GRACE NOTES: Monday, January 5, 2026

 

Today’s Highlights

 

Relax ….. Let go ….. Let fly…

 

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  Grace Notes Quiz: Pardon, Monsieur by Jim Bernhard

Match these messieurs with the shows they are in.

   1. Monsieur André     A. Beauty and the Beast
   2. Monsieur Baurel    B. The Three Musketeers
   3. Monsieur Beaunoir     C.  The New Moon
   4. Monsieur Jourdain     D. Peer Gynt
    5. Monsieur D’Arque     E. What Price Glory
    6. Monsieur Rouault     F.  Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
    7. Monsieur Ballon     G. The Phantom of the Opera
    8. Monsieur Bonacieux     H. Madame Bovary
   9. Monsieur de la Tremouille     I.  An American in Paris
    10. Monsieur Pete de la Cognac     J.  The Lark

Scroll down for the answers…

 

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  Reviews for Amahl and the Night Visitors at Lincoln Center.

 

Click here for all the reviews.

 

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Ragtime, currently running at Broadway’s Lincoln Center Theatre, has broken the record ($1,588,107) for the highest weekly gross in the history of the theatre.

 

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  Sara Farrington’s A Trojan Woman will run Jan. 10-11 at The Tank Theatre (312 W. 36th St.), directed by Meghan Finn.

 

  Drita Kabashi.

 

The play brings an ancient story into the heart of today’s headlines. Set in the aftermath of war, a woman and her child find themselves alone in a ruined city, echoing the sorrow and devastation of the women of Troy after the city’s fall to the Greeks in the Trojan War. The play follows her journey as she steps into the voices of ten different characters — each one telling a story of loss and survival. At its core, it’s a mother’s grief that shows the lasting cost of war.

 

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   The world premiere of Shem Bitterman’s The Typist will run Jan. 27 – Mar. 9 (opening Jan. 30) at the Hudson Guild Theatre, directed by Jeremy Wechsler.

 

 Noah James and Evangeline Edwards. 

 

  A jazz-infused love story, playt transports us to the Summer of ’61 in a Greenwich Village basement apartment where a bourbon-soaked novelist racing to complete his manuscript for publishing hires a typist to commit his words to the page.

 

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  A conversation with Marc Shaiman and Nathan Lane: Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner will take place Sun. Jan. 25 at NYC’s 92Y.

 

  Marc Shaiman, Nathan Lane, J. Harrison Ghee, and Jessica Vosk.

 

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   Matt Morillo’s Sweet Air will run Jan. 23 – Feb. 1 at the McCadden Place Theatre, directed by Katie Oliver.

 

  Jenni Chiarmonte and Shaun Bedgood.

 

  Robbie and Galen, two complete strangers on completely different paths in life, have both had a miserable Valentine's Day. They’re both broke, lonely and stranded in a deserted subway station on a freezing cold New York City night, waiting for a train that never seems to be coming. With seemingly nothing to lose, they strike up a conversation, commiserate, bond, unravel the mysteries of the universe and romantic comedies and find a connection in this cruel and heartless world in this post-pandemic, platonic Valentine&#39’s Day comedy.

 

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   Additional casting has been announced for Death of a Salesman at the Winter Garden Theatre, directed by Joe Mantello, to run Mar. 6 – June 14 (opening Apr. 9).

 

 Nathan Lane (Willy Loman), Laurie Metcalf (Linda Loman), Christopher Abbott (Biff Loman), and Ben Ahlers (Happy Loman).

 

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  Steve Ross & Fred Chopin’s lovely “It’s Only Christmas Eve” song.

 

  Suellern Estey, Benjamin Weil and ron Spivak.

 

Click here to listen.

 

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  Prudence Play – Sister Prudence Is Not Gay, written &  performed by  Caroline Dunn, will run Jan. 7-11 at the Flea Theater, directed by Frances Rippy.

 

  A humorous yet poignant look at being true to oneself, resonating with anyone who’s felt denied the right to exist as they are, according to its creator. From her fever dreams of tap dancing, or her hot and heavy thoughts during the Lenten fish fry, Sister Prudence is having a moment. She’s waking up to feelings for a fellow sister, wrestling with her every belief, and confessing a lot. As memories from her past resurface and her dreams get more sinful, Prudence begins to question the voice in her head and is forced to confront her (horny) (gay) demons.

 

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  My First Ex Husband, written & performed by Joy Behar, will run Mar. 27 – 29 at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, directed by Randal Myler.

 

  A bold and heartfelt adaptation of true stories. With razor-sharp wit and no filters, it explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex, and relationships. Whether you’re happily coupled, cautiously committed, or considering changing the locks, relationships are complicated—and universally relatable. These stories are your stories, only funnier. Each weekend, a cast of four stars from theatre, television, and film join the show, bringing their unique personalities to tell these tales that may be eerily familiar. Outrageous yet deeply relatable, this show will resonate with anyone who has navigated the turbulent and often titillating seas of love.

