Today’s Highlights:
JOB, by Max Wolf Friedlich, directed by Michael Herwitz, featuring Peter Friedman (Lloyd) and Sydney Lemmon (Jane), begins previews at Broadway’s Hayes Theatre.
Broadway by the Boardwalk FREE concert, featuring Eden Espinosa, at 6 PM at NYC’s Hudson River Park’s Clinton Cove.
Mo Rocca & Candice Bergen: Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs conversation at 7 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
The York Theatre Company’s NEO 2024: A Concert Celebration of Emerging Musical Theatre Writers concert, directed by Annette Jolles, featuring RJ Christian, Amy Engelhardt & Molly Horan, Danielle Koenig & Justin D. Cook, Ron Spivak & Michiru Oshima, Jessica Wu, and TJ Rubin, at 7 PM NYC’s Green Room 42.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Name’s Familiar by Jim Bernhard
Match these characters with their last names—which comprise the most frequently found American surnames:
| 1. Tootie in Meet Me In St. Louis | A. Wilson |
| 2. Stupefyin’ in Li’l Abner | B. Brown |
| 3. Sid in Ah, Wilderness! | C. Garcia |
| 4. Hildy in The Front Page | D. Smith |
| 5. Babe in The Pajama Game | E. Davis |
| 6. Tiger in Three Penny Opera | F. Rodriguez |
| 7. Carlotta in The Flowers of Virtue | G. Jones |
| 8. Husky in Carmen Jones | H. Miller |
| 9. Trumpet in Sweet Charity | I. Williams |
| 10. Jose in Fun City | J. Johnson |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Cyrano De Bergerac, adapted by Martin Crimp, will run Sept. 4-29 (opening Sept. 8) at Pasadena Playhouse, directed by Mike Donahue.
Rosa Salazar (Roxanne), Will Hochman (Christian), Kimberly Scott (Madame Ragueneau), and more TBA.
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NYC’s 92NY has announced its 2024-25 season: Lyrics & Lyricists Season (link TBA).
Nina Simone (Dec. 6-9)
Rosanne Cash (Feb. 13, 2025)
James Nicola (Mar. 1-3) celebrating the music of Jonathan Larson.
David Loud (June 1-3)
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Jeanine Tesori & David Henry Hwang’s Soft Power will run Aug. 6 – Sept. 15 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Ethan Heard, with choreography by Billy Bustamante, and music direction by Angie Benson.
Steven Eng (DHH), Daniel May (Xue Xing), and Grace Yoo (Hillary Clinton), with Eymard Cabling, Andrew Cristi, Jonny Lee Jr., Quynh-My Luu, Christopher Mueller, Ashley D. Nguyn, Chani Werely, Nicholas Yenson, SumiéYotsukura, Olivia Clavel-Davis, Brian Dauglash, Emily Song Tyler, and Joey Urgino.
After the 2016 election, when a Chinese American playwright is attacked by an unknown assailant, he hallucinates a Golden Age musical comedy about a Chinese theater producer and Hillary Clinton falling in love. Hilarious and biting, this political satire dares to ask: Does American Democracy still work? And is it worth believing in? An exhilarating ride through political absurdity with a faceoff between Chinese and American exceptionalism.
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Jay Paul Deratany, Coyote Joe Stevens & Keaton Wooden’s The Civility of Albert Cashier will run Aug. 31 – Sept. 22 (opening Sept. 7) at Burbank’s Colony Theatre, directed by Richard Israel, with music direction by Anthony Lucca.
TBA.
In August of 1862, Private Albert Cashier enlisted in the Union Army and fought valiantly during the Civil War, until being honorably discharged on August 17, 1865, at which point he received a military pension in recognition of his service. But there was more to Albert than most people knew … he had a secret … this heroic American soldier was actually born a female.
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The world premiere of Douglas Lyons & Zhailon Levingston’s Table 17 will run Aug. 14 – Sept. 15 (opening Sept. 6) at MCC Theater, directed Levingston.
Kara Young, Biko Eisen-Martin, and Michael Rishawn.
An hilarious and sweet open letter to love found, lost, and possibly reignited.
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The Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced its Friday’s @ 3 Reading Series and Summer Workshops, which continues through Aug. 2.
Too much to list here, click the link above for the complete schedule of events.
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Phillip Howze’s Six Characters, currently in previews, will open July 29 and close Aug. 25 at Lincoln Center‘s LCT3, directed by Dustin Wills.
GG, Will Cobbs, Seven F.B. Duncombe, Claudia Logan, Julian Robertson, and Seret Scott.
Described as a play about “power, belonging, and the institutions we build,” the work follows a group who storm a renowned cultural center and wreak havoc.
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Boston’s Lyric Stage Company has announced its 2024-25 season (creative teams, casting, and additional information TBA)
Urinetown (Sept. 20 – Oct. 20), by Mark Hollmann & Greg Kotis.
Noises Off (Nov. 15 – Dec. 22)
Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Jan. 10 – Feb. 2, 2025), by Lynn Nottage.
