Today’s Highlights:
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, featuring Sara Sheperd (Carole King), Jarrod Spector (Barry Man), Jackie Burns (Cynthia Weil), Steven Good (Gerry Goffin), Noah Weisbert (Don Kirshner), and Sharon Hunter (Genie Klein), with Corey Barrow, John Battagliese, Jett Blackorby, Kelly Liz Bolic, Shawn Bowers, Tavis Kordell Cunningham, Anna Gassett, Talya Groves, Alia Hodge, Kennedy Holmes, Sage Lee, Sandie Lee, Spencer Davis Milford, Tavia Riveé, Mike Schwitter, and Byron S. Cyr, opens at the St. Louis Muny.
The Public Theater‘s Gala on the Green, featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Brandon Victor Dixon, Joi Moon, Anna Uzele, and more, at 6 PM at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre.
Goodspeed Musicals‘ 60th Anniversary Gala & Auction, with special guest Jennifer Holliday, at 5:30 PM.
Irish Rep‘s 2023 Gala – All My Loving: The Lyrics of Paul McCartney, directed by Charlotte Moore, featuring Reeve Carney Michael Cerveris, Melissa Errico, Peter Gallagher, Kathryn Gallagher, Amber Gray, Kylie Kuioka, Ciarán, Sheehan, Kerry Conte, Jonathan Christopher, John Keating, The Kennedys Bank, Kylie Kuioka, Micahael Mellamphy, Ciarán, Sheehan, Gary Troy, and more, at 7 PM at NYC’s Town Hall.
Jerome Robbins Celebration, honoring Jason Alexander, hosted by Peter Filichia, with special guests Debbie Gravitte, Andy Lebon, and Rita Neidich, at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Actors’ Temple.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd reading, adapted & directed by Mark Shanahan, featuring Arnie Burton (Hercule Poirot), Santino Fontana (Dr. James Sheppard), Isabel Keating (Caroline Sheppard), Kristine Nielsen (Gertrude Ackroyd), Joe Delafield (Ralph Paton), Allen Gilmore (Roger Ackroyd), Richard R. Henry (Major Hector Blunt), Tom Hewitt (John Parker), Sharone Sayegh (Ursula), Anna Simone Scott (Helen Russel), at 7 PM at CT’s Westport Country Playhouse.
Irish Rep‘s All My Loving: The Lyrics of Paul McCartney gala, directed by John Bell, featuring Amber Gray, Michael Cerveris, Melissa Errico, Peter Gallagher, Kathryn Gallagher, Kylie Kuioka, and Ciarán Sheehan, at 7 PM at NYC’s Town Hall.
American Popular Song Society‘s Marilyn Maye benefit concert, hosted & music directed by Michael Lavine, featuring Klea Blackhurst, Jim Brochu, Liz Callway, Len Cariou, Jaime deRoy, Melissa Erico, Debbie Gravitte, Julie Halston, Karen Mason, Susie Mosher, Sydney Myer, Lee Roy Reams, Sandy Steward, Gabrielle Stravelli, Stacy Sullivan, and Marc William, at 6 PM at Off-Broadway’s Theater 555.
Night of a Thousand Judies benefit concert, directed by Peter James Cook, featuring Lauren Patten, T. Oliver Reid, Hilary Kole, Jack Bartholet, Jae W.B., Julie Benko, Telly Leung, Alexandra Silber, Carole J. Bufford, Elizabeth Ward Land, and Nellie McKay, with dancers Daniel Booda and Wyatt Thomas Slone, at 7 PM at NYC’s Joe’s Pub.