 

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    Here Be Dragons, written & directed by Charlie Mount, will run Feb. 4 – Mar. 11 at Sherman Oaks’ Whitefire Theatre.

 

  Jim Beaver (Jerome) and Charlie Mount (Robert), with Meg Lin, Anne Leyden, and John Combs, George Tovar, Corrine Shor, and Scottie Nevil.

 

  A high school classroom becomes a courtroom battleground between two estranged brothers on opposing sides of the Evolution/Intelligent Design issue. With board members, whose decision on whether or not to accept the state’s re-definition of science (allowing for the legal introduction of Creationism into their science classrooms) is being carefully watched by the country’s media and may influence school systems across the country.

 

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  Kate Baldwin in concert will run Mar.  13-15 at NYC’s 54 Below, with music direction by Georgia Stitt.

 

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  Caroline Dunn’s  Prudence Play (Or Sister Prudence Is Not Gay!) will run Jan. 7-11 at The Flea Theater, directed by Frances Rippy.

 

  Caroline Dunn

 

  An hilarious & unholy solo show about a Young Catholic nun in the Midst of a Gay-As Hell Identity Crisis.

 

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   Theatre Forty will present J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls Jan. 8-18 at the Greystone Mansion, directed by Cate Caplin.

 

  Mouchette Van Helsdingen, Katyana Rocker-Cook, Isaac W. Jay, Arezu Tavakoli, David Hunt Stafford, Diana Angelina, Monty Renfrow, Isabella DiBernardino, and Quinn Ruby DeVries.

 

  This play occurs when a young woman meets with an untimely demise and a respectable family is subject to a routine inquiry in connection with the death. An inspector calls to interrogate the family and it is revealed that each member of the family is implicated lightly or deeply in the woman’s undoing. The friendly and close-knit family at the beginning of the evening is shown up to be selfish, self-centered, and cowardly. Good fellowship turns to acid and dislike. A surprising revelation turns up in the end which makes this thriller not to be missed.

 

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  The Book of Mormon will continue through Mar. 26 at the Prince of Wales Theatre, directed by Trey Parker & Matt Stone.

 

  Blair Gibson (Elder Price), Conner Peirson (Elder Cunningham), Paige Peddie (Nabulungi), Colin Burnicle (Elder McKinley), Ian Carlyle (Mafala Hatimbi), Matthew Elliot-Campbell (General/Satan), with Ron Remke, Deon Adams, Carys Alyse Thomson, Josh Barnett, Jake Bishop, Charlie Booker, Char Burnett, Joseph Davenport, Jemal Felix, Patrick George. George Grayson, Callum Henderson, Harry Lake, Harrison Langham, Michael Lewis, Jacob McIntosh, Paige Miller, Zachary Miller, Sean Parkins, Stephen Rolley, Jack Rose, Robin Simões Da Silva, Kellah-M Spring, Kinshasa Sunrise, Aisha Williams, and Jason Yeboa.

 

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  All the Devils Are Here, written & performed by Patrick Page, will run Jan. 15-25 at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage.

 

The event focuses on the twisted motivation and hidden humanity at the heart of Shakespeare’s greatest villains.

 

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  National Theatre Live’s screening of  London’s Hamlet, directed by Robert Hastie, will take place Sat. Feb. 7 at 3 PM at UCLA’s  James Bridge’s Theatre, directed by Robert Hastie.

 

   Hiran Abeysekera (Hamlet), Vrancesca Mills (Ophelia), Alistair Petrie (Claudius), Ayesha Dharker (Gertrude),  Geoffrey Streatfield (Polonius), Tom Glenister (Laertes), Tessa Wong (Horatio), Ryan Ellsworth (Ghost), Hari Mackinnon (Rosencrantz), Joe Bolland (Guildenstern), Siobhán Redmond (First Player), Phil Cheadle (Marcellus), Liz Jaday (Nurse), Kiren Kebaili-Dwyer (Fortinbras), and Mary Higgins (Osric).

 

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Collection:  NYC’s 92Y has launched its on-demand Literary Audio Collection, featuring  iconic Authors, Actors, Playwrights and Others in Never-Before-Heard Archival Recordings.

 

  James Baldwin, Eudora Welty, Bernard Malamud, Anaïs Nin, Sam Shepard, Edith Sitwell, Saul Bellow, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Isaac Asimov, August Wilson, Arthur Miller, John Fowles, Günter Grass, Joseph Heller, Isabel Allende, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Alice Walker, John Irving, Kazuo Ishiguro, Michael Ondaatje, and many more.

