Today’s Highlights:
Dear Evan Hansen, directed by Rob Ruggiero, featuring Michael Fabisch (Evan Hansen), Jackie Burns (Heidi Hansen), Maggie Lakis (Cynthia Murphy), Rob McClure (Larry Murphy), Afra Sophia Tully (Zoe Murphy), Joshua Bess ( Connor Murphy), Bryan Munar (Jared Kleinman), and Savy Jackson (Alana Beck), with Kaley Bender, Vera Brown, Alex Daspit, Samuel Gerber, Josh Hoon Lee, Spencer Davis Milford, Zoë Brooke Reed, Gabi Stapula, Essence Anisa Tyler, and Oscar Williams, opens at the St. Louis Muny.
54 Sings Wildcat concert, hosted by Charles Kirsch featuring Jim Brochu, Meg Bussert, Penny Fuller, Sara Gettelfinger, Annie Golden, Simon Jones, Janine LaManna, Sally Murphy, Steve Ross, and Anna Zavelson, at 7 PM at NYC’s 54 Below.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Senior Citizens by Jim Bernhard
Match these elderly characters with the shows they are in.
| 1. Jonathan Coffin (Nonno) | A. The Gin Game |
| 2. Joice Heth | B. 70, Girls, 70 |
| 3. Colonel J. C. Kinkaid | C. Barnum |
| 4. Lucy Marsden | D. The Sunshine Boys |
| 5. Mrs. Dowey | E. The Oldest Living Graduate |
| 6. Weller Martin | F. On Golden Pond |
| 7. Midge | G. The Night of the Iguana |
| 8. Willie Clark | H. The Old Lady Shows Her Medals |
| 9. Norman Thayer, Jr. | I. The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells all |
| 10. Ida Dodd | J. I’m Not Rappaport |
Scroll down for the answers…
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As You Like it continues through Aug. 10 at Boston’s Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, directed by By Steven Maler.
Nora Eschenheimer (Rosalind), Michael Underhill (Orlando), Maurice Emmanuel Paret (Duke Senior/Duke Frederick), John Kuntz (tourstone), Joshua Olumide (Oliver), remo Airaldi (Corin), Jared Troilo (Amiens), Paul Michael Valley (Jaques), Paul Michael Valley (Jacques), Stephanie Burden (Phebe), Brooks Reeves (Adam/SirOliver Martext), Siobhán Carroll (Le Beau/Second Forester Lord), Patrick Vincent Curran (Charles/William), Peter DiMaggio (Jaques de Boys/Forester), Clara Hevia (Celia), Cleveland Nicoll Silvius), and Kandyce Whittingham (Audrey/Frederick’s Lord), with Chloe Boyan.
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Emmanuelle Mattana’s Trophy Boys continues through Aug. 3 at MCC Theatre, directed by Danya Taymor.
Emmanuelle Mattna (Owen), Terry Hu (David), Louisa Jacobson Jared), and Esco Jouléy (Scott).
In a culture set on punishing and criticizing men for just existing, the Trophy Boys prepare for the final debate of their undefeated high school careers. Going up against their sister school, they get a debate topic so weighted there’s no way they could possibly win—or could they? What begins as a riotously funny satire turns into a sharp exploration of power and privilege, from high school to the highest circles of political influence.
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The national tour of Lindsay Warren Baker & Amanda Jacobs’ Austin’s Pride continues through Aug. 24 at Stages St. Louis, directed by Igor Goldin, with choreography by Lisa Shriver.
Olivia Hernandez (Jane Austen), Delphi Borich (Elizabeth Bennet), Dan Hoy (Fitzwilliam Darcy), Addie Morales (Jane Bennet), Cole Thompson (Charles Bingley), Sarah Ellis (Caroline Bingley/Mary Bennet/Mrs. Gardiner), Kate Fahey (Lydia Bennet), Cali Noack (Kitte Benne/Georgiana Darcy), Diane Phelan (Cassandra Austen/Charlotte Lucas), Paul Castree (Mr. Collins/Mr. Mr. Gardner), Kevyn Morrow (Mr. Bennet), Sally Wilfert (Mrs. Bennet/Lady Catherine de Bourgh), and Michael Murrell (George Wickham/Hom Lefroy).
