Today’s Highlights:
Chicago, directed & choreography by Denis Jones, featuring Sarah Bowden (Roxie Hart), J. Harrison Ghee (Velma Kelly), Emily Skinner (Matron “Mama” Morton), James T. Lane (Billy Flynn), Adam Heller (Amos Hart), and Ali Ewoldt (Mary Sunshine), with Carleigh Bettiol, Joe Bigelow, Victoria Byrd, Taeler Cyrus, Sean Ewing, Veronica Fiaoni, Abbey Friedman, Anna Gassett, Valton Jackson, Madison Johnson, Justin Keats, Connor McRory, Lizz Picini, Michael James Reed, Mikayla Renfrow, Nathaniel Washington, Davis Wayne, and Ricardo A. Zayas, opens at St. Louis Muny.
Tales of Change New Play Festival – Week 3, featuring short plays by Dina Morrone, Marc Littman Jeanine Anderson, and Harris Shore, begins FREE streaming at LA’s Theatre West.
**********************
GRACE NOTES Quiz: Oh, Captain, My Captain! by Jim Bernhard
Match these captains with the plays and musicals in which they appear:
| 1. Captain Spalding | A. Billy Budd |
| 2. Captain Jack Boyle | B. Heartbreak House |
| 3. Captain Jack Absolute | C. The Desert Song |
| 4. Captain Paul Fontaine | D. The Rivals |
| 5. Captain Corcoran | E. Oh Captain! |
| 6. Captain Shotover | F. Show Boat |
| 7. Captain Edward Fairfax Vere | G. H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 8. Captain George Brackett | H. Juno and the Paycock |
| 9. Cap’n Andy Hawks | I. Animal Crackers |
| 10. Captain Henry St. James | J. South Pacific |
Scroll down for the answers…
**********************
Video: Stars in the House, a Game Night, hosted by James Wesley and Anika Larsen, with special guests TaNika Gibson, Max Crumm, Jill Whelan, and Jarrod Spector. (1:41:49)
**********************
RIP: Ed Asner has passed away Aug. 29 at the age of 91.
In addition to his widely popular role as Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Ed appeared r received Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for the mini-series “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.” On film, he is best know as Santa Claus in the film “Elf” opposite Will Ferrell.
Broadway credits include Harry Brock (1989), Face of a Hero, The Threepenny Opera (1955), and Craig Wright’s Grace (opposite Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon). Asner also toured the country as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his solo show FDR for more than five years. He recently completed his work on the feature film “Faith, Hope & Love.”
Ed most recently starred in the feature films “Honor Amongst Men,” “Angels on Tap,” and “The Parting Glass.” TV credits include “Forgive Me,” “Cobra Kai,” “Michael: Every Day,” “The Good Wife,” and “Bones,” and many more.
One of the most honored actors in the history of television, Ed Asner has been the recipient of seven Emmy Awards and 16 nominations, as well as five Golden Globe Awards and served as National President of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms. He was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1996.
**********************
“Cinderella” will begin streaming on Fri. Sept. 3 on Amazon Prime.
Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel, Minnie Drive, James Corden, Nicholas Galitzine, Billy Porter and Pierce Brosnan.
**********************
Jonathan Rockefeller’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation, featuring songs by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman, will run Oct. 21 – Jan. 30, 2022 at Theatre Row.
This fresh adaptation is told with stunning life-sized puppetry through the eyes of the characters we all know and love, in a new story from the Hundred Acre Wood.
**********************
Kritzerland’s 11th Anniversary Show will take place Wed. Sept. 12 at 7 PM PT at Studio City’s Feinstein’s at Vitello’s, directed by Bruce Kimmel, with music direction by Richard Allen
Daniel Thomas Bellusci, Peyton Kirkner, Kerry O’Malley, Adrienne Stiefel, and Robert Yacko.
**********************
Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage has announced its 2021-22 season:
The Sound Inside (Sept. 24 – Oct. 16), by Adam Rapp, directed by Bryn Boice, featuring Nathan Malin and Jennifer Rohn. In the 17 years since she was last published, novelist Bella Baird has almost completely isolated herself from the world. But things change when she meets Christopher.
BLKS (Oct. 29 – Nov. 20), by Aziza Barnes, directed by Tonasia Jones. Three twenty-something Black women try to find intimacy and purpose in a city that doestn’t seem to care about them.
