Today’s Highlights:
Marilyn Maye: 94, Of Course There’s More! concert, at 8 PM ET at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
Tom Kit: Reflections concert at 7 PM ET at 54 Below (also July 26).
Steve Ross: Cole Porter and Beyond concert, with special guest David Maiocco, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Birdland.
Broadway’s Rising Stars concert, written, directed & hosted by Scott Siegel, featuring exceptional graduates from AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy), at 8 PM ET at NYC’s Town Hall.
At This Performance concert, featuring understudies/standby Ephie Aardema, Kathryn Allison, Kyle Ramar Freeman, Dan Hoy, Aubrey Matalon, Mary Kate Moore, Aramie Payton, and Nevada Riley, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Green Room.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Literal Translations, by Jim Bernhard
Following are literal translations into English from various foreign languages of the last names of Broadway notables. The language of origin (not necessarily the nationality of the person) and a Broadway credit are provided as hints.
1. Old Mountain (Italian) – Grushinskaya in Grand Hotel
2. Brown (Spanish) – Googie Gomez in The Ritz
3. Knight (German) – Claude in The Dinner Party
4. Left-Handed (Italian) – Composer of Victor/Victoria
5. Lion (German) – Composer of Brigadoon
6. Tailor (German) – Felix von Gegern in Grand Hotel (replacement)
7. Lightning Stone (German) – Composer-lyricist of The Cradle Will Rock
8. Flags (Spanish) – Guido Contini in Nine (revival)
9. Nucleus (German) – Composer of Very Good Eddie
10. Inn (Spanish) – Lieutenant (JG) Roberts in Mister Roberts
Scroll down for the answers…
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Reviews for Kinky Boots at the Hollywood Bowl:
LA Times (Charles McNulty): Kinky Boots was going about its business Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl when a meteor hit the stage and set the musical on fire. This planetary body goes by the name of Wayne Brady… The show…isn’t ideally suited for outdoor presentation. David Rockwell’s assembly line set seems lost on the vast stage, and the provincial British milieu dissipates in the SoCal evening air… the musical nonetheless had a lackluster feeling in the early going…
Theatermania (Jonas Schwartz): Last weekend, Wayne Brady sashayed onto the runway at the Hollywood Bowl as the iconic drag queen Lola in the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots. His vibrant performance prevented a miscast Jake Shears from dragging the evening down… it’s impossible not to admire the beautifully tender and fierce portrayal by Brady… Shears…seemed to have poor control of his vocal instrument. The rest of the cast was darling… Marissa Jaret Winokur was a ball of energy in the small role of Pat..
Entertainment Weekly (Maureen Lee Lenker)… Wayne Brady…shines once again here reprising the role… The actor struts his stuff on the Bowl stage like it’s his personal catwalk… But it’s his quieter scenes out of drag as Simon that truly elevate the performance, underscored with genuine hurt and a yearning to be accepted for who he is… The real surprise, though, is Kelly Marie Tran, best known as Rose Tico in the “Star Wars” franchise. Tran channels the can-do attitude of Rose into Lauren, a factory worker, with aplomb.
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Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Ahrens’ Anastasia will run Aug. 9-14 at Kansas City Starlight, directed by Darko Tresnjak, with choreography by Peggy Hickey.
Kyle Stone (Anya), Sam McLellan (Dmitry), Brandon Delgado (Gleb), Gerri Weagraff (Dowager Empress), Byran Seastrom (Vlad), Madeline Raube (Countess Lily), Taya Diggs & Marley Sophia (Little Anastasia), with Mikayla Agrella, Lance Timothy Barker, William Aaron Bishop, Harrison Drake, Thomas Henke, Dakota Hoar, Veronica Rae Jiao, Evin Johnson, Ceron Jones, Madeline Kendall, Lizzy Marie Legregin, Victoria Madden, Christian McQueen, Elizabeth Ritacco, Taylor Stranger, Sara Statler, Lauren Teyke, and Carly Haig.
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Truth Future Bachman’s Luna & The Starbodies will take place Fri. July 29 at 7 PM ET at Off-Broadway’s Joe’s Pub., with music direction by Josh Kight.
Blu Morpho, Truth Future Bachman, Z Infante, Mariye, and Zia.
Earth is no longer safe for Luna, a transient starlet on the cusp of womanhood. Hitchhiking the night sky, she conceives three young rockstars, the Starbodies, who ignite the mother within her and illuminate her cosmic destiny.
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The Off-Broadway cast album of Meredith Willson & Dick Scanlan’s cast album of The Unsinkable Molly Brown will be released digitally on July 22 here. The album was recorded Dec. 12, 2021, with orchestrations by Larry Hochman, Michael Starobin & Bruce Coughlin. The 2020 Transport Group production was directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshal, and the recording conducted by Joey Chancey.
Beth Malone (Molly Brown), David Aaron Damane (JJ), Whitney Bashor (Julia), Omar Lopez-Cepero (Vincenzo), Alex Gibson (Erich), and Paolo Montalban (Arthur), with Paula Leggett Chase, Lauryn Ciardullo, Karl Josef Co, Kaitlyn Davidson, Tyrone Davis Jr., Gregg Goodbrod, Michael Halling, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Keven Quillon, and CoCo Smith.
