Today’s Highlights:
Bees & Honey, by Guadalís del Carmen, directed by Melissa Crespo, featuring Maribel Martinez (Johaira) and Xavier Pacheco (Manuel), opens at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theatre.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A New Musical, by Jethro Compton & Darren Clarke, directed by Compton, featuring Jamie Parker (Benjamin Button) and Molly Osborne (Elowen Button), with Matthew Burns, Jonathan Charles, Oonagh Cox, Anna Fordham, Philippa Hogg, Damien James, Ann Marcuson, Jack Quarton, Benedict Salter, and Tonny Shim, opens at London’s Southwark Playhouse.
Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Spring 2023 Gala, honoring Lynne Meadow and Barry Grove, featuring the casts of Broadway’s & Juliet … A Beautiful Noise … Kimberly Akimbo, New York, New York … Parade … Shucked ... and Some Like It Hot, at 7 PM at NYC’s Cipriani 42nd.
The Rebecca Luker Songbook benefit concert, with music direction by Joseph Thalken, featuring Mikaela Bennett, Julie Benko, Nikki Renée Daniels, Laura Darrell, Ali Ewoldt, Robyn Hurder, Emilie Kouatchou Emily Skinner, Jessica Vosk, Sally Wilfert, and Clyde Alves, at 8 PM at NYC’s Symphony Space.
The Jesse Walker Show comes to Broadway benefit event, in honor of Rebecca Luker, with special guests Caroline Rhea, James Monroe Iglehart, and surprise celebrity guests, at 8 PM at Off-Broadway’s Theatre 555. 
TJWSTickets@gmail.com
Broadway Bets Texas Hold ‘Em benefit poker tournament, in support of BC/EFA, with special guests Ramin Karimloo, Aaron Tveit, Anthony Rapp, Kelli Barrett, Robert Creighton, Christopher Innvar, Brian Koppleman, Jarrod Spector, and more, at 6 PM at NYC’s Sardi’s.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Send in the Clowns, by Jim Bernhard:
1. The Clown in Orpheus Descending is hired by Lady Torrance to announce…her wedding to Val…the arrival in town of the circus…the opening of her new confectionery store…the end of the world
2. In the 1951 revue Two on the Aisle, The Clown was played by….Bob Hope…Ed Wynn…Bert Lahr…Laurence Olivier
3. In the Broadway revue Minnelli on Minnelli, Liza Minnelli sings Cole Porter’s “Be A Clown,” written for the 1948 film “The Pirate” — the melody of which was used by Arthur Freed four years later in the film “Singin’ in the Rain,” for the song…“Fit as a Fiddle”… “Make ‘Em Laugh”…“Good Morning”…”Singin’ in the Rain”
4. A character in the musical Barnum is listed as a…White-Faced Clown…Red-Faced Clown…Purple-Faced Clown…Shamefaced Clown
5. Which of these characters in Hamlet is a Clown in the Shakespearean sense?…The Gravedigger…Osric…Horatio…Polonius
6. In A Thousand Clowns, Murray Burns is a writer for the children’s television show…”Sesame Street”…”The Muppets”…”The Lone Ranger”…”Chuckles the Chipmunk”
7. “Big Clown Balloons” is a song from…Here’s Love…Pippin…Carousel…Cabaret
8. Here Come the Clowns is a play Philip Barry, who also wrote…Laughter on the 23rd Floor…The Philadelphia Story…The Winter’s Tale…The Cocoanuts
9. Which of the following is not a Shakespearean clown?…Bottom…Titus Andronicus…Dogberry…Launcelot Gobbo
10. In Aspects of Love, a clown appears…at a circus in Paris…on “Saturday Night Live”…in a home for retired clowns…in a production of A Little Night Music
Scroll down for the answers…
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Reviews for Brokeback Mountain at London’s @sohoplace:
The Guardian (Arifa Akbar): The desolately poignant tale is brought into stark relief in Jonathan Butterell’s production through Eddi Reader’s beautiful vocals and a compelling cast. Where Ang Lee transformed Annie Proulx’s 35-page short story about two gay cowboys into a feature film in 2005, Ashley Robinson’s stage adaptation, all of 90 minutes long, returns it to a distilled purity…. the music becomes its own language, even between the lovers who connect through song… The passion never really burns up the stage but their chemistry comes alive as boyish romance… It retains an innocence and tenderness all the way through… both actors are compelling, Faist especially so as the ebullient Jack, while Hedges is more melancholic as Ennis, too scared to risk a fuller life with Jack, and full of regret for it.
