This Weekend’s Highlights
Friday, November 15
Noises Off, directed by Ilyse Robbins, featuring Amy Barker (Dotty Otley), Grace Experience (Brooke Ashton), Dan Garcia (Tim Allgood), Eliza Fichter (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Michael Jennings Mahoney (Frederick Rellows), Joseph Marrella (Garry Lejeune), Chip Phillips (Selsdon Mowbray), Samantha Rachert (Belinda Blair), Lewis D, and Wheeler (Lloyd Dallas), opens at Boston’s Lyric Stage.
First Date, by Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner, directed by James Esposito, featuring Michael Angel, Christopher Baker, Troy Dailey, Olivia Leyva, Paloma Malfavon, Andreas Pantazis, Kendre Scott, Natalie Scott, and Rachel Yoffe, opens at LA’s Zephyr Theatre.
Waitress, directed by Diane Paulus, featuring Sara Bareilles (Jenna), Christopher Fitzgerald (Ogie), Drew Gehling (Dr. Omatter), Chaity Angél Dawson (Becky), Caitlin Houlahan (Dawn), Eric Anderson (Cal), Dakin Matthews (Joe), and Joe Tippett (Earl), with Tyrone Davis, Jr., Matt DeAngelis, Andrew Fitch, Henry Gottfried, Molly Jobe, Emily Koch, Max Kumangai, Anastacia McCleskey, Gerianne Pérez, Stephanie Torns, and Nyla Watson, airs at 9 PM ET on PBS (check local listings).
Saturday, November 16
Broadway Show Stoppers concert, directed & choreographed by Scott Thompson, featuring Conna Marie Asbury, Anastasia Barzee, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Benai Boyd, Chad Doreck, Jason Graae, Damon Kirsche, Sharon Lawrence, Chriss Mann, Kerry O’Malley, Alisan Porter, James Snyder, Leslie Stevens, and Lauren Worsham, opens at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre.
American Idiot, by Green Day, directed by Snehal Desai, featuring Steven-Adam Agdeppa, L.J. Benet, Will Branner, Jerusha Cavazos, Lark Detweiler, Daniel Durant, FKaia T. Fitzgerald, Landen Gonzales, Tyler Hardwick, Otis Jones IV, Milo Manheim, Josué Martinez; Giovanni Maucere, James Olivas, Mason Alexander Park, Monika Peña; Mars Storm Rucker, Mia Sempertegui; Angel Theory, and Ali Fumiko Whitney, closes at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.
Giant, world premiere by Mark Rosenblatt, directed by Nicholas Hytner, featuring John Lithgow (Roal Dahl), Rachael Stirling (Felicity Crosland), Romola Garai (Jesse Stone), Tessa Bonham Jones (Hallie), Richard Hope (Wally Saunders), Elliot Levey (Tom Maschler), with Tessa Bonham Jones, and Romola Garai Hope, closes at London’s Royal Court Theatre.
F*ck7thGrade, by Jill Sobule & Liza Birkenmeir, directed by Lisa Peterson, featuring Jill Sobule, Julie Wolf, Kristen Ellis-Henderson, and Nini Camp, closes at Off-Broadway’s Wild Project.
Sunday, November 17
La Cage Aux Folles, directed by Sam Pinkleton, featuring Cheyenne Jackson (Georges), Kevin Cahoon (Albin), Ryan J. Haddad ((Jean-Michel), Shannon Purser ((Anne), George Salazar (Jacob), Michael McDonald (Edouard Dindon/M. Renaud, Nicole Parker (Marie Dindon/Mme). Renaud, El Beh (Francis), and Shea Diamond (Jacqueline), with Kay Bebe Queue, Cody Brunelle-Potter, Salina EsTitties, Rhoyle Ivy King, Ellen Soraya Nikbakht, Suni Jade Reid, and Paul Vogt as Les Cagelles, opens at Pasadena Playhouse.
John Philip: Oceans of Love and Life concert returns to NCY’s Don’t Tell Mamma, directed by Marilyn Maye.
Fetch reading, by Alex Goldberg, directed by Michal Donovan, featuring a cast not announced, at 7 PM Burbank’s Colony Theatre.
