Today’s Highlights:
Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Gala: Songs of our Summer from Rhinebeck to Chelsea, hosted by Judy Kuhn & Adam Chanler-Berat, featuring Lauren Patten, Jerry Dixon, Jelani Remi, Christopher Sears, Adrian Blake Enscoe, Kerstin Anderson, Heath Saunders, and Garnet Williams, at 6:30 PM at NYC’s Chelsea Table + Stage.
Keen Company‘s Marry Me a Little benefit presentation, directed by Jonathan Silverstein, featuring Melissa Errico, John Cariani, Jason Tam, Lauren Molina, Philippe Arroyo, Zachary Noah Piser, Morgan Siobhan Green, and Nik Walker, at 7 PM at NYC’s Symphony Space.
Red Bull Theater‘s The Dark Lady reading, by Jessica B. Hill, directed by Rodrigo Beilfuss, featuring Jessica B. Hill and Matthew Rauch, at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Sheen Center.
Gingold Theatrical Group‘s A Scintillating Shaw Party, hosted by Elizabeth Stack & David Staller, at 6 PM at NYC’s American Irish Historical Society (991 Fifth Ave.)
**********************
Grace Notes Quiz: Who’s That Ingenue? by Jim Bernhard
Ingenue: from the French ingénue, “artless girl, ” and Latin ingenuus, “candid.” A stage role portraying an innocent or naïve young woman. Place these ingenues in the correct play.
| 1. Peggy Sawyer | A. The Glass Menagerie |
| 2. Anne Page | B. Arms and the Man |
| 3. Clara Johnson | C. Finian’s Rainbow |
| 4. Laura Wingfield | D. Urinetown |
| 5. Hope Harcourt | E. The Merry Wives of Windsor |
| 6. Hope Cladwell | F. Sweeney Todd |
| 7. Polly Browne | G. 42nd Street |
| 8. Sharon McLonergan | H. The Boy Friend |
| 9. Johanna Barker | I. Light in the Piazza |
| 10. Raina Petkoff | J. Anything Goes |
Scroll down for the answers…
**********************
Reviews for Elf the Musical at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre:
New York Times (Laura Collins-Hughes): Santa Clauses are pretty interchangeable. The real Santa’s close friend Buddy the elf would disagree, but it’s true: Put on the red costume, hide behind the glossy beard, manage a few ho, ho, hos and anyone will do. … Buddy, though? That’s a much tougher role to cast … In Elf the Musical, Buddy is the one character in whom we must absolutely believe: a full-grown man in a green elf suit with curl-toed boots, naïve and wonder-struck in the big city …But Buddy is 30; he can show you how many that is on his fingers, flashing what look like boneless jazz hands. … It’s a tonic of a performance — the kind that makes you smile later, just thinking about it. The trouble is that Buddy is trapped inside Elf the Musical,” a creaky adaptation whose two-and-a-half-hour length seems designed less to maximize audience enjoyment than to ensure there’s an intermission that people can spend buying merch.
Theatermania (Meg Masseron): …Whereas Buddy’s film counterpart may come off as humorously cringe-inducing, Henson’s take is joyfully loveable. He has mastered a sort of nonchalant absurdity in Buddy’s personality, which feels more inviting, giving audiences no choice but to root for him, even when he unknowingly wreaks havoc. In a welcome departure from previous productions I’ve seen, Henson’s Buddy does not fall into the unfortunate category of a distasteful caricature of neurodiversity, proving that the humor in Meehan and Martin’s script does not have to come at the cost of integrity… Child actor Kai Edgar steals the show as Buddy’s half-brother Michael, shining alongside Ashley Brown as his mother Emily… Through Philip Wm. McKinley’s direction and Liam Steel’s choreography, the entire cast delivers holiday cheer through every lyric and dance step….
