Today’s Highlights:
Fun Home live benefit reunion concert (in support of LGBTQIA), directed by Sam Gold, featuring Beth Malone (Alison, Michael Cerveris (Bruce), Judy Kuhn (Helen), and Roberta Colindrez (Joan), Joél Pérez (Roy/Mark/Pete/Bobby), Perry Sherman (6:30 show only), Emily Skeggs (Middle Alison), Colette Goodman (Small Alison), Jasper Burger (Christian), and Lincoln Cohen (John), at both 3:30 PM ET & 6:30 PM ET. 
here.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Castles and Palaces by Jim Bernhard
Place these castles and palaces in the plays and musicals in which they belong:
| 1. Elsinore | A. Frozen |
| 2. Castle Duloc | B. The Rocky Horror Show |
| 3. Agrabah | C. The Lion in Winter |
| 4. Chinon | D. Florodora |
| 5. Frankenstein Place | E. Richard II |
| 6. Abercoed | F. Aladdin |
| 7. Kenilworth | G. Hamlet |
| 8. Inverness | H. Macbeth |
| 9. Pontefract | I. Shrek the Musical |
| 10. Arendelle | J. Henry VI Part 2 |
Scroll down for the answers…
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John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt will run Feb. 2 – Apr. 14 (opening Feb. 29) at the American Airlines Theatre, directed by Scott Ellis.
Tyne Daly (Sister Aloysius), Liev Schrieber (Father Flynn), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Mrs. Muller), and Zoe Kazan (Sister James).
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Jerry Orbach’s Broadway will take place both live & livestreamed on Thurs. Jan. 25 at 7 PM at NYC’s 54 Below, directed by Michael Portantiere, with music direction by Matthew Martin Ward.
William Michals, Jay Aubrey Jones, Patrick Michael Wickham, Anita Gillette, Lee Roy Reams, Chris Orbach, Tony Orbach
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Calling all So-Cal Storytellers!
The Foundation for New American Musicals is currently seeking submissions for SHOWSEARCH 2024 — a Southern California-wide search for new short musicals created by high school and college book, music and lyric writers. Click here for complete details.
SHOWSEARCH is the Foundation’s juried competition for new short musicals by high school and college student creators. SHOWSEARCH starts with an online competition, in which unedited 10-minute videos of musicals in development are submitted for consideration. Submissions are judged on storytelling, musicality and originality and six finalists are selected; three from the high school group, and three from the college group to compete for cash award scholarships.
Finalists are paired with top musical theatre professionals for a month-long intensive mentorship to refine their shows before the works are presented as staged readings–cast, produced and directed by top Los Angeles industry professionals.
Mentors have included: Stephen Schwartz, Cinco Paul, Ryan Scott Oliver, John Bucchino, and Jeff Marx.
Award grants are generously sponsored by Wells Fargo Capital Finance.
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A performance of Broadway’s Days of Wine and Roses, followed by a conversation with Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James, and additional cast members, will take place Thurs. Jan. 18 at 8 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
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Sarah Rice, best know for originating the role of Johanna in Sweeney Todd, passed away from cancer on Jan. 6 at the age of 68.
Her leading soprano roles include Daughter of the Regiment (Marie), Candide (Cunegonde), Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), The Student Prince (Kathie), The Vagabond King (Lady Catherine), The Medium (Monica), The Impresario (Goldentrill), West Side Story (Maria), Naughty Marietta (Marietta), Showboat (Magnolia), Phantom of the Opera (Christine Daae), Bittersweet (Sarah), The Desert Song (Margot), The Secret of Susanna (Susanna), Hang On to Your Ribbons, The Fantaskicks, A Little Night Music, The Tempest, Regina, Hansel and Gretel, and The Sound of Music.
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Amas Musical Theatre has announced a set of developmental readings of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart & Mark Saltzman’s Falling for Make Believe: The life and Songs of Lorenz Hart, to take place Mon. Jan. 22 at 6 PM and Tues. Jan. 23 at 1 PM & 4:30 PM at NYC’s Pearl Studios, directed by Jeff Calhoun. with music direction by Keith Harrison Dwortin.
Nikki Crawford, Claybourne Elder, Ben Fankhauser, Nicolas King, Susan Mosher, and Jefff Woodman.
