This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, November 18
The Who’s Tommy in Concert, directed & choreographed by Devanand Janki, featuring George Salazar, Janet Dacal, Maurico Martinez, Jason Briggs, Noah Canales, Arielle Crosby, Rachael Cupples, Ian Deane, Elliott Dudek, Quinn Dudek, Emi Fishman, Musa Hitomi, Donovan Mahannah, Daniel Ryan May, Jeremiah Porter, Paris Parché Richardson, Lily Rose, Samuel Sommer, and Paul Whitty, opens at Flint’s FIM Capitol Theatre.
To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim concert opens at San Francisco’s Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
Christmas in Connecticut – A New Musical, by Patrick Pacheco, Erik Forrest Jackson, Jason Howland & Amanda Yesnowitz, directed by Amy Anders Corcoran, featuring Audrey Cardwell (Liz Sandor), Ed Dixon (Alexander Yardley), Matt Bogart (Victor Beecham), Josh Breckenridge (Jefferson Jones), Raymond J. Lee (Dudley Beecham), James Judy (Felix Bassenak), Tina Stafford (Norah O’Connor), and Rashidra Scott (Gladys Higgenbottom, with Matthew Curiano, Rachel Fobbs, Julie Kavanagh, Emily Larger, Brendan McGrady, Melvin Tunstall III, Ty-Gabriel Jones, and Jamie Zeidman, begins previews at CT’s Goodspeed Musicals.
Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, adapted by Colin Escott, directed by Hunter Foster, featuring Joe Boover (Elvis Presley), Tyler Michal Breeding (Johnny Cash), Jason Cohen (Jerry Lee Lewis), Sam Sherwood (Carl Perkins), Margaret Dudasik (Dyanne), Bart Shatto (Sam Phillips), James David Larson (Brother Jay Perkins), and Tucker Cruz Marshall (Fluke), with Guiliana Augello, Brian Michael Henry, and Sam C. Jones, previews at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse.
Life on Earth world premiere FREE staged reading, by Keliher Walsh, directed by James Eckhouse, featuring Eve Gordon, Arye Gross, Erin McIntosh, Amy Pietz, and Todd Waring, at 8 PM at LA’s Pico Playhouse. RSVP here: lifeearth23@gmail.com
“The People We Hate At the Wedding” film, directed by Claire Scanlon, featuring Ben Platt (Paul), Kristen Bell (Alice), Allison Janney (Donna), and more…, released on Amazon Prime.
“Next at the Kennedy Center: A Joni Mitchell Songbook” concert, with special guests Renée Fleming, Lalah Hathaway and Raul Midón, Jimmie Herrod, Raul Midón, and Aoife O’Donovan, airs at 9 PM on PBS.
“Sondheim Unplugged: The NYC Sessions – Volume Three,” featuringGeorge Lee Andrews, Danielle Ferland, Joy Franz, Annie Golden, Teri Ralston, Ken Jennings, Pamela Winslow Kashani, Pamela Myers, Sarah Rice, Melanie Vaughan, and Jim Walton, released on a two-disc CD set, as well as streaming & digital options (on all platforms).
Saturday, November 19
Clyde’s, by Lynn Nottage, directed by Kate Whoriskey, featuring De’Adre Aziza (Clyde), Kevin Kenerly (Montrellous), Reza Salazar (Rafael), and Garrett Young (Jason), with Danielle Davis, Lewon Johns, Maya Vinice Prentiss, Arik Vega, and Gage Wallace, opens at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.
The Wiz, directed & choreographed by Kelli Foster Warder, featuring Kataka Corn (Dorothy), Nehemiah Hooks (Scarecrow), Phillip Attmore (Tin Man), Nathaniel Tenenbaum (Lion), Be Russell (The Wiz), Shaunyce Omar (Evillene), Trina Mills (Glinda), Sarah Russell (Addaperle), Marlette Buchanan (Aunt Em), and Brace Evans (Uncle Henry), with Time Brickey, Jimmy Shields, Gabrielle Dominique, Shelby Willis, Madison Willis, Alexandria J. Henderson, Alfie Parker Jr., Alex Crozier, Charles Simmons, Jade Solomon Curtis, Jelani Kee, Bethanie Willis, Porscha Shaw, Nicholas Japaul Bernard, Antonio Mitchell, Curtis Bannister, Sapphire Goetz, and Simon Alene, opens at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre.
Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, adapted by Colin Escott, directed by Hunter Foster, featuring Joe Boover (Elvis Presley), Tyler Michal Breeding (Johnny Cash), Jason Cohen (Jerry Lee Lewis), Sam Sherwood (Carl Perkins), Margaret Dudasik (Dyanne), Bart Shatto (Sam Phillips), James David Larson (Brother Jay Perkins), and Tucker Cruz Marshall (Fluke), with Guiliana Augello, Brian Michael Henry, and Sam C. Jones, opens at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse.
A Christmas Carol, directed by Jessica Thebus, featuring Larry Yando (Ebenezer Scrooge), Vikram Konkimalla (Tiny Tim), Presley rose Jones (Ebenezer Scrooge alternate), Presley Rose Jone (Tiny Tim alternate), Justin Amolsch (Marley Dupe), Kareem Bandealy (Ghost of Jacob Marley), Dee Dee Battest (Frida), Jayson Brooks (Abe), Ariana Burks (Martha Cratchit), Thomas J. Cox (Bob Cratchit), Amira Danan (Belle), William Dick (Ortle), Cindy Gold (Mrs. Maud Fezziwig), Gregory Hirte (Dick Wilkins), Susaan Jamshidi (Mrs. Cratchit), Vikram Konkimalla (Tiny Tim), Daniel José Molina (Ghost of Christmas Future), Lucky Stiff (Ghost of Christmas Past), Bethany Thomas (Ghost of Christmas Present), Austin Tichenor (Ebenezer Scrooge Alternate), and Andrew White (Narrator), with Amir Henderson, Presley Rose Jones, Austin Tichenor, Belinda, Rika Nishikawa, Alexander Quiñones, Karla Serrato, Jalen Smith, Penelope Walker, Wai Yim, Molly Bunder, Sam Hyson, Loren Jones, and Tim Kidwell, begins previews at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
A delicate Balance, by Edward Albee, directed by Jack Cummings III, featuring Tina Chilip, Carmen M. Herlihy, Paul Juhn, Mia Katigbak, Manu Narayan, and Rita Wolf, closes at Off-Broadway’s Transport Group.
Gingold Theatrical Group‘s Candida, directed by David Staller, featuring Avanthika Srinivasan (Candida), R.J. Foster (James Mavor Morell), Avery Whitted (Eugene Marchbanks), David Ryan Smith (Burgess), Amberber Reuchean Williams (Prosperine), and Peter Romano (Lexy Mill), with Alton Alburo, Fernando Lamberty, and Matenin Sangare, closes at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row.
SpeakEasy Stage‘s English, by Sanaz Tossi, directed by Melory Miraschrafi, featuring Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Lily Gilan James, Deniz Khateri, Leyla Modrizadeh, and Zaven Ovian, closes at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim concert closes at San Francisco’s Feinstein’s at the Nikko.
Jessica Vosk in concert closes at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center.
The Who’s Tommy in Concert, directed by directed & choreographed by Davanand Janki, featuring George Salazar (Tommy), Janet Dacal (Mrs. Walker), Mauricio Martínez (Captain Walker), Paul Whitty (Uncle Ernie), Jeremiah Porter (Cousin Kevin, and Arielle Crosby (The Acid Queen), with Jason Briggs, Noah Canales, Rachael Cupples, Ian Deane, Elliott Dudek, Quinn Dudek, Emi Fishman, Musa Hitomi, Donovan Mahannah, Daniel Ryan May, Paris Porché Richardson, Lily Rose, and Samuel Sommer, closes at Michigan’s Flint Repertory Theatre.
