Today’s Highlights:
Scott Siegel’s Broadway by the Season concert, with songs from the 1940-41/1951-52 Broadway seasons, featuring Tony Danza, Christiane Noll, Julia Murney, Danny Gardner, Ali Ewoldt, Douglas Ladnier, Jason Graae, Kendrick Jones, Bill Daugherty, and the Broadway by the Season Dance Troupe, at 8 PM at NYC’s Merkin Concert Hall.
Broadway Sings Celine Dion concert, directed by Corey Mach, featuring Eden Espinosa, Eleri Ward, Demarius Copes, Mia Gerachis, Natalie Joy Johnson, Tamika Lawrence, Corey Mach, Gracie McGraw, Veronica Otim, Dee Roscioli, Stephanie Torn, Marty Thomas, Raena White, Alexa Green, Kennedy Caughell, Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, Carrie St. Louis, Russell Daniels, Hannah Frye-Ginsberg, Brad Greer, Avionce Hoyles, and Nya, at 8 PM at NYC’s Sony Hall.
Isaac Mizrahi in concert, at 8 PM Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
Jamie deRoy & Friends concert, honoring Sheldon Harnick, hosted by Barry Kleinbort, featuring Christiane Noll, Bonnie Langford, airs at 8 PM ET on Manhattan Neighborhood Network (Spectrum HD channel 1993 and Verizon Fios (Channel 37).
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: M&Ms by Jim Bernhard
Match the descriptions with the performers and fill in the missing names—all of which begin with “M.”
| 1. She was a major musical comedy star, and her son was the star of Dallas on TV. | A. Melba ____ |
| 2. Her Broadway debut was in The Boy Friend, and she returned more than 20 years later in Side by Side by Sondheim. | B. Marsha ____ |
| 3. Better known as the movies’ Ma Kettle, she also appeared in the Broadway production of The Women. | C. Miriam ____ |
| 4. She appeared frequently with Harry Belafonte and was married to Stokely Carmichael. | D. Mabel ____ |
| 5. She has appeared frequently in plays and films by Neil Simon, to whom she was once married. | E. Mary ____ |
| 6. She appeared on Broadway in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and in the film Giant. | F. Millicent ____ |
| 7. She won a Tony Award in Purlie. | G. Moms ____ |
| 8. She played the title roles in Sunny, Sally, and Rosalie—and was sometimes billed with two n’s in her first name. | H. Marjorie ____ |
| 9. Her theatre debut was in the London production of Show Boat, but she became famous as a cabaret singer. | I. Mercedes ____ |
| 10. She was portrayed by Wanda Sykes on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | J. Marilyn _____ |
Scroll down for the answers…
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In The Works – In The Woods will run Sept. 8-10 at NY’s Forestburgh Playhouse.
Invisible (Sept. 8-9), by Douglas Lyons, directed by Christopher Betts, featuring Stacie Bono, Paige Gilbert, Ben Crawford, and Jerrie Johnson. 
The story of lifelong best friends Eemani and Jade, who decompress one afternoon over a good blunt. Unbeknownst to them, the blunt is laced with much more than weed, spiraling the duo into a wild hallucination where they are granted superpowers at a time when Black women were voiceless.
Stage Mother (Sept. 9-10), a musical adaptation of the film, by Brad Hennig, Zina Goldrich & Marcy Heisler, directed by Denis Jones, featuring Emily Skinner, Lesli Margherita, Alan H. Green, Miss Jaye, Heather Jane Rolff, Megan Lewis Michaelson, Hunter Brown, Steve McCoy, Nolan Quintanilla. The story of Maybelline Metcalf, a church choir director from rural Texas, who inherits a San Francisco drag club from her estranged, recently deceased son. Through her efforts to save the nightclub from bankruptcy, Maybelline joins forces with her son’s grieving partner, their wacky single-mom best friend, and the San Francisco drag community against a climate of anti-drag backlash. Stage Mother explores coming to terms with loss, the power of music, finding common ground, and the true meaning of family.
In Be-Tween (Sept. 9-10), by Julia Gannon & Fernanda Douglas, directed by Roque Berlanga, featuring Hap Gannon, Sarah Hamaty, Jason Long, Macey Robinson, Sofia Ross, Sushma Saha. A love letter to those kids stuck in the middle. A group of “theater kids” gather together awaiting the annual musical’s cast list. Drama ensues, and their stories are told when the kids find out the director is running an hour late!
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RIP: Actor Walter Charles has died at the age of 78.
He made his Broadway debut in Grease, and also appeared in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Sweeney Todd, Cats, La Cage aux Folles, Me and My Girl, Aspects of Love, Kiss Me, Kate, The Boys from Syracuse, Big River, The Woman in White, The Apple Tree (2006), and Anything Goes. In addition, he originated the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in 1994.
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Guys and Dolls will run Aug. 8-13 at Pittsburgh CLO, directed by Darren Lee.
