Today’s Highlights:
The New Group‘s Evanston Salt Costs Climbing, by Will Arbery, directed by Danya Taymore, featuring Quincy Tyler-Bernstine, Jeb Kreager, Ken Leung, and Rachel Sachnoff, opens at Off-Broadway’s Signature Center.
Boswell, by Marie Kohler, directed by Laura Gordon, featuring Phoebe González, Rebecca Hurd, Josh Krause, Miriam A. Laube, Brian Mani, and Triney Sandoval, with Liz Days, R. Ward Duffy, Emily Fury Daly, Ty Fanning, and Rex Young, opens at Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters.
Santino Fontana in concert opens at NYC’s 54 Below.
Best of Enemies, by James Graham, directed by Jeremy Herrin, featuring Zachary Quinto (Gore Vidal), David Harewood (William F. Buckley Jr.), Deborah Alli, Emilio Doorgasingh, Clare Foster, Tom Godwin, John Hodgkinson, Syrus Lowe, Keven McMonagle, and Sam Otto, with David Boyle, Lincoln Conway, Vivienne Ekwulugo, Jamie Hogarth, and Saaj Raj, begins previews at London’s Noël Coward Theatre.
Elf the Musical, directed by Philip Wm. McKinley, featuring Simon Lipkin (Buddy), Georgina Castle (Jovie), Tom Chambers (Walter Hobbs), Rebecca Lock (Emily Hobbs), Kim Ismay (Debs), Nicholas Pound (Santa), and Dexter Barry, Logan Clark, Alfie Morwood & Frankie Treadaway (alternating as Michael), with Evonnee Bentley-Holder, Kyle Cox, Jade Davies, Bethan Downing, Francis Foreman, Morgan Gregory, Ryan Jupp, Ellis Linford-Pill, Shane O’Riordan, Theo Reece, Chloe Saunders, Heather Scott-Martin, Jessica Spalis, Michael Tyler, Katie Warsop, and Natalie Woods, begins previews at London’s Dominion Theatre.
York Theatre‘s 30th Oscar Hammerstein Awards Gala, honoring Leslie Uggams and Ted Chapin, featuring Shoshana Bean, Klea Blackhurst, Lilli Cooper, Gregg Edelman, Jared Grimes, Christine Pedi, Tyrick, Wiltez Jones, Michael James Leslie, Gerry McIntyre, Ron Raines, Stephanie Umoh, Jeffrey Wright, Broadway Inspirational Voices, and Dionne Warwick… with video appearances by La Chanze, Andre De Shields, Lee Roy Reams, and more, at 6 PM at NYC’s Edison Rooftop (223 West 46th Street).
Theater Hall of Fame 2022 ceremony, honoring Christine Ebersole, André De Shields, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Bill Irwin, Frank Galati, Abe Jacob, and Ntozake Shange, at an invitation-only NYC event.
Only Make Believe 2022 Annual Gala – Back on Broadway (which introduces hospitalized children to the magic of theatre), directed by Joe DiPietro, featuring Rob McClure, Telly Leung, Andy Karl, Beth Leavel, Bonnie Milligan, Brad Oscar, Kathryn Allison, Montego Glover, Orfeh, Alicia Quarles, Terry Theologides, and Collet Reyes, and more, at 7 PM at Broadway’s St. James Theatre.
Red Bull Theater‘s The Duchess of Malfi live & livestreamed reading, by John Webster, directed by Jesse Berger, featuring Shirine Babb, Kelley Curran, Gerrard James, Steve Maurice Jones, Heather Lind, alfredo Narciso, Bhavesh Patel, Lorenzo Pisoni, Matthew Rauch, Derek Smith, and Raphael Nash Thompson, at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s CSC Theatre.