Rent, reimagined production, directed by Reena Dutt, featuring Ricky Abilez, Ellie Aviles, Shanna Beauchamp, Sofia Bragar, Nyx Ciel, Sean Cruz, Shanelle Darlene, Mitchell Johnson, Graham Kurtz, Nicole Ledoux, Carrie Madsen, Kevin Matsumoto, Nicole Monet, Danny Moreno, Will Norris, Carlos Padilla Jr., John “Rusty” Proctor, Danni Spring, and Eddie Vona, closes at LA’s Shakespeare Center.
Sunday, November 20
KPOP, by Jason Kim & the Woodshed Collective, directed by Teddy Bergman, featuring Zachary Noah Piser, Eddy Lee, Julia Abueva, Major Curda, Jinwoo Jung, Jiho Kang, Amy Keum, James Kho, Jully Lee, Timothy H. Lee, Abraham Lim, Kate Mina Lin, Augie Merrylees, Patrick Park, John Yi, Bo Hyung Kim, Min Young Lee, and Kevin Woo, with Marina Kondo, Joshua Lee, and Lina Rose Lee, opens at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre.
Sandra, by David Cale, directed by Leigh Silverman, featuring Marjan Neshat, opens at Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre.
Titanique, by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli & Tye Blue, directed by Tye Blue, featuring Marla Mindelle (Céline Dion), Constantine Rousouli (Jack), Frankie Grande (Victor Garber), Kathy Deitch (Molly Brown), Ryan Duncan (Ruth), Alex Ellis (Rose), John Riddle (Cal), and Jaye Alexander (The Iceberg), with Courtney Bassett, Donnie Hammond, and Dimitri Moise, with Courtney Bassett, Donnie Hammond, and Dimitri Moise, re-opens at Off-Broadway’s Daryl Roth Theatre.
The Brothers Paranormal, by Prince Gomolvilas, directed by Jeff Liu, featuring David Huynh (Max), Roy Vongtama (Visarut), Tamika Simpkins (Delia), Jasper Louis (Felix), Emily Kuroda (Tasanee), and Pearrie Hammie (Jai), with Daniel Kim and Ratana, opens at LA’s East West Players.
Newsies, directed & choreographed by directed & choreographed by Matt Cole, featuring Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (Jack Kelly), Bronté Barbé (Katherine Plumber), Moya Angela (Medda Larkin), Samuel Bailey (Specs), Josh Barnett (Race), Cameron Blakely (Joseph Pulitzer), Jack Bromage (Tommy Boy), Alex Christian (Buttons), Arcangelo Ciulla (Ike), George Crawford (Morris Delancey), Ross Dawes (Snyder), Joshua Denyer (Mush), Ross Dorrington (Splasher), Matthew Duckett (Crutchie), Jacob Fisher (Albert), Jamie Golding (Wiesel), Damon Gould (Finch), Alex James-Hatton (Oscar Delancey), Barry Keenan (Nunzio), Ryan Kopel (Davey), Sion Lloyd (Bunsen), George Michaelides (Romeo), Mukeni Nel (Jo Jo), Joshuan Nkemdilim (Elmer), and Mark Samaras (Mike), Matt Trevorrow (Henry), with Nesim Adnan & Haydn Court & Oliver Gordon & Ethan Sokontwe (alternating as Les), along with Imogen Bailey, Zack Guest, Jordan Isaac, and Bradley Trevethan, begins previews at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park.
Always Irving Berlin concert, featuring Debby Boone, Darius de Haas, and Anaïs Reno, at both 5 & 7:30 PM at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Jazz Club.
Linda Pearl In The Mood concert, at 7:30 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club.
Walking with Ghosts, written & performed by Gabriel Byrne, directed by Lonny Price, closes at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre.
A Raisin in the Sun, new revival by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Robert O’Hara, featuring Francois Battiste (Walter Lee Younger), Toussaint Battiste (Travis Younger alternate), John Clay III (Joseph Asaggi), Calvin Dutton (Bobo), Mister Fitzgerald (George Murchison), Perri Gaffney (Mrs. Johnson), Paige Gilbert, Mandi Masden (Ruth Younger), Camden McKinnon Travis Younger alternate), Jesse Pennington (Karl Lindner), Tonya Pinkins (Lena Younger), and N’yomi Stewart, with Skyler Gallun and N’yomi Stewart, closes at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater.