Jane Austen’s most beloved tale is reimagined when the esteemed authur begins her journey of self-discovery. As the stormy romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy unfolds in a fresh narrative, Austen gains new insights into both her creations and her own identity. This new version blends wit and wisdom with a gorgeous original score that whisks audiences away to an era rich with passion and longing.
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Ventura Live 25 will run Aug. 22 – Sept. 21 at Ventura, CA’s Rubicon Theatre. offering 30 shows in 30 days.
Click here for the complete schedule of events.
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Irving Berlin’s White Christmas will replace Mrs. Santa Claus as the final production in 2025 at CT’s Goodspeed, to run Nov. 14 – Dec. 28, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes.
Casting and additional information TBA.
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LA Opera will present West Side Story Sept. 20 – Oct. 12 at LA’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, directed & choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
Gabriella Reyes (Maria) and Duke Kim (Tony), with more TBA.
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Manhattan Theatre Club will present Martyna Majok’s Queens, which will begin previews Oct. 14 and open Nov. 5 at NY City Center Stage, directed by Tripp Cullman.
Brooke Bloom, Anna Chlumsky, Sharlene Cruz, Marin Ireland, Julia Lester, Nadine Malouf, Andrea Syglowski, and Nicole Villamil.
An epic drama about hunting for the American Dream, finding family, and facing the ghosts you left behind. In an illegal basement apartment in Queens, multiple generations of immigrant women fight to launch a new life. But when a young Ukrainian woman comes searching for the mother who abandoned her years ago, she forces a reckoning with the impossible choices the women made to survive.
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CT’s Goodspeed Theatre has announced that Irving Berlin’s White Christmas will replace Mrs. Santa Claus as the final production of the 2025 season, due to scheduling conflicts. White Christmas will run Nov. 14 – Dec. 28, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes.
Casting and additional information TBA.
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North Hollywood’s Road Theatre has announced its 2025-26 season:
Otherkin (Sept. 26 – Nov. 2), by N.Y. Vandecar, directed by Christina Carlisi. 14 year old Olive, who is part of the subculture Otherkin, is compelled by strange forces to help prepare for humanity’s end. Olive and her family are thrust into a roarous ride of epic proportions, confronting their pasts, perilous futures and the possibility of a destiny far greater than themselves.
Lifeline (Opens Jan. 23, 2006), by robert Axelrod, directed by KenSawyer. In the aftermath of an unforeseen life-changing event, Patti, a well-meaning mother, decides to become a volunteer for a suicide hotline, where laughter, tears, and a new understanding bridge the divide between people from very different walks of life.
Hell Mouth (Opens Apr. 2026), by Tom Jacobson, directed by Ann Hearn-Tobolowsky. Torn between his Midwestern parents and the Beverly Hills owners of an unknown Caravaggio Hanging of Judas, Tim rediscovers himself while making the art history discovery of the century. Imagine your own mother on the Worst Dressed Women List.
…and more TBA.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Senior Citizens
1-G. Jonathan Coffin (Nonno) in The Night of the Iguana
2-C. Joice Heth in Barnum
3-E. Colonel J. C. Kinkaid in The Oldest Living Graduate
4-I. Lucy Marsden in Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells
5-H. Mrs. Dowey in The Old Lady Shows Her Medals
6-A. Weller Martin in The Gin Game
7-J. Midge in I’m Not Rappaport
8-D. Willie Clark in The Sunshine Boys
9-F. Norman Thayer, Jr. in On Golden Pond
10-B. Ida Dodd in 70, Girls, 70