The true story of Lorenz Hart is presented for the first time — his struggle with the closet and the bottle, his tortured relationship with his songwriting partner Richard Rodgers, and most poignantly, his ability to capture love in his lyrics, but not his life.
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Video: Eden Espinosa performs “Woman Is” from Broadway’s Lemicka.
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Mona Pirnot’s I love you so much I could die will run Feb. 1 – Mar. 10 (opening Feb. 14) at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Lucas Hnath.
Mona Pirnot
Part-concert and part-play, the work wrestles with the private and unspeakable in a very public way through monologues performed by a computer and songs performed by the playwright.
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Branden Jacobs-Jenkin’s Purple Rain, currently being adapted by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins (from the 1984 film and featuring Prince’s music & lyrics), will be directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.
Timeline, creative team, casting, and additional information TBA.
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Steve Yockey’s Mercury will run Jan. 9 – Feb. 18 (opening Jan. 12) at North Hollywood’s Road Theatre, directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky.
Meghan Holaway (Pamela), Andrea Flowers (Heather), Justin Lawrence Barnes (Nick), Danny Lee Gomez (Brian), Billy Baker (Sam), Gloria Ines (Alicia and Christina Carlisi (Olive).
Three stories cross outside of Portland, OR in a pitch-black comedy with an illicit affair, a couple hanging on by a thread, bears at the window, the deadliest curiosity shop on the west coast, and a missing dog named Mr. Bundles. No one’s happy, people stop being nice, and blood spills. This mash up of myth, missing empathy, and “good neighbors” explores what happens when the mercury rises.
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The world premiere of Corinne Jaber’s Munich Medea: Happy Family will run Jan. 30 – Feb. 25 (opening Feb. 12) at the WP Theater, directed by Lee Sunday Evans.
Crystal Finn (Caroline), Heather Raffo (Alice), and Kurt Rhoads (Father).
Childhood friends Caroline and Alice reconnect after over 20 years and begin to unravel shared memories. The pair discovers that Caroline’s father played a different role in each of their lives, and begin to come to terms with their past.
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Private NYC industry readings of Lance Lewman, Kristan King & Gabriel Kane’s Brilliance will take place Jan. 25 & 26, directed by Lance Lewman, with choreography by Pierce Cassedy, and music direction by Evan Swanson.
Jill Paice (Frances Farmer), John Hillner, Liz McCartney, and Jeri Sager, with Jordan Alexander, Erica Dorfler, Cailen Fu, Megan Masako Haley, Ben Livingston, Harris Milgrim, Alaina Mills, Regan Ogle, Noah Plobgren, and Lawrence Street.
Frances Farmer’s troubled life is coming to the stage. Initially advertised as “the next Greta Garbo,” Farmer was a Hollywood starlet throughout the 1930s whose career was sidelined by paranoid schizophrenia after being involuntarily committed to an asylum by her mother. Farmer soon became (often spurious) tabloid fodder, as did her volatile relationship with her mother after Farmer successfully regained her freedom in 1953. In recent years, many parallels between Farmer’s situation and that of Britney Spears and her conservatorship have been drawn.
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Rick Elice & the Pigpen Theatre Company‘s Water for Elephants will begin previews Feb. 24 and open Mar. 21 at the Imperial Theatre, directed by Jessica Stone.
Grant Gustin, Isabelle McCalla, Gregg Edelman, Paul Alexander Nolan, Stan Brown, Joe De Paul, Sara Gettelfinger, and Wade McCollum.
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Open-Door Playhouse has announced that its next play in podcast form – UN)Drinkable, by Bernadette Armstrong, will begin Feb. 7.
Barika Phillips Bell, JayCee Porter, and Sue Gisser
In 2014, Flint, Michigan changed the source of its water supply. This resulted in the contamination of its drinking and bathing water, causing a dozen fatalities and sickening dozens more. The changes in the water supply were motivated by the greed of a few people in power and by systemic racism: The city was 54% Black.
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The world premiere of Richard Alger, Tina Kronis & Wes Myers’ Tiny Little Town will run Feb. 1-18 at the Broadwater Theatre, directed & choreographed by Kronis.
Paula Rebelo, Prisca Kim, Nikhil Pai, Kasper Svendsen, Lamont Oakley, Nick Apostolina, Mark Doerr, Jesse Myers, Ishika Muchhal, Isaiah Noriega, Joey Auino, and Eddie Vona.
