Today’s Highlights:
Pacific Overtures, directed by Matthew White, featuring Jon Chew (Reciter), Kanako Nakano (Tamate), Saori Oda (Shogun/Madam), Takuro Ohno (Kayama), and Joaquin Pedro Valdes (Manjiro), with Luoran Ding, Masashi Fujimoto, Rachel Hayne Picar, Eu Jin Hwang, Abel Law, Ethan Le Phong, JoJo Meredith, Patrick Munday, Sario Solomon, Joy Tan, Lee V G, and Iverson Yabu, opens at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory.
Madwoman of the West, by Sandra Tsing Loh, directed by Thomas Caruso, featuring Caroline Aaron, Marilu Henner, Melanie Mayron, and Brooke Shields, opens at Off-Broadway’s Actors Temple Theatre.
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, adapted & performed by Paul Morella, opens at MD’s Olney Theatre Center.
Ulster, by David Ireland, directed by Jeremy Herrin, featuring Woody Harrelson (Jay Conway), Andy Serkis (Leigh Carver), and Louisa Harland, begins previews at London’s Riverside Studios.
Red Bucket Follies benefit for BC/EFA, hosted by Seth Rudetsky, featuring J. Harrison Ghee, Bonnie Milligan, and Jelani Remy, Maria Bilbao, Sierra Boggess, Danny Burstein, Jessica Hecht, Rachel Bay Jones, Andrea Martin, Christine Pedi, Marc Shaiman, Lillias White, Roger Bart, Corbin Bleu, Sierra Boggess, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Chip Zien, Alex Brightman, Victoria Clark, Justin Cooley, Lorna Courtney, Danny DeVito, Jonathan Groff, Leslie Odom Jr. Kara Young, Patrick Page, and many more, at 4:30 PM at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre (also Dec. 5 at 2 PM).
York Theatre Company’s Merton of the Movies: The Musical private industry readings, by Garry William Friedman, Stevie Holland, Robert Lorick & Mel Shapiro, directed by Joseph Hayward, with music direction by Griffin Strout, featuring Oliver Prose (Merton), Lauren Molina (Beulah Baxter, Hanna Culbreath (Sara), Nina Hennessey (Helen Montague), John Hillner (Henry Montague), and Alan M-L Wager (Amos Cashwiler/Henny Henshaw) Courtney Dease (Jeff Baird), Ariana Valdes (Tessie Kearns), Trevor Martin (Harold Parmalee), Blair Alexis Brown (Fione), and Drew Tanabe (Tommy Tilbert/ Ziggy Rosenblatt), at 2 & 7 PM at Off-Broadway’s Marjorie Dean Little Theatre (10 West 64th St.) 
boxoffice@yorktheatre.org
The Writers’ Room concert, spotlighting a group of young writers who met in the BMI Workshop and went on to influence Broadway, with songs by Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Brian Yorkey & Tom Kitt, hosted by Sean Hartley, featuring Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Kate Baldwin, Kelli Barrett, Kevin Csolak, Jenn Damiano, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Rick Lyon, Solea Pfeiffer, Ciara Renee, Benjamin Levi Ross and Margo Seibert, at 7:30 PM at NYC’s Merkin Concert Hall.
Shoshana Bean & Friends concert, with special guests Kristin Chenoweth, Betty Who, and Alex Newell, at 7:30 PM at NYC’s Apollo Theater.
Hershey Felder: George Gershwin Alone benefit solo show, directed by Joel Zwick, at 7:30 PM at NYC’s Town Hall.
Diana: The Musical in Concert, newly revised by David Bryan & Joe DiPietro, directed by Owen Horsley, featuring Kerry Ellis (Older Diana), Maiya Quansah-Breed (Younger Diana), Denise Welch (Queen), Breed Alice Fearn (Camilla Parker Bowles), Andy Coxon (Prince Charles), Jay Perry (James Hewitt), and Aleyna Mohanraj (Sarah Spencer), with an ensemble cast of students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, at 7:30 PM at London’s Eventim Apollo.
Charles Suppon & Harvey Fierstein’s Peter Allen’s Legs Diamond re-reunion discussion/concert, directed by Jonathan S. Cerullo, moderated by Richard Ridge, featuring Christine Andreas, Brenda Braxton, Bob Stillman, Ruth Gottschall, Randall Edwards, Wendy Waring, Deanna Dys, Mary Rotella, and Carol Ann Baxter, with Sam Given, Vanessa Wendt, Clint Hromsco, and Liv Kurtz, at 6 PM at Lincoln Center‘s Bruno Walter Auditorium.