Catch as Catch Can, by Mia Chung, directed by Daniel Aukin, featuring (double-cast across gender, generation, and race): Cindy Cheung (father Lon Lavecchia/daughter Daniela), Jon Norman Schneider (mother Roberta Lavecchia/son Robbie), and Ron Yan (mother Theresa Phelan/son Tim), closes at Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons.
The Year of Magical Thinking, Keen Company‘s site-specific production, by Joan Didion, directed by Jonathan Silverstein, starring Kathleen Chalfant, staged entirely in non-traditional theatre spaces throughout NYC, closes.
Kinky Boots, directed & choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, featuring Callum Francis (Lola), Christian Douglas (Charlie Price), Danielle Hope (Lauren), Brianna Stoute (Nicola), Sean Steele (Don), and Marcus Neville (George), with Devin Bowles, Bella Coppola, Nick Drake, Ian Gallagher Fitzgerald, Ryan Halsaver, Matthew Michael Janisse, Lindsay Joan, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Marty Lauter, Tommy Martinez, Ryah Nixon, Lucas Pastrana, Liz Pearce, Ricky Schroeder, David J. Socolar, Ebrin R. Stanley, Tarion Strong, Ernest T. Williams, and Maria Wirries, closes at Off-Broadway’s Stage 42.
Santino Fontana in concert closes at NYCs 54 Below.
Chester Bailey, by Joseph Dougherty, directed by Ron Lagomarsino, featuring Reed Birney and Ephraim Birney, closes at Off-Broadway’s Irish Rep.
The Tattooed Lady, world premiere by Eric Courtney & Max Vernon, directed by Ellie Heyman, featuring Jackie Hoffman (Ida Gibson), Kim Blanck, James Dybas, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Anastacia McCleskey, Jessie Shelton, Katie Thompson, Grace Slear, Sophia Ramos, and Maya Lagerstam, closes at Philadelphia Theatre Company.
A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Casey Stangl, featuring Doug Harris (Lt. j.g. Daniel A Kaffee), Andy Umberger (Col. Nathan Jessep), Leanne Antonio (Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway), Sara King (Lt. Jack Ross), Mathew Bohrer (Lt. j.g. Sam Weinberg), Patrick Stafford (Lt. Jonathan James Kendrick), Brandon Engman (Pfc. Louden Downey), Corey Jones (Lt. Col. Matthew A. Markinson), Karole Foreman (Capt. Julia Alexander Randolph), Aaron Pae Klein (Cpl. Jeffrey Owen Howard), Michael Ocampo (Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson), Gabriel Bonilla (Cpl. Hammaker/Orderly/MP/Sentry), Isaac J. Cruz (Cpl. Dunn/Lawyer/Sergeant-at-Arms), Kodi Jackman (Lawyer/MP/Sentry), James Ripple (Tom/MP/Sentry), Rodrigo Varanadas (Pfc. William T. Santiago/MP/Sentry), and Greg Watanabe (Cap. Isaac Whitaker & Cmdr. Walter Stone, with Noah Collins and Dylan Wittrock, closes at CA’s La Mirada Theatre.
The Humans, by Stephen Karam, directed by Adam Karsten, featuring Arthur Hanket (Erik Blake), Barbara Lee Bragg (Deirdre Blake), Katie Kerr (Aimee Blake), Katie Peabody (Brigid Blake), Mary Burkin (Momo Blake), and Ali Zahiri (Richard Saad), closes at CA’s Coachella Valley Rep.
EISENHOWER: This Piece of Ground, by Richard Hallesen, directed by Peter Ellenstein, starring John Rubinstein (General Eisenhower), closes at LA’s Theatre West.
