Today’s Highlights:
Once Upon a Mattress, directed by Lear deBessonet, featuring Sutton Foster (Winnifred), Michael Urie (Prince Dauntless), Brooks Ashmanskas (The Wizard), Daniel Breaker (The Jester), Will Chase (Sir Harry), Nikki Renée Daniels (Lady Larken), David Patrick Kelly (King Sextimus), Ana Gasteyer (Queen Aggravain), and Kara Lindsay (Winnifred standby) with Daniel Beeman, Wendi Bergamini, Cicily Daniels, Taylor Marie Daniel, Ben Davis, Sheldon Henry, Oyoyo Joi, Amanda Lamotte, Sarah Michele Lindsey, Michael Olaribigbe, Adam Roberts, Jeffrey Schecter, Darius Wright and Richard Riaz Yoder, opens at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre.
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends concert, featuring Bernadette Peters, Bonnie Langford, and Joanna Riding, at 7:30 PM at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Eric Bergen in Concert, at 8 PM at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Cheers! by Jim Bernhard
Fill in the missing words in these titles of plays, musicals, and songs with the name of an adult beverage.
| 1. Laundry and____, play by James McLure | A. Whiskey |
| 2. ____ Mist, play by Patrick Hastings | B. Cider |
| 3. “____ Frappe,” from It Happened In Nordland | C. Beer |
| 4. “Make It Another ____, Please,” from Panama Hattie | D. Champagne |
| 5. May ____, musical by Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Frank Mandel | E. Absinthe |
| 6. “____Is Best” from Canterbury Tales | F. Bourbon |
| 7. “Five Shots of ____,” from The Conquering Hero | G. Margarita |
| 8. Escape to ____ville, musical by Jimmy Buffett et al | H. Old-Fashioned |
| 9. “Ida! Sweet As Apple ____,” from Roly-Boly Eyes | I. Scotch |
| 10. ____ Complex, play by Leslie Stevens | J. Wine |
Scroll down for the answers…
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David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross will open in Spring 2025 (dates TBA), at a theater TBA, directed by Patrick Marber.
Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, Bill Burr, and more TBA.
The play is set in a cutthroat Chicago real estate office where four salespeople compete to sell mostly worthless properties to unwitting customers. Whoever sells the most wins a car; whoever sells the least is out of a job – a ruthless environment where each character will do anything to come out on top.
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The 7 Fingers’ Duel Reality will run Sept. 12-22 at the Ahmanson Theatre.
The circus troupe’s latest piece, an electrifying and endearing mix of circus, theatre, illusion, music, and dance is an acrobatic, dynamic tour-de-force for all ages inspired by Romeo and Juliet, and asks the audience to imagine a world where star-crossed lovers are circus stars, and their love story unfolding through graceful and death-defying acrobatics. In an epic, cirque-infused performance that dazzles the senses and stirs the heart, the two feuding families engage in a battle of skill, each competition more daring than the last – while the pair of star-crossed lovers struggles to escape the showdown. They are fierce players, but do they care who wins or loses if playing the game can bring them closer together?
An Evening with Broadway Legend LaChanze, in support of NYC’s 54 Below, will take place Sun. Sept. 15 at 8 PM at the concert venue.
The evening will feature music from LaChanze’s past roles as well as Broadway classics, Great American Songbook standards, and more.
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Video: First trailer for the “Snow White” live action film (to be released Mar. 21, 2025), starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.
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The world premiere of Kate Hamill’s The Light and the Dark, currently in previews, will open Aug. 15 and continue through Aug. 23 at NY’s Chautauqua Theater Company, directed by Jade King Carroll.
Kate Hamill (Artemisia Gentileschi), with Joey Parsons, Wynn Harmon, Matthew Saldivar, Jason O’Connell, Carlo Albán, Kimberly Chatterjee, and Chris Thorn.
Artemisia Gentileschi is the most successful female painter of the 17th century who aspired to attain immortality through her groundbreaking work. However, her journey took an unexpected turn, marked by a series of brutal betrayals that forever altered her life and art. The new play delves into the impact of art in assuaging trauma and explores the transformative power of female rage in reshaping societal paradigms.
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Freedom at the Moulin Rouge will run Aug. 27-28 at San Marino, CA’s Huntington Library, with music direction by Rachael Worby.
Kenton Chen, LaVance Colley, Ashley Faatoalia, Jabu Graybeal, and Crystal Starr.
The incredible, under-told story of the first-ever fully integrated hotel and casino in the country. For one short year, 1955, theMoulin Rouge Hotel and Casino had its name up in neon lights. Music direct Worby said, “Located 10 miles off The Strip in Las Vegas, which catered exclusively to white guests at that time, the Moulin Rouge was a miraculous, vibrant place where people of all backgrounds could come together to relax, gamble, and, of course, dance ‘til dawn. I found this to be a remarkable, unknown story — featuring some of the most famous entertainers of that era — of America’s cultural history.”
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Video: Tamika Lawrence performs “From Now On” (from the musical film “The Greatest Showman”) in this years Miscast concert.
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Jason Landon Marcus & Chas LiBretto’s The Royal Pyrate will run Aug. 24-25 at Red Hook’s Waterfront Barge Museum, directed by Hunter Bird.
Jordan Kai Burnett (Mary Hallet, Eddie Cooper (Blackbeard), Lauren Molina Paulsgrave Williams, and Scott Stangland (Black Sam Bellamy).
Based on the real history of the golden age of piracy, the play reimagines the 300-year-old love story of the pirate Black Sam Bellamy and Mary Hallet, a woman accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
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LA’s Theater West will present its 2024 WestFest Aug. 30 – Sept. 22, directed by Victoria Lavan, with performances Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM.
Casting and creative teams TBA.
Each week’s program runs about 90 minutes, with no intermission. A reception with food and beverage follows each performance.
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Charles Kirsch’s Backstage Babble offers 2 interviews:
Jack O’Brien. Click here to listen.
Lee Roy Reams and Brandon Maggart. Click here to listen.
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Performances from the 2024 Miscast benefit concert:
Video: Tamika Lawrence performs “From Now On” from “The Greatest Showman”
Video: Jinkx Monsoon performs every role in Les Misérables “One Day More”
Video: Ingrid Michaelson performs a medley of “With You” and “What More Can I Say” from Pippin and Falsettos.
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An Evening with LaChanze (in support of 54 Below) will take place sun. Sept. 15 at 8 PM at 54 Below.
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Video: Highlights from In the Heights at the St. Louis Muny.
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Meghan Kennedy’s The Counter will run Sept. 19 – Nov. 17 (opening Oct. 9) at Roundabout‘s Laura Pels Theatre, directed by David Cromer.
Anthony Edwards, Susannah Flood, and Amy Warren.
The play follows the unlikely friendship between a waitress and a diner patron that brings both of their secrets to light.
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Video: Patti LuPone and Bridget Everett perform Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” at Carnegie Hall.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Cheers!
1-F. Laundry and Bourbon, play by James McLure
2-I. Scotch Mist, play by Patrick Hastings
3-E. “Absinthe Frappe,” from It Happened In Nordland
4-H. “Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please,” from Panama Hattie
5-J. May Wine, musical by Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Frank Mandel
6-C. “Beer Is Best” from Canterbury Tales
7-A. “Five Shots of Whiskey,” from The Conquering Hero
8-G. Escape to Margaritaville, musical by Jimmy Buffett et al
9-B. “Ida! Sweet As Apple Cider,” from Roly-Boly Eyes
10-D. Champagne Complex, play by Leslie Stevens