Today’s Highlights:
Brittney Johnson begins her run as Glinda in Wicked at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre. Note: This is the first Black actress to assume the role full-time.
High School Play: a Nostalgia Fest, by Vichet Chum, directed by Tiffany Nichole Green, featuring Daniel Velasco (Dara), Richard Dávila (Rich), Sabrina Koss (Kailee), Mai Lee (Allison), Melissa Pritchell (Ms. Blow/Mrs. Dimms), Kiaya Scott (Sophie), Jarred Tettey (Paul), and Todd Waite (Dirkson/Mr. Bland), begins streaming at Houston’s Alley Theatre.
Judy Kuhn: Love to Me concert, with special guest Brandon Uranowitz, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Green Room 42.
Piaf & Dietrich: A Cabaret Love Affair concert, featuring Artemisia LeFay, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Don’t Tell Mama.
Gingold Theatrical Group‘s Valentine Slam, with special guests Brenda Braxton, Charles Busch, Robert Cuccioli, Tyne Daly, Joel Grey, Jefferson Mays, Renée Taylor, and Bruce Vilanch, streams for FREE at 6 PM ET (also on Facebook).
The Alchemist (2021 filmed production), by Ben Johnson, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Jeffrey Berger, featuring Nathan Christopher, Stephen DeRosa, Carson Elrod, Manoel Feliciano, Teresa Avia Lim, Jacob Ming-Trent, Louis Mustillo, Reg Rogers, Jennifer Sánchez, and Allen Tedder, concludes on-demand streaming at Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Roll Call by Jim Bernhard
Match these schools with the students who were enrolled:
| 1. Laboratory of Life | A. Danny Zuko (Grease) |
| 2. Horace Green School | B. Matilda Wormwood (Matilda the Musical) |
| 3. Truman High School | C. Rhoda Penmark (The Bad Seed) |
| 4. Rydell High | D. Freddy Banks (Child’s Play) |
| 5. East High School | E. Summer Hathaway (School of Rock) |
| 6. Crunchem Hall Primary School | F. Polly Browne (The Boy Friend) |
| 7. St. Charles School for Boys | G. Patrick Dennis (Mame) |
| 8. Fern Grammar School | H. Bud Hooper (Best Foot Forward) |
| 9. Winsocki Military Academy | I. Campbell Davis (Bring It On) |
| 10. Madame Dubonnet’s Finishing School | J. Sharpay Evans (High School Musical) |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Reviews for Space Dogs at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater:
Theatermania (Kenji ): one way to characterize the new musical Space Dogs is as the theatrical equivalent of the popular NPR science podcast Radiolab. It’s the kind of show that feels a need to jazz up a potentially dry subject with an excess of flashy technique and cutesy antics. Some might find Nick Blaemire and Van Hughes’s new historical show charming for that reason. I found it overbearing from the start… What isn’t in doubt is the inherent fascination of its subject matter… That enthusiasm is reflected not only in the two stars’ sheer energy level throughout the show’s 90 minutes, but in the ceaselessly inventive stagecraft on display in director Ellie Heyman’s production.
TimeOut (Raven Snook): …Broadway vets and multi-instrumentalists with lovely voices, Hughes and Blaemire are a talented pair… heeky, high-energy approach never wavers. They sing 18 eclectic tunes and rocket through director Ellie Heyman’s agitated stage business, never giving the characters or the audience a chance to breathe—or to feel the impact of the story’s sweet-bitter journey… Hughes and Blaemire seem to genuinely adore that history was changed by dogs, but the show is all lark and no bite.
Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez): …narrowly avoids that naive self-involvement by the sheer lovability of its two creator-stars, Van Hughes and Nick Blaemire… for all the work they’ve put into delving into the story’s many aspects, are sometimes too fascinated by the material at face value to mine it for insight or comedy that would take the audience with them. Luckily, the story is pretty fascinating… In agile, sweaty performances, Hughes and Blaemire alternate a couple of roles
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Space Dogs, written & performed by Van Hughes and Nick Blaemire has been extended through Mar. 13 at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater.
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The Huntington Theatre Company (link TBA) will present John Carney, Enda Walsh & Gary Clark’s Sing Street Aug. 25 – Oct. 2 at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion, directed by Rebecca Taichman, with choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and music direction by Fred Lassen. Click here to learn more about the show.
Casting TBA.
Its 1982 in Dublin. Everyone is out of work. Thousands are seeking bluer skies across the Irish Sea. Sixteen-year-old Conor and his schoolmates find an escape from their troubles by forming a band to impress a mysterious girl.
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The Musical Theatre Guild will present Live, Laugh, Love: A Sondheim Birthday Celebration on Tues. Mar. 22 at 7:30 PM PT at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, with a book by Duane Poole, directed by Lewis Wilkenfeld, and hosted by Jason Graae.
Special Guest Teri Ralston, and members of Musical Theatre Guild.
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Video: Hugh Jackman performs “Ya Got Trouble”
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Bucks County Playhouse has rescheduled its screening of “Andy Mientus Sings ‘Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of the Canyon,’” which will now stream on demand on Stellar Mar. 18 – Apr. 1, directed by Michael Arden, with music direction by Benjamin Rauhala.
Nikki M. James, Krista Pioppi, and Cathy Ang.
At 26 years old, Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded songs, drew album art, and hand wrote lyrics for the release of her third studio album, “Ladies of the Canyon.” Mientus covers the album in in full — stripping down beloved songs such as “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Woodstock,” and “The Circle Game,” to find the hymns inside these unquiet triumphs.
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. Hulu’s “Chippendales” original series is in development at Hulu, created by Robert Siegel. The release date is TBA.