Lesli Margherita (Miss Adelaide), Matt Saldivar (Nathan Detroit), Nikki Renée Daniels (Sarah Brown), Jeff Kready (Sky Masterson), John Treacy Egan (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), Herschel Sparber (Big Julie), Chris Laitta (General Cartwright), Richard McBride (Lt. Brannigan), Jeffrey Howell (Arvide Abernathy), Aaron Calligan-Stierle (Benny Southstreet), Richard McBride (Lt. Brannigan), and Brady Patsy (Angie the Ox), withAndres Acosta, Grace Arnold, Ryan Cavanaugh, Bobby M. Davis, Zephaniah Divine, Austin Taylor Dunn, Kylie Edwards, Mathew Fedorek, Zanna Fredland, Michael Greer, Jessica Ice, Jolina Javier, Caroline Kane, Alex Manalo, Tay Marquise, Brittany Pent Rohm, Filip Przybycien, Austine Schulte, Ben Sears, and Allan Snyder.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda is creating a new Broadway musical based on Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel “The Warriors.” The novel delves into violent gang confrontations in New York City during the 1960’s.
The musical chronicles one New York City gang’s nocturnal journal through the seedy, dangerous subways and city streets of the 1960s. Every gang in the city meets on a sweltering July 4 night in a Bronx park for a peace rally. The crowd of miscreants turns violent after a prominent gang leader is killed and chaos prevails over the attempt at order.
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An encore performance of Steve Ross & Jean Brassard’s Allons Enfants! La Vie Est Belle! will take place Wed. Aug. 9 at 7 PM at NYC’s Pangea.
Karen Akers
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Complete casting has been announced for Robert Schenkkan & Neil Berg’s The 12, to run Sept. 8 – Oct. 29 (Sept. 27) at CT’s Goodspeed, directed by John Doyle, with music direction by Adam Souza.
Akron Lanier Watson (Pete), Wonzaā 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. A universal story of love and how each of us must eventually navigate the loss of whatever we hold most dear.
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An Evening with Justin Paul & Friends will take place Sat. Sept. 9 at 8 PM at CT’s Westport Country Playhouse, directed by Caley Beretta, with music direction by Mat Eisenstein.
Kelli O’Hara, James Naughton, and more TBA.
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Not Another Deaf Story will run Aug. 10-13 at North Hollywood’s Lonny Chapman Theatre, written & directed by Hilari Scarl and Monique Holt.
Deaf actors: Marc Bowman, Holly Crowe, Lori Dunsmore, Mary Kim Hoang, Justin Jackerson, Tommy Korn, Gabriel Silve, and Amber Zion… and Hearing actors Cindy Baer, Brian Edward Campbell, Bert Emmett, Gabriel Gomez, Doug Haverty, Julie Pearl, Gita Reddy and Deb’e Taylor.
A darkly comical ghost story. Eight deaf people are summoned to an isolated cabin in the woods, and before the night ends, they will experience a haunting, reveal their most intimate stories, and face their deepest fears. This is a scenario we’ve heard before. What’s different about this one?
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Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic will run Sept. 7 – Oct. 8 (opening Sept. 13) at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, directed by Loretta Greco.
Amy Resnick (Marcelle Salomon Benhamou), Barzin Akhavan (Charles Benhamou), Carly Zien (Elodie Benhamou), Joshua Chessin-Yudin (Daniel Benhamou), Tony Estrella (Patrick Benhamou), Talia Sulla (Molly), Will Lyman (Pierre Salomon), Will Lyman (Pierre Salomon/Marcelle/Patrick’s Father), Phyllis Kay (Irma Salomon), Peter Van Wagner (Adolphe Salomon), Jaren Troilo (Lucien Salomon), and Jesse Kodama (Young Pierre Salomon), with Fady Demian, Josephine Elwood, David Kelly, Zach Kelley, Adrianne Krstansky, and Nael Nacer.
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Foundation for New American Musicals benefit concert, honoring Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt will take place Sun. Oct. 15 at a private home in Los Angeles.
Special guests and additional information TBA.
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Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside will run Sept. 6 – Oct. 1 (opening Sept. 10) at Pasadena Playhouse, directed by Cameron Watson.
Amy Brenneman (Bella Lee Baird) and Anders Keith (Christopher Dunn).
Not everything is as it seems behind the ivy-covered walls of Yale, where an unlikely bond leads to an unthinkable favor. Writing professor Bella Baird is looking for answers, but a fateful encounter with a mysterious student could lead to life-changing consequences for both of them. This 90-minute thriller will leave you wondering who you can trust and remind you everyone has a story — the question is how it ends.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: M&Ms
1-E. She was a major musical comedy star, and her son was the star of Dallas on TV – Mary Martin
2-F. Her Broadway debut was in The Boy Friend, and she returned more than 20 years later in Side by Side by Sondheim. – Millicent Martin
3-H. Better known as the movies’ Ma Kettle, she also appeared in the Broadway production of The Women – Marjorie Main
4-C. She appeared frequently with Harry Belafonte and was married to Stokely Carmichael – Miriam Makeba
5-B. She has appeared frequently in plays and films by Neil Simon, to whom she was once married – Marsha Mason
6-I. She appeared on Broadway in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and in the film Giant – Mercedes McCambridge
7-A. She won a Tony Award in Purlie – Melba Moore
8-J. She played the title roles in Sunny, Sally, and Rosalie—and was sometimes billed with two n’s in her first name – Marilyn (or Marilynn) Miller
9-D. Her theatre debut was in the London production of Show Boat, but she became famous as a cabaret singer – Mabel Mercer
10-G. She was portrayed by Wanda Sykes on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Moms Mabley