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Video: In rehearsal for Sweeney Todd at the St. Louis Muny, starring Ben Davis and Carmen Cusack.
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The York Theatre (link TBA) will present the world premiere of Hoagy Carmichael & Susan H. Schulman’s Stardust Road Nov. 22 – Dec. 31 at Theatre at St. Jeans. directed by Susan H. Schulman, with choreography by Michael Lichtefeld, and music supervision by Lawrence Yurman.
Casting and additional information TBA.
The story of six friends and the one man who brought them together during four decades of American History.
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The Oratorio Society of New York, led by Director Kent Tritle, has announced its 2022-23 season at Carnegie Hall.
A Nation of Others (Nov. 15 at 8 PM ET), by Paul Moravec & Mark Campbell. The piece explores the individual and collective experiences of immigrants – may of whom were also refugees – as they arrive at Ellis Island on a single day in 1921.
Handel’s Messiah (Dec. 19 at 8 PM ET), offering the 148th performance of the piece (which began in 1874), conducted by Maestro Tritle, with soloists Maria Brea, Heather Petrie, Joshua Blue, and Jesse Blumberg.
Mass in B Minor (May 8, 2023 at 8 PM ET), by J.S. Bach, with soloists Emily Donato, Lucia Bradfor, Brian Geibler, and Sidney Outlaw.
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Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Jason Robert Brown & Amanda Green’s Mr. Saturday Night will close Sept. 4, after 28 previews and 116 regular performances at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre.
Billy Crystal (Buddy Young Jr.), Shoshana Bean (Susan Young), Randy Graff (Elaine Young), David Paymer (Stan Yankelman), and Chasten Harmon (Annie Wells), with Jordan Gelber, Brian Gonzales, and Mylinda Hull.
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Commonwealth Shakespeare Company‘s Much Ado About Nothing will run July 20 – Aug. 7 (opening July 27) at The Boston Commons, directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian.
Remo Airaldi (Leonato), Siobhan Juanita Brown (Friar Francis), Sarah Corey (Borachio), Tia James (Benedick), John Kuntz (Antonio), Michael Underhill (Don Pedro), Gunnar Manchester (Don John), Erik Robles (Claudio), Rachael Warren (Beatrice), Rebecca-Anne Whitaker (Hero), and Debra Wise (Dogberry), with Zoe Abuyuan Siobhán Carroll, Nettie Chickering, Sarah Corey, Duncan Gallagher, Jessica Folden, Jaime Jose Hernandez, Jordyn Palmer, Jon Vellante, Xander Viera, and Dylan C. Wack.
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“Red, White, and Royal Blue” will stream on Prime Video, with a release date TBA, written & directed by Matthew López.
Sharon D. Clarke, Nicholas Galitizine, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Uma Thurman, Clifton Collins Jr., Stephen Fry, Rachal Hilson, Ellie Bamber, Aneesh Sheth, Polo Morin, Ahmed Elhaj, Akshay Khanna, Thomas Flynn, and Malcolm Atobrah.
The enemies-to-lovers story follows Alex Claremont-Diaz, who is promptly cast the American equivalent of a young royal following his mother’s election as president. His public image falls under scrutiny when his long-running feud with his royal counterpart across the pond catches wind of the tabloids. The two agree to enter a fake “Instagrammable” relationship, which later turns into something more meaningful.
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Video: “CBS Sunday Morning’s” wonderful segment on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. (10:00)
HBO Max will debut all 6 parts of the documentary, “The Last Move Stars” on July 21.
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Article: Actors’ Equity will place Broadway’s Paradise Square producer Garth Drabinsky on the company’s Do Not Work list, due to “outstanding payments and benefits, and a continued pattern of abuse and neglect that created an unsafe and toxic work environment.”
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Ali Stroker has announced that she is expecting her first child in November, with husband David Perlow.
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Musical Theatre West‘s Grease continues through July 24 at Long Beach’s Carpenter Center for the Arts, directed by Snehal Desai, with music direction by Jan Roper, and choreography by Corey Wright.
Monika Pena (Sandy), Jonah Ho’okano (Danny), Stephanie Bull (Jan), Janaya Jones (Marty), Rachel Kay (Frenchy), Isa Briones (Rizzo), Brian Whiteall (Kenickie), Kris Bona (Doody), Laura Leo Kelly (Sonny), Jalon Mattews (Roger), Austin Owens Kelly (Eugene), Devan Watring (Patty Simcox), Aurelia Michael (Cha-Cha), and AJ Rafael (Johnny Casino), with Quintan Craig), Kurt Kemper, Anyssa Navarro, Max Torrez, and Virginia Trent.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Literal Translations
1. Old Mountain is (Liliane) Montevecchio in Italian.
2. Brown is (Rita) Moreno in Spanish.
3. Knight is (John) Ritter in German.
4. Left-Handed is (Henry) Mancini in Italian.
5. Lion is (Frederick) Loewe in German.
6. Tailor is (John) Schneider in German.
7. Lightning Stone is (Marc) Blitzstein in German.
8. Flags is (Antonio) Banderas in Spanish.
9. Nucleus is (Jerome) Kern in German.
10. Inn is (Henry) Fonda in Spanish.