Today’s Highlights:
Back to the Future: The Musical, by Bob Gale, Alan Silvestri & Glen Ballard, directed by John Rando, featuring Roger Bart (Doc Brown), Casey Likes (Marty McFly), Hugh Coles (George McFly) Liana Hunt (Lorraine Baines), Jelani Remy (Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry), Nathaniel Hackmann (Biff Tannen), Merritt David Janes (Strickland), and Mikaela Secada (Jennifer Parker), with Amber Ardolino, Will Branner, Victoria Byrd, Brendon Chan, Kevin Curtis, Nick Drake, Samuel Gerber, Marc Heitzman, Kimberly Immanuel, Joshua Kenneth Allen Johnson, Hannah Kevitt, JJ Niemann, Becca Petersen, Emma Pittman, Jonalyn Saxer, Blakely Slaybaugh, Gabi Stapula, and Daryl Tofa, opens at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre.
The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival’s special performance of Stew, by Zora Howard, directed by Tyler Thomas, featuring featuring Lisa Gay Hamilton (Mama), Roslyn Ruff (Lillian), Jasmine Ashanti (Nelly), and Samantha Miller (Lil’ Mama), at 8 PM at Pasadena Playhouse.
Broadway Stoppers with Glenn Rosenblum concert, with special guests Joshua Finkel and Alix Korey, at 7 PM at CA’s Coachella Valley Rep.
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Following its recent run at the Kennedy Center, Spamalot will return to Broadway, with previews beginning Oct. 31 and an opening set for Nov. 16 at the St. James Theatre, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes.
Casting and additional information TBA
Video: Highlights from the recent Kennedy Center production.
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Mischief Company’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong will run Aug. 9 – Sept. 10 (opening Aug. 11) at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Adam Meggido.
Adam Meggido, featuring Barltley Booz, Matthew Cavendish, Bianca Horn, Harry Kershaw, Chris Leask, Henry Lewis, Ellis Morris, Charlie Russell, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields, Greg Tannahill, Nancy Zamit, Stephen James Anthony, Ryan Vincent Anderson, Fred Gray, and Brenann Stacker. Rotating special guests: Bradley Whitford (Aug. 9-20), Daniel Dae Kim (Aug. 30 – Sept. 10)
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Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West is seeking submission for its 3rd annual New Musical Festival.
The festival is looking for writers who are interested in working on a staged reading of their musical in order to further its development and receive feedback. The selected submission will have the opportunity to present a staged reading of their works. The festival will take place in November (dates TBA).
Submissions can be emailed to newworks@musical.org. Those submitting should include a script, cast size, song demo(s), contact information, and other pertinent information about your new musical. Please submit your package by Aug. 28. The selections will be announced by the end of September. Selections will be presented under the AEA 29-hour staged reading guidelines. Click here for more information.
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Video: Tovah Feldshuh talks about her career (scroll down). 48:12
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Selina Fillinger’s POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive will run Sept. 16 – Oct. 22 (opening Sept. 20) at Berkeley Rep, directed by Annie Tippe.
Kim Blanck (Jean), Allison Guinn (Bernadette), Stephanie Pope Lofgren (Margaret), Deirdre Lovejoy (Harriet), Susan Lynskey (Stephanie), Stephanie Styles (Dusty (His Dalliance), and Dominique Ariel Toney (Chris).
When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. (Any resemblance to past White House shenanigans is purely coincidental.)
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Complete casting has been announced for the all-new production of The Wiz, which will launch its national tour Sept. 23 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, and open on Broadway in Spring 2024 at a theatre TBA, directed by Schele Williams, with choreography by Jaquel Knight, and music supervision by Joseph Joubert.
Wayne Brady (Wizard), Deborah Cox (Glinda), Melody A. Betts (Aunt Em/Evillene), Kyle Ramar Freeman (Lion), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Tinman), and Avery Wilson (Scarecrow), with Maya Bowles, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Jay Copeland, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Judith Franklin, Michael Samarie George, Collin Heyward, Amber Jackson, Olivia Jackson, Christina Jones, Polanco Jones, Kolby Kindle, Mariah Lyttle, Kareem Marsh, Anthony Murphy, Cristina Rae, Matthew Sims Jr, Avilon Trust Tate, and Keenan D. Washington. Casting for Dorothy TBA.
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Songbook Sundays continues Aug.13 at 5 & 7:30 PM at Jazz at Lincoln Centers’s Dizzy’s Club with Can’t Help Lovin’ Jerome Kern, hosed by Deborah Grace Winer.
La Tanya Hall, Margo Seibert, Robbie Lee, and Billy Stritch.
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WestFest, a celebration of new short plays, will run weekends Aug. 4-13 at LA’s Theatre West (reservations not required).
