Today’s Highlights:
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directed by Walter Bobbie, featuring Janie Dee, Michael Maloney, Rebecca Lacey, Charlie Maher, Sara Powell, and Lukwesa Mwamba, opens at London’s Charing Cross Theatre.
The Book of Mormon, featuring Dom Simpson (Elder Price), Tom Xander (Elder Cunningham), and Leanne Robinson (Nabulungi), with Steven Webb, Richard Lloyd-King, Haydn Oakley, Edward Baruwa, Thomas Audibert, Philip Catchpole, Christopher Copeland, Joseph Davenport, Tanya Edwards, George Grayson, Myles Hart, Olivia Hibbert, Jed Hoyle, M-Jae Cleopatra Isaac, Georgia Iudica-Davies, Oliver Jacobson, Akmed Junior Khemalai, Ryan Kopel, David McMullan, Jack McNeill, Paige Miller, Sean Parkins, Kirk Patterson, Luke Redmore, Stephen Rolley, Fred Smiley, Patrick Sullivan, Ben Tyler, Anna Van Ruiten and Rebecca-Daisy Wellington, resumes performances at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre.
Company, directed by Marianne Elliott, featuring Katrina Lenk (Bobbie), Patti LuPone (Joanne), Matt Doyle (Jamie), Christopher Fitzgerald (David), Christopher Sieber (Harry), Jennifer Simard (Sarah), Terence Archie (Larry), Etai Benson (Paul), Bobby Conte (P.J.), Nikki Renée Daniels (Jenny), Claybourne Elder (Andy), Greg Hildreth (Peter), and Rashidra Scott (Susan), with Kathryn Allison, Britney Coleman, Jacob Dickey, Javier Ignacio, Anisha Nagarajan, Nicholas Rodriguea, Heath Saunders, Tally Sessions, and Matt Wall, begins previews at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
Cabaret, directed by Rebecca Frecknall, featuring Eddie Redmayne (Emcee), Jessie Buckley (Sally Bowles), Omari Douglas (Cliff Bradshaw), Liza Sadovy (Fraulein Schneider), Elliot Levey (Herr Schultz), Stewart Clarke (Ernst Ludwig), and Anna-Jane Casey (Fraulein Kost), with Josh Andrews, Emily Benjamin, Sally Frith, Matthew Gent, Emma Louise Jones, Ela Lisondra, Theo Maddix, Chris O’Mara, Daniel Perry, Andre Refig, Christopher Tendai, Bethany Terry, Lillie-Pearl Wildman, and Sophie Maria Wojna, begins previews at London’s Playhouse Theatre.
Second Stage Theater‘s 2021 Fall Gala, directed by Patricia McGregor, honoring Debra Martin Chase and Lynn Nottage, featuring Brandy, Ayana George, Hillary Scott, and Jordin Sparks, at 6:30 PM ET at NYC’s Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers.
Spring Awakening 15th anniversary benefit concert, in support of The Actors Fund, directed by Michael Mayer, featuring original cast members Skylar Astin, Gerard Canonico, Lilli Cooper, Jennifer Damiano, Christine Eastbrook, John Gallagher, Jr., Gideon Glick, Jonathan Groff, Robert Hager, Brian Johnson, Lea Michele, Lauren Pritchard, Krysta Rodriguez, Stephen Spinella, Phoebe Strole, Jonny B. Wright, and Remy Zaken, at 7 PM ET at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre.
Gingold Theatrical Group‘s “A Scintillating Shaw Party” FREE event (reservation required), a discussion of its current production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession!, featuring cast members from the production, along with James Armstrong, Stephen Brown-Fried, Ellen Dolgin, Adam Feldman, Chris Finan, Sarah Rose Kearns, Ethan E. Litwin, Martin Meisel, Svetlana Mintcheya, and Liam Prendergast, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s Symphony Space.
