Today’s Highlights:
* The African Company Presents Richard III live benefit reading, by Carlyle Brown, directed by Carl Cofield, featuring Clifton Duncan, Edward Gero, Dion Johnstone, Paul Niebanck, Antoinette Robinson, Craig Wallace, and Jessika D. Williams, streams at 7:30 PM ET at Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater (and available through Jan. 15 at 7 PM ET)
* “Sky Blossoms” FREE virtual screening and discussion with David Hyde Pierce (Executive Producer), Montel Williams (Executive Producer), Jen Tsien (Executive Producer), Joe Mantegna (Actor) and Richard Lui (Director), streams at 6:30 PM ET at NYC’s 92Y.
* Wayne Brady & Seth Rudetsky in concert, streams at 3 PM ET here.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Congratulations! It’s Twins! by Jim Bernhard
Match these sets of twins with the plays or musicals in which they appear:
| 1. Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus | A. Twelfth Night |
| 2. Daisy and Violet Hilton | B. The Venetian Twins |
| 3. Mickey and Eddie | C. Antigone |
| 4. Hugo and Frédéric | D. The Comedy of Errors |
| 5. Myra and Myrna | E. Corpse! |
| 6. Viola and Sebastian | F. Side Show |
| 7. Eteocles and Polynices | G. Ring Round the Moon |
| 8. John and James Jeckyll | H. The Mineola Twins |
| 9. Tonino and Zanetto | I. Blood Brothers |
| 10. Evelyn and Rupert Farrant | J. Love! Valour! Compassion! |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Video: “Stars in the House,” celebrating Donna McKechnie and the American Dance Machine, with special guests Donna McKechnie, Nikki Feirt Atkins, Darius Barnes, Taeler Cyrus, Alexa DeBarr, Douglas Denoff, Alyssa Epstein, Sara Esty, Jess Le Protto, Sarah Meahl, and Georgina Pazcoguin. (1:19:45)
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Video: “Stars in the House,” offering Everything Effie, with special guests Sharon Brown, Yvette Cason, Kecia Lewis, Julia McGirt Nelson, Roz Ryan, Fuschia Walker and Lillias White. (2:10:10)
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Off-Broadway’s Eden Theater Company presents The Kitchen Plays, three new one-acts set in the kitchen, written by emerging NYC playwrights, and created specifically for Zoom. Performances will take place Feb. 5, 11, 12, 19 & 20, all at 8 PM ET.
* Ginger Bug, by Jake Brasch, directed by Amber Calderon, featuring Madeline Barr and Jake Brasch.
* Passion Project, by Cassandra Paras, directed by Byron Anthony, featuring Larry Fleischman and Cassandra Paras.
* For the Family, by Madison Harrison, directed by Diane Davis, featuring Owen Alleyne and Danielle Kogan.
The kitchen is the center of our day’s beginnings and endings, it is the heart and hearth of our home. But in times of isolation, upheaval and uncertainty, what happens to the hearth? This sanctuary can become a place to escape, to confront, to create, to celebrate, or a place to grieve our current moment. Three playwright, three directors, and six actors explore how the kitchen’s physical space echoes the spiritual — emotional — and psychological moment in which we find ourselves.
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TheaterWorks Hartford has announced new dates for readings of James Anthony Tyler’s Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion, directed by Awoye Timpo. The play will now stream on demand Feb. 7-26.
Mateo Ferro (Rubén Zorrilla, Jr.), Miriam A. Hyman (Shelba Bathson), Sheria Irving (Jornay Nelson), Jules Latimer (Tiffany Nelson), and Darius McCall (Steve Nelson).
How do you connect with love that’s lost? This heartfelt new play about mothers and daughters explores relationships, resentment, and the journey to becoming your best self. Jonay is a professional cuddler who learns that her new client Ruben needs more than her touch. Through Ruben, Jornay also learns that she must do what she can to repair her relationship with Tiffany, her 17-year-old daughter. Old wounds are re-opened when Jornay attempts to get a ticket to Tiffany’s high school graduation.
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Upcoming on Broadway On Demand:
“In The Company of Actors” (currently available here). A documentary featuring Australia’s finest actors, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Justine Clare, and Aden Young, as they prepare a production of Hedda Gabler from rehearsals at Sydney Theatre Company to opening night at NYC’s Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Anna Karenina the Musical (begins Jan.16 here),by Yuliy Kim & Roman Ignatyev, directed by Alina Chevik, choreographed by Irina Korneeva, and featuring Ekaterina Guseva (Karenina), Sergey Lee (Alexey Vronsky), Alexander Marakulin (Alexey Karenin), Natalia Bystrova (Kitty Shcherbatskaya), Denis Demkiv Stiva (Konstantin Levin), Andrey Alexandrin (Oblonsky), Karine Asiryan (Princess Betsy), Maxim Zausalin (Master of Ceremonies), Oxana Lesnichaya (Patti), Lika Rulla (Countess Vronskaya), Alexander Markelov (Prince Shcherbatsky), Ella Merkulova (Princess Shcherbatskaya) and Stanislav Bezgin (Seryozha).
