus feats, puppetry, song and dance breaks – so beautifully.
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Oedipus will run Oct. 24 – Jan. 4, 2025 at Wyndham’s Theatre, directed by Robert Icke.
Mark Strong and Lesley Manville.
Sophocles’ epic tragedy is transformed into an essential, explosive human thriller. Election night. The polls predict a landslide victory. Everything is about to change.
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Open-Door Playhouse will present “Fat and Fiction” beginning May 1, directed by Yunyi Zhu.
Justice Davis and Zelda Kimble
Ludlow has been over-weight his entire life. He’s depressed about being fat, but his mom is about to give him an entirely new perspective on things.
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CT’s Goodspeed Musicals‘ annual Gala & Auction will take place Sat. May 18 at 5:30 PM at Hartford’s The Society Room.
Performers and additional information TBA.
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Following a sold-out London run last year, Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company (KBTC)’s new production of King Lear will run Oct. 26 – Dec. 15 (opening Nov. 14) at the Shed, directed by Branagh.
Kenneth Branagh (King Lear), Mara Allen (Curan), Deborah Alli (Goneril), Raymond Anum (Burgundy), Melanie‐Joyce Bermudez (Regan), Doug Colling (Edgar), Dylan Corbett‐Bader (France), Eleanor De Rohan (Kent), Chloe Fenwick‐Brown (Oswald), Joseph Kloska (Gloucester), Corey Mylchreest (Edmund), Hughie O’Donnell (Cornwall), Caleb Obediah (Albany), and Jessica Revell (Cordelia/The Fool).
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The world premiere of Danny Strong, Michael Weiner & Zoe Sarnak’s Galileo will run May 5 – June 16 (opening May 15) at Berkeley Rep, directed by Michael Mayer, with choreography by David Neuman and choreography by Roberto Sinha.
Raúl Esparza (Galileo), Jeremy Kushnier (Cardinal Maffeo Barberini), Madalynn Mathews (Virginia), Christian Magby and Alessandro Tarantola Brasso), awith Gabrielle Elisabeth, Adam Halpin, Michal Kolaczkowski, Claire Kwon, Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert, Michael J. Mainwaring, Alexander Mendoza, Brian Ray Norris, Chase Peacock, Noah Plomgren, David Rowen, DeMone Seraphin, Madeleine Spacapan, Erica Sweany, Zalah Brenae Vallien, and Adrian Villegas.
Galileo is the maverick scientist who is summoned to Rome to defend his observations of the celestial universe.
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Eden Espinosa Sings “Malagueña” from the Gardens of Anuncia cast album.
(listen here)
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Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre has announced its Works In Progress: Fearlessly Made In New York!, featuring 5 works in development by the company’s 2023-24 Artists in Residence.
No Nothing (Apr. 9), by T. Adamson, directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant
Dwellers (Apr. 15), by a.k. payne, directed by Josiah Davis
Practice (Apr. 29), by Nazareth Hasson, directed by Tylyer Oliphant.
The Haunting of Camp Winona (May 13), by Mara Nelson-Greenberg (director TBA)
Rise and Beings (May 20), by Rudi Goblen, directed by Lamar Perry.
Fearless Collaborations: Developing Theatrical Innovation (June 10) featuring conversations with playwright Jordan Harrison, director David Cromer & director/playwright Nazareth Hassan, who will discuss the future of technology and theatre.
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Elizabeth Narciso’s STRIPPED: lolita lolita continues through Mar. 24 at 59E59 Theaters, directed by Alfredo Narciso.
Molly Collier, Angel Desai, Biko Eisen-Martin, Ani Mesa, Kelley Rae O’Donnell, Kohl Sudduth, and Viviana Valeria.
A time-traveling joyride through the history of the patriarchy! Helen of Troy, Salome, and Lolita employ all the powers at their disposal: poetry, pop culture, and cherry cake to set the record straight.
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West Side Story will run Jan. 31 – Feb. 15, 2025 at Houston Grand Opera, directed by Francesca Zambello.
Shereen Pimentel (Maria), Brenton Ryan (Tony), Kyle Coffman (Riff), Yurel Echezarreta (Bernardo), Nathan Keen (Action), and Ana María Martinez (“Somewhere” soloist), and more TBA.
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Red bull Theater has announced complete casting for a reading of Antony & Cleopatra, adapted by Dakin Matthews, to take place Mon. Mar. 25 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Arin Arbus.
Carlo Alban, Isabel Arraiza, Shirine Babb, Jimon Cole, Dakin Matthews, Ajay Naidu, Nicole Ari Parker, Matthew Rauch, Ariel Shafir, Derek Smith, Matthew Rauch, and John Douglas Thomson.
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Video: Casey Likes and Jelani Remy perform Frozen‘s “Love Is an Open Door” at Broadway Backwards
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West Side Story will run Jan. 31 – Feb. 15, 2025 at Houston Grand Opera, directed by Francesca Zambello.
Shereen Pimentel (Maria), Kyle Coffman (Riff), Yurel Echezarreta (Bernardo), Nathan Keen (Action), Ana Maria Martinez (“Somewhere” soloist), and more TBA.
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Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theater Company‘s Gala 2024 will take place Mon. Apr. 29 at 6:30 PM at NYC’s Plaza Hotel, directed by TBA.
Saheem Ali, Patricia Delgado, Justin Levine, Justin Peck, Marco Ramirez, and Adam Rapp.
Patti LuPone, Natalie Venetia Belcon, the band of Buena Vista Social Club Musical, and more TBA.