A musical adaptation of The Inspector General, the piece takes place in 1970’s small town America, which becomes a hilarious and timely reflection on America, corruption, suspicion and coverup.
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A private industry reading of Lance Lewman, Kristan King & Gabriel Kane’s Brilliance will take place Jan. 25 & 26 in NYC, directed by Lewman, with choreography by Pierce Cassedy, and music direction by Evan Swanson.
Jill Paice John Hillner, Liz McCartney, and Jeri Sager, with Jordan Alexander, Erica Dorfler, Cailen Fu, Megan Masako Haley, Ben Livingstone, Harris Milgrim, Alaina Mills, Regan Ogle, Noah Plomgren, and Lawrence Street.
A new musical based on Frances Farmer’s life. Initially advertised as “the next Greta Garbo,” Farmer was a Hollywood starlet throughout the 1930s whos career was sidelined by paranoid schizophrenia after being involuntarily committed to an asylum by her mother. Farmer soon became (often spurious) tabloid fodder, as did her volatile relationship with her mother after Farmer successfully regained her freedom in 1953. In recent years, many parallels between Farmer’s situation and that of Britney Spears and her conservatorship have been drawn.
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Mona Pirnot’s I love you so much I could die will run Feb. 1 – Mar. 10 (opening Feb. 14) at New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Lucas Hnath.
Mona Pirnot.
Part-concert and part-play, the work wrestles with the private and unspeakable in a very public way through monologues performed by a computer and songs performed by the playwright.**********************
Amas Musical Theatre has announced a developmental reading for Mark Saltzman & Jeff Calhoun’s Falling for Make Believe: The Life and Songs of Lorenz Hart, to take place Mon. Jan. 22 at 6 PM and Tues. Jan. 23 at 1 & 4 PM at NYC’s Pearl Studios, directed by Jeff Calhoun, with music direction by Keith Harrison Dworkin. 
here.
Nikki Crawford, Claybourne Elder, Ben Fankhauser, Nicolas King, Susan Mosher, and Jeff Woodman.
The true life story of Lorenz Hart presented for the first time – his struggle with the closet and the bottle, his tortured relationship with his songwriting partner Richard Rodgers, and most poignantly his ability to capture love in his lyrics, but not his life.
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Rob Madge’s My Son’s a Queer (but what can you do) will begin previews Feb. 17 and open Mar. 13 at the Lyceum Theatre, directed by Luke Sheppard.
Rob Madge
A celebration of identity, creativity, and the profound bond between a parent and their child.
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Jeremie Loncka’s (Im)migrants of the Stage, created by & based on the real-life experiences of incarcerated actors, return to the The Actors’ Gang Jan. 19-28.
An unflinching, emotional, thought provoking evening of theater, weaving together self-reflection and humor, through authentic voices on their journey toward redemption and healing. An original new work, created and performed by an ensemble of Prison Project alumni with over 240 years of combined incarceration, telling powerful, inspirational stories that speak to anyone who has ever lost hope, or lived their life in fear and regret.
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Carson Kreitzer & Matt Gould’s Lempicka will begin previews Mar. 19 and open Apr. 14 at the Longacre Theatre, directed by Rachel Chavkin.
Eden Espinosa
A new bio-musical following the life of the artist and exiled aristocrat Tamara de Lempicka. Spanning decades of political and personal turmoil and told through a thrilling, pop-infused score, the musical boldly explores the contradictions of a world in crisis, a woman ahead of her era, and an artist whose time has finally come.
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John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt will run Feb. 2 – Apr. 14 (opening Feb. 29) at the American Airlines Theatre, directed by Scott Ellis.
Tyne Daly, Liev Schrieber, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Zoe Kazan
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Castles and Palaces
1-G. Elsinore – Hamlet
2-I. Castle Duloc – Shrek the Musical
3-F. Agrabah – Aladdin
4-C. Chinon – The Lion in Winter
5-B. Frankenstein Place – The Rocky Horror Show
6-D. Abercoed – Florodora
7-J. Kenilworth – Henry VI Part 2
8-H. Inverness – Macbeth
9-E. Pontefract – Richard II
10-A. Arendelle – Frozen