Xcalibur (begins Jan. 23 here), South Korean production, by Frank Wildhorn, directed by Steven Lane. The production showcases the journey of King Arthur, exploring his discovery of new-found responsibility as a young leader and getting married to the love of his life, Guinevere only to experience a reality far from what was expected.
Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance (begins Jan. 30 here). An all-male socially-distanced production, directed by Sasha Regan, featuring Tom Senior, Alan Richardson, Olive Savile, Leon Craig, David McKechnie, Mark Akinfolarin, Sam Kipling, Michael Burgen, Domic Harbison, Richard Russell Edwards, Lee Greenaway, Jamie Chidzey, Thomas Duern, Joel Eleferink, Matthew Facchino, Daniel Miles, and Benjamin Vivan-Jones.
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L.A. Theatre Works has announced its 2021 season of audio plays:
* The Thanksgiving Play, (available now here) by Larissa FastHorse, directed by Rosalynd Ayres, featuring Ellis Greer, Liza Weill, Josh Stamberg, and Mark Jude Sullivan..
* Life on Paper, by Kenneth Lin (available now here), directed by Rosalynd Ayres, featuring Kevin Daniels, Sarah Drew, Seamus Dever, Summer Spiro, and Mark Jude Sullivan. How much is one life worth? When a billionaire dies in a place crash, a forensic economist butts heads with a small town actuary over the exact value of one man’s life.
* Extinction, by Hannie Rayson (available through Jan. 31 here), directed by Martin Jarvis, featuring Sarah Drew and Seamus Dever. A zoologist in Austrailia gets funding to save an endangered species from the very company that threatens its existence. Will this deal with the devil allow her to save the species, or will it destroy her entire life’s work?
* Bump, by Chiara Atik (available Jan. 27.), directed by Rosalynd Ayres, featuring Ana Ortiz, Herbert Sigëenza, Alma Martinez, Lucy DeVito, Anna Mathias, Anna Lyse Erikson, Moira Quirk, André Sogliuzzo, Devon Sorvari, and Inger Tudor. What not to expect when you’re expecting! Base on the true story, this hilarious comedy spans time and space in an effort to grapple with the mystery and the miracle of maternity.
* A Weekend with Pablo Picasso (available Apr. 26), by Herbert Sigüenza, directed by TBA, featuring Herbert Sigëenza. In this one-man tour-de-force based on Picasso’s writings, take a trip to Picasso’s private studio for an intimate and revealing weekend.
* For Us All (available May 5), by Jeanne Sakata, directed by TBA, featuring TBA.
A team of lawyers advocated to overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, who fought against Japanese-American interment during WWII.
* A Good Day at Auschwitz (available June 2), by Stephen Tobolowsky, directed by TBA, featuring TBA. The extraordinary true story of Abe, who not only survived three years at Auschwitz — certainly the worst place on earth — but fell in love there.
* The Murder on the Links (available Jun e 30), by Agatha Christie, adapted by Kate McAll, directed by TBA, featuring TBA. Hercule Poirot arrives in the south of France to find his client dead on a golf course – and a house full of suspects.
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Backstage Babble: Trivia Night will stream Sat. Jan. 23 at 7 PM ET here. The event consists of five rounds of trivia about Broadway from the Golden Age through Broadway today, asked by five very special celebrity presenters.
Lee Roy Reams, Jim Morgan, Peter Filichia, Josh Ellis, and Michael Lavine.
Martin Milnes, Rob W. Schneider, Aaron Coleman, and George Dansker.
CATEGORIES:
Off-Broadway History
Name That Tune
Dialogue From Musicals
The Golden Age of Broadway
Broadway’s Divas
Thos unique trivia night is perfect for any Broadway fan to test their knowledge along with the four on-screen answerers. Simply write down your answers at home and check for yourself! And if you don’t know the answers, come anyway just for the fun that will certainly ensue when historians, stars, and fans alike come together for an evening like never before — full of anecdotes, questions, and prizes.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Congratulations! It’s Twins!
1-D. Antipholus of Syracuse and Antipholus of Ephesus – The Comedy of Errors
2-F. Daisy and Violet Hilton – Side Show
3-I. Mickey and Eddie – Blood Brothers
4-G. Hugo and Frédéric – Ring Round the Moon
5-H. Myra and Myrna – The Mineola Twins
6-A. Viola and Sebastian – Twelfth Night
7-C. Eteocles and Polynices – Antigone
8-J. John and James Jeckyll – Love! Valour! Compassion!
9-B. Tonino and Zanetto – The Venetian Twins
10-E. Evelyn and Rupert Farrant – Corpse!