Today’s Highlights:
Ain’t No Mo’, by Jordan E. Cooper, directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, featuring Jordan E. Cooper (Peaches), Crystal Lucas-Perry (Passenger #5), Fedna Jacquet (Passenger #1), Marchant Davis (Passenger #2), Ebony Marshall-Oliver (Passenger #4), and Shannon Matesky (Passenger #3), with Nik Alexander, Jasminn Johnson, Michael Rishawn, Kedren Spencer, Brennie Tellu, and Emma Van Lare, opens at Broadway’s Belasco Theatre.
York Theatre Company‘s Stardust Road, by Susan H. Schulman, Michael Lichtefeld, Lawrence Yurman & Hoagy Bix Carmichael, directed by Schulman, featuring Marcus Blair, Sara Esty, Dion Simmons Grier, Danielle Herbert, Kayla Jenerson, Cory Linger, and Mike Schwitter, with Rachel Fairbanks and Drew Tanabe, opens at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Jeans.
Bald Sisters, world premiere by Vichet Chum, directed by Jesca Prudencio, featuring Coburn Goss, Jennifer Lim, Nima Rakhshanifar, Wai Ching Ho, and Francesca Fernandez McKenzie, opens at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.
The Brightest Thing in the World, world premiere by Leah Nanako Winkler, directed by Margot Bordelon, featuring Michele Selene Ang, Magan Hill, and Katherine Romans, opens at Yale Rep.
Christmas on the Rocks, an offbeat collection of twisted holiday tales by John Cariani, Judy Gold, Jeffrey Hatcher, Jenn Harris, Jacques Lamarre, Edwin Sanchez, and Matthew Wilkas, directed by Rob Ruggiero, featuring Jen Cody (The Woman), Ted Lange (The Bartender), and Harry Bouvy, opens at TheaterWorks Hartford.
Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical, written & directed by Valen Shore & Alison Zatta, featuring Riley rose Critchlow (Lance), Elizabeth Ho (Joey), Emily Lambert (Lou), Mia-Carina Mollicone (J.C.), Valen Shore (Chris), Nicole Wyland (Justin), and Alison Zatta (Marky Mark), opens at LA’s The Actors Company.
Broadway’s Mr. Saturday Night, featuring Billy Crystal, Randy Graff, David Paymer, Chasten Harmon, and Shoshana Bean, with Jordan Gelber, Brian Gonzales, and Mylinda Hull, begins streaming on BroadwayHD.
Ensemble Theatre Company‘s A Christmas Carol, adapted by Patrick Barlow, directed by Jamie Torcellini., featuring Mark Capri (Scrooge), Regina Fernandez, Bo Foxworth, Louis Lotorto, and Jenna Cardia, begins previews at Santa Barbara’s New Vic.
“Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” airs at 8 PM on NBC.
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A one-night-only performance of It’s a Wonderful Life, adapted by Joe Landry, will take place Mon. Dec. 12 at 8 PM at the Sheen Center, directed by Jack Cummings III.
Donna Lynne Champlin (George Bailey), Marc Kudisch (Nick the Bartender), Maryann Plunkett (Clarence), Mary Testa (Henry F. Potter), Barbara Walsh (Ma Bailey), Nick Westrate (Violet Bick), Michael Mastro (Uncle Billy), Barbara Andres (Mr. Gower), and Sherry D. Boone (Mary Hatch), with George Abud, Lauren Blackman, Michael Hartung, Colin Hanlon, Christopher Innvar, Tina Johnson, Kelly McAndrew, Jennifer Piech, Blair Ross, Tally Sessions, Cheryl Stern, and Tatiana Wechsler, with Tina Chilip, Tim Dolan, David Huynh, Francesca James, Kyra Kennedy, Erica Knight, Danny Kornfeld, Emma Orelove, Nancy Shayne, and John Wellmann.
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Frankie Grande (Victor Garber/Luigi) will depart Titanique on Dec. 22 at Off-Broadway’a Daryl Roth Theatre.
Grande’s replacement is TBA.
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Universal Music Group Theatrical, in association with Tina Sinatra and Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), has announced plans to develop Sinatra The Musical, a new musical based on the life and career of the legendary Frank Sinatra, with a book by Joe DiPietro, and directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshall.
It is New Year’s Eve, 1942, and a skinny 27-year-old Italian-American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York’s Paramount Theatre and give a performance that will change music history. As Frank Sinatra’s career suddenly skyrockets, he struggles with balancing the love of his wife, Nancy, against the demands and temptations of being the most popular singer in America. But when he begins a torrid affair with movie goddess Ava Gardner, his records stop selling and the press turns against him, sending his career into a tailspin. Driven by his devotion to his family, Sinatra employs his peerless artistry and dogged determination to stage the greatest comeback in show business history.
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Video: The complete Remember the Ribbon: A Tribute to World AIDS Day benefit concert, featuring Carolee Carmello, Darius Anthony Harper, Anthony Wayne, Tonewall, Broadway Sings, and more… (2:06:33)
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Get Happy: A Judy Garland Centennial Celebration will take place Mon. Dec. 12 at 8 PM at Carnegie Hall, written by Robert Cary & Jonathan Tolins, and directed by by Michael Arden, with music direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.