People, Places & Things (Jan. 7 – Feb. 5, 2022), by Dunan MacMillan, directed by David R. Gammons. Emma is a thirty-something actress who thinks she is having the time of her life, until she finds herself in rehab.
Once On This Island (Mar. 11 – Apr. 16), directed by Pascale Florestal, with music direction by David Freeman Coleman.
The Inheritance, Parts 1 & 2 (Apr. 22 – June 11), by Matthew Lopez, directed by Paul Daigneault. A generation after the peak of the AIDS crisis, what is it like to be a young gay man in New York? What is the legacy left to them by previous generations?
**********************
The original Broadway cast recording of Diana: The Musical will be released Sept. 24. 
here.
Video: “The Main Event”
**********************
FX will present a limited of “Under the Banner of Heaven,” to begin streaming on FX and Hulu on a date TBA.
Andrew Garfield, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sam Worthington, Wyatt Russell, Seth Numrich, and Rory Culkin.
The series is based on Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction crime drama surrounding a 1984 murder committed by extremist members of the LDS church.
**********************
Short film: “This Is Broadway,” featuring clips from shows past, present, and future like Hamilton, Wicked, A Chorus Line, and Mrs. Doubtfire.
The two-and-a-half minute anthem film features a voiceover by Oprah Winfrey that spotlights 99 shows, 735 actors, and even one dog (a certain red-headed orphan’s best friend). The film features Hugh Jackman, Bruce Springsteen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Billy Porter, Angela Lansbury, Ethel Merman, James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington, and many more.
**********************
Naima Mora & Marishka S. Phillips’ The Amazing Adventures of a Woman in Need, will run Oct. 16 – Nov. 11 (both in-person & virtually) at the Triad Theatre, directed by Phillips.
Naima Mora
The play follows four New Yorkers, with Mora as the narrator who introduces Penelope, the supermodel who never dies… Joanne, the self-proclaimed stay-at-home dog mom… and Marisol Yanette Anelis Rodgriguez Lopes, the serial date in search of modern day reparations.
**********************
John Williams: Maestro of the Movies will run Sept. 3-5 at the Hollywood Bowl.
**********************
Long Beach’s International City Theatre (link TBA) has announced its 2022 season:
Marry Me A Little (Feb. 9-27), by Craig Lucas & Norman René.
A Dolls House: Part 2 (Apr. 15 – May 1), by Lucas Hnath.
The Legend of Georgia McBride (June 8-26), by Matthew Lopez, directed by Jamie Torcellini.
Lend Me A Tenor (Oct. 19 – Nov. 6), by Ken Ludwig.
TBA (Aug. 26 – Sept. 11).
**********************
“Here’s To The Ladies” will premiere in early 2022 on a platform TBA, directed by Heather Arnson.
Through interviews, first-hand accounts, on-site coverage, and self-submission, the series will chronicle the stories of the women working on the business side of Broadway, focusing on their journeys and the industry, and how they adapted during the pandemic, many of whom dealt with the uncertainty of job loss, held companies together through sheer will, pivoted careers and pivoted back again. These women are leading the charge on rebuilding the future of Broadway and beyond.
can be made here.
**********************
An encore performance of Liz Callaway: Comin’ Around Again will take place Tues. Sept. 7 at 7 PM ET at NYC’s 54 Below.
**********************
Naima Mora & Marishka S. Phillips’ The Amazing Adventures of a Woman in Need will run Oct. 6 (in person) and Oct. 21 – Nov. 11 at (streaming) at the Triad Theatre, directed by Phillips.
Naima Mora.
The play follows four New Yorkers — Penelope, the supermodel who never dies… Joanne, the self-proclaimed stay-at-home dog mom… and Marisol Yanette Arnelia Rodriguez Lopes, the serial dater in search of modern day reparations.
**********************
“Only Murders in the Building” will premiere Aug. 31 on Hulu.
Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.
The comedy focuses on three neighbors trying to solve a series of murders in their building… while also launching a murder podcast.
**********************
GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Oh, Captain, My Captain!
1-I. Captain Spalding
2-H. Captain Jack Boyle
3-D. Captain Jack Absolute
4-C. Captain Paul Fontaine
5-G. Captain Corcoran
6-B. Captain Shotover
7-A. Captain Edward Fairfax Vere
8-J. Captain George Brackett
9-F. Cap’n Andy Hawks
10-E. Captain Henry St. James