Today’s Highlights:
* Righteous, FREE reading, by Jeff Cohen, directed by Shana Cooper, featuring Frank Wood, Denis O’Hare, Johanna Day, Jessica Hecht, Daniel Jenkins, Richard Kind, Peter Jacobson, and Ned Eisenberg, with Jimmy Burke and Dee Pelletier, streamed at 7:30 PM ET here.
* Broadway By The Year (2017) FREE concert, presenting music from Prince of Broadway, Bandstand, Anastasia, The Band’s Visit, and more, with performers TBA, livestreams at 7 PM ET here.
* Broadway Q&A Series, FREE discussion with director Michael Greif, livestreamed at 1 PM ET.
* Jim Caruso’s Cast Party variety show, with special guests TBA, streams at 8 PM ET here.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: That’s A Lie! by Jim Bernhard
1. Harold Hill, in The Music Man, lies about being a graduate of …Harvard University…the Juilliard School…The Gary (Indiana) Music Conservatory…the eighth grade
2. Sky Masterson, in Guys and Dolls, lies when he tells Nathan Detroit that he lost his $1,000 bet that he could…take Sarah Brown to dinner in Havana, Cuba…eat 30 pieces of cheesecake in half an hour…pick the winner of every horse race at Belmont…play “The Star-Spangled Banner” on a kazoo
3. In Othello, Iago lies to Othello…that Desdemona’s father is a pirate…that Desdemona is a drug addict….that nobody likes Othello because he is a coward…that Desdemona gave a handkerchief given to her by Othello to Cassio as a love token
4. Blanche du Bois, in A Streetcar Named Desire, falsely claims that…she took a voluntary leave of absence from her teaching job because of her nerves…she has been named Teacher of the Year…she has been appointed the school principal…she is leading a teachers’ protest over academic freedom
5. In La Cage aux Folles, Albin tries to make dinner guests believe that he is…Georges’ wife…a former diva at the Paris Opera…the winner of the Tour de France…a butler
6. In All My Sons, Joe Keller falsely denies….having an affair with his brother’s wife…that he manufactured defective aircraft cylinder heads…that he defrauded several people in a Ponzi scheme…that he is a member of the Ku Klux Klan
7. Mary Tilford, in The Children’s Hour, falsely accuses two teachers at a private girls’ boarding school of….falsifying her grades…having a sexual relationship with each other…being secret Communists…giving too much homework
8. In The Most Happy Fella, Tony lies to Rosabella by sending her a picture supposedly of himself that is actually a picture of…Clark Gable…Tony’s son…Tony’s ranch foreman…Tony as a young man thirty years earlier
9. In Where’s Charley?, Charley Wykeham falsely claims that he is…his aunt from Brazil…an Oxford don…a Member of Parliament…his own brother
10. In Twelfth NightViola pretends to be…a countess…a serving maid…a sorceress…a man
Scroll down for the answers…
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The 2020 Tony Awards will be held digitally this Fall.
Date, eligibility rulings, nominations, and additional information TBA.
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Video: “Stars in the House,” spotlighting Kansas’ Wichita Music Theatre, hosted by Artistic Director Wayne Bryan, featuring Paula Leggett Chase, Vincent Corazza, Thomas W. Douglas, Kim Huber, Damon Kirsche, Brian J. Marcum, Karen Robu, and Thom Sesma. (1:18:08)
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Video: “Stars in the House,” a Pippin reunion, with special guests Charlotte d’Amboise, Rachel Bay Jones, Terrence Mann, Andrea Martin, and Matthew James Thomas. (1:17:02)
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The next Berkshire Playwrights Lab‘s “Off the Cuff ” series will take place Wed. Aug. 26 at 6 PM ET.
Tony Shaloub, Dan Lauria, and Melia Bensussen
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Video: Virtual Halston, with special guests Mercedes Ruehl and Michael Urie. (1:11:00)
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The Laguna Playhouse Annual Gala will stream Sat. Aug. 29 at 7 PM PT.
Nathan Gunn, The Skivvies, Kim Brockington, Jodi Long, Joe Mantegna, Alfred Molina, James Pickens Jr., and Tony Shalhoub, with a number from last year’s production of Mamma Mia!
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Jonathan Wysocki’s “Dramarama” is now available at “Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival” through Aug. 24 here.
Nick Pugliese, Anna Grace Barlow, Nico Greetham, Megan Suri, Danielle Kay , and Zac Henri.
It’s the end of summer in Escondido, CA in 1994, and Gene is preparing for his high school drama friends’ final murder mystery slumber party. The theatrical host, Rose, will fly off to start college the next morning, followed by earnest Claire, magnetic Oscar, and sarcastic Ally. Yet, Gene has bigger problems than being left behind by his best friends: he wants to come out of the closet—but is terrified of what his sheltered Christian best friends might think.
Video: Sneak peek
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The world premiere reading of Incidental Moments of the Day, written & directed by Richard Nelson, will stream Thurs. Sept. 10 at 7:30 PM ET here (and available through Nov. 5), in support of The Actors Fund.
Stephen Kunken (Tim), Sally Murphy (Jane), Maryann Plunkett (Barbara), Laila Robins (Marian), Jay O. Sanders (Richard), and Charlotte Bydwell (Lucy).
Set in early September, 2020, the play finds the Apple siblings gathering once again over Zoom for an evening of dinner, conversation, and performances, while the world continues to sputter more and more out of control, amidst anger, loss, death, and a coming election. The play follows What Do We Need to Talk About? and And So We Come Forth, which have earned nearly 100,000 views in over 30 countries.
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Video: “We Are What We Are” from La Cage Aux Folles, at the 1984 Tony Awards
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Broadway’s The Boys in the Band will premiere Sept. 30 on Netflix, directed by Joe Mantello.
Jim Parsons (Michael), Zachary Quinto (Harold), Andrew Rannells (Larry), Matt Bomer (Donald), Robin De Jesús (Emory), Brian Hutchison (Alan), Michael Benjamin Washington (Bernard), Tuc Watkins (Hank), and Charlie Carver (Cowboy).
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Casting has been announced for a 6-person, open air production of Pippin, to run Sept. 8-20 at London’s Garden Theatre at the Eagle, directed by Steven Dexter, with choreography by Nick Winston, and music direction by Michael Bradley.
Ryan Anderson (Pippin), Tsemaye Bob-Egbe (Leading Player), Tanisha-Mae Brown (Catherine), Joanne Clifton (Fastrada/Bertha), Harry Francis (Lewis/Theo), and Dan Krikler (Charles).
Dexter’s production is inspired by the late ’60s— The Summer of Love —when Schwartz began writing an earlier version of the show as a student.
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“Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George,” by James Lapine, will be released Apr. 21, 2021. Pre-orders are not yet available.
The book chronicles the 2-year odyssey of creating the iconic Broadway musical. In 1984, Lapine, then a fledgling playwright and directed, met Stephen Sondheim, already a legend, and the two decided to turn George Seurat’s “Sunday on the Island La Grand Jatte” into a musical. Through Lapine’s recollections, conversations between Lapine, Sondheim, and the original cast and crew of the production, and a treasure trove of personal photographs, sketches, script notes, and sheet music from the making of the show, the two Broadway icons lift the curtain on their beloved musical. “Putting It Together” delves deep into the making of Sunday in the Park with George and the story of how a Broadway icon went off-Broadway with a neophyte nineteen years his junior to create a Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning smash hit.
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Theatre Royal Stratford East will present Nadia Fall & Rebecca Lenkiewicz’ No Masks, to run in Sept. (dates TBA), directed by Nadia Fall.
Russell Tovey, Lorraine Ashbourne, Anna Calder-Marshall, Anya Chalotra, and Eamonn Walker, with Elijah Melhado.
The play is inspired by stories submitted by people living in the U.K. who experienced the public health crisis up close.
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Video: Lea Salonga performs Blair Bodine & Daniel Edmonds “Dream Again”
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Quiz answers – It’s A Lie:
1. Harold Hill in The Music Man, falsely claims to be a graduate of The Gary (Indiana) Music Conservatory (class of ought-five).
2. Sky Masterson, in Guys and Dolls, lies when he tells Nathan Detroit that he lost his $1,000 bet that he could take Sarah Brown to dinner in Havana, Cuba.
3. In Othello, Iago lies to Othello that Desdemona gave a handkerchief given to her by Othello to Cassio as a love token.
4. Blanche Du Bois in A Streetcar Named Desire falsely claims she took a voluntary leave of absence from her teaching job.
5. In La Cage aux Folles, Albin tries to make dinner guests believe that he is Georges’ wife.
6. In All My Sons, Joe Keller wrongly denies that he manufactured defective aircraft cylinder heads.
7. Mary Tilford in The Children’s Hour, falsely accuses two teachers at a private girls’ boarding school of having a sexual relationship with each other.
8. In The Most Happy Fella, Tony lies to Rosabella by sending her a picture that is actually a picture of Tony’s ranch foreman.
9. In Where’s Charley?, Charley Wykeham falsely claims that he is his aunt from Brazil (where the nuts come from).
10. In Twelfth Night, Viola pretends to be a man.