All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain, created & performed by Patrick Page, closes at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater.
Barbra and Liza Live concert, starring Steven Brinberg (Barbra Streisand) and Rick Skye (Liza Minnelli), closes at London’s Charing Cross Theater.
Roundabout Theatre‘s The Counter, by Meghan Kennedy, directed by David Cromer, featuring Anthony Edwards (Paul), Amy Warren (Peg), and Susannah Flood (Katie), closes at Off-Broadway’s Laura Pels Theatre.
View From the Bridge, directed by David Ellenstein, featuring Richard Baird (Eddie Carbone), Lowell Byers ((Marco), Frank Corrado (Alfieri), Steve Froehlich (Mike/Tony/ Immigration Officer), Coby Rogers (Rodolpho), Matthew Salazar-Thompson (Louis/First Immigration Officer), Margot White (Beatrice), and Marie Zolezzi (Catherine), closes at Laguna Playhouse.
Robbin, From The Hood, world premiere by Marlow Wyatt, directed by chuma Gaul, featuring Iesha M. Daniels (Robbin), Enrike Llamas (Juan), Geri Nikole-Love (Margaret), Rob Nagle (Kyle), Joshua R. Lamong (Charles), and William L. Warren (Percy), closes at North Hollywood’s Road on Magnolia.
Broadway Show Stoppers concert, directed & choreographed by Scot Thompson, featuring Conna Marie Asbury, Anastasia Barzee, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Benai Boyd, Chad Doreck, Jason Graae, Damon Kirsche, Sharon Lawrence, Chriss Mann, Kerry O’Malley, Alisan Porter, James Snyder, Leslie Stevens, and Lauren Worsham, closes at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre.
I’ll be with You Shortly, world premiere by Michael Merton, directed by Carol Becker, featuring Alexis C. Martino, Rebecca O’Brien, Janet Hoskins, Debra Kay Lee, Jerry Weil, Jason Paul Evans, Patrick Thofson, Amanda Lynne, Alex De Rita, Nick Benson, Brittany De Leon, Andrea Sojo, Andrew Neaves, and Starr Shapiro, with Joan Kubice, closes at North Hollywood’s Loft Ensemble Theatre.
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Reviews for Tammy Faye at Broadway’s Palace Theatre:
NY Times (Elisabeth Vincentelli): …Tammy Faye’s signature Kabuki facade barely figures in the disjointed, strangely bland musical that opened on Thursday… It is laudable that the show’s composer, Elton John; lyricist, Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters); book writer, James Graham; and director, Rupert Goold, tried to go behind the mask of this complicated, outsize woman, whose public persona was shaped by and for television. The problem is that they ended up making her smaller than life… But narratively and emotionally, “Tammy Faye” is always on shaky ground because it can’t decide if it’s a satire of televangelism and power-hungry faith salesmen, the tale of the rise of politicized religion, or the earnest feminist journey of an independent-minded woman. By trying to hit so many notes, none of them resonate…
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz): Like its real-life title character, the Elton John musical Tammy Faye isn’t flawless. But you must admire its flash, energy, and a bright star turn by Broadway newcomer Katie Brayben in the lead role…. But life is about nuance, and that’s tricky to nail in a musical. Director Rupert Goold’s team hasn’t quite gotten there in this take on the tempest-tossed Christian televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. The show often treats the heroine like a cartoon, and that makes for a tonal mismatch that nags… The score could use a breakout song, while Graham’s book could use a stronger point of view about Tammy Faye’s role in the ruinous scandal… The principal actors deliver. Alongside Brayben, Christian Borle steps up as a clownish Jim Bakker, while Michael Cerveris lends darker streaks as a devilish Jerry Falwell, a fundamentalist Baptist preacher who opposed the Bakkers’ approach to religion…
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski): Elton John’s Broadway show is a disaster of biblical proportions… it’s amateurish with lots of dead air and little focus… a rudimentary “and then this happened” biography explaining how Tammy (Katie Brayben) and her husband Jim Bakker (Christian Borle) went from small-town obscurity to bringing smiles and puppets to the fire-and-brimstone world of TV preachers with their enormous PTL (Praise the Lord) Network… Team “Tammy” can’t figure out how to build likable and compelling characters who also do unquestionably bad things. Tammy Faye’s drug addiction, Jim’s affairs and their company’s bilking their followers are rushed. So, the show leans hard on broad one-liners instead… No laughs, for that matter. Most of the bits are met with the same hungover silence you’d find in a Catholic church on a Tuesday…
The Wrap (Robert Hofler): You wake up Sunday morning, and instead of turning on a favorite news program, you punch in the wrong numbers to get one of those dreadful Evangelist megachurch shows. Even worse, when you try to switch channels, the remote control fails. You’re stuck watching those Christian grifters and con artists for the next 2.5 hours… That ghastly waking nightmare will give you some idea of what it’s like to sit through the new musical…
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The Roommate, by Jen Silverman, will close Dec. 15 at Broadway’s Booth Theatre, directed by Jack O’Brien.
Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow.
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Keen Company has announced casting for its Marry Me a Little concert performance on Mon. Nov. 18 at 7 PM at NYC’s Symphony Space, directed by Jonathan Silverstein, with music direction by John Bell.
Melissa Errico, John Cariani, Jason Tam, Lauren Molina, Philippe Arroyo, Zachary Noah Piser, Morgan Siobhan Green, and Nik Walker.
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The world premiere of James O’Neil’s A Cowboy Lullaby will run Dec. 4-22 at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre, directed by & Dan Wheetman.
Sylvie Davidson, Trevor Wheetman, Bill Flores, Dave Jackson, and Dan Wheetman
An original theatrical concert about the truths, myths, lies and legends of the American West, and the poetry of characters with dreams as vast as the open range.
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Sam Pezzullo & Christopher Bouckoms’ “The Premiere” will screen Sun. Dec. 15 at 3 PM at Long Island’s Bay Street Theatre, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers & director Jon Silver.
Sam Pezzullo, Alan Ceppos, Kristen Curcie, Mohna Hoppe, Ruby Jackson, Andrea Harum-Schiavoni, Catherine Schiavoini Bromberg, Scott Baker, Lorenzo Rodriquez, Christina Brown, and more…
The feature film is a mockumentary about a documentary about trying to make a musical about a movie.
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The world premiere of Picture You Dead will launch its UK tour on Feb. 26, 2025 at the UK’s High Wycombe’s Swan, directed by Jonathan O’Boyle.
Peter Ash, Fiona Wade, Jodie Steele, and George Rainsford.
The story of Picture You Dead was inspired by Peter’s meeting with real life art forger and now acclaimed copyist, David Henty: set in Brighton, DSI Grace investigates a cold case that leads him to the rarified air of fine art, but beneath the respectable veneer lurks a dark underworld of greed, deception and murder. When an unsuspecting couple unwittingly buy a potentially long-lost masterpiece in a car boot sale, they discover that their dream find is about to turn into their worst nightmare and only Grace can stop them from paying the ultimate price.
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The Long Beach Nutcracker will run Dec. 14-22 at CA’s Long Beach Convention Center, choreographed by David Wilcox.
Casting not reported.
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Goodspeed Musicals has announced its 2024-25 season:
Ragtime (Apr. 25 – June 15), directed by Christopher Betts, with choreography by Sara Edwards, and music direction by Adam Souza.
All Shook Up (June 27 – Aug. 17), directed by Daniel Goldstein, with music direction by Adam Sousa.
A Chorus Line (Sept. 5 – Aug. 29), directed by Rob Ruggiero, with choreography by Parker Esse, and musi direction by Adam Souza.
Mrs. Stanta Claus (Nov. 14 – Dec. 28), world premiere by Jerry Herman & Alexis Scheer.
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Rebel With a Cause: The Artistry and Activism of Nina Simone, by Jocelyn Bioh, will run Dec. 7-9 at NYC’s N2NY, directed by Reggie D. White, with music direction by Michael O. Mitchell.
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The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors Fund) has announced its annual gala will take place Mon. Apr. 21, 2025 at at 6 PM at NYC’s New York Marriott Marquis.
Denzel Washington and James L. Nederlander.
Additional honorees and special guests TBA.