This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, September 15
Christine Andreas: Paris to Broadway concert, with special guests Martin Silvestri and Charles Kirsch, opens at NYC’s 54 Below.
Speakeasy Stage‘s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, by Selina Fillinger, directed by Paula Plum, featuring Marianna Bassham, Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda, Catia, Crystin Gilmore, Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, and Lisa Yuen, begins previews at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
Assassins, directed by Courtney O’Connor, featuring Christopher Chew, Shonna Cirone, Teddy Edgar, Kristian Espiritu, Daniel Forst Sullivan, Arthur Gomez, Jackson Jirard, Lisa Kate Joyce, Jacob Less, Darren Paul, Dan Prior, Robert St. Laurence, Kayla Shmizu, Jeffery Song, Phil Taylor, and Caleb Chew, begins previews at Boston’s Lyric Stage Company.
What the Constitution Means to Me, by Heidi Schreck, directed by Kristen van Ginhoven, featuring Kim Stauffer, with Izzy Brown, begins previews at Albany’s Capital Rep.
Oklahoma studio cast album, with Robert Russell Bennett’s original orchestrations, featuring Sierra Boggess (Laurey), Nathaniel Hackmann (Curly), Rodney Earl Clarke (Jud), Jamie Parker (Will Parker), Sandra Marvin (Aunt Eller), and Louise Dearman (Ado Annie), Nadim Naaman (Ali Hakim), Leo Roberts (Andrew Carnes), Juan Jackson (Ike Skidmore), Will Richardson (Joe), Sejal Keshwala (Gertie Cummings), Emma Kingston (Kate), Kelly Mathieson (Ellen), Rebekah Lowings (Virginia), Charlotte Kennedy (Vivian), Ceili O’Connor (Sylvie), Danny Whitehead (Fred), Michael Colbourne (Cord Elam), and Freddie King (Farmer), released on most platforms.
Saturday, September 16
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, directed by Mathew Bourne & Julia McKenzie, featuring Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, Haydn Gwynne, Damian Humbley, Bradley Jaden, Gavin Lee, Jason Pennycooke, Christine Allado, Janie Dee, Bonnie Langford, Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Jac Yarrow, Marley Fenton, Beatrice Penny-Touré,Harry Apps, Bella Brown, and Monique Young, begins previews at London’s Gielgud Theatre.
POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, by Selina Fillinger, directed by Annie Tippe, featuring Kim Blanck (Jean), Allison Guinn (Bernadette), Stephanie Pope Lofgren (Margaret), Deirdre Lovejoy (Harriet), Susan Lynskey (Stephanie), Stephanie Styles (Dusty (His Dalliance), and Dominique Ariel Toney (Chris), begins previews at Berkeley Rep.
Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw, by Cooper Jordan, Zoe Ann Jordan, Patrick Spencer & Anthony De Angelis, directed by Stephanie Rosenberg, featuring Bart Shatto (Gordon), Adam Parbhoo (Adam), Jill Owen (Amanda/Alli/Jugsaw), and Donnell Johnson (Voice of Detective Tapp), with Danny Durr, Gabrielle Goodman, Patric Voss Davis, James Lynch, Thomas Skea, Morgan Traud, Jessica Morilak, and more, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s AMT Theatre.
The Crown Jewels, by Simon Nye, directed by Sean Foley, featuring Al Murray (King Charles II/Talbot Edwards), Mel Giedroyc (Mrs. Edwards/French Noblewoman), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Elizabeth Edwards/Lady of the Bedchamber), Aidan McArdle (Colonel Blood), Neil Morrissey (Captain Perrot/Tourist), Joe Thomas (Tom Blood Jr./Tourist), Tanvi Virmani (Jenny Blaine/Jailer), Adonis Siddique (Wythe Edwards/Footman), Dedun Omole (Footman), Ryan Lane (William Smith/Footman), Kieran Brown (Footman), and Emma Bown (Footman), closes at London’s Garrick Theatre.
Christine Andreas: Paris to Broadway concert, with special guests Martin Silvestri and Charles Kirsch, concludes at NYC’s 54 Below.
Sunday, September 17
Assassins, directed by Courtney O’Connor, featuring Christopher Chew, Shonna Cirone, Teddy Edgar, Kristian Espiritu, Daniel Forst Sullivan, Arthur Gomez, Jackson Jirard, Lisa Kate Joyce, Jacob Less, Darren Paul, Dan Prior, Robert St. Laurence, Kayla Shmizu, Jeffery Song, Phil Taylor, and Caleb Chew, opens at Boston’s Lyric Stage Company.
Speakeasy Stage‘s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, by Selina Fillinger, directed by Paula Plum, featuring Marianna Bassham, Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda, Catia, Crystin Gilmore, Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, and Lisa Yuen, opens at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion.