The Foundation for New American Musicals’ MUSI-CAL concert, offering selections from new musicals, at 7:30 PM at LA’s Bourbon Room.
Darius de Haas: Song in the Key of Life: The Genius of Stevie Wonder concert, with special guests Richard Basking, Jr. and Helen White, closes at NYC’s 92NY.
Megan Hilty in Concert closes at NYC’s Paradise Club.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Give Me A Break by Jim Bernhard.
- In The Man Who Came to Dinner, Sheridan Whiteside breaks….a valuable Chinese vase…his promise to marry his secretary…his leg…his neck
2. In Gilbert & Sullivan’s Princess Ida, Ida, Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian sing “The World Is But a Broken… Globe …Dream …Idol …Toy”
3. In Rocky, Rocky sings “My ____ Ain’t Broken…Nose….Record…Home…
4. Arthur Miller wrote a play called Broken ____…Promises…Bread…Glass…
5. In Catch Me If You Can Hanratty and company sing “Don’t’ Break the…. Bubble…. Silence….
6. American Idiot includes a song called “Tales of Another Broken ….Doll…Home…Vow…Dish”
7. In Bullets Over Broadway, Helen and David sing “There’s a Broken ____ for Every Light on Broadway”…Heart…Bulb…
8. In American Idiot there’s a song called “Boulevard of Broken… Horses…Dreams…Spells…Habits”
9. In Bells Are Ringing, Carl breaks Sandor’s code, in which a betting operation is disguised as a record seller, when he receives a phone order for…Johann Sebastian Mozart…duets by Little Richard and Placido Domingo…Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony…the missing Nixon tapes
10. Ira Levin wrote a play called Break A ____…Leg…Mirror…Barrier…
Scroll down for the answers…
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Red Bull Theater will present The Country Wife, adapted by William Wycherley & Richard Maltby, Jr., with music by David Shire, for one night only on Mon. Dec. 11 at 7:30 PM at NYC’s Symphony Space, directed by Maltby.
Nicholas Edwards, Carson Elrod, Jennifer Fouché, Andy Grotelueschen, Eddie Korbich, Kristolyn Lloyd, Ellyn Marie-Marsh, Brad Oscar, Julian Remulla, Jelani Remy, Christina Sajous, and Lauren Worsham.
Set in the vibrant diversity of 1840 New Orleans, the musical features a sizzling modern score and irreverently explores the question of who owns the stories we call classics. This raucous musical reimagining of William Wycherley’s classic Restoration Comedy by the award winning writing team Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire is not to be missed. The classic comedy’s plot is racy and fun: The upper-class rake Harry Horner begins a campaign for seducing as many respectable ladies as possible and devises a unique and hilarious way to do it. But his scheme gets derailed by the arrival of an inexperienced young “country wife.”
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CT’s Goodspeed has announced its 2024 Festival of New Musicals, to run Jan. 12-14:
Photosynthesis (Jan. 12 at 7 PM), by Claudine Mboligikepelani Nako. Nika is an extremely talented floral artist and the sole owner and operator of Miss Nika’s Awesome Blossoms. As Nika feels pressure to maintain the facade of “thriving” as a Black female business owner and community role model, she increasingly resents that she makes a living delivering joy to other people while she can’t seem to hang onto any for herself. When her rickety old Volkswagen Beetle breaks down it sends her into a breakdown of her own. Nika discovers that her own broken parts may need repairing as well.
Letters to the President (Jan. 14 at 7:30 PM), by Michael Bello & Jessica Kahkoska, with songs by Ari Afsar & Candace Quarrels, Preston Max Allen, Simone Allen, Dr. Dawn Avery, Nick Blaemire, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Elliah Heifetz, Anna K. Jacobs, Naomi Matlow & Teresa Lotz, Madeline Myers, Ronvé O’Daniel & Jevares Myrick, Rona Siddiqui, Mark Sonnenblick, Will Van Dyke & Jeff Talbott, Ben Wexler, & Zack Zadek, directed by Bello. Since George Washington took office in 1783, writing letters to the President has provided citizens of all ages, races, political parties, and backgrounds an outlet to express their most personal concerns, hopes, and dreams for America. Letters to the President reimagines this historic canon of letters as a multi-composer musical event, with each song inspired by an individual letter from the archive. This presentation features brand-new material that has been written, created, and developed after the powerful cabaret at last year’s Festival.
