Today’s Highlights:
A Cinderella Christmas, by Kris Lythgoe, directed by Bonnie Lythgoe, featuring Joely Fisher (Baroness), Veronica Dunne (Cinderella), Jennifer Leigh Warren (Fairy Godmother, Ben Giroux (Buttons), Patrick Ortiz (Prince), Austyn Myers (Dandini), and Jeff Summer & Mark Gagliardi (Sister), with Becky Lythgoe, Ashley Chavvaria, Alex Tho, and Alissa Wilsey, opens at Laguna Playhouse.
Gingold Theatrical Group‘s FREE Speakers Corner New Play Cohort 2023, offering new play readings, opens at NYC’s 520 8th Ave. (3rd floor)
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MA’s Barrington Stage Company has announced its 2024 season. Dates, casting, and additional information TBA.
La Cage aux Folles, directed by Alan Paul.
Next to Normal, directed by Alan Paul.
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Complete casting has been announced for the world premiere of Kristen Adele Calhoun’s Black Cypress Bayou, to run Feb. 7 – Mar. 17, 2024 (opening Feb. 15) at the Geffen Playhouse, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene.
Amber Chardae Robinson (Taysha Hunter), Brandee Evans (LadyBird “Lady” Manifold), Angela Lewis (RaeMeka “Meka” Manifold-Baler) and Kimberly Scott (Vernita Manifold).
On a hot summer night in Texas, Vernita Manifold summons her two daughters down to the bayou with a secret too big to keep. The richest, meanest man in town is dead, and the Manifold women know more than they’re saying. As secrets begin to surface, the bonds between the women, their town, and the legacy of their ancestors all come to a head. Black Cypress Bayou is a hilarious, suspenseful world premiere about loyalty, healing, and comeuppance.**********************
Sandy Rustin’s Mystic Pizza will run Jan. 19 – Feb. 11 (opening Jan. 20) at CA’s La Mirada Theatre, directed by Casey Hushion. with choreography by Connor Gallagher, and music direction