The Bridges of Madison County, directed by Ethan Heard, featuring Erin Davie (Francesca), Mark Evans (Robert), Christopher Bloch (Charlie), Rayanne Gonzales (Marge), Julia Wheeler Lennon (Carolyn), Nolan Montgomery (Michael), Marina Pires (Marian/Chiara/State Fair Singer), and Cullen R. Titmas ( Bud), with Carla Crawford, Tori Gomez, Alex Stone, and Douglas Ullman, Jr., closes at VA’s Signature Theatre.
Jeremy Jordan concludes his run in Little Shop of Horrors at Off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre.
Peter Pan Goes Wrong, by Mischief Company, directed by Adam Meggido, featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Barltley Booz, Matthew Cavendish, Bianca Horn, Harry Kershaw, Chris Leask, Henry Lewis, Ellis Morris, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit, Stephen James Anthony, Ryan Vincent Anderson, Fred Gray, and Brenann Stacker, closes at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre.
ENGLISH, by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Shadi Ghaheri, featuring Auveen Dezgaran (Gol)i,Lilly Heidari (Jennifer – voiceover), Ash Kahn (Omid), Adir Lev Man (Coach – voiceover), Pooya Mohseni (Marian), Sake Namei (Elham), and Xaye Yabandeh (Roya), with Lilly Heidari, Adir Lev Mann, Laurie Shireen Sanii and Golbanoo Setayesh, closes at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre.
Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, by Alexis Scheer, directed by Lindsay Allbaugh, featuring Ashley Brooke, Aliyah Camacho, Samantha Wynette Miller, Coral Peña, Lilian Rebelo, and Juan Francisco Villa, closes at LA’s Kirk Douglas Theatre.
Dial M for Murder, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Melissa Rain Anderson, featuring Ka-Ling Cheung, Almanya Narula, Colin Sphar, Kieran Cronin, and Eric Dean White, closes at Fayetteville, AR’s TheatreSquared.
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RIP: Michael McGrath died yesterday at his home in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He was 65 years old.
Michael appearing in 14 Broadway shows over a career of more than three decades. He made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of My Favorite Year in 1992, and went on to appear in The Goodbye Girl, Swinging On a Star, Little Me, Wonderful Town, Spamalot, Is He Dead?, Memphis, Born Yesterday, Nice Work if You Can Get It, On the Twentieth Century, She Loves Me, Tootsie, and, most recently, Plaza Suite.
He received his first Tony Award nomination in 2005, for his supporting performance in Spamalot. He would receive a second nomination and win in the same category in 2012, for his performance as gin bootlegger Cookie McGee in Nice Work If You Can Get It.
But his career extended well beyond Broadway. McGrath spent much of the beginning of his career satirizing the Main Stem in Forbidden Broadway, appearing in at least three of its iterations between 1988 and 1996. He was a favorite of New York City Center Encores!, starring in their productions of Du Barry Was a Lady, The Boys From Syracuse, and Follies, the latter as traveling salesman Buddy Plummer. He also enjoyed a healthy on-screen career, appearing in such projects as Madam Secretary, Between the Lions, and The Interpreter. Along with his Tony Award, McGrath was a three-time Drama Desk Award nominee, an Outer Critics Circle nominee, and a Theatre World Award winner.
He met his wife of 30 years, fellow actor Toni DiBuono, early in his career after co-starring in a Boston run of Forbidden Broadway. Friends describe him as a Red Sox fanatic and bourbon connoisseur, a “devoted husband and father and friend to anyone who met him.”
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“Manhattan Theatre Club, A Home for Artists,” a new one-hour documentary, directed by Ann Benjamin, will be available on Tues. Nov. 21 via the All Arts app and website, or on the All Arts TV channel (for those in the New York Metro area).
The documentary will follow MTC’s 50-year history under Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, who stepped down earlier this year. The film features archival production footage and photos, as well as exclusive interviews with stars including David Auburn, Christine Baranski, André De Shields, Laura Linney, John Patrick Shanley, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sam Waterston, each of whom were able to hone their craft at MTC.
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The Rocky Horror Show will run Oct. 13-28 at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse, directed by Hunter Foster, with choreography by Shannon Lewis.
Frankie Grande (Frank-N-Furter), Jason Forbach (Brad), Kristen Martin (Janet), Tim Shea (Riff Raff), Alyssa Wray (Magenta), Larkin Reilly (Columbia), Benjamin Howes (Narrator/Dr. Scott), Stanley Martin (Eddie), with Julia Joy and Natalie Welch. 
Casting for Rocky and Eddie TBA.
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My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy & Still Not Famous!, written by & starring Brad Zimmerman, will run Oct. 19 – Nov. 12 at Burbank’s Colony Theatre.