“A New York Evening Celebrating Peggy Lee” conversation, featuring Lee’s granddaughter, Holly Foster Wells, and Mo Rocca, with special guest Kristin Chenoweth, at 7:30 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
Norm Lewis: Moonlighting concert at 8:30 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Full Name, Please by Jim Bernhard:
Match the first names with the correct last names in these titles:
| 1. Carmen ____, musical by Oscar Hammerstein II with music by Georges Bizet | A. Thompson |
| 2. Curley ____, musical by Robert Dahdah and Mary Boylan | B. Grey |
| 3. John Gabriel ____, play by Henrik Ibsen | C. Todd |
| 4. Betty ____, musical by Louis A. Hirsch, Con Conrad, Otto Harbach, and Irving Caesar | D. Jones |
| 5. Hazel ____, musical by Jule Styne, Ben Hecht, and Bob Hilliard | E. Borkman |
| 6. Sadie ____, musical by Vernon Duke, Rouben Mamoulian, and Howard Dietz | F. Flynn |
| 7. Sweeney ____, musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler | G. Johnson |
| 8. Maggie ____, musical by Hugo Peretti, George Weiss, and Luigi Creatore | H. McDimple |
| 9. Johnny ____, musical by Kurt Weill and Pau Green | I. Lee |
| 10. Kitty ____, musical by Lionel Moncton, Howard Talbot and J. Smith Pigott | J. Flagg |
Scroll down for the answers…
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2023 Tony Award winners. Click here for the complete list (scroll down).
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In a huge win for Broadway musicians union Local 802 of American Federation of Musicians, the producers of Broadway’s Here Lies Love have reversed course and have now agreed to hire 12 union musicians to play performances. The production had planned to perform to pre-recorded tracks, which would have been a historic first for a full Broadway musical.
Three of the 12 will be actor-musicians that the production was already planning on using. As part of the agreement, all three will become members of Local 802. Here Lies Love confirmed that the show will also have a music director, J. Oconer Navarro, who is also a member of Local 802. The musicians will perform during the show, and pre-recorded tracks will also be used.
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Wonderful Town: 75th Anniversary All-Star Concert will take place Wed. June 21 at 9:30 PM at NYC’s 54 Below, directed by Robert W. Schneider, with music direction by Michael Lavine.
Ken Barnett, Alison Le Bender, Todd Buonopane, Hilary Cole, Erin Davie, Eric Michael Gillett, Amanda Green, Timmy Lewis, Lee Roy Reams, J. Savage, Rebecca Spigelman, Sean McDermott, Billy Reece, Seth Sikes, Karen Ziemba, Elizabeth Teeter, Cameron Loyal, and Steve Ross, with Maggie Bera, James Cella, Chas Conacher, Connor Coughlin, Roger Dawley, Grant Evan, Kali Evonne, Aaron Gooden, Matthew Fairlee, Will Hutcheson, Christina Jackson, Tyler Mell, Juliana Padilla, Molly Samson, and Taylor Erin Wade.
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Complete casting has been announced for Beauty and the Beast, to run June 22-30 at the St. Louis Muny, directed by John Tartaglia, with choreography by Patrick O’Neill, and music direction by Ben Whiteley.
Ashley Blanchet (Belle), Ben Crawford (Beast), Claybourne Elder (Gaston), Ann Harada (Mrs. Potts), Kelvin Moon Loh (Lumiere), Eric Jordan Young (Cogsworth), Holly Ann Butler (Babette), Tommy Bracco (Lefou), Harrison White (Maurice), Debby Lennon (Madame de la Grande Bouche) and Michael Hobin (Chip) with Lori Barrett-Pagano, Devin Cortez, Matthew Davies, Duane Martin Foster, Nigel Jamal Hall, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Ryan Lambert, Samantha Littleford, Daniel Brooks McRath, Georgia Monroe, Rich Pisarkiewicz, Paris Porché Richardson, Heather Jane Rolff, Grace Marie Rusnica, Michael Santomassimo, Mark Saunders, Leann Schuering, Gordon Semeatu, Kelly Sheehan, Wesley Slade, Molly Stilliens, Meridien Terrell, Cameron Monroe Thomas and Kristen Welsh.
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Video: “The Secret to a Marriage” from Transparent the Musical at the Mark Taper Forum.
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Transport Group‘s Nine: In Concert, followed by a Q&A with Maury Yeston and original Broadway cast member Karen Akers, will take place Mon. June 26 at 8 PM at NYC’s Merkin Hall, directed by Jack Cummings III.