New York Theatre Guide (Caroline Cao): Elf The Musical … can overstuff itself with misfired quips upon quips, mistaking fluff for quality. Trading sincerity for schtick can deflate the humor (often nostalgic nods to the movie) when desperate to grab laughs. Although the musical is critical of the corporate grind of Christmas, a referential script can border into product placement. High-wattage star Sean Astin, as Santa Claus, finds his charms trapped in cloying references — ironically underlining how Astin himself effectively doubles as corporate antagonist Mr. Greenway…. Still, amid the humbugs is happiness. When this all-ages musical does land, it hits the sweet spots, bountiful with jabs at NYC culture, sight gags, and Liam Steel’s outsized, jaunty choreography. Additionally, the cast are a cornucopia of Christmas delights.
New York Theater (Jonathan Mandel): …The music is pleasant enough, the dancing at times exciting, and there are some wondrous moments in it, especially when the characters’ Christmas spirit provides the energy to lift Santa’s sparkly sleigh out over our heads. … But this latest production — overlong,, more dopey than witty, and mostly missing the spark of the original — largely demonstrates that, sometimes, Christmas spirit is not enough to keep a vehicle aloft… Why does this man in his thirties, raised among the industrious workers of a caring community, act like a not-very-smart seven-year-old? … There are supporting players who get their moments to shine – most notably Kayla Davion as Jovie, Buddy’s love interest; Kai Edgar and Jennifer Sanchez as Buddy’s half-brother and stepmother…
**********************
George Clooney & Grant Heslov’s Good Night, and Good Luck will begin previews Mar. 12, 2025 and open Apr. 3 at the Winter GardenTheatre, directed by David Cromer.
George Clooney (Edward R. Murrow) and more TBA.
Tune in to the golden age of broadcast journalism and Edward R. Murrow’s (Clooney) legendary, history-altering, on-air showdown with Senator Joseph McCarthy. As McCarthyism casts a shadow over America, Murrow and his news team choose to confront the growing tide of paranoia and propaganda, even if it means turning the federal government and a worried nation against them.
Video: Preview
**********************
Lisa Kenner Grissom’s here comes the night will run Jan. 16 – Feb. 16, 2025 (opening Jan. 18) at the Moving Arts Theatre, directed by Hailey McAfee.
Erika Soto (Maggie) and Meeghan Holloway (Olivia).
When Olivia, a musician’s wife and climate science advocate, invites Maggie, an old friend turned social media influencer, to spend the weekend while she has an at-home medical abortion, she doesn’t realize that Maggie is about to throw Olivia off course. And actually, these women of different generations are about to alter each other’s lives in ways they hadn’t expected or imagined. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?
**********************
Broadway Podcast Network’s “Sentimental Men” podcast will be released Nov. 22, hosted by Quincy Brown & Kevin Bianchi. Click here to listen to the podcast (1;07;57).
: Cynthia Erivo, who will discuss her take on “Elphaba” and the making of the film “Wicked.”
This is the second episode in the “Wicked” movie miniseries. The first episode features Grammy Award winner Ariana Grandewho plays ‘Glinda.’ Extended versions of each interview will be released Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, after the film is released, with more in-depth conversations about specifics from the film.
**********************
Celebration Theatre will present Azad Namazie, Blaire Battle, and Kaila Tacazon’s Tales of the Transcestors – The Divine Dec. 12-14 at the Greenway Court Theatre, directed by Nico Pang.
TBA.
The work reimagines folklore, mythologies, and spiritual guides across time and cultures. Through three interwoven stories rooted in Native Hawaiian tradition (Kapaemahu), Islamic mysticism (djinn), and spiritual alchemy (the Rebis), the production unearths personal and cultural histories to reclaim trans wisdom, healing, power, and joy. The Divine captures the tension between inherited memory and lived experience, building a portal for audiences to enter a “world between worlds”—where lineage, desire, time, and space are fluid and ever-shifting.
**********************
New York Croons for Christmas will take place Fri. Dec. 13 at 7 PM at the New York Irish Center (1040 Jackson Ave., Long Island City), hosted by Colm Reilly,
Carolyn Montgomery, Jeanne MacDonald, and Kathy Kaefer.