 

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   The world premiere of Matthew Leavitt & Nathan Wang’s Kid Gloves will run. Jan.15 – Feb. 15 (0pening Jan. 17) at the Skylight Theatre, directed by Richard Israel, with choreography by Christine Lakin.

 

  Will Collyer (Caleb), Heather Marsden (Meredith, Adam J. Smith (Eddie), Natalie Lander (Darla), Joey Richter (Jackson), Lauren Lorati (Vidki), Harry S. Murphy (Professor Penguinpants), Jonathan Slavin (Edmund the Elephant), Suzy Nakamura (Penelope/Bonita the Bunny), and Christopher Kerrigan (Juaquin).

 

The world premiere dives into the candy-colored chaos of a reality-TV competition where children’s entertainers compete for the chance to win their own show. The play skewers the utter depravity of reality TV and how it can corrupt even the most wholesome element of humanity.

 

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   Douglas Carter Beane’s Finding Dorothy Parker will run Jan. 15-22 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and directed by Beanem with music by Alistair Wroe.

 

  Julie Halston, Ann Harada, Jackie Hoffman, and Anika Larsen.

 

  A sparkling revue and whirlwind tour of Dorothy Parker’s hilarious and wise material performed by some of the funniest women on Broadway. Dorothy Parker was the razor-sharp wit of the Roaring Twenties, a cocktail-sipping literary firecracker who made her mark with her words and her style. Parker’s dazzling wit graced the pages of Vanity Fair (where she was a staff writer and theater critic).

 

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  The Festival of New Musicals will run Jan. 16-18 at CT’s Goodspeed.

 

Click the link above for the complete schedule of events.

 

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  Matt Morillo’s Sweet Air will run Jan. 23 – Feb. 15 at the McCadden Place Theatre, directed by Katie Oliver.

 

Jenni Chiaramonte and Shaun Bedgood.

 

  Robbie and Galen, two complete strangers on completely different paths in life, have both had a miserable Valentine’s Day. They’re both broke, lonely and stranded in a deserted subway station on a freezing cold New York City night, waiting for a train that never seems to be coming. With seemingly nothing to lose, they strike up a conversation, commiserate, bond, unravel the mysteries of the universe and romantic comedies and find a connection in this cruel and heartless world in this post-pandemic, platonic Valentine’s Day comedy.

 

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  Joy Behar’s My First Ex-Husband will return to Boston’s Huntington Theatre Mar. 27-29 at the Calderwood Pavilion, directed by Randal Myler.

 

  Joy Behar and more TBA.

 

  A bold and heartfelt adaptation of true stories by the legendary Joy Behar, comedienne and co-host of “The View.” With razor-sharp wit and no filters, it explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex, and relationships. Whether you’re happily coupled, cautiously committed, or considering changing the locks, relationships are complicated—and universally relatable. These stories are your stories, only funnier. Each weekend, a cast of four stars from theatre, television, and film join the show, bringing their unique personalities to tell these tales that may be eerily familiar. Outrageous yet deeply relatable, this show will resonate with anyone who has navigated the turbulent and often titillating seas of love.

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  Festival of New American Musicals, offering readings of new musicals, will run Jan. 16-18 at CT’s Goodspeed.

 

Click here for the complete schedule of events.

 

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  Matthew Morrison: Rhythms & Revelations continues through Jan. 8 at NYC’s 54 Below.

 

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  Elevator Repair Service will present James Joyce’s Ulysses Jan. 13 – Feb. 15 (opening Jan. 25) at the Public Theatre, directed by Scott Shepherd & John Collins.

 

  Dee Beasnael, Kate Benson, Maggie Hoffman, Vin Knight, Scott Shepherd, Christopher-Rashee Stevenson, and Stephanie Weeks.

 

  Seven performers sit down for a sober reading but soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast-forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With humor, pathos, and a richly layered design, ERS stitches together verbatim passages from Joyce’s epic masterpiece into a two-and-a-half hour tour de force.

 

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  Grace Notes Quiz answers: Pardon, Monsieur by Jim Bernhard

 

1-G. Monsieur André – The Phantom of the Opera

 

2-I. Monsieur Baurel – An American in aris

 

3-C. Monsieur Beaunoir – The New Moon

 

4-F. Monsieur Jourdain – Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

 

5-A. Monsieur D’Arque – Beauty and the Beast

 

6-H. Monsieur Rouault – Madame Bovary

 

7-D. Monsieur Ballon – Peer Gynt

 

8-B. Monsieur Bonacieux – The Three Musketeers

 

9-J. Monsieur de la Tremouille – The Lark

 

10-E. Monsieur Pete de la Cognac – What Price Glory

 

 

 


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