WEEK 1 (Aug. 4-6)
Princess Party, by Ashley Taylor, directed by Deanna Gandy, featuring Ashley Taylor & Elise Walters. In the wild world of children’s parties, there’s only room for one Cinderella.
T3 Trojan, by Judith Duncan, directed by Charlie Mount, featuring Sardia Robinson & Mary Somers. The future is yours – be careful with it.
Albuquerque, written & directed by Clara Rodriguez, with Saratoga Ballantine & Clara Rodruguez. You’d be surprised at what you can find in The Land of Enchantment.
Open Call, written & directed by Donald Moore, featuring With Maria Kress, Christopher Landis, and Cecil Jennings. Children of an idle brain begot of nothing but vain fantasy.
The Power of Nothing: A musical comedy, written & performed by Freddie Weber. I had to come here to get there.
WEEK TWO (Aug. 11-13)
Modern Love, written & directed by Thomas Mendola, featuring Scottie Nevil & Christopher Landis. Should you swipe right or left?
Anticipation, written & directed by Elayne, featuring Saratoga Ballantine & Phillip Sokoloff. Things that go limp in the night.
Sons of God, by Michael Van Duzer, directed by Rick Simone-Friedland, featuring David Mingrino & Michael Van Duzer. One Bar.Two men. The past collides with the present.
Issues, written & directed by Clara Rodriguez, featuring Scottie Nevil, Seemah Wilder Idelson, Steve Nevil, Riley Smith. Standing up for yourself is important, but sometimes it’s more relaxing to sit.
The Friction, by Chris DiGiovanni, directed by Donald Moore, featuring Cecil Jennings, Rick Simone-Friedland, Alexandria Sanders. Whether in the boardroom, barroom, or bedroom, there will be…
Snapshots: Jonathan and Emily, Chapter One, by Tom Walla, directed by Michael Van Duzer, featuring Ari Wojciech and Raquel Brooks. The first chapter of a relationship in six awkward scenes.
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William F. Brown & Charlie Smalls’ The Wiz will launch its national tour in Fall 2023, prior to its Broadway run (Spring 2024), directed by Schele Williams, with choreography by Jaquel Knight. Click here for the show’s website.
Wayne Brady (The Wiz, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Broadway), Deborah Cox (Glinda), Melody A. Betts (Aunt Em/Evillene), Kyle Ramar Freeman (Lion), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Tinman), and Avery Wilson (Scarecrow), with Maya Bowles, Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Jay Copeland, Allyson Kaye Daniel, Judith Franklin, Michael Samarie George, Collin Heyward, Amber Jackson, Olivia Jackson, Christina Jones, Polanco Jones, Kolby Kindle, Mariah Lyttle, Kareem Marsh, Anthony Murphy, Cristina Rae, Matthew Sims Jr, Avilon Trust Tate, and Keenan D. Washington.
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Complete casting has been announced for The Da Vinci Code, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff & Duncan Abel, to run Aug. 14 – Sept. 23 (opening Aug. 26) at ME’s Ogunquit Playhouse, directed by Leigh Toney.
Michael Urie (Professor Robert Langdon), Hannah Cruz (Sophie Neyeu), and Charles Shaughnessay (Sir Leigh Teabing), with Katya Collazo, Thursday Rarra, Howard Kaye, Tarik Lowe, Glenn Morizio, David Patterson, Marissa Parness, Jennifer Regan, and more TBA.
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A Streetcar Named Desire will run Sept. 3 – Oct. 1 (opening Sept. 8) at North Hollywood’s Sherry Theatre (11052 Magnolia Blvd.), directed by Steve Jarrard.
German Flores Alcala, RJ Cortana, Kathy Bell Denton, Joshua Farrell, Chuy Garcia, Wendy Garcia, Mark V. Jones, Harish Mandyam, Eve Richards, Jason Sino, Jennifer Skiffington, Kevin Grant Spencer and Meg Wallace.
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Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, which opens Aug. 19, has been extended through Sept. 5 at Venice’s Pacific Resident Theatre, directed by Elina Santos.
Richard Fancy, Scott Sheldon, and Spike Pulice.
A psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers and a tramp.
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Michael Frayn’s Noises Off will run Sept. 27 – Dec. 16 (opening Oct. 5) at Theatre Royal Haymarket, directed by Lindsay Posner.
Felicity Kendal (Dotty Otley), Jonathan coy (Frederick Fellows), Alexander Hanson (Lloyd Dallas), Matthew Horne (Garry Lejeune), Tamzin Outhwaite (Belinda Blair), Oscar Ratterham (Tim), Sasha Frost (Brooke Ashton), Pepter Lunkuse (Poppy Norton-Taylor), and more TBA.
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The Hudson Valley Dance Festival, in support of BCEFA, will take place Sat. Oct. 7 at 2 & 5 PM at a Hudson Valley location TBA.
Performers and choreographers TBA