Jessica Vosk and Andy Karl.
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David Lindsay-Abaire’s new film adaptation of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” has recently wrapped filming, directed by Jonathan Kent.
Jessica Lange (Mary Tyrone), Ed Harris (James Tyrone), Ben Foster (Jamie), and Colin Morgan (Edmund).
The release date and additional information TBA.
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Ghostlight Records will release the cast album of Timothy Allen McDonald, Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson’s Between the Lines on Jan. 13, 2023 on streaming & digital formats. The musical ran in Summer 2022 at Off-Broadway’s Tony Kiser Theater.
Arielle Jacobs (Delilah), Jake David Smith (Prince Oliver), Vicki Lewis (Ms. Winx/Jessamyn Jacobs/Mrs. Brown/Kyrie), Hillary Fisher (Allie Princess Seraphima), Will Burton (Frump/Ryan), Jerusha Cavazos (Janice/Marina), John Rapson (Dr. Ducharme/Rapskulio), Wren Rivera (Jules/Ondine), Sean Stack (Martin/Troll/Dad/Delivery Person), and Julia Murney )Grace/Queen Maureen).
An empowering and enchanting new musical for anyone who has ever sought to find their place in the world. An outsider in a new town and a new school, Delilah seeks comfort in the pages of her favorite book, where she feels heard and understood by the handsome Prince Oliver. But as the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur in both extraordinary and astonishing ways, Delilah discovers how to find her place in the real world while keeping her dreams alive.
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Video: Audra McDonald, Bryce Pinkham, Kenny Leon, and more, share what to expect from the Broadway’s Ohio State Murders.
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Conservative political voices—including Texas Senator Ted Cruz—are turning a critical eye on Washington Post theatre critic Peter Marks following his positive review of Bruce Norris’ Downstate, currently making an extended Off-Broadway premiere at Playwrights Horizons through Dec. 22. Marks was forced to take his Twitter handle private after the brouhaha set his mentions ablaze.
Norris’ play is admittedly incendiary, centering on four men, all convicted of sex crimes, who share a group home in Illinois post-incarceration. One day, a man arrives to confront his childhood abuser. Marks’ review charges headfirst into the play’s tricky subject matter, using the headline, “Downstate is a play about pedophiles. It’s also brilliant.”
Writes Marks: “Take a deep breath and try to ruminate calmly on the position playwright Bruce Norris takes in his scintillating new play, Downstate: that the punishments inflicted on some pedophiles are so harsh and unrelenting as to be inhumane. Are you still reading? It’s almost impossible to broad-brush the perspective at the heart of this impeccably acted drama without sounding as if one is advocating some extraordinary level of consideration for individuals who have committed unspeakable crimes.” He goes on to write that the work depicts its characters “not as monsters but rather as complicated, troubled souls,” while the “most disagreeable character” is one of the predators’ victims.
The remarks follow the growth of so-called pedophilia as a rallying cry against the LGBTQ+ community amongst conservative voices. In recent months, depictions of gay and Trans characters in youth-aimed media have been characterized as “grooming” without evidence of any such agenda.
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Ralph Fiennes will read T.S. Eliot’s enigmatic masterpiece, “The Waste Land” on Mon. Dec. 5 at 7:30 at NYC’s 92Y. Although the live event is sold out, livestream tickets are now available on the link above.
The event marks the first time that Fiennes will read the iconic Eliot poem in front of a live audience – and he will do so on the very same stage where Eliot himself reflected on poetry and read from The Waste Land, among other works, in a 1950 appearance.
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Video: David Merino performs “Giants in the Sky” from the nursery-set production of Into the Woods at DC’s Signature Theatre.
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La Jolla Playhouse has announced its partial 2023-24 season (dates and creative teams TBA):
Love All (June/July, 2023), world premiere by Anna Deavere Smith, directed by Marcx Bruni. Casting TBA. The play follows the story of tennis icon Billie Jean King among the social upheaval and counterculture revolutions of the 1960s.
Is It Thursday Yet? (July/Aug. 2023), by Jenn Freeman & Sonya Tayeh, directed by Christopher Ashley. The play explores Freeman’s story as a woman re-examining her life after being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of 33.
The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical (Sept./Oct. 2023), by Joe Iconis & Gregory S. Moss, directed by Christopher Ashley.
Sumo (Sept./Oct. 2023)
Babbitt (Nov./Dec., 2023), by Joe DiPietro, directed by Christopher Ashley, starring Matthew Broderick.
World premiere musical (Winter 2024)
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Joe DiPietro’s new musical about Frank Sinatra is currently in development, directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. Additional details TBA.
The musical is set on New Year’s Eve 1942 as a 27-year-old Italian-American singer is about to step onto the stage of New York’s Paramount Theatre. As Sinatra’s career skyrockets, he struggles with balancing the love of his wife, Nancy, against the demands and temptations of his career. When he begins an affair with Ava Gardner, his records stop selling and the press turns against him, but one of the greatest comebacks in showbiz will follow.