“Jingle Ayo,” a new holiday single, featuring Linda Sue Moshier, Bart Shatto, Heidi Karol Johnson, Audrey Lavine, G. Wayne Hoffman, and many more, released on all digital platforms.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz, Jerry’s Girls, by Jim Bernhard:
Match these roles played by Jerry Orbach with the shows’ leading ladies:
| 1. Paul Berthalet in Carnival | A. Rita Gardner |
| 2. Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls | B. Jo Sullivan |
| 3. El Gallo in The Fantasticks | C. Brenda Vaccaro |
| 4. Charlie Davenport in Annie Get Your Gun | D. Tammy Grimes |
| 5. Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises | E. Anita Gillette |
| 6. Paul Friedman in 6 Rms Riv Vu | F. Jill O’Hara |
| 7. Police Constable Smith in The Threepenny Opera | G. Ethel Merman |
| 8. Billy Flynn in Chicago | H. Gwen Verdon |
| 9. Julian Marsh in 42nd Street | I. Jane Alexander |
| 10. Malcolm in The Natural Look | J. Anna Maria Alberghetti |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Reviews for Assassins at Off-Broadway’s Classic Stage Company:
NY Times (Laura Collins-Hughes): …Even with a powerhouse cast, this stripped down, off-balance production — originally slated for spring 2020 as part of the Sondheim 90th-birthday festivities — never does find a way to make the audience feel the stakes of its characters’ actions. That’s true whether we view the assassins purely as historical figures or also as metaphors for an aggressive strain of lethal discontent as American as Old Glory… The show’s vaudevillian patchwork of stories about volatile 19th- and 20th-century misfits who murdered a president, or tried to, makes us laugh and leaves us humming. But we are ultimately unperturbed.
Variety (Marilyn Stasio): Director John Doyle’s electrifying staging of “Assassins,” Stephen Sondheim’s macabre masterpiece about our national infatuation with fame and our appetite for violence, is a revival to die for — figuratively, of course… Are we now so jaded as a nation that this modern classic has lost some of its shock value after 30 years? And the answer is: Nope. Between the musical’s powerful content and Doyle’s inventive presentation, Assassins is still a killer show…. The sheer cynicism of the opening number that introduces the nine assassins can take your breath away…
Theatermania (Zachary Stewart): …An all-star cast portrays the principal murderous misfits: Brandon Uranowitz is severe as Leon Czolgosz… Tavi Gevinson plays Squeaky Fromme with the confidence of a true believer. Judy Kuhn is hilarious as the clumsy Sara Jane Moore. Will Swenson endows the delusional Charles Guiteau with twitchy mania, connecting with nearly every audience member like he’s Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser — but with just his eyes. Andy Grotelueschen plays Samuel Byck, reciting the would-be Nixon assassin’s two monologues like a stand-up comedian accustomed to delivering racy material. He’s so convincingly straightforward, that I found myself wondering, Is the lunatic in the Santa suit actually making sense?… Doyle’s staging also exudes a frustrating inertia that shouldn’t exist in a musical so tightly written…
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Company, which begins previews today and opens Dec. 9 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, has announced its Rush Ticket policy:
* Rush tickets are $43, and will be sold in person at the box office on the day of the performance beginning when the box office opens (Monday – Saturday at 10 AM)
* A limit of two tickets per customer.
* Seat locations will be at the discretion of the box office, and are based on availability.
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“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” a collection of seasonal favorites featuring Lisa Howard, will be released Sat. Nov. 20 on iTunes and all digital platforms, with arrangements & orchestrations by Michael Shaieb, and additional vocals by Derrick Baskin.
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
“Sleigh Ride”
“Santa Tell Me”
“Sleigh Ride”
” The House Where I Grew Up at Christmas”
“All I want for Christmas”
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas/Home for the Holidays”
“Christmas Wrapping”
“We Need A Little Christmas”
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
“Last Christmas”
” River”
“Under the Mistletoe”
“What Christmas Means To Me”
“Holly Jolly Christmas/Here Comes Santa Clause”
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Company, which resumes previews tonight at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, has announced its rush ticket policy:
* Rush tickets are priced at $43.
* Rush tickets will be sold in person at the theatre box office on the day of the performance beginning when the box office opens (Mon. – Sat. at 10 AM ET).
* A limit of two tickets per customers
* Seat locations will be at the discretion of the box office and are based on availability.
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Klea Blackhurst: One of the Girls: The Worlds and Lyrics of Jerry Herman will take place Sat. Dec. 4 at 8 PM ET at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse, directed by Mark Waldrop, with music direction by Michael Rice.
