GRACE NOTES: Friday, March 29, 2024

 

This Weekend’s Highlights:

Friday, March 29

  The Lehman Trilogy, directed by Karen Azenberg, featuring Seth Andrew Bridges (Mayer Lehman), William Connell (Emmanuel Lehman), Jeff Talbott (Henry Lehman), opens at Utah’s Pioneer Theatre Company.

  Group Rep‘s Could I Have This Dance?, by Doug Haverty, directed by Kathleen R. Delaney, featuring Sean Babcock (Errl Watkins), Anna Connelly (Monica Glendenning), Anica Petrovic (Amanda Glendenning), Lloyd Pedersen (Hank Glendenning), Clara Rodriquez (Jeanette Glendenning), and Andy Shephard (Coline McMann, opens at North Hollywood’s Lonny Chapman Theatre.

  The Great Gatsby, adapted by Kait Kerrigan, Jason Howland & Nathan Tysen, directed by Marc Bruni, featuring Jeremy Jordan (Jay Gatsby), Eva Noblezada (Daisy Buchanan), Noah J. Ricketts (Nick Carraway), Samantha Pauly (Jordan Baker), Sara Chase (Myrtle Wilson), John Zdorieski (Tom Buchanan), Paul Whitte (George Wilson), and Erica Anderson (Wolfsheim), with Raymond Edward Baynard, Austin Colby, Curtis Holland, Traci Elaine Lee, Dariana Mullen, Ryah Nixon, Pascal Pastrana, Kayla Pecchioni, Mariah Reshea Reives , Dan Rosales, Dave Schoonover, Derek Jordan Taylor, Tanairi Sade Vazquez, and Katie Webber,  Kurt Csolak, Carissa Gaughran,  Samantha Pollino, Alex Prakken, Jake Trammel, and Jasmine Pearl Villaroel, begins previews at Broadway’s Broadway Theatre.

  The Heart of Rock and Roll, by Jonathan A. Abrams & Tyler Mitchell, directed by Gordon Greenberg, featuring Corey Cott, McKenzie Kurtz, Josh Breckenridge, F. Michael Haynie, Zoe Jensen, Tamika Lawrence, Raymond J. Lee, John-Michael Lyles, Orville Mendoza, Billy Harrigan Tighe and John Dossett, with Mike Baerga, Tommy Bracco, TyNia René Brandon, Olivia Cece, Taylor Marie Daniel, Lindsay Joan, Ross Lekites, Robin Masella, Kara Menendez, Joe Moeller, Jennifer Noble, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard, Michael Olaribigbe, Kevin Pariseau, Robert Pendilla and Leah Read, begins previews at Broadway’s James Earl Jones Theatre.

  The Wiz national tour, directed by Schele Williams, featuring Nichelle Lewis (Dorothy), Deborah Cox (Glinda), Melody A. Betts (Aunt Em / Evillene), Kyle Ramar Freeman (Lion), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Tinman), Avery Wilson (Scarecrow), and Wayne Brady (The Wiz), with Maya Bowles, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Jay Copeland,  Allyson Kaye Daniel, Judith Franklin, Michael Samarie George,  Collin Heyward, Amber Jackson, Olivia Jackson, Christina Jones, Polanco Jones, Kolby Kindle, Mariah Lyttle, Kareem Marsh, Anthony Murphy, Cristina Rae, Matthew Sims Jr, Avilon Trust Tate, Keenan D. Washington, and Timothy Wilson, begins previews at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre.

Saturday, March 30

  Ride, by Freya Catrin Smith & Jack Williams, directed by Sarah Meadows, featuring Alex Finke (Annie), and Livvy Marcus (Martha), with Aubrey Matalon, begins previews at San Diego’s Old Globe.

  Escaped Alone, by Caryl Churchill, directed by Liz Diamond, featuring LaTonya Borsay, Mary Lou Rosato, Sandra Shipley, and Rita Wolf, closes at Yale Rep.

  Speak Easy Stage Company‘s Cost of Living, by Martyna Majok, directed by Alex Lonati, featuring Lewis D. Wheeler, Gina Fonseca, Stephanie Gould, and Sean Leviashvili, closes at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.

  Father Land, world premiere written & directed by Stephen Sachs, featuring Ron Bottitta, Patrick Keleher, Anna Khaja, and Larry Poindexter, closes at LA’s Fountain Theatre.

Sunday, March 31

  King Hedley II, by August Wilson, directed by Gregg T. Daniel, featuring Aaron Jennings (King),  Veralyn Jones (Ruby), Kacie Rogers (Tonya), Evan Lewis Smith (Mister),  Ben Cain (Elmore), and Gerald C. Ribers (Stool Pigeon), previews at Pasadena’s A Noise Within.

  Days of Wine and Roses, by Adam Guettel & Craig Lucas, directed by Michael Greif, featuring Kelli O’Hara, Brian d’Arcy James, Byron Jennings, Charon Catherine Brown, Bill English, Olivia Hernandez, David Jenning, Steven Booth, Nicole Ferguson, Kelcey Watson, Tabitha Lawing tony Carlin, David Manis, and Addie Manthey, closes at Broadway’s Studio 54.