**********************
A Streetcar Named Desire will run Feb. 3-22, 2025 at London’s Noël Coward Theatre, followed by a run (Feb. 28 – Apr. 6, 2025) at at Brooklyn’s BAM, with a possible Broadway transfer, directed by Rebecca Frecknall.
Paul Mescal (Stanley Kowalski), Patsy Ferran (Stella), Anjana Vasan (Blanch), Dwane Walcott (Mitch), Eduardo Ackerman (Pablo Gonzales), Rob Dempsey (Doctor), Janet Etuk (Eunice Hubbel), Gabriela Garcia (Flower Seller/Nurse/Singer), Francesca Knight (Eunice Hubbel), Tom Penn (Doctor/Drummer), with Curtis Patrick, Constanza Ruff, and Jabez Sykes.
**********************
Chekhov’s The Seagull will run Jan. 16 – Feb.29, 2025 (opening Jan. 18) at the Odyssey Theatre, directed byBruce Katzman.
Sasha Alexancert, James Tupper, Cece Kelly, Carlos Carrasco, Carolyn Crotty, Joe Hulser and Will Dixon. Filling out the cast are Brianna Bryan, Matthew Hartley, Lukas Jann, and Hannah May Howard.
**********************
A special episode of the new spy series, “The Day of the Jackal,” will be screened Tues. Dec. 10 at 7:30 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
Eddie Redmayne
An action-packed cat-and-mouse chase across Europe updating the classic 1973 big screen thriller. Following the screening, hear Redmayne discuss the making of the series and his remarkable career.
**********************
Robin Fierce – FOREVER FESTIVE: A Holliday Special will take place Mon. Dec. 16 at 7:30 PM at CT’s TheaterWorks Hartford.
An unforgettable holiday edition of the Living Room Concert series, offering an intimate evening of storytelling from powerhouse star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 that promises to be fun, festive, and fabulously fierce!
**********************
Ensemble Theatre Company will present Colin Escott & Floyd Mutrux’s Million Dollar Quartet Dec. 5-22 (opening Dec. 7) at Santa Barbara’s New Vic, directed by Brian McDonald, with music direction by David Lamoureux.
Blake Burgess (Johnny Cash, Nick Voss (Elvis Presley), Will Riddle (Carl Perkins), Ian Fairlee (Jerry Lee Lewis), Janaya Mahealani Jones (Dyanne), Andy Hoff (Sam Phillips,) Jordan Lamoureux (Brother Jay), and Gus Graham (Fluke).
**********************
Hughie, by Eugene O’Neill, continues though Dec. 8 at Venice CA’s Pacific Resident Theatre, directed by Michael Rothhaar.
Anthony Foux and Stuart W. Howard.
1928. 3:00 a.m. on a muggy summer night in Manhattan. In the dingy lobby of a rundown hotel on a Westside street just off Times Square, two lonely souls share a wandering, one-sided conversation. A downtrodden, introverted Desk Clerk endures the ruminations of Erie Smith, a small-time gambler, haunter of the joints along the Great White Way, as he tries to talk himself out of his despair over the recent death of his only friend and good luck charm, Hughie. Nobel laureate Eugene O’Neill, at the height of his powers, took a break from writing the ineffably tragic “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” to pen this lighter one-act play, in which a brief night’s journey toward dawn kindles an uncharacteristic gleam of hope.
**********************
Grace Notes Quiz answers: Who’s That Ingenue?
1-G. Peggy Sawyer – 42nd Street
2-E. Anne Page – The Merry Wives of Windsor
3-I. Clara Johnson – Light in the Piazza
4-A. Laura Wingfield – The Glass Menagerie
5-J. Hope Harcourt – Anything Goes
6-D. Hope Cladwell – Urinetown
7-H. Polly Browne – The Boy Friend
8-C. Sharon McLonergan – Finian’s Rainbow
9-F. Johanna Barker – Sweeney Todd
10-B. Raina Petkoff – Arms and the Man