Today’s Highlights:
New principal cast for Hamilton, featuring Declan Spaine (Alexander Hamilton), Ava Brennan (Angelica Schuyler), Simbi Akande (Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds), Dom Hartley-Harris (George Washington), and Lemuel Knights (Marquis De Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson), with Gabriela Acosta, Elizabeth Armstrong, Alishia-Marie Blake, Aimie Hibbert, Sam Holden, Christian Knight, Nathan Louis-Fernand, Stacey McGuire, Lewis Newton, Hassun Sharif, Alex Tranter, and Maddison Tyson, begins at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre,
Gingold Theatre Group‘s Man and Superman script-in-hand performance, directed by David Staller, featuring Dakin Matthews (Roebuck Ramsden (& The Statue), Carman Lacavita (Octcavius Robinson), Max Gordon Moore (John Tanner & Don Juan), Kate Hamill (Ann Whitefield (& Dona Ana), Christine Toy Johnson (Mrs. Whitefield), Olivia Kinter (Violet Robinson), Shawn Kuman Jain (Hector Malone), Nick Wyman (Mr. Malone), and John-Andrew Morrison (Mendoza, The Devil), at 7 PM at NYC’s Symphony Space.
Seth Bisen-Hersh’s Seth’s Talent Showcase: Maury Yeston Songs concert, featuring Mayelah Barrera, Diana Zee Chandler, Cara Chesney, Gino Cardoni, Estelle Goodwin, Michael I. Haber, Nora Lyn Kennedy, Alice Jeanette Lambert, Francesca Litterio, Michaela Moore, Adriana Nocco, Rori Nogee, Gwyneth Sauvage, Nikki Scamuffo, Kaleb Sells, Alivia Stigmata and Heather Tatro, at 7 PM at NYC’s Don’t Tell Mama.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: I Want… by Jim Bernhard
Match these songs with their musicals…
| 1. “I Want to Know What Love Is” | A. The Little Mermaid |
| 2. “I Want It All” | B. Mrs. Doubtfire |
| 3. “I Want the Good Times Back” | C. Stop the World, I Want to Get Off |
| 4. “I Want to Be Happy” | D. George M! |
| 5. “I Want to Be Rich” | E. Golden Boy |
| 6. “I Want to Be Seen With You” | F. Baby |
| 7. “I Want to Be There” | G. Bullets Over Broadway |
| 8. “I Want to Be With You” | H. Rock of Ages |
| 9. “I Want to Hear A Yankee Doodle” Tune | I. Funny Girl |
| 10. “I Want A Hot Dog for My Roll” | J. No, No, Nanette |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Back to the Future: The Musical, by Bob Gale, Alan Silvestri & Glen Ballard, will begin previews June 30 and open Aug. 3 at the Winter Garden Theatre, directed by John Rando, with choreography by Chris Bailey.
Roger Bart (Doc Brown), Casey Likes (Marty McFly), Hugh Coles (George McFly) Liana Hunt (Lorraine Baines), Jelani Remy (Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry), Nathaniel Hackmann (Biff Tannen), Merritt David Janes (Strickland), and Mikaela Secada (Jennifer Parker), with Amber Ardolino, Will Branner, Victoria Byrd, Brendon Chan, Kevin Curtis, Nick Drake, Samuel Gerber, Marc Heitzman, Kimberly Immanuel, Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson, Hannah Kevitt, JJ Niemann, Becca Petersen, Emma Pittman, Jonalyn Saxer, Blakely Slaybaugh, Gabi Stapula, and Daryl Tofa.
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Into the Woods will run June 27 – July 30 (opening June 29) at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Lear deBessonet, with choreography by Lorin Latarro, and music direction by Rob Berman.
Montego Glover (The Witch), Stephanie J. Block (The Baker’s Wife), Sebastian Arcelus (The Baker), Gavin Creel (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf ), Cole Thompson (Jack), Katy Geraghty (Little Red Ridinghood), David Patrick Kelly (The Narrator), Nancy Opel (Cinderella’s Stepmother), Aymee Garcia (Jack’s Mother), Ta’Nika Gibson (Lucinda), Brooke Ishibashi (Florinda), Kennedy Kanagawa (Milky White), Jim Stanek (Steward), (Alysia Velez as Rapunze, and more TBA..
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Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields’ The Play That Goes Wrong will run July 20 – Aug. 13 at the Kennedy Center, directed by Mark Bell.
Bartley Booz (Dennis), Joseph Anthony Byrd (Jonathan), Peyton Crum (Robert), Mara Davi (Sandra), Matt Harrinton (Chris), Kai Almeda Heath (Annie), Alex Mandell (Max), and Akron Watson (Trevor), with Brett Cassidy, Kullan S. Edbert, and Brendon Haaangenson.
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Allons Enfants! La Vie Est Belle will take place Fri. July 14 at 7 PM at NYC’s Pangea, with Steve Ross and Jean Brassard.
Karen Akers
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Ian Shaw & Joseph Nixon’s The Shark is Broken will begin previews July 25 and open Aug. 10 at the Golden Theatre, directed by Guy Masterson.
Ian Shaw (stars as his father Robert Shaw)
FADE IN: The open ocean, 1974. Filming is delayed…again. The lead actors—theatre veteran Robert Shaw and young Hollywood hotshots, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider—are crammed into a too-small boat, entirely at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Alcohol flows, egos collide, and tempers flare on a chaotic voyage that just might lead to cinematic magic…if it doesn’t sink them all. A moving and brilliantly hilarious behind-the-scenes drama, and celebration of movie history.
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Josh Groban in conversation with Alex Edelman will take place Sun. June 25 at 7 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
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Red Bull Theater‘s Short New Play Festival 23: Forbidden Love will run June 27 – July 2, with both in person & simulcast options, at Off-Broadway’s Theater 555, directed by Nadia Guevara and Ibi Owolabi.