  All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, written by & starring Patrick Page, directed by Simon Godwin, closes at Off-Broadway’s DR2 Theatre.

  The Effect, by Lucy Prebble, directed by Jamie Lloyd, featuring Paapa Essiedu (Tristan), Taylor Russell) (Connie),  Michele Austin (Dr. Lorna James) and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Dr. Toby Sealey), closes at Off-Broadway’s The Shed.

  White Rose: The Musical, by Brian Belding & Natalie Brice, directed by Will Nunziata, featuring Jo Ellen Pellman (Sophie Scholl), Mike Cefalo (Hans Scholl), Kennedy Kanagawa (Christoph Probst), Laura Sky Herman (Lila Ramdohr), Paolo Montalban (Prof. Kurt Huber), Sam Gravitte (Frederick Fischer), and Cole Thompson (Willi Graff), with Ellis Gage, and Dani Apple, closes at Off Broadway’s Theatre Row.

  The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood, directed by JoAnn M. Hunter, featuring Aja Alcazar, Demetra Dee, Maya Lou Hlava, Noelle Kayser, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Helen Joo Lee, Tyler Meredith, Ericka Ratcliff, Andrea San Miguel, Laura Savage, Allison Sill, and Hannah Whitley, closes at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

  Alex Edelman: Just for Us comedy show, closes at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.

  Redwood, world premiere by Tina Landau, Kate Diaz & Idina Menzel, directed by Landau, featuring Idina Menzel (Jesse), De’Adre Aziza (Mel), Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Becca), Michael Park (Finn), and Zachary Noah Piser (Spencer), with Giovanny Diaz de Leon, and Lance Arthur Smith, closes at LaJolla Playhouse.

  A Shayna Maidel, by Barbara Lebow, directed by David Ellenstein, featuring Samantha Klein (Mama), Zarah Mahler (Lusia Pechnik), Eden Malyn (Rose Weiss), Josh Odess-Rubin (David Pechenik), Marina Schon (Hanna), and Joel Swetow (Mordechai Weiss), closes at Laguna Playhouse.

  The Spy Who Went Into Rehab, by Gregg Ostrin, directed by Cyndy Fujikawa, featuring Satiar Pourvesi, Jill Renner, Rachel Townsend, Stuart W. Howard, Alondra Andrade, and Cyndy Jujikawa, closes at Venice’s Pacific Resident Theatre.

  The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Solo Festival concludes at North Hollywoods’ Theatre 68.

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Reviews for The Who’s Tommy at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre:

New York Times (Jesse Green): That its plot makes no sense is not really the problem with Tommy… Nor can you complain about the rock part of the billing; there’s some pretty magic guitaring going on, and some righteously harmonized vocals… Today, though, unless you’re a die-hard fan who thrills automatically to every lick and lyric, you may want something that calls itself musical theater to offer more than a full-tilt assault on the senses. This production — directed, like the original, by Des McAnuff — won’t provide that, being less interested in trying to put across the story (by McAnuff and Townshend) than in obscuring it with relentless noise and banal imagery.

Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones): …returned to Broadway in a new, born-in-Chicago production from director Des McAnuff that will sock you right in the gut… McAnuff, of course, is the guy who first theatricalized this epically expressionistic piece of British vinyl… Now, though, the world has spun forward enough times to meet “Tommy” where it always lived, meaning its psychologically oriented story of delayed self-actualization due to childhood trauma, and its withering parody of abusive authority figures and celebrity worship… [Lorin] Latarro’s work feels to me keyed around the idea of young bodies moving without regard to signals from the brain, as if reacting to rifle fire from either without or within their own skins. It’s a sight to see.

Theatermania (David Gordon):  There are two things I want out of a production of The Who’s Tommy: for the cast to sing their faces off and for the band to hit me with a wall of sound. The new Broadway revival at the Nederlander Theatre, staged by original director and librettist Des McAnuff, delivers both, and then some. I had such a great time, it made me levitate, and I suspect anyone familiar with the show and the Who’s seminal 1969 rock opera will feel similarly… But at a time when shows seem like they’ve been focus-grouped to death, I’ll gladly take something as unapologetically weird as this production, especially since everyone involved is on the same page, committing to the daring sci-fi strangeness…

Time Out (Adam Feldman): …The sensation we experience in the trippy nostalgia of this 1993 musical’s Broadway revival is closer to that of a pinball: batted and bounced from one flashy moment to the next in a production that buzzes and rings with activity… The plot of this rock opera is not entirely clear just from listening, so the stage musical—adapted by Townshend with director Des McAnuff—reorganizes a few of the songs and fills out the story in a different way than Ken Russell’s outré 1975 film did… The somewhat Pippin-like voyage of self-discovery and showbiz disillusionment that follows has the feel of a fable or allegory, though exactly what it means is up for interpretation…

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  DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company has announced its 2024-25 season:

  Comedy of Errors (Sept. 10 – Oct. 6), directed by Godwin, and starring Alex Brightman and David Fynn.