Santino Fontana (Guido), Klea Blackhurt, Lilli Cooper, Christine Ebersole, Jessica Fontana, Julia Murney, Alexandra Silber, Emily Skinner, Elizabeth Stanley, Jessica Vost, Benjamin Pajak, Ethan Joseph, Matthew Lamb, Jayden Theophile, Julia Adams, Erin Anderson, Gina Naomi Baez, Victoria Baroni, Elizabeth Brady , Brianna Brice, Katie Cox, McKenzie Custin, Madison Barcia, Sarah Killough, Gaby Mank, Alison McCartan, Emily Nies, Aubrie-Mei Rubel, Maureen Taylor, Stephanie Toups, Sophia Tzougros, and Katrina Wischusen.
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Invitation-only workshops of Adam Ben-David, Jessica Penzias & Christyn Budzyna’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler will take place June 16 & 17 at New Jersey’s McCarter Theatre, directed by Sarah Rasmussen.
Charl Brown, Michael Deaner, Ali Ewoldt, Alison Fraser, Madeline Hudelson, Mylinda Hull, Jade Jones, Elliot Mattox, Honor Blue Savage, and James Seol.
The musical follows 11-year-old Claudia Kincaid and her younger brother Jamie, as they hide out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this theatrical retelling, the art in the museum comes to life as the siblings set out to unravel a mystery surrounding a statue with rumored ties to Michelangelo.
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Marcia Seligson’s new memoir, “My Mother Would Hate This Book” is available here.
In addition, Marcia is doing several live events in LA, and has a new blog, available here.
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Jane Chamber’s Last Summer at Bluefish Cove will run June 14 – Aug. 27 (opening June 17) at the Fountain Theatre, directed by Hannah Wolf.
Sarah Scott Davis, Allison Husko, Tamika Katon-Donegal, Lindsay LaVanchy, Noelle Messier, Stephanie Pardi, Anne Sonneville, Sasha Surdyke, and Ellen D. William
1974. A group of queer women spend their summers together in a remote seaside town. Their enclave is disrupted when Eva, a naïve straight woman separated from her husband, stumbles unaware into their circle and falls for the charming, tough-talking Lil.
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Soul Divas Reprise will run June 17 – July 9 at DC’s Signature Theatre, with music direction by Mark G. Meadows.
Awa Sal Secka and Shayla S. Simmons
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Dial M For Murder, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, will run June 17 – July 23 (opening July 1) at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre, directed by Walter Bobbie.
Erich Bergen, Rosa Gilmore, Mamie Gummer, Max Gordon Moore, and Red Rogers.
Retired English tennis player, Tony, broods over his marriage to wealthy socialite, Margot. When his suspicion uncovers her affair with an American crime-fiction writer, Tony hatches a scheme to have her killed so he can inherit her fortune. His we of deception ensnares loves and old friend in the throes of a car-and-mouse game of blackmail, recrimination, and murder.
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Liz Callaway: Screen Gems will run July 6-8 & 11 at NYC’s 54 Below, with a livestream option on July 8 (7 PM) here.
Liz will perform some of the greatest songs ever written for film: from MGM musicals and Disney films to new classics, and songwriters as varied as Harold Arlen, Burt Bacharach, and André Previn.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Full Name, Please
1-D. Carmen Jones, musical by Oscar Hammerstein II with music by Georges Bizet
2-H. Curley McDimple, musical by Robert Dahdah and Mary Boylan
3-E. John Gabriel Borkman, play by Henrik Ibsen
4-I. Betty Lee, musical by Louis A. Hirsch, Con Conrad, Otto Harbach, and Irving Caesar
5-J. Hazel Flagg, musical by Jule Styne, Ben Hecht, and Bob Hilliard
6-A. Sadie Thompson, musical by Vernon Duke, Rouben Mamoulian, and Howard Dietz
7-C. Sweeney Todd, musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
8-F. Maggie Flynn, musical by Hugo Peretti, George Weiss, and Luigi Creatore
9-G. Johnny Johnson, musical by Kurt Weill and Pau Green
10-B. Kitty Grey, musical by Lionel Moncton, Howard Talbot and J. Smith Pigott