GRACE NOTES: Monday, July 27, 2026

 

 

Today’s Highlights:

 

  Broad Strokes, by Cat Cohen & David Dabbon, directed by Alex Timbers, featuring Catherine Cohen, opens at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre.

 

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    Magical Creatures by Jim Bernhard

 

Match these characters with the type of magical creatures they are:

 

   1. Madame Morrible     A. Ogre
   2. Merlyn     B. Witch
   3. Elvira     C. Elf
   4. Shrek     D. Sprite
   5. Gillian Holroyd     E. Sorcerer
   6. Titania     F. Fairy
   7. Og     G. Ghost
   8. Buddy     H. Sorceress
   9. Harry Potter     I. Leprechaun
   10. Ariel (in The Tempest)     J. Wizard

 

Scroll down for the answers…

 

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   The recent performance of the Fire Island Dance Festival raised at record-breaking $826,018.

 

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  NYC’s 92Y has announced its 2027 Musicals:

 

Casting TBA.

 

  Sometimes Love (Mar. 6-14), by Michael Mott & Suárez-Peña, directed by peter Flynn. Casting and additional information TBA.    The extraordinary true story of Aryana Rose, whose deeply personal presentation at The Moth captivated millions after it went viral in 2017. Aryana, single, in her forties, and the proud mother of a grown daughter, leaves behind the belief that she’ll find romantic love and moves overseas to begin a new chapter centered on herself and art. Fate leads her to Gianluca, a magnetic, free-spirited artist many years her junior who awakens her heart in ways she never imagined possible. Their unlikely omance blossoms into a passionate love story that defies convention. As they navigate desire, intimacy, family, loss, and the inevitable evolution of every relationship, they discover that the truest love isn’t about finding a perfect ending; it’s about embracing every beautiful, fleeting moment along the way.

 

  Nikola Tesla: The Forgotten Genius (Mar. 20-28), by Robert Lindsey-Nassif &
​ Cavan Hallman, directed by John Znidarsic.    the true and astonishing story of Nikola Tesla, the mystic, genius, and inventor who battled Thomas Edison to bring electricity to the world.

 

  All the Way Home (Apr. 3-11), by Frank Galati, Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Arrends, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes.    Based on James Agge’s A Death in the Family and its Pulitzer Prize-winning stage adaptation All the Way Home. The universal story of family, faith and love, as an author recalls the singular event that changed his life as a boy.

 

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   Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie will run Oct. 8-25 at  DC’s Dupont Underground (0pening Oct. 11), directed byGeorgette Verdin.

 

  David M. Lutken, with Raquel Chavez, Margaret Dudasik, and Hubby Jenkins.

 

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  Laura Benanti in Concert will run Oct. 1-4 at LA’s The Wallis, directed by  Annie Tippe.

 

   With her powerhouse Broadway voice and razor-sharp wit, Benanti delivers a no-holds-barred evening of stories and original songs that take aim at motherhood, people-pleasing, ambition, and the absurdities of getting older.

 

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  Nick Payne’s The Unbelievers will begin previews Oct. 13, with opening and closing dates TBA, at New York City Center Stage 1, directed by Knud Adams.

 

  Lauren Ambrose, Tom Riley, and more TBA.

 

  Faith means believing in something. Especially when it feels impossible. As the mystery of their teenage son’s disappearance remains unsolved, a family struggles to move forward, relearning how to live through ordinary days in their altered world.

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  Noises Off, directed by Gordon Greenberg, will run Aug. 20 – Nov. 6 at MA’s Barrington Stage Company.

 

 Erin Davie (Belinda Blair), Abby Leigh Huffstetler (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Nehal Joshi (Garry Lejeune, )Lesli Margherita (Dottie Otley), Orville Mendoza (Selsden Mowbray), James Joseph O’Neil (Frederick Fellowes,) Geoff Packard (Lloyd Dallas), Jennifer Sánchez (Brooke Ashton), and Evan Alexander Smith ((Tim Allgood).

 

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   LA’s IAMA Theatre Company has announced its 2026-27 season: at the Atwater Village Theatre.  Creative teams and casting TBA.

 

   Bobby robotowitz (Oct. 15 – Nov. 3), by Matt Schatz, directed by Casey Stangl.

 

   Iama Holiday Cabaret (Dec. dates TBA)

 

   What We Leave Behind (Feb. 5 – Mar. 8, 2027), by Gloria Calderón Kellett, directed by Margaux Susi.

 

   Closing Costs (world premiere dates TBA), by Grace McLeod, directed by Hannah Wolf.

 

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  An Evening of Alton Brown will take place Wed. Nov. 18 at CA’s Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks.

 

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   Group Rep‘s Applause continues through Aug. 30 at North Hollywood’s Lonny Chapman Theatre (10900 Burbank Blvd.), directed by Bruce Kimmel.

 

  Leslie Stevens (Margo Channing), Savannah Mortenson (Eve Harrington),with
Tom Allen, Mia Catalano, Lee Grober, Doug Haverty, Zak Herman, Allison Jakubowski, Damon Kirsch, Angie Lin, Hisato Masuyama, Connie Mellors,Darrell Mondaine, Ken Patton, Lloyd Pedersen, Judy Rosenfeld, Mike Sabatino, Avan Seals,Jennifer Skiffington and Melissa Strauss.

 

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  The recent Fire Island Dance Festival raised a record $826,o18 for Dancers Responding to Aids.

 

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   Commonwealth Shakespeare Theatre‘s FREE production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues through Aug. 9 at the Boston Common, directed by Steven Maler.

 

   Michael Broadhurst (Flute), Annika Burley (Helena), Meghan Carey (Hermia), Nick Cearley (Puck/Philostrate), Nora Eschenheimer (Hippolyta/Titania), De’Lon Grant (Theseus/Oberon), Jack Greenberg (Demetrius), Jaime José Hernández (Lysander), Karen MacDonald (Quince), Paul Melendy (Bottom), Brooks Reeves (Egeus/Starveling), Patrick Curran (Snout), Nicolas Bolton (Mustardseed), Evan Danyliw (Moth), Bella Grace Harris (Fairy), Alex Leondedis (Snug), Dani Grace Nissen (Peaseblossom), and Alexandra White (Cobweb).

 

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   Come From Away will run Oct. 4 – Nov. 1 at A Noise Within, directed by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott.

 

  TBA.

 

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  Dear Evan Hansen will run Aug. 4-29 at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre, directed by Scott Schwartz.

 

  Kenny Lee (Evan Hansen), Maya Days (Heidi Hansen), Olivia Foght (Zoe Murphy), Erik Houck (Connor Murphy), Heather Ayers (Cynthia Murphy), Gil Brady (Larry Murphy), and Josh Hoyt (Jared Kleinman), with Mackenzie Germain, Payton Thomas, Joseph Tore, Laura Elizabeth Flanagan, Mackenzie Germain, Payton Thomas, and Joseph Tortello.

 

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  Answers:   Magical Creatures by Jim Bernhard

 

1-H. Madame Morrible – Sorceress (Wicked)

 

2-E. Merlyn – Sorcerer (Camelot)

 

3-G. Elvira – Ghost (Blithe Spirit)

 

4-A. Shrek – Ogre (Shrek: the Musical)

 

5-B. Gillian Holroyd – Witch (Bell, Book, and Candle)

 

6-F. Titania – Fairy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

 

7-I. Og – Leprechaun (Finian’s Rainbow)

 

8-C. Buddy  – Elf (Elf the Musical)

 

9-J. Harry Potter  – Wizard (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child)

 

10-D. Ariel – Sprite  (in The Tempest)

 

 

 

 

 


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