Musical Theatre Guild‘s Brigadoon concert presentation, directed by Kim Huber, featuring Eileen Barnett, Will Collyer, Jasmine Ejan, Tal Fox, Todd Gajdusek, Gordon Goodman, Jason Graae, Joe Hart, Maura Knowles, Susan Edwards Martin, Kevin Matsumoto, Dana Meller, Gabriel Navarro, Ray Rochelle, Shannon Warne, Robert Yacko, David Zak, and Seth Belliston, at 7:30 PM at Glendale’s Alex Theatre.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Critics’ Choice by Jim Bernhard
Match these notable theatre critics with the publications with which they are most closely associated.
| 1. Brooks Atkinson | A. The Wall Street Journal |
| 2. Walter Kerr | B. The New Yorker |
| 3. Claudia Cassidy | C. New York Daily News |
| 4. Elliot Norton | D. Associated Press |
| 5. John Lahr | E. The Smart Set |
| 6. George Jean Nathan | F. New York Times |
| 7. John Simon | G. New York Magazine |
| 8. Terry Teachout | H. New York Herald Tribune |
| 9. Michael Kuchwara | I. Boston Post/Boston Herald American |
| 10. Douglas Watt | J. Chicago Tribune |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Reviews for The Old Man and the Pool at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre:
NY Times (Elisabeth Vincentelli): Mike Birbiglia knows what he’s doing: At this point, his act is baked to golden perfection… Birbiglia’s body is his greatest foe and keeps coming up with new ways to betray him. Other people’s bodies are just as discomforting. It’s easy to imagine an alternative universe in which Birbiglia’s shows are horror movies… It all goes as well as could be expected for a nonathletic-looking comedian: “I don’t have ‘a swimmer’s body,’” Birbiglia quips. “I have what I call ‘a drowner’s body…’” The humor is further amplified by our acquaintance with the man onstage: Birbiglia’s persona and style are well established… And it’s all very, very funny: In Birbiglia’s case, familiarity breeds content…
Variety (Peter Debruge): …If you’ve ever seen Mike Birbiglia before, whether on stage or screen, then The Old Man and the Pool feels like catching up with an old friend — albeit one with a lot more health problems than you… he delivers the joke so matter-of-factly, it sounds like truth… which remains the core of his charm this time around as well: He’s casual, favorite-pair-of-jeans comfortable and remarkably skilled at finding profundity in subjects well within arm’s reach of most audiences, like the need to eat better and exercise… There are joke comics and storytelling comics. Birbiglia is both… But mostly, he aims less for sparking laugh-out-loud moments than for implanting those amusing observations that provide insight into our own lives…
Theatermania (David Gordon): …Birbiglia’s most literal consideration of mortality yet. And it happens to be the best show he’s ever written… On the advice of his cardiologist, Mike takes up swimming at the local YMCA. Reluctant at first, his love for his wife and child ultimately provides the dangling carrot in front of him (rather than the pizza it used to be)… The Old Man and the Pool feels not quite like the culmination of their past work together, but the pinnacle of all the work they’ve done since Sleepwalk With Me premiered in 2008. The script is tighter, the jokes are sharper and funnier (the climactic bit, a moment of silence that’s anything but, is hysterical), and the storytelling is blisteringly sincere, filled with the kind of authentic emotions many comedians tend to shy away from.
Daily Beast (Tim Teeman): …One could see how we laughed. One could see the craft and effect of a joke, the mechanics of how humor works. It was both yet another masterfully executed Birbiglia comic-set-piece, and also a snapshot of humor as a collective experience in real-time… cleverly marries an epically large Broadway stage with the nuances of a storyteller who connects intimately with the audience. This is very consciously theater, not stand-up, but just as amiable and meandering as Birbiglia’s fans would wish… We are all charmed, beguiled. He says he does not have a swimmer’s body, but a drowner’s body… Birbiglia is a master of comic excruciation, delivered with utmost geniality.
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The 2nd episode of “A Joni Mitchell Songbook” will air Fri. Nov. 18 at 9 PM ET on PBS, directed by Vince Mendoza.
Renée Fleming, Lalah Hathaway, Aoife O’Donovan, Jimmie Herrod, and Raul Midón.
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Seth Rudetsky & Nikki M. James will stream Sun. Nov. 27 at 8 PM ET. Link TBA.
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“December Songs for Voice and Orchestra,” a re-invention of Maury Yeston’s song cycle, reinvented by Victoria Clark, with a 37-piece orchestra conducted by Ted Sperling, and scored by Larry Hochman, has been released on all platforms.
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Transport Group will present a benefit performance of It’s a Wonderful Life, adapted by Joe Landry, with music by Ted Shen & Carmel Dean, on Mon. Dec. 12 at 8 PM at Off-Broadway’s Sheen Center.
