Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be limited theatre news for the foreseeable future. I will continue to search for anything meaningful and/or fun to report. Stay safe and healthy.
Today’s Highlights:
* Pride Plays‘ Brave Smiles…Another Lesbian Tragedy benefit online reading, in support of BC/EFA, by the Five Lesbian Brothers (Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, and Lisa Kron), directed by Leigh Silverman,, at 7 PM ET.
* A Night with the Buddy Holly Boys FREE livestreamed concert, featuring Andy Christopher, Joe Cosmo Cogen, Kyle Lacy and Nathan Yates Douglass, at 8:15 PM CT at The Muny (also June 25).
* Red Bull Theater‘s “RemarakBULL Podversations,” FREE conversation with Kate Burton (“I’ll Drown My Book”), at 7:30 PM ET.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz – Reading Your Horoscope by Jim Bernhard
Each sign of the Zodiac in the first column is related to a word in the second column—which is missing from the title of a play or musical in the third column. Match the sign with the word—and fill it in the proper title:
| 1. Leo | A. Goat | i. The Venetian ____, play by Carlo Goldoni |
| 2. Taurus | B. Scorpion | ii. Death and the ____, play by Ariel Dorfman |
| 3. Gemini | C. Archers | iii. The ____ of Justice, play by John Reinhard |
| 4. Aquarius | D. Fish | iv. The ____, or Who Is Sylvia?, play by Edward Albee |
| 5. Virgo | E. Bull | v. Androcles and the ____, play by George Bernard Shaw |
| 6. Libra | F. Scales | vi. ____ in the Dark, play by Larry David |
| 7. Scorpio | G. Lion | vii. The ____, or the Mountaineers of Switzerland, musical drama by Benjamin Carr and William Dunlap |
| 8. Saggitarius | H. Twins | viii. The ____Carrier, musical by Jacob Prager and Alexander Olshanetsky |
| 9. Capricorn | I. Water | ix. A ____ in a China Shop, play by Charles Matthews |
| 10. Pisces | J. Maiden | x. The ____, play by Bernard J. McOwen |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Video: Off-Broadway’s Public Theater, in honor of Juneteenth, presented Kimber Elayne Sprawl’s interpretation of Hamlet’s “To Be or Not To Be” speech, performed by Black actors Toree Alexander, Jelani Alladin, Denée Benton, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Sterling K. Brown, Jonathan Burke, Ato Blankson-Wood, Gerald Caesar, Don Cheadle, Grantham Coleman, Khris Davis, Ellis Dawson, André De Shields, Alysha Deslorieux, Alexandra Grey, Renée Elise Goldsberry, William Jackson Harper, Nikki M. James, Wonza Johnson, Blaine Krauss, Audra McDonald, Jevon McFerrin, Patina Miller, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Adrienne C. Moore, Joe Morton, Jordin Sparks, Kimber Elayne Sprawl, Alexandria Wailes, and Nik Walker.
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“Giving Voice,” a documentary chronicling the August Wilson Competition, will begin streaming later this year (date TBA) on Netflix and features an original song, “Never Break” performed by John Legend and co-written by Legend, Nasri Atweh, Benjamin Hudson McIldowie, and Greg Wells.
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Video: “Plays in the House” — a reading of Georgia Mae James Unplugs America, by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, featuring Alexander Bello, Jamie Glickman, Kristopher Kennedy, George Lamar, Maria Nalieth, and Charlie Tassone. (58:52)
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Video: “Plays in the House” — a reading of Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession, directed by David Staller, featuring Tonya Pinkins (Mrs. Warren), Midori Francis, David Huynh, James Monroe Iglehart, Thom Sesma, and Raphael Nash Thompson. (2:23:28)
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Patrick Cassidy, new Artistic Director of Tennessee’s Studio Tenn, has posted all of his recent “Tenn Talks” conversations on the theatre’s website.
Rex Smith, Susan Egan, Adam Pascal, Emily Skinner, Joely Fisher, Jason Danieley, Scott Ellis, and Mike Isaacson.
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Read: Nick Cordero – June 19 update from Amanda Kloots
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Georgia’s Serenbe Playhouse will be internally rebuilt following a sweeping move by the Board of Directors of The Serenbe Institute for Art, Culture & the Environment to lay off all staff and temporarily suspend all operations, including planned 2020 performances.
The decision comes in the wake of a number allegations that the theatre was not a safe working environment for many artists, particularly the BIPOC community.
It is hoped that the theatre will be back at some point in 2021.