Peter Gray, Delaney Kelly, Rachel Leopold, Maggie Lou Rader, Jaqui Shiel, and Frank Winters.
Sasha Lee Andrews, Shirine Babb, Renea Brown, Joe Holt, Ismenia Mendes, and more TBA.
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Audio: “Epiphany” from Broadway’s Sweeney Todd, with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford
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Cabaret continues through July 8 at MA’s Barrington Stage Company, directed by Alan Paul, with choreography by Katie Spelman, and music direction by Angela Steiner.
Nik Alexander (Emcee), Krysta Rodriguez (Sally Bowles), Alysha Umphress (Fraulein Kost), Richard Kline (Herr Schultz), Dan Amboyer (Cliff Bradshaw), Candy Buckley (Fraulein Schneider), and Tom Story (Ernst Ludwig) with Max Antonio Gonzalez, Julia Harnett, Kim Hudman, Lina Lee, Charles Mayhew Miller, Ryland Marbutt, Fredric Odgaard, James Rose, and Tiffany Topol.
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Video: Liz Callaway sings Ahrens & Flaherty’s “Love Who You Love”
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Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious: A Non Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch will begin previews Sept. 7 and open Sept. 21 at the Music Box Theatre, directed by Kenny Leon.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Purlie), Vanessa Bell Calloway Idella Landy), Billy Eugene Jones (Gitlow Judson), Noah Pyzik (Deputy), Noah Robbins (Charlie Cotchipee), Jay O. Sanders (Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee), Heather Alicia Simms (Missy Judson), Bill Timoney (Sheriff), and Kara Young (Gussie Mae Jenkens).
The play is set in an era when Jim Crow laws were still in effect in the American South, and focuses on the traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson, who returns to his small Georgia town hoping to save the community’s church and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on an oppressive plantation.
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Manhattan Theatre Club (both On & Off Broadway) has announced upcoming productions in late 2023/early 2024:
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, (Fall 2023, dates TBA) by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Whitney White, at Broadway’s Friedman Theatre. In Jaja’s bustling hair braiding salon in Harlem, every day a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.
King James (Fall 2023, dates TBA), by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Kenny Leon, featuring Glenn Davis, Chris Perfetti, and Khloe Janel. The play chronicles the unexpected friendship between LeBron James, and whose intertwined fortunes are tied to those of their idol.
Poor Yella rednecks, (Fall 2023, dates TBA), by Qui Nguyen, directed by May Adrales. A young Vietnamese family attempts to put down roots in Arkansas, a place as different from home as it gets. A mom and dad balance big hopes and low-wage jobs, as old flings threaten to pull them apart. It all makes for a bumpy road to the American dream.
Prayer for the French Republic (begins Dec. 19) at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, by Joshua Harmon, directed by David Cromer. Casting TBA. In 1994, a Jewish couple in Paris desperately awaits news of their missing family. More than 70 years later, the couple’s great-grandchildren find themselves facing the same question as their ancestors: “Are we safe?”
New Play (title TBA) world premiere by John Patrick Shanley (Winter 2024), at NY City Center Stage 1 . Sometimes big things start from little things; in this case, a bag of laundry. Tragic and funny by turns, this story will remind you what is important in life…and the sorrow and joy of fully embracing adulthood.
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Musical Theatre West will present Broadway in the Park on Sun. Aug. 27 at 6 PM at Long Beach’s The Grand (4010 East Willow).
Performers TBA.
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Sandy Rustin’s The Cottage will run July 7 – Oct. 29 (opening July 24) at the Hayes Theatre, directed by Jason Alexander.
Eric McCormack (Beau), Laura Bell Bundy (Sylvia), Lilli Cooper (Marjorie), Nehal Joshi (Richard), Alex Moffat (Clarke), and Dana Steingold (Dierdre), with Michelle Federer, Matthew Floyd Miller, Tony Roach, and Jamie Ann Romero.
A side-splitting farce that is an outrageous tale of sex, betrayal, and desire as one woman decides to expose her latest affair to both her husband — and to her lover’s wife. The true meaning of fate and faith, identity and infidelity, love and marriage are all called into question as a surprising and hilarious web of secrets unravels in this ridiculously funny romantic comedy.
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Chanteuse: A Survival Musical, written & performed by Alan Palmer, with music by David Legg, will run July 11-30 (opening July 14) at Off-Broadway’s Here Arts Center, directed by Dorothy Danner.
Set in 1930’s Berlin, this is the story of a gay man’s struggle to avoid being sent to the concentration camps by taking on his late landlady’s identity and becoming a chanteuse in the supper clubs of Berlin.
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Video: Inside Encore’s rehearsals for Light in the Piazza at New York City Center, with Ruthie Ann Myles (Margaret Johnson) and Anna Zavelson (Clara Johnson).
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Charles Kirsch’s “Backstage Babble,” with special guest Carol Burnett is now available here.
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Video: Mykal Kilgore performs the Broadway Bares: Pleasure Park finale in rehearsal.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz andswers: I Want…
1-H. “I Want to Know What Love Is” – Rock of Ages
2-F. “I Want It All” – Baby
3-A. “I Want the Good Times Back” – The Little Mermaid
4-J. “I Want to Be Happy” – No, No, Nanette
5-C. “I Want to Be Rich” – Stop the World, I Want to Get Off
6-I. “I Want to Be Seen With You” – Funny Girl
7-B. “I Want to Be There” – Mrs. Doubtfire
8-E. “I Want to Be With You” – Golden Boy
9-D. “I Want to Hear A Yankee Doodle Tune” – George M!
10-G. “I Want A Hot Dog for My Roll” – Bullets Over Broadway