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Audio: Stephanie J. Block sings “O Holy Night”
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A Christmas Carol, adapted & directed by Mark Clements, will run Nov. 30 – Dec. 24 at Milwaukee Rep.
Lee E. Ernst (Ebenezer Scrooge), Lainey Techtmann (Tiny Tim), Mark Corkins (Marley’s Ghost), Todd Denning (Ghost of Christmas Present), Reese Madigan (Bob Cratchit), Christopher Peltier (Young Scrooge), Jim Pickering (Mr. Fezziwig), Rána Roman (Mrs. Cratchit), Jordan Anthony Arredondo (Fred), Carrie Hitchcock (Mrs. Fezziwig), Kevin Kantor (Ghost of Christmas Past), and Aja Wiltshire (Belle), with Isabella Chang, Jamey Feshold, Jared Brandt Hoover, George Lorimer, Kelty Morash, Sophie Murk, Max Pink, and Vivian Vaeth.
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Complete casting has been announced for Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play, which will resume previews Nov. 23, open Dec. 2, and close Jan. 23, 2022 at the August Wilson Theatre, directed by Robert O’Hara.
Ato Blankson-Wood (Gary), Chalia La Tour (Tea), Irene Sofia Lucio (Patricia), Annie McNamara (Alana), Paul Alexander Nolan (Jim), Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Kaneisha), Devin Kawaoka (Dustin), and Jonathan Chad Higginbotham (Philip), with Eboni Flowers, Blake Russell, Luigi Sottile, Elizabeth, Stahlmann, and Galen J. Williams.
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Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden‘s new album, “Together At A Distance” will be released Fri. Nov. 19 on all digital platforms.
1. “Make Believe” (Show Boat)
2. “All I Ask Of You” (Phantom of the Opera)
3. “Stranger in Paradise” (Kismet)
4. “Heather on the Hill” (Brigadoon)
5. “Too Many Mornings” (Follies)
6. “Tonight” (West Side Story)
7, “All The Wasted Time” (Parade)
8. “Too Much Love to Care” (Sunset Boulevard)
9. “How Could I Ever Know” (The Secret Garden)
10. “Till There Was You” (The Music Man)
11. “I Have Dreamed” (The King And I)
12. “With One Look” (Sunset Boulevard)
13. “They Were You” (The Fantasticks)
14. “A Heart Full of Love” (Les Misérables)
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Audio: Listen to 50 Broadway Lullabies.
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Megan Hilty will replace Jane Krakowski in NBC’s upcoming “Annie Live!” on Dec. 2. Krakowski withdrew after being diagnosed with a breakthrough Covid case. The event will be directed by Lear deBessonet & Alex Rudzinski.
Celina Smith (Annie), Harry Connick Jr. (Daddy Warbucks), Taraji P. Henson (Miss Hannigan), Nicole Scherzinger (Grace Farrell), Titus Burgess (Rooster Hannigan), Megan Hilty (Lily St. Regis), and more.
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Lisa Howard: What Christmas Means To Me, will take place Sun. Dec. 12 at 7 PM ET at 54 Below.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz Answers: Jerry’s Girls
1-J. Paul Berthalet, Carnival! – Anna Maria Alberghetti (Lili)
2-E. Sky Masterson, Guys and Dolls – Anita Gillette (Sarah Brown)
3-A. El Gallo, The Fantasticks – Rita Gardner (The Girl [Luisa])
4-G. Charlie Davenport, Annie Get Your Gun – Ethel Merman (Annie Oakley)
5-F. Chuck Baxter, Promises, Promises – Jill O’Hara (Fran Kubelik)
6-I. Paul Friedman, 6 Rms Riv Vu – Jane Alexander (Anne Miller)
7-B. Police Constable Smith, The Threepenny Opera – Jo Sullivan (Polly Peachum)
8-H. Billy Flynn, Chicago – Gwen Verdon (Roxy Hart)
9-D. Julian Marsh, 42nd Street – Tammy Grimes (Dorothy Brock)
10-C. Malcolm, The Natural Look – Brenda Vaccaro (Reedy Harris)