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A live concert recording of David Shire &Adam Gopnik’s musical Our Table is now available digitally, in support of GrowNYC, which supports both the farmers who bring good things to Nyew York, and the chefs who depend on them, as well as the 50th anniversary of the NYC greenmarket movement. 
Download here.
Melissa Errico (Claire), Andy Taylor (David), Constantine Maroulis (Sergio), Mark Nelson (Carlo), and Juliette McEnroe (Katie), with Tyler Jones, and Analise Scarpaci.
The story of a beloved New York restaurant fighting for its life.
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Video: Jason Graae performs “The Moment Has Passed” from Promenade (1983)
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Philip J. Smith will step down as chair and co-CEO of The Shubert Organization effective June 30. He retires after a 63-year career in the theatre industry.
His fellow CEO, Robert E. Wankel, will be named sole CEO and chair of both The Shubert Organization and The Shubert Foundation in the wake of Smith’s departure (Smith will become chairman emeritus)
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Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club has been one of the most popular venues for many wonderful benefit concerts and events, as well as a treasured home to the entire Los Angeles Music Community. Please consider making a donation here.
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Video: Trailer for “Hamilton,“ will premiere on July 3 exclusively on Disney+
Initially announced for a theatrical release in Oct. 2021, the production was filmed in 2016 at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre, and features the entire original principal cast.
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Michael Arden is developing American Dream Study, an entirely new immersive, part walking/part drive-through theatrical experience, which will take place in NY’s Hudson River Valley.
American Dream Study is a collaboration with a group of actors, dancers, musicians, filmmakers, stage managers, designers, choreographers, and medical professionals. This site-specific theatrical experiment will provide a first-of-its-kind socially-distanced communal experience for the age of COVID. The piece will be staged throughout the Columbia County towns of Philmont, Claverack, and Harlemville, with audience members receiving instructions on when and where to drive, park, and walk via several smart technologies. American Dream Study will benefit small, local businesses in the communities in which this invitation-only premiere will be explored.
In a statement, Mr. Arden said, “I constantly endeavor to create new opportunities for people to come together in a common space and share experiences. In this new era, that has taken a great deal of imagination and, most importantly, bold collaboration with this remarkable group of artists. It has been said that art should be dangerous, but it’s also vitally important that we make it safe. This exploration of our dreams and the American Dream strikes that balance perfectly. We will be testing new methods of theater-making in order to forge a way forward for this ancient and vital art form.”
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NY Times: “After ALS diagnosis, Rebecca Luker is ‘Proud I can still sing.’”
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Video: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” performed by the Prague Cello Quartet. Lovely.
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Video: A benefit reading of Charles Randolph-Wright’s Cuttin’ Up, in support of The Classical Theatre of Harlem, directed by Carl Cofield. (1:28:17)
Charles Browning, Dyllon Burnside, Tisha Campbell, Godfrey The Comedian, Joe Morton, Reynaldo Pniella, Marcel Spears and Blair Underwood.
A generational story centered around three black barbers. Although the business of the shop is to cut hair, these men offer a sacred look into the time- honored tradition of the black barbershop, offering history, family advice, guidance, and laughs, all in a day’s work.
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San Francisco Pride has updated it Pride 50 celebration, to take place June 27-28.
Click here for the complete updated list of events.
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For the first time in New York City Ballet‘s 65-year history, the organization will not present George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker this holiday season, due to Covid-19.
The annual production has been presented since 1954, and is the ballet company’s most lucrative production, earning more than $15.3 million in ticket sales. Performed appx. 47 times each holiday season, the ballet employs more than 150 dancers and musicians from the company, 40 stagehands, and more than 125 students from the School of American Ballet. Because of its size, the company determined that there was no safe way to present the show while adhering to current health and safety regulations and social distancing measures.
The company will return in Jan. 2021, with a season TBA.
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Facebook: Meet Oliviana Marie from The Songbook Academy Top 40 Countdown.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers – Reading Your Horoscope
1-G-v. Leo – Androcles and the Lion
2-E-ix. Taurus – A Bull in a China Shop
3-H-i. Gemini – The Venetian Twins
4-I-viii. Aquarius – The Water Carrier
5-J-ii. Virgo – Death and the Maiden
6-F-iii. Libra – The Scales of Justice
7-B-x. Scorpio – The Scorpion
8-C-vii. Saggitariuis – The Archers
9-A-iv. Capricorn – The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
10-D-vi. Pisces – Fish in the Dark