All In The Timing, by David Ives, directed by Michael Yavnieli, featuring Patrick Warburton, Talon Warburton, Taylor Behrens, Bill Butts, Meadow Clare, Tania Gonzalez, Mark Kaan, Maram Kamal, and Melodie Shih, closes at LA’s Zephyr Theatre.
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Reviews for & Juliet at Broadway’s Stephen Sondheim Theatre:
NY Times (Jesse Green): … I’ve stood proudly, even among my colleagues, as a denier of everything that shows like & Juliet typically stand for. So shoot me: I liked it. It felt so wrong; it felt so right… The show’s entire reason for being, after all, is to exploit the back catalog of Max Martin… What saves & Juliet from being a lowest-common-denominator corporate byproduct is something else, something I never expected: wit… and playful sets…situating the story in a century somehow combining the 16th and ours… more important are some fundamental choices about what a jukebox can and should be… Martin… instead opts for an original story, if you can consider a reboot of Romeo and Juliet original… But the book, by David West Read, aims higher than that…
Variety (Christian Lewis): …While there is every reason to be skeptical of a Shakespearean jukebox musical, & Juliet makes it work remarkably well. It’s the most fun you’ll have in a Broadway theater right now… [David West] Read clearly has respect for and knowledge of the source material but also isn’t afraid to highlight just how ridiculous the play really is… an Elizabethan jukebox that draws on Tudor chic, contains a bevy of well-researched Shakespeare jokes and historical references (including the factoid that Shakespeare left Anne nothing but his “second best bed” in his will), and uses beloved pop songs to spread a palatable feminist message… What the show lacks in plotting, it more than makes up for musically. It is a jukebox, but it’s a smart one…
Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones): …a savvy if stunningly unsubtle mashup of a musical from London that aims to redress that balance for Broadway fun and profit. This nonstop party-empowerment show gets its theme of feminist revisionist British history from Six, its Shakespearean humor from Something Rotten, its nonbinary savvy from Head Over Heels, and its collage-like spectacle from Moulin Rouge… The show, which has a collage-like setting with, believe or not an actual jukebox at the center, is proudly nonspecific about its period, cheerfully unconcerned with complex thinking,
New York Stage Review (Frank Scheck): …Fortunately, this effort featuring dozens of earworm-heavy smash hits by pop composer/producer Max Martin…and his various collaborators provides the sort of infectious silliness that makes for a very enjoyable evening, provided that you leave your brains at the door… Of course, just because a show is frivolous doesn’t mean that it can’t hit you over the head with a message. In this case it’s female empowerment… Book writer David West Read (Schitt’s Creek) somehow manages the difficult feat of weaving the goofiest of pop songs into the Elizabethan proceedings with almost sublime ingenuity… The show’s terrific music numbers, fueled by high-powered vocals, give it a propulsive energy that’s impossible to resist…
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Initial casting has been announced for Perry Henzell, Suzan-Lori Parks, Jimmy Cliff & Trevor Rhone’s The Harder They Come, to run Feb. 16 – Mar. 26, 2023 (opening Mar. 15) at The Public Theater, directed by Rhone, Tony Taccone & Sergio Trujillo with choreography by Edgar Godineax, and music supervision by Kenny Seymour.
Jeannette Bayardelle (Daisy), Andrew Clarke (Lyle), Dominique Johnson (Jose), Dudney Joseph Jr (Ray), Meecah (Elsa), Jacob Ming-Trent (Pedro), and Ken Robinson (Hilton), with Shawn Bowers, Jamal Christopher Douglas, Dana Marie Ingraham, Chelsea-Ann Jones, Dwight Xaveir Leslie, Morgan McGhee, Alysha Morgan, and Housso Semon… and more TBA.
The story of Ivan, a young singer who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, eager to become a star. After falling in love and cutting a record deal with a powerful music mogul, Ivan soon learns that the game is rigged, and as he becomes increasingly defiant, he finds himself in a battle that threatens no only his life, but the very fabric of Jamaican society.
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B. Jeffrey Madoff’s Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical will begin performances May 31, 2023 at Chicago’s Studebaker Theatre (link TBA), directed by Sheldon Epps, with choreography by Edgar Godineaux, and music direction by Shelton Becton.