Variety (David Benedict): Canny casting of Mike Faist… and Lucas Hedges… and abundant efforts to honor Annie Proulx’s short story… Above all, the sincerity underpinning director Jonathan Butterell’s premiere of a stage version is never in doubt. But despite a live soundtrack of bluegrass and country songs, the production only proves you can have too much fidelity. Sticking so doggedly to the original, the production fails to find anything approaching a satisfying theatrical form… Ashley Robinson’s notably sparse adaptation of Proulx’s story confuses literary with literal… everything proceeds with unvarying rhythm… evocative though the music of the easeful four-piece band..is, the songwriting is unmemorable as it tips over from initially atmospheric into generic…
Evening Standard (Nick Curtis): …this stripped-back show is a potent, subtle piece of dramatic alchemy. Whatever you’ve heard, it’s not a musical…. Dan Gillespie Sells has composed an evocative, country-inflected score… The lyrics are the major let-down, a collection of clichés about windy peaks, lavender skies and howling coyotes… There’s impressive physicality as well as emotional nuance to the performances… This is a gem of a show, marrying two arthouse-cool American actors with an oddball selection of offstage talent to produce something quietly moving.
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2023 Drama League Award winners. Click here for the complete list.
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Sunset Boulevard will open Sept. 6 (dates TBA) for 16 weeks only, at the Savoy Theatre, directed by Jamie Lloyd.
Nicole Scherzinger (Norman Desmond), and more TBA.
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NJ’s Two River Theater has announced its 2023-24 season:
Hair (Sept. 30 – Oct. 22), directed by James Vásquez, with choreography by Mayte Natalio
The Scarlet Letter (Feb. 3-25, 2024), world premiere adaptation by Kate Hamill, directed by Shelly Butler.
A Little Shakespeare: Love’s Labour’s Lost (Mar. dates TBA), an abridged version, performed by high school students.
A Thousand Maids (Apr. dates TBA), directed by May Adrales. 
The play follows designer Cordelia, who, while designing a maid costume, contemplates the controversy and nuances behind woman of color characters as maids across films like “Maid in Manhattan” and “Gone With the Wind.”
Gem of the Ocean (June), by August Wilson, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, featuring Crystal A. Dickinson and Brandon J. Dirden. The play follows the Black community of Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1904, as they reconcile with the lingering effects of slavery.
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Janine LaManna: Black and Gold will take place June 10 & 26 at NYC’s Green Room 42, with music direction by Steve Marzullo.
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The world premiere of Stockholm Syndrome, written & directed by Kamal John Iskander, will run June 2, 11, 18 & 24 at Hollywood’s McCadden Theatre.
Ohad Bitton, Joey Bothwell, Sean Hemeon, and Clarissa Park.
Once upon a time in Hollywood, film director Ramsey Ramone shows up to the Hollywood Towers Hotel to meet a well-known star with the hope of convincing her to sign onto his latest, “The Black Widow,” a film noir in the typical femme fatale tradition. Arriving early, Ramsey encounters Katrina Castren, a mysterious and intriguing beauty. When Katrina finds out why he’s there, she suggests he try out his pitch on her. Their conversation becomes more intense as Katrina skillfully charms Ramsey while simultaneously deconstructing him as a man. As Ramsey comes undone, his cliché movie idea frighteningly and effectively unfolds into his reality, leaving him cocooned in his own ironic end.
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Karen Zacarías’ Destiny of Desire continues through June 25 at San Diego’s The Old Globe, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, with choreography by Lorna Ventura, and music direction by Ricky Gonzalez.