Adrift in Brooklyn during the racially charged 1950s, two teenage sisters Ernestine and Ermina live with their devout, recently widowed father, Godfrey, who follows the teachings of spiritual leader Father Divine. Almost to the point of obsession, Godfrey’s staunch beliefs cause his girls to heal their wounds with Hollywood films, daydreams, and lots of cookies. Their humdrum lives are turned upside down with the arrival of their vivacious Aunt Lily, who brings with her a few bad habits and a taste for rebellion. When Godfrey makes a shocking decision that involves a German woman named Gerte, can the family find new meaning in what makes a home?
Was It Worth It (Feb. 21 – Mar. 16), by Yazmina Reza. Serge has purchased a modern painting for an outrageous sum. Marc hates it. Yvan is stuck in the middle. When superficial ideals and values that they once joked about appear to be at the core of Serge’s intentions, comradery is quickly replaced by a sense of betrayal. This sophisticated comedy of manners forces three best friends to examine just how well they really know each other. With sleek repartee and mounting friction, their evening together intensifies to the point of no return where loneliness could be the cost of their inability to save their friendship instead of their egos.
The Great Reveal (Apr. 4-27), by David Valdes. Newly married and seven months pregnant, Lexi has planned the perfect backyard gender-reveal party with every detail immaculately in place. But not everyone is as enthusiastic about the celebration. Her immature husband, Christopher, is rattled by what the future holds for him as a father. Her brother Linus, a trans man, is caught between his sister and his partner Dosia, who is tasked with making the cake for an event that goes against everything they stand for. When emotions escalate and revelations are shared, a family and the importance of being true to oneself is tested as they grapple to find ways to keep on loving each other.
Hello, Dolly (May 16 – June 22). Creative team and casting TBA.
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Randy Newman’s FAUST: The Concert will run Sept. 28-29 at Northridge, CA’s Soraya,
Javier Muñoz, Reeve Carney, and Veronica Smith.
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A screening of Bonnie and Clyde The Musical, filmed live, (recorded live at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Jan. 2022) will take place Sun. July 21 at 3 PM at CA’s La Mirada Theatre, directed by Jeff Calhoun.
Jeremy Jordan (Clyde). Frances Mayli McCann (Bonnie), George Maguire (Buck), Natalie McQueen (Blanche), Trevor Dion Nicholas (Preacher), Liam Tamne (Ted),” Casey Al-Shaqsy (Stella), Simon Anthony (Cop/Bud/Archie/Deputy Johnson), Gillian Bevan (Cummie Barrow/Eleanor), Eloise Davies (Trish), Adrian Grove (Henry Barrow), Debbie Kurup (Governor Miriam Ferguson), Matthew Malthouse (Bob Alcorn), Jeremy Secomb (Judge/Sheriff Schmid), Russell Wilcox (Captain Frank Hamer), and Julie Yammanee (Emma Parker).
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The world premiere of Hershey Felder & Jonathan Silvestri’s Rachmaninoff And The Tsar will run Aug. 7-25 at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage.
Hershey Felder (Sergei Rachmaninoff) and Jonathan Silvestri (Tsar Nicholas II).
Having safely left Russia during the 1917 revolution, legendary pianist-composer Sergei Rachmaninoff made his home in the United States. In 1942, at the age of 68, he received American citizenship and bought a home in Beverly Hills, but his soul never left Russia. Six months thereafter, a terminal illness brought forth the memory of an encounter with Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Tsar’s daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. This memory would haunt him until the end.
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Jeanine Tesori & David Henry Hwang’s Soft Power will run Aug. 6 – Sept. 15 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Ethan Heard, with choreography by Billy Bustamante, and music supervision by Chris Fenwick.
Steven Eng (DDH), Daniel May (Xue Xing), Grace Yoo (Hillary Clinton), Eymard Cabling (Randy Ray), Andrew Cristi (Chief Justice, Jonny Lee Jr. (Bobby Bob), Quynh-Luu (Waiter), Christopher Muelle (VEEP), Ashley D. Nguyen (Jing), Chani Wereley (Betsy Ross), Nicholas Yenson (Holden Caulfield), and Sumié Yotsukura (Flight Attendant), with Olivia Clavel-Davis, Brian Dauglash, Emily Song Tyler, and Joey Urgino.
The musical is set after the 2016 election, when a Chinese American playwright, attacked by an unknown assailant, hallucinates a Golden Age musical comedy about a Chinese theatre producer and Hillary Clinton falling in love. The political satire asks: Does American Democracy still work? And is it worth believing in?
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Name’s Familiar
1-D. Tootie Smith, Meet Me In St. Louis
2-G. Stupefyin’ Jones, Li’l Abner
3-E. Sid Davis, Ah, Wilderness!
4-J. Hildy Johnson, The Front Page
5-I. Babe Williams, The Pajama Game
6-B. Tiger Brown, Three Penny Opera
7-C. Carlotta Garcia, The Flowers of Virtue
8-H. Husky Miller, Carmen Jones
9-A. Trumpet Wilson, Sweet Charity10-F. Jose Rodriguez, Fun City