The Snow Goose (Jan. 14 at 1 PM), by Claire McKenzie, Scott Gilmour & Paul Ballico, directed by TBA. The story of the unlikely friendship that forms between Rhayader, an outsider who has retreated from the world, and a young girl, Fritha, when they rehabilitate an injured snow goose. As they nurse the bird back to flight, their friendship grows as the threat and horror of an impending world war looms. Though the pair come from very different experiences, their paths seem destined to join in the face of a changing.
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(read): “I Peed Myself”: Priscilla Lopez looks back on the highs and lows of a life on Broadway.
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The world premiere of Matthew Leavitt’s Sukkot will run Jan. 12 – Feb. 4 (opening Jan. 13) at the Skylight Theatre, directed by Joel Zwick.
Natalie Lander (Eden Sullivan), Andy Robinson (Patrick Sullivan), Liza Seneca (Mairead Sullivan), and Jonathan Slavin (Asher Sullivan).
The hilarious and heartwarming story of the Sullivan family, a half-Jewish-half-Irish-Catholic family attempting to rejoice by celebrating an obscure Jewish holiday that no one has ever heard of. One year after losing his wife to cancer, Patrick Sullivan is still unable to overcome his overwhelming grief, until a rabbi introduces him to the little-known Jewish holiday of Sukkot – the only holiday where God directly commands us to rejoice! Suddenly energized by the holiday, Patrick builds a sukkah (a Jewish hut) in their yard and forces his three grown children to celebrate with him as they gather at the family house to attend their mother’s unveiling ceremony.
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Amy Hergoz’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People will begin previews Feb. 27, 2024 and open Mar. 18 at Circle in the Square, directed by Sam Gold.
Jeremy Strong, Michael Imperioli, and Victoria Pedretti.
The principled Doctor Thomas Stockmann attempts to alert the public that the spa’s water is poisoned. The resulting backlash to his revelation, borne out of society’s desperation for financial preservation, examines the morality of public outcry and the struggles shouldered by whistleblowers across time.
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The studio cast recording of Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner’s 17 again has been released. Click here to stream or download.
Eden Espinosa, Drew Gehling, Casey Likes, Bryce Pinkham, and Will Roland, with Mallory Bechtel, Gabrielle Carrubba, Alan H. Green, Ann Harada, F. Michael Haynie, Carly Hughes, Jesse Johnson, Desi Oakley, Sam Primack, Josh Strobl, Donna Vivino, D’Kaylah Unique Whitley, and Oscar Williams.
Click here to listen to “Time For Starting Over,” performed by Eden Espinosa.
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An encore performance of Jerry Orbach’s Broadway will take place Thur. Jan. 25, 2024 at 7 PM at NYC’s 54 Below, directed by Michael Portantiere, with music direction by Matthew Morton Ward.
Anita Gillette and Lee Roy Reams, with Jerry’s sons Chris Orbach, and Tony Orbach.
William Michals, Jay Aubrey Jones, and Nikita Burshteyn.
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Video: Broadway’s Spamalot performs “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
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Just For Us, written & performed by Alex Edelman, will run Jan. 5-7, 2024 at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre.
An exploration of identity and our collective capacity for empathy – and it’s also “belly-laugh funny!”
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Give Me A Break
- In The Man Who Came to Dinner, Sheridan Whiteside breaks his leg.
- In Gilbert & Sullivan’s Princess Ida, Ida, Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian sing “The World Is But a Broken Toy.”
- In Rocky,Rocky sings “My Nose Ain’t Broken.”
- Arthur Miller wrote a play called Broken Glass.
- In Catch Me If You Can Hanratty and company sing “Don’t’ Break the Rules.”
- American Idiot includes a song called “Tales of Another Broken Home.”
- In Bullets Over Broadway, Helen and David sing “There’s a Broken Heart for Every Light on Broadway.”
- InAmerican Idiot there’s a song called “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”
- In Bells Are Ringing, Carl breaks Sandor’s code, in which a betting operation is disguised as a record seller, when he receives a phone order for Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony.
- Ira Levin wrote a play called Break A Leg.