Zimmerman’s hilarious and poignant story is still universal in its message: if you embark upon the journey to follow your dream and demonstrate the grit and passion required to make it as an artist, the rewards that come from never giving up are very much worth the blood, sweat, and tears.
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Dancers Responding to AIDS has announced its 10th Anniversary edition of the Hudson Valley Dance Festival, which will take place Sat. Oct. 7 at 2 & 5 PM at NY’s Catskill Point.
Click the link above for more information.
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The New York Pops 2023-24 Season Opening Concert will take place Fri. Oct. 27 at 8 PM at Carnegie Hall‘s Stern Auditorium, conducted by Steven Reineke.
Hailey Kilgore, Derek Klena, Javier Muñoz, and Ali Stroker.
The concert features music from some of the most iconic new musical theater classics since 2000.
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On Your Feet will run Oct. 6 – 29 (opening Oct. 7) at CA’s La Mirada Theatre, directed & choreographed by Luis Salgado, and music direction by Daniel Alejandro Gutierrez.
Casting TBA.
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Video: Highlights from Robert Schenkan & Neil Berg’s The Twelve at CT’s Goodspeed, directed by John Doyle.
Akron Lanier Watson (Pete), Wonzhā Johnson (Andrew), Wesley Taylor (Tom), Etai Benson (Jimmy), Gregory Treco (Simon), Kyle Scatliffe (John), Kelvin Moon Loh (James), Mel Johnston Jr. (Tee), Brandon J. Ellis (Phil), Rob Morrison (Bart), F. Michael Haynie (Matt), Adrienne Walker (Mags), and Rema Webb (Mother Mary), with Matt Caplan, Dion Simmons Grier, and Aurelia Williams
Jerusalem. The disciples are in disarray. Torn apart by the unthinkable death of their leader, see how twelve ordinary individuals come together to create one of the most powerful movements ever known. Filled with power and passion, The 12 is a universal story of love and how each of us must eventually navigate the loss of whatever we hold most dear. Join us for a profoundly moving musical that you will never forget!
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Manhattan Theatre Club will present its “ALL ARTS Docs: Manhattan Theatre Club, a Home for Artists” on Mon. Nov. 13 at 5 PM at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Click here for more information.
David Auburn, Christine Baranski, Ben Brantley, John Lee Beatty, André De Shields, Brandon J. Dirden, Edie Falco, Jessica Hecht, Judith Light, Laura Linney, Santo Loquasto, Joe Mantello, Jerry Mitchell, Mary-Louise Parker, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Hyde Pierce, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, John Patrick Shanley, Daniel Sullivan, Richard Wesley, Sam Waterston, Whitney White and more.
This original film offers an unprecedented look at Manhattan Theatre Club’s storied past. The episode documents our 50-year history under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, exploring the impact of nonprofit theatre on the American theatre scene through interviews
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James G. Hirsch & Robert A. Papazian’s Love Among the Ruins will run Oct. 6-29 (opening Oct. 8) at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, directed by Michael Arabian.
JoBeth Williams and Peter Strauss, with Tony Abatemarco, Gigi Bermingham, Nima Dabestani, C.J. Blaine Eldred, Martin Kildare, Amir Talai and Wendy Worthington.
Jessica Medlicott (JoBeth Williams), once a great actress, is now a beautiful and wealthy widow. She is accused of “breach of promise” by a handsome young Naval officer who claims she promised to marry him. Her only hope may be the greatest barrister at the Old Bailey, Sir Arthur Granville Jones (Peter Strauss). Jessica Medlicott is no ordinary client and the sparks that fly as she drives Sir Arthur to distraction keeps the audience guessing, laughing and crying until the very end. Is she guilty of “breach of promise?” Only the great Sir Arthur can get to the truth.
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National Yiddish Theatre Folskbiene will present the world premiere of Zalmen Mlotek & Ayram Mlotek’s Amid Falling Walls, to run Nov. 14 – Dec. 10 (opening Nov. 20) at NYC’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, directed by Motl Didner.
Steven Skybell, Abby Goldfarb, Avram Mlotek, Daniella Rabbani, and more TBA.
The musical celebrates the resilience and hope of Holocaust survivors. The piece, which is presented in Yiddish song with English subtitles, features firsthand survivor testimonies. Through poetry and music, the show presents an authentic retelling using the words and music of those who lived the events.
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Off-Broadway’s Classic Stage Company‘s 2023 Gala will take place Mon. Nov. 13 at 6 PM at NYC’s Capitale, directed by Susan Stroman.
John Weidman and Sarah L. Douglas.
Fred Applegate, Santino Fontana, Boyd Gaines, Victor Garber, Judy Kuhn, Nathan Lane, Debra Monk, Brandon Uranowitz, A.J. Schively, and BD Wong.