Julio Augustín (Dr. Jorge Ramiro Mendoza), Yesenia Ayala (Pilar Esperanza Castillo), Carolos Gomez (Ernesto Del Rio), Mandy Gonzalez (Hortencia Del Rio), Ariella Kyashny (La Gente), Tito Livas (Dr. Diego Mendoza), Bianca Marroquín (Fabiola Castillo), James Olivas (Sebastián Jose Castillo), Christopher M. Ramirez (La Gente), Al Rodrigo (Armando Castillo), Emilia Suárez (Victoria Maria Del Rio), and Nancy Ticotin (Sister Sonia), with Tara Martinez and Luis Villabon.
An homage to telenovelas, the play follows two babies born on a stormy night in Bellarica, Mexico, one into outlandish wealth and one into a life of poverty. When the newborns are swapped by a ruthless ex–beauty queen, the stage is set for two outrageous misfortunes to grow into an extraordinary destiny.
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Mostly Broadway: An Evening with David Burnham will take place Sat. June 3 at 7 PM at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre, with music direction by Christopher Lloyd Bratten.
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Will Power’s Fetch Clay, Make Man will run June 18 – July 16 (opening June 25) at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, directed by Debbie Allen.
Ray Fisher (Muhammad Ali), Edwin Lee Gibson (Stepin Fetchit), Wilkie Gerguson II (Borther Rashid), Alexis Floyd (Sonji Clay), and Bruce Nozick (William Fox).
Inspired by true events, the work tracks the unlikely friendship between the heavyweight champion and Fetchit. The latter, a somewhat controversial figure, is considered the first successful Black film actor, but he primarily found that success playing roles deeply steeped in racist stereotypes—his onscreen persona was famously billed as “The Laziest Man in the World.”
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David West Read’s In Dreams, featuring the songs of Roy Orbison, will run July 3 – Aug. 5 at the Leeds Playhouse, directed by David West Read & Luke Sheppard.
Lena Hall (Kenna), Oliver Tompsett Ramsey), Sian Reese-Williams (Jane), Noël Sullivan (Donovan), Manuel Pacific (Oscar), Gabriela Garcia (Nicole), Alma Cuervo (Ana Sofia), Richard Trinder (George), and Leon Craig (Tom).
The musical follows the former lead singer of a country rock band (Lena Hall) who decided to throw a party at a critical moment in her life. At the party, which is held in a family-run Mexican restaurant, she invites old friends to reconnect while hiding ulterior motives.
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California Dreamin’: Jessica Vosk Sings the Songs of Laurel Canyon, featuring the songs of Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Graham Nash, will take place June 2, 4 & 5 at NYC’s 92Y, directed by James Darrah, with music direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.
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Complete casting has been announced for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, to run June 6-18 at MA’s North Shore Music Theatre, directed & choreographed by Marcos Santana, with music direction by Camille Villalpando Rolla.
Elena Ricardo (Carole King), Jake Bentley Young (Gerry Goffin), Jessica Rush (Cynthia Weil), Jack Cagill-Lemme (Barry Mann), Reed Campbell (Don Kirshner), and Jean McCormick (Genie Klein), with Elizabeth Adabale, Courtney Blackmun, Kobe Brown, Justin Michael Duval, Seth Eliser, Tiffany Frances, Rachel Gubow, Christopher McCrewell, Ashley McManus, Michael Anthony Nero, Chris Richie, Allie Seibold. Andrew Burke, Tony Collins, Selene Klasner, and Giselle Amarisa Watts.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Send in the Clowns
1. The Clown in Orpheus Descending is hired by Lady Torrance to announce the opening of her confectionery store.
2. In Two On the Aisle, the Clown was played by Bert Lahr.
3. “Be A Clown” was copied almost note-for-note in the song “Make ‘Em Laugh.”
4. A character in the musical Barnun is listed as a White-Faced Clown.
5. The Gravedigger in Hamlet is a Shakesperean clown.
6. In A Thousand Clowns, Murray is a writer for “Chuckle the Chipmunk.”
7. “Big Clown Balloons” is a song from Here’s Love.
8. Philip Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story.
9. Titus Andronicus is not a clown.
10. In Aspects of Love, a clown appears at a circus in Paris.