Andrew Rannells, Annaleigh Ashford, Kumail Nanjiani, and Murray Bartlett, with more TBA.
Nanjiani plays Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the Indian-American entrepreneur who started the Chippendales male review. Rannells plays a young, rich investor in Chippendales, while Bartlett plays the producer and choreographer.
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Caissie Levy in concert will run Feb. 24-26 at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center,
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The Broadway Podcast Network has launched “The Black Business of Broadway,” available on all podcast platforms, hosted by Gennean Scott (Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Broadway League).
Brian Moreland, Cody Renad-Richard, Nzinga Williams, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, and Irene Gandy, with special guests TBA.
Black administrators, producers, directors, managers, creatives, and artists will highlight their stories, method, and successes.
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LA Opera has announced its 2022-23 season:
Lucia di Lammermoor (Sept. 17 – Oct. 9), by Donizetti, featuring Amanda Woodbury (Lucia – Sept. 17-24), Liv Redpath (Lucia – Sept. 28 – Oct. 9), Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Edgardo), Alexander Birch Elliot (Enrico), and Eric Owens (Raimondo).
Omar (Oct. 22 – Nov. 13), by Rhiannon Giddens & Michael Abels, featuring Jamez McCorkle (Omar).
Tosca (Nov. 19 – Nov. 10), directed by John Caird, featuring Angel Blue (Tosca).
The Marriage of Figaro (Feb. 4-26, 2023), directed by James Gray, featuring Craig Colclough (Figaro), Janai Brugger (Susanna), Ana María Martínez (Countess), Lucas Meachem (Count), and Rihab Chaieb (Cherubino).
Pelléas and Mélisande (Mar. 25 – Apr. 16), directed by David McVicar, conducted by James Conlon, featuring Sydney Mancasola, Will Liverman, Susan Graham, and Ferruccio Furlanetto.
Otello (May 13 – June 4), featuring Russell Thomas (Otello), Rachel Willis-Sorenson (Desdemona), Igor Golovatenko (Iago), and Morris Robinson (Lodovico).
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Hulu‘s new series, “Immigrant,” has announced initial casting.
Annaleigh Ashford, Andrew Rannells, Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, and more TBA.
A “crime-ridden” dark comedy about the real-life story of Chippendales founder Somen Banerjee.
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Tina – The Tina Turner Musical will launch a national tour at the Providence PAC this Fall, with a touring schedule TBA.
Casting and additional information TBA.
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. The American Arbitration Association ruled in Oct. 2021 that the Estate of Harper Lee breached its 1969 contract with Dramatic Publishing Company in which the author granted the company exclusive rights to license Christopher Sergel Sr.’s adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” to non-first-class theatres (typically meaning theatres not on Broadway or the West End) around the world. The ruling also said that the Estate interfered with the contracts of its licensees in both the U.S. and the U.K.
The arbitration claim was filed in March 2019 after representatives of the Harper Lee Estate act “in concert with producers of a Broadway production who baselessly threatened Dramatic Publishing’s licensees and made false and misleading statements about Dramatic Publishing’s rights under the 1969 Agreement,” according to a statement from Drama Publishing President Christopher Sergel III.
Scott Rudin had threatened legal action against numerous theatres around the country that were staging the earlier adaptation of Lee’s novel. Rudin — who later announced his intentions to step down from this theatrical ventures as allegations of workplace abuse and intimidation came to light — subsequently said he would grant the stage rights of the Sorkin-written version to certain amateur theatres around the country.
Over two years later, the arbitrator has now awarded Dramatic Publishing damages of nearly $200,000 as well as over $2.5 million in costs and lawyers’ fees that were a result of the arbitration.
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Anchuli Felicia King’s White Pearl will run Mar. 11 – Apr. 23 at Australia’s Sydney Theatre Company, directed by Priscilla Jackman.
Deborah An, Manali Datar, Melissa Gan, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Nicole Milinkovic, Shirong Wu, and Stephen Madsen.
Behind the sleek and unblemished facade of Clearday Cosmetics — a market leader in Asia’s booming beauty industry — the scars of deep-seated prejudice are waiting to re-emerge. A team of young and ambitious women from across Asia is working to generate buzz for their new skin-whitening cream “White Pearl.” the problem? An ad in development las leaked early and it’s making headlines for all the wrong reasons. As views skyrocket and the ad is shared around the world, the team races against the clock to get the situation under control, to save their jobs and to lay the blame squarely elsewhere.
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The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2021 Johnathan Larson Grant, awarded annually to early-career musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists, or writing teams. A presentation honoring the 2021 recipients will be announced at a later date.
* Zeniba Now (lyrics & book)
* Kit Mee Kuen Yan (lyrics & book)
* Shayok Misha Chowdhury (music, lyrics, and book)
* Laura Grill Jay (music, lyrics, and book)
* The Lazours (music, lyrics, and book)
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Roll Call
1-G. Laboratory of Life – Patrick Dennis (Mame)
2-E. Horace Green School – Summer Hathaway (School of Rock)
3-I. Truman High School – Campbell Davis (Bring It On)
4-A. Rydell High – Danny Zuko (Grease)
5-J. East High School – Sharpay Evans (High School Musical)
6-B. Crunchem Hall Primary School – Matilda Wormwood (Matilda the Musical)
7-D. St. Charles School for Boys – Freddy Banks (Child’s Play)
8-C. Fern Grammar School – Rhoda Penmark (The Bad Seed)
9-H. Winsocki Military Academy – Bud Hooper (Best Foot Forward)
10-F. Madame Dubonnet’s Finishing School – Polly Browne (The Boy Friend)