Donna Lynne Champlin (George Bailey)
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Complete casting has been announced for the Lythgoe Family’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Holiday Panto, to run Dec. 8-29 at Laguna Playhouse, written by Kris Lythgoe and directed by Bonnie Lythgoe, with choreography by Mason Trueblood, and music direction by Andy Street.
Olivia Sanabia (Dorothy), Barry Pearl (The Wizard), Desi Dennis-Dylan (Glinda), Ashley Bruce (The Wicked Witch), Doran Butler (The Scarecrow), Patrick Davis (Tinman), and Andrew Metzer (The Lion).
The classic American tales gets a holiday makeover as Dorothy is spirited away by a blizzard on Christmas Eve and finds herself in a strange and wondrous land full of witches, munchkins, and more.
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Vanessa Williams in concert will run Dec. 13-18 at NYC’s 54 Below.
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“To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim” is now available on all platforms. The album was recording live during Liz’s concerts at 54 Below.
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Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree (by Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock & James Coopersmith) will run Dec.. 7-8 at Chicago’s Porchlight Music Theatre, directed by Frankie Leo Bennett, Jamal Howard, and Laura Savage, with music direction by David Fiorelle.
Jonah Cochin, Madison Denault, Susan Hofflander, Shea Hopkins, Ruchir, Khazanchi, Michael Mejia, Leah Morrow, Emma Rosenthal, and Ciarra Stroud.
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Video: Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson perform “The Impossible Dream.”
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by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields’ The Play That Goes Wrong, directed by Fred Sullivan Jr., continues through Dec. 18 at Boston’s Lyric Stage.
Kelby T. Akin (Robert), Alexa Cadete (Annie), Nora Eschenheimer (Sandra). Dan Garcia (Jonathan), Mitch Kiliulis (Trevor), Michael Liebhauser (Chris), Marc Pierre (Max), and Dan Whelton (Dennis), with Margaret Clark, Patrick French, and Matt Ryan
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The Al Hirschfeld Foundation will present an auction, in support of BC/EFA, on Wed. Nov. 16 from 6-8 PM at NYC’s Heritage Auction (445 Park Ave., at 56th Street). Click here to view available items.
In addition to a plethora of items, collectible prints will be available of Betty Buckley, Cher, Michael Crawford, Clive Davis, Judi Dench, Michael Feinstein, Ellen Greene, Joel Grey, Mark Hamill, Billy Joel, Nathan Lane, Reba McEntire, Donna McKechnie, Ian mcKellen, Steve Martin, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Lea Salonga, Martin Short, Bruce Springsteen, and Meryl Streep.
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Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman will run Jun 10 – Sept. 2, 2023 (opening June 21) at the Duke of York’s theatre, directed by Matthew Dunster.
Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton, with more TBA
The play is set in a totalitarian state, and follows a writer who is being questioned by authorities about a series of murders. Why is the writer suspected? The murders are eerily similar to her short stories.
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Cinderella will run Dec. 2-18 (opening Dec. 3) at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West, directed by Peggy Hickey, with choreography by Bill Burns, and music direction by Dennis Costellano.
Emily Grace Tucker (Ella), Tracy Lore (Madame), Joanna Johnson (Charlotte), Aviva Pressman (Gabrielle), Patrick Ortiz (Prince Topher), Perry Ojeda (Sebastian), Daebreon Poiema (Marie), Nick Tubbs (Lord Pinkleton), and Jalon Matthews (Jean-Michel), with Richard Bulda, Michael Bullard, Rorey Chavarria, Quintan Craig, Lauren Decierdo, Erin Dubreuil, Missy Marion, Sarah Morgan, Alejandro MullerDahlberg, Noelle Elizabeth Roth, Callula Sawyer, and Adam Winer.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Critics’ Choice
1-F. Brooks Atkinson – New York Times
2-H. Walter Kerr – New York Herald Tribune
3-J. Claudia Cassidy – Chicago Tribune
4-I Elliot Norton – Boston Post/Boston Herald American
5-B. John Lahr – The New Yorker
6-E. George Jean Nathan – The Smart Set
7-G. John Simon – New York Magazine
8-A. Terry Teachout – Wall Street Journal
9-D. Michael Kuchwara – Associated Press
10-C. Douglas Watt – New York Daily News