Casting, link, and additional creative team members TBA.
From humble beginnings in his hometown of Kenner, Louisiana, Lloyd Price overcame incredible obstacles on his way to a revolutionary musical career.
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Eleri Ward’s Keep a Tender Distance concert will take place Mon. Dec.19 at 8 PM at NYC’s Sony Hall.
Laura Benanti, Bobby Conte, Julia Murney and Samantha Pauly.
The album is also available for listening and purchasing here.
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Manhattan Theatre Club has announced that David Auburn’s Summer, 1976 will begin previews Apr. 14, 2023 and open Apr. 25 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Daniel Sullivan.
Jessica Hecht and Laura Linney.
The play follows the “unlikely friendship” between Diana, and artist and single mom, and Alice, a free-spirited housewife, as the two help each redefine independence. Set in Ohio, the play explores motherhood, ambition, and intimacy.
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson has welcomed his second child with husband Justin Mikita through a surrogate.
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Grease will run Jan. 20 – Feb. 12 (opening Jan. 21 at CA’s La Mirada Playhouse, directed by Kari Hayter, with choreography by Christopher M. Albrecht, and music direction by Ryan O’connell.
Casting TBA.
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Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre has announced its 2023 season:
Double Helix (May 30 – June 18), world premiere by Madeline Myers, directed by Scott Schwartz, and directed by Addy Chan. In the early 1950s, the race to discover the structure of DNA grips the scientific community. One brilliant young researcher, Rosalind Franklin, contends with adversity, anti semitism, and love to uncover one of life’s great mysteries. But will she sacrifice what makes her human to discover what makes us human.
Dial M For Murder (June 27 – July 23), lynew adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Walter Bobbie.
Sammy & Me (Aug. 14-19), a play with music by Wendy Dann & Eric Jordan Young, directed by Dann. Sammy Davis, Jr: singer, dancer, child star, fixture of the Rat Pack…but at what cost?
Master Class (Aug. 1-27), directed by Susan Stroman and starring Kate Burton.
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The revival of August Wilson’s Piano Lesson has been extended, now through Jan. 29, 2023 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, directed by Latanya Richardson Jackson.
Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), Danielle Brooks (Bernice), John David Washington (Boy Willie), Trai Byers (Avery), Ray Fisher (Lymon), April Matthis (Grace), and Michael Potts (Winning Boy).
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Complete casting has been announced for the world premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks’ adaptation of The Harder They Come, to run Feb. 16 – Mar. 26 (opening Mar. 15) at the Public Theater, directed by Tony Taccone & Sergio Trujillo, with choreography by Edgar Godineaux.
Jeanette Bayardelle (Daisy), Andrew Clarke (Lyle), Dominique Johnson (Jose), Dudney Joseph Jr. (Ray), Meecah (Elsa), Jacob Min-Trent (Pedro), and Ken Robinson (Hilton), with Shawn Bowers, Jamal Christopher Douglas, Dana Mare Ingraham, Chlesea-Ann Jones, Morgan McGee, Alysha Morgan, Housso Semon, Dwight Xavier Leslie, and more TBA…
The story of Ivan, a singer who comes to Kingston, Jamaica in search of stardom. After falling in love and cutting a record deal, Ivan learns the dark side of the music industry, and enters a battle that threatens both his life and the fabric of Jamaican society.
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Christina Anderson’s the ripple, the wave that carried me home will run Jan. 13 – Feb. 12 at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, directed by Jackson Gay.
Brianna Buckley (Gayle/Young Chipper/Ambitious Black Woman0, Christiana Clark (Janice), and Aneisa J. Hicks (Helen).
It’s 1960s Kansas, and Janice’s parents are prominent activists fighting for the integration of public swimming pools. After Janice grows apart from her family and starts a new life far away, she is asked to return to her hometown to speak at a ceremony honoring her father. She must decide whether she’s ready to reckon with her political inheritance – and a past she’s tried to forget.