  Babbitt (Oct. 1-27), newly adapted by Joe DiPietro, directed by Christopher Ashley, featuring Matthew Broderick, Ann Harada, and Matt McGrath.   A satirical comedy centering on the plight of the modern middle-class American Man.

  Leopoldstadt (Nov. 30 – Dec. 25), by Tom Stoppard, directed by Carey Perloff.

  All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, (Dec. 6-29, directed by SimonGodwin, starring Patrick Page.

  Kunene and the King (Feb. 16 – Mar. 16, 2025), written by & starring Joh Kani, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.   The play centers on a the bond between a a terminally ill Shakespearean actor and his caregiver Lunga Kunene, set 25 years after the first post-apartheid democratic elections in South Africa.

  Uncle Vanya (Mar. 30 – Apr. 20), newly adapted by Conor McPherson, directed by Simon Godwin.

  Frankenstein (June 3-29), a world premiere adaption & direction by Emily Burns,

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  A Little Night Music concert presentation will run June 27-29 at Lincoln Center, adapted & directed by John Doyle.

  Susan Graham (Desiree Armfeldt), Cynthia Erivo (Petra), Ron Raines (Fredrik Egerman), Ruthie Ann Miles (Countess), Schuler Hensley (Count Carl Magnus), Marsha Mason (Madam Armfeldt), Kerstin Anderson (Anne Egerman), Jin Ha (Frid), Addie Harrington (Fredrika Armfeldt), Ellie Fishman (Mrs. Nordstrom), Samantha Hill (Mrs. Segstrom), Jonathan Christopher (Mr. Erlanson), Jason Gotay (Henrik Egerman), Andrea Jones-Sojola (Mrs. Anderson). and Ross Lekites (Mr.Lindquist).

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  Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater has announced initial performers for it 2024 Miscast concert on Mon. Apr. 15 at 9 PM PM at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with music direction by Will Van Dyke.

  Jason Robert Brown and Nicole Suazo

 Gavin Creel, Brian d’Arcy James, Ingrid Michaelson, Lauren Patten, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Lea Salonga, Ryan Vasquez, Vanessa Williams, Joy Woods, Wayne Brady, Amber Iman, Mykal Kolgore, and Jinkx Monsoon.

  This year’s concert will stream online following the live show, with the on-demand filming becoming available Apr, 29. Streaming tickets are available HERE.

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  Off-Broadway’s “Red Bull Theater Podcast,” newly improved & revamped, is now available here.

  The first episode features Michael Stuhlbarg.

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  David Adjmi & Will Butler’s Stereophonic will begin previews Apr. 2 (one day earlier than previously announced) and open Apr. 19 at the Golden Theatre, directed by Daniel Aukin.

 Will Brill (Reg), Andrew R. Butler (Charlie), Juliana Canfield (Holly), Eli Gelb
(Grover), Tom Pecinka (Peter), Sarah Pidgeon (Diana), and Chris Stack (Simon).

  Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a  music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup — or their breakthrough.

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  Jelly’s Last Jam will run May 29 – June 23 (opening June 2) at CA’s Pasadena Playhouse, directed by Kent Gash, with choreography by Dell Howlett, and music direction by Darryl Archibald.

 John Clarence Stewart (Jelly Roll Morton), Cress Williams (Chimney Man, and Jasmine Amy Rogers (Anita), and more TBA.

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  PA’s Bucks County Playhouse has announced its 2024 Mainstage season:

  Noises Off (May 17- June 16), directed by Hunter Foster.

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  Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club has announced its $25 digital lottery policy. The lottery will begin Mon. Apr. 1 at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre.

Starting Saturday, March 30 at 12 PM ET, participants will have a chance to enter to win $25 tickets via the Lucky Seat platform. Participants must have a Lucky Seat account to participate in the lottery.

For weekday performances, entries will be accepted until 9:30 AM ET the day before the performance with winners being selected beginning at 10 AM ET and continuing throughout the day as needed. For weekend performances, entries will be accepted until 9:30 AM ET the Friday before, with winner selection following at 10 AM ET and continuing throughout the day as needed. 

Winners will have a limited window in which to purchase and claim their tickets, so those entering are encouraged to keep an eye on the drawing on the dates they have entered. Tickets are subject to availability. Limit of two tickets per patron. Entries are accepted HERE. 

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  Dance Me to the End of Love (My Love Affair with Music) will take place Sat. Apr. 27 at 8 PM at LA’s Theatre West, directed by Brooks Almy.

  Victoria Lavin

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  Red Bull Theater Podversations have returned, again with Michael Stuhlbarg, and hosted by Nathan Winkelstein.

Upcoming guests: Miriam Silverman, Hamish Linklater, Dakin Matthews, Bill Camp, Zainab Jah, and more TBA.

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   DC’s Folger Theatre has announced its 2024-25 season:

  Romeo and Juliet (Oct. 1 – Nov. 10), directed by Raymond O. Caldwell.

   The Reading Room Festival (Winter 2025 — dates TBA), offering public readings of world premiere plays by diverse voices and inspired by the works of Shakespeare.

  A Room in the Castle (Mar. 4 – Apr. 6), by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Kaja Dunn.

  Twelfth Night (May 13 – June 29), directed by