Today’s Highlights:
* York Theatre‘s “Live Panel: Show (and Tell): Lost in the Stars” (1988) FREE discussion, with special guests April Armstrong, Lothair Eaton, Connie Fredericks, Lee Lobenhofer, and Ken Prymus, at 7:10 PM ET.
* Megan Hilty & Seth Rudetsky in concert, at 3 PM ET here.
* The Muny‘s FREE 2020 Summer Variety Hour Live!, featuring many Broadway performers, livestreamed at 8:15 PM CT.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Room at the Inn by Jim Bernhard
Match these hotels with the plays or musicals in which they are found:
| 1. Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles | A. Night of the Iguana |
| 2. Hotel Versailles, New York | B. Room Service |
| 3. White Way Hotel, New York | C. Lend Me a Tenor |
| 4. Terrace of a hotel in Deauville | D. Dinner at Eight |
| 5. Costa Verde Hotel, Puerto Barrio, Mexico | E. Gypsy |
| 6. Ye Olde Colonial Inn, near Boston | F. California Suite |
| 7. Beauregard Hotel, Bournemouth | G. Private Lives |
| 8. Seminole Ritz, Miami | H. Separate Tables |
| 9. Hotel suite in Cleveland | I. Ramshackle Inn |
| 10. Two hotel rooms in Akron | J. Sugar (a.k.a. Some Like It Hot) |
Scroll down for the answers…
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RIP: Olivia De Havilland died of natural causes on July 26 in Paris at the age of 104.
Starring in 49 feature films, she won Oscars for “To Each His Own” and “The Heiress,” as well as earning 3 additional nominations for “Gone With the Wind,” “Hold Back the Dawn,” and “The Snake Pit” (1948).
On Broadway, she appeared in Romeo and Juliet (1951), Candida, and A Gift of Time. (written by Garson Kanin, and also starring Henry Fonda, Marian Seldes, and Joseph Campanella).
De Havilland was last seen in public following her July 1 birthday looking fantastic on a big red tricycle on the streets of Paris:
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Video: “Stars in the House,” with guest host Sierra Boggess, and special guests Joshua Keith, Gwen Hollander, and Benjamin Schrader. (1:12:04)
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Video: “Stars in the House,” a reunion with the original A Chorus Line Broadway cast — Kay Cole, Ronald Dennis, Trish Garland, Nancy Lane, Baayork Lee), Robert LuPone, Donna McKechnie, and Don Percassil), along with pianist Fran Leibergall, (1:38:54)
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Video: “Plays in the House,” offering a reading of Shaw’s Misalliance, directed & narrated by David Staller, featuring Marc delaCruz, Dan Domingues, Midori Francis, Peter Francis James, Teresa Avia Lim, Jamie Sanders, Thom Sesma, Ryan Spahn, and Sharon Washington. (2:47:04). Free through July 29.
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North Hollywood’s Road Theatre will present a reading of William Mastrosimone’s Turbulence, a collection of short plays, will be streamed on Sun. Aug. 9 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT, directed by Christina Carlisi, Kari Hayter, and Mary Lou Belli.
Allison Blaize, Chase Cargill, Christina Carlisi, Jesse Einstein, Stephanie Erb, David Gianopolos, Michelle Gillette, Liz Herron, Stephen Tyler Howell, Kacie Rogers, Albie Selznick, and Bart Tangredi.
Imagine sitting on a park bench watching the passers-by. each character stops to speak with you. They unfold their hearts to you and move on. It’s nos so much a play as it is an encounter with characters reeling from the turbulence in their lives.
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HBO‘s film adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” will air this Fall (premiere TBA), directed by Kamilah Forbes.
The film, which premiered in 2018 at the Apollo Theater, will combine elements of the stage play, readings from Coates’ book, and documentary and archival footage from the actors’ home lives. The original book, “Between the World and Me,” is a letter to Coates’ teenage son and recounts his experiences growing up in Baltimore and his feats of daily violence against the Black community.
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“The Prom,” the Netflix film adaptation of the musical, directed by Ryan Murphy, has begun production again. The released is TBA.
The film stars Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, Ariana DeBose, Kevin Chamberlin, and Keegan-Michael Key.
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North Hollywood’s Road Theatre has announced its Summer Playwrights Festival, to run July 30 – Aug. 16:
* And Here You Are, Living Despite It All (July 30 at 6 PM PT), by Harrison David Rivers, directed by Amy Harmon, featuring Jaguita Ta’le, Denise Dowse, Audrey Cain, Elayn Taylor, Arianna Ortiz, Cherish Monique Duke, Dolann Marie Adams, and Keelia Flinn. In a suburban kitchen somewhere in the middle of America, five women gather to comfort a grieving mother.
* ReykJavik (July 31 at 6 PM PT), by Steve Yockey, directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, featuring Stephen Tyler Howell, Jackie Misaye, Leandro Cano, Ray Paolantonio, Danny Gomez, Nina Sallinen, and Meeghan Holaway. A collage of darkly comedic, intimate, and sometimes magical stories set against the backdrop of the Northern Lights.
* Balls (July 31 at 2 PM PT), by Austin Caldwell, directed by Tim Van Patten, featuring Anna Van Patten, Grace Van Patten, Nat Wolf, and Austin Caldwell. When 20-year-old Paul is diagnoses with testicular cancer, he and his girlfriend are suddenly forced to look further into their future than any young couple should.
* Pictures from Home (Aug. 1 at 6 PM PT), by Sharr White, directed by Judith Moreland, featuring Jesse Einstein, Sam Anderson, Taylor Gilbert, and Chase Cargill. In 1981, photographer Larry Sultan set out to created a portrait of his parents, Jean and Irv. A decade later… he was almost finished.
* Agatha (Aug. 2 at 2 PM PT), by Angela J. Davis, directed by Saundra McClain, featuring Inger Tudor, Paris Perrault, Raymond Watonga, Jeff LeBeau, Amir Abdulla, Gilbert Glenn Brown, and Katherine McEwan Inspired by the woman who served as Rwanda’s president for just 14 hours, on the first night of the Rwandan genocide, this a true story of heroism, hop, and human connection during a time of unspeakable tragedy.
* One Act Plays (Aug. 2 at 6 PM PT), offering And One More Thing, by Lonnie McGuire, directed by Cate Caplin, featuring Julia Sanford, Kevin McCorkle, and Vernon Willett…… Catching Up, by Emily Jerez, directed by Nancy Fassett, featuring Liz Fenning, David Meyers, Judith Scarpone, Merrick McCartha, and Karrie King…… The Border Troll, by Steven San Luis, directed by Jacob Smith… featuring Alaska Jackson and Tiffany Wolff…… and It’s Hot in the Kitchen, by Patti Veconi, directed by Susan Diol (casting TBA).
* Turbulence (Aug. 9 at 6 PM PT), by William Mastrosimone, a collection of short plays, directed by Christina Carlisi, Kari Hayter, and Mary Lou Belli, featuring Allison Blaize, Chase Cargill, Christina Carlisi, Jesse Einstein, Stephanie Erb, David Gianopolos, Michelle Gillette, Liz Herron, Stephen Tyler Howell, Kacie Rogers, Albie Selznick, and Bart Tangredi. Imagine sitting on a park bench watching the passers-by. each character stops to speak with you. They unfold their hearts to you and move on. It’s nos so much a play as it is an encounter with characters reeling from the turbulence in their lives.
….and many more…
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Video: Jonathan Groff practices “One” (from A Chorus Line) during a Hamilton rehearsal.
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RIP: Michael Mandell, who made his Broadway debut in Big River (1987), has died. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed
Mandell returned to Broadway in 2010 in Elf, and appeared in the national tour of It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. Off Broadway, he appeared in Machinal, Blood Wedding, Romance in Hard Times, Hit the Lights, and A New Brain, with regional appearances in Captains Courageous, Miss Ever’s Boys, Triumph of Love, The Fantastiks, Amadeus, and The Boys From Syracuse.
Television credits includes “Person of Interest,” “NYC22,” “Glee”, “The Rosie o’Donnell Show,” “Ed,” “Law & ORderL SVA,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Guiding Light.” Film appearances include “New Year’s Ever,” “I Love You Philip Morris,” “Choose,” “Joe’s Apartment,” and Anger Management.”
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Alan Menken has reached EGOT status, becoming the 16th person in history to win a competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
Menken won a Daytime Emmy (with Glenn Slater) on July 26 for “Waiting in the Wings.” from the Disney Channel’s “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.”
Menken has won 8 Oscars and 11 Grammys for his work on such animated Disney films as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “Pocahontas,” and more.
Menken’s first Tony Award was won in 2012 for Newsies.
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Article: A writer’s experience of the first West End’s socially distanced show (a concert with Beverly Knight).
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Video: Jewish dad‘s pandemic version of “You’ll Be Back” (scroll down)
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New York Rep presents a Zoom reading of Melissa Li & Kit Yan’s 10-minute musical May Day, to stream Thurs. Aug. 13 at 6 PM ET on Zoom, directed by Markus Potter. 
: gm@newyorkrep.org
Ruthie Ann Miles, Marc delaCruz, Hennesy, and Catherine Ricafort.
The musical, inspired by real events that took place in 2018, follows Wind, a non-binary nerd, who has just reconnected with an old high school friend when they receive a terrifying alert: a missile will strike Honolulu in 10 minutes. When they meet up with Wind’s grandpa Wally, they are faced with an important choice. Will they run away or stay in place?
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Video: Celebrating Rodgers & Hart on “CBS Sunday Morning”
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Video: Highlights from Broadway’s Scandalous (2012), starring Carolee Carmello, Edward Watts, Andrew Samonsky, Roz Ryan, and George Hearn.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Room at the Inn
1-F. Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles – California Suite
2-D. Hotel Versailles, New York – Dinner at Eight
3-B. White Way Hotel, New York – Room Service
4-G. Terrace of a hotel in Deauville – Private Lives
5-A. Costa Verde Hotel, Puerto Barrio, Mexico – Night of the Iguana
6-I. Ye Olde Colonial Inn, near Boston – Ramshackle Inn
7-H. Beauregard Hotel, Bournemouth – Separate Tables
8-J. Seminole Ritz, Miami – Sugar (a.k.a. Some Like It Hot)
9-C. Hotel suite in Cleveland – Lend Me A Tenor
10-E. Two hotel rooms in Akron – Gypsy