Today’s Highlights:
Joy Behar: My First Ex-Husband benefit performance, written & performed by Behar, at 8 PM at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
Common Ground 8: Stories of Transformation presentation, with directors Brian Graves & Lizzy Kimball, Alan Wasserman, Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, Jolene Kay, and Rod Brownstein, and performers Maurie Gonzalez, Jason Culp, Michelle Gillette, Rob Brownstein, Alan Wasserman, and Jolene Kay, at 8 PM at North Hollywood’s Road on Magnolia.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: It Adds Up by Jim Bernhard
Insert the right number in these titles to complete the equations:
1. ___ Touch of Venus + ____ Bells = Nash at ____
2. The ____ Pound Look + ____ Tall Women = The ____ Minute Hamlet
3. ____ Angry Men + ___ Wagons Full of Cotton = The ____ Steps
4. ____ Guitars + My ____ Angels = The ____th Man
5. The ____ Day Mistress + ____ Charing Cross Road = So Long, ____th Street
6. A Majority of ____ + ____ Guys Named Moe = ____ Degrees of Separation
7. ____ Baboons Adoring the Sun + ____ Men on a Horse = ____ Keys to Baldpate
8. A Memory of ____Mondays + ____ Shakespearean Actors = The Love of ____Colonels
9. The ___Year Itch + The Trial of the Catonsville____ = The Night of January ____th
0. ____ Finger Exercise + The Last ____ Years = Beethoven’s ___th
Scroll down for the answers…
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Broadway’s Once Upon a Mattress will run Dec. 10 – Jan. 5, 2025 at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Lear deBessonet.
Sutton Foster (Princess Winnifred) and more TBA.
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LA Opera has announced 2 concerts in its new season at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion:
Kristin Chenoweth Holiday Concert (Dec. 14 at 7:30 PM). 
here.
Kelli O;Hara (Feb. 1, 2025) at 7:30 PM. here.
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Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun continues through Sept. 15 at Fayetteville, AR’s Theatre Squared, directed by Dexter Singleton.
Dominic Daniel (Walter Lee Younger), Jaquai Wade (Beneatha Younger), Kathy Tyree (Lena Younger), Vanessa R Butler (Ruth Younger), Judah Asher (Travis Younger), Tony N. King (Joseph Asagai), Jordan Williams (George Murchison), Justin Fletcher (Mr. Karl Lindner), and Justin Stewart (Bobo).
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The world premiere of Shem Bitterman’s The Civil Twilight will run Oct. 16 – Nov. 24 (opening Oct. 18) at Broadwater Studio Theatre, (1076 Lillian Way) directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky.
Taylor Gilbert (Ann Carlson) and Andrew Elvis Miller (John Pine).
A dramatic thriller, the play takes place over a single night during a once-in-a-century storm when a popular radio personality winds up trapped in a motel room in the Midwest with his biggest fan and a deadly game of trust and recrimination is played.
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Video: Sutton Foster and Michael Urie discuss their roles in Broadway’s Once Upon a Mattress.
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SpeakEasy Stage will present Alexis Scheer’s Laughs in Spanish Sept. 13 – Oct. 12 (opening Sept. 15) at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion, directed by Mariela López-Ponce.
Dominic Daniel as Walter Lee Younger, Jaquai Wade as Beneatha Younger, Kathy Tyree as Lena Younger, Vanessa R Butler as Ruth Younger, Judah Asher as Travis Younger, Tony N. King as Joseph Asagai, Jordan Williams as George Murchison, Justin Fletcher as Mr. Karl Lindner, and Justin Stewart as Bobo.
On the eve of Art Basel, Mariana is about to open a career-defining show in her Miami gallery when suddenly all the paintings from her star artist go missing. To make matters worse, her once-famous, mostly absent mother Estella hits town with a mysterious agenda.
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Graham Fuller & Kristina Fuller’s That Parenting Musical will run Sept. 4 – Jan. 12, 2025 (opening Sept. 12) at Theatre Row, directed & choreographed by Jen Wineman.
Natalie Bourgeois (Single Friend), Max Crumm (Child 1), Vidushi Goyal (Child 2), McKenna Ogrodnik (Mom), Brian Owen (Todd/ Narrator), and Dwayne Washington (Dad).
While in the trenches of parenting two young kiddos, we learned very quickly that our experiences—as ridiculous, hilarious, heartwarming, and gross as they could be—were shared by so many others out there as to be near-universal. Those parents were longing for a night out, particularly a comedic experience shared with other parents experiencing a similar life stage.
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A Streetcar Names Desire will run in 2 locations, directed by Nick Westrate. Details here.
Oct. 28-30 at the LA River in Frogtown (2415 Eads St.)
Nov. 1-03 at at a warehouse in Venice Beach (2100 Zeno Place)
Lucy Owen (Blanche DuBois), Brad Koed (Stanley Kowalski), Mallory Portnoy (Stella DuBois), and James Russell (Harold Mitchell)
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LA Opera will present Madame Butterfly Sept. 21 – Oct. 13 at LA’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, conducted by James Conlon, and directed by Mario Gas.
Karah Son (Cio-Cio-San), Jonathan Tetelman (B.F. Pinkerton), Michael Sumuel (Sharpless), Hyona Kim (Suzuki), Rodell Aure Rosel (Goro), Hyungiin Son (Prince Yamadori), Wei Wu (Bonze), Vinciius Costa (Imperial Comissioner), and Gabrielle Turgeon (Kate Pinderton).
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Digital Purchase & Rental: My Favorite Things, the 2023 London concert celebrating the 80th anniversary of the collaboration of Rodgers & Hammerstein, directed by Christopher Gattelli, is now available in full for digital purchase and rental on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Fandango. Click here for concert and streaming platforms.
Audra McDonald, Marisha Wallace, Daniel Dae Kim, Patrick Wilson, Aaron Tveit, Julian Ovenden, Maria Friedman, Michael Ball, Lucy St. Louis, Joanna Ampil, Jade Albertsen, Alex Louize Bird, Matthew Caputo, Dan Cooke, Barry Drummond, Harry Francis, Matt Gibson, Bethany Huckle, Brenda Newhouse, Emily Ann Potter, Sophie Pourret, Stephen Quildan, and Rachel Wang-Hei Lau.—along with Anna-Jane Casey, Lily Kerhoas, Jonny Labey, and Jordan Shaw. Special guests included Rita Moreno and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
An abridged version of the concert aired via PBS’ “Great Performances” May 31. The uncut edition played in U.K. movie theatres and as an on-demand stream in North America earlier this year. A live album of the concert was released digitally and as a double CD package May 31.
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Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust will run Sept. 10 – Oct. 20 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Taylor Reynolds.
Julius Thomas III (Kenneth), Frank Britton (Bert), Yesenia Iglesias (Corinna), and Craig Wallace (Clay), with Ezinne Elele and Jeremy Keith Hunter.
Wally’s Tiki Bar serves the sweetest mai tais in town, and Kenneth never misses a happy hour with his best friend. But when a job loss upends Kenneth’s static existence, he must discover the courage to open a new door and change his life – even if it means facing the past and letting go.
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Matt Werner & Gene Back ‘s Burningman TheMusical: directed by Tyler Milliron, with choreography by Ari Grooves, is available for FREE on various websites. Click here to watch.
Morgan Siobhan Green (Molly), Tally Sessions (Bill the Billionaire), Max Crumm (Chad), Michelle Duffy (Hazel the Hippie), and Troy Iwata (Joe), with Allison, Mila Jam (Burner), and Mila Jamm.
Follow Molly, a promising young tech grad, as she returns to the playa of Black Rock City – this time employed by the very tech company that, unbeknownst to her, seeks to destroy it. After being given the task of acquiring drugs for her boss’s exclusive party, Molly finds herself on a journey inward – and through the community of Burning Man – finds her truest self.
Video: Trailer.
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Complete casting has been announced for Craig Lucas, Sean Hartley & Daniel Messé Prelude to a Kiss, to run Sept. 10 – Oct. 19 at Milwaukee Rep, directed by Kenneth Ferrone & David Ivers, with music direction by Wiley DeWeese, and choreography by Julia Rhoads.
Andrew Montgomery Coleman (Taylor), Jonathan Gillard Daly (Julius), Julie Garnyé (Leah), Caitlin Houlahan (Rita), Chris McCarrell (Peter), James Moye (Rita’s Dad), and Karen Ziemba (Rita’s Mom), with with Bella Hicks, Robert Zelaya, and Caroline Pernick.
When a mysterious guest requests a kiss at Peter and Rita’s wedding, the boundaries of true love are tested, taking the couple on a fantastic journey of self-discovery.
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LA’s Celebration Theatre will present it’s Disco Ball Brunch on Sun. Sept. 29 from 12-3 PM at West Hollywood’s Micky’s WeHo.
Thelma Houston
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Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust will run Sept. 10 – Oct. 20 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Taylor Reynolds.
Julius Thomas III (Kenneth), Frank Britton (Bert) Yesenia Iglesias (Corinna), and Craig Wallace (Clay), with Ezinne Elele and Keith Hunter.
Wally’s Tiki Bar serves the sweetest mai tais in town, and Kenneth never misses a happy hour with his best friend. But when a job loss upends Kenneth’s static existence, he must discover the courage to open a new door and change his life – even if it means facing the past and letting go.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: answers: It Adds Up
1. One Touch of Venus + Eight Bells = Nash at Nine
2. The Twelve Pound Look + Three Tall Women = The Fifteen Minute Hamlet
3. Twelve Angry Men + 27 Wagons Full of Cotton = The 39 Steps
4. Seven Guitars + My Three Angels = The Tenth Man
5. The Ninety Day Mistress + 84 Charing Cross Road = So Long, 174th Street
6, A Majority of One + Five Guys Named Moe = Six Degrees of Separation
7. Four Baboons Adoring the Sun + Three Men on a Horse = Seven Keys to Baldpate
8. A Memory of Two Mondays + Two Shakespearean Actors =The Love of Four Colonels
9. The Seven-Year Itch + The Trial of the Catonsville Nine = The Night of January 16th
10. Five Finger Exercise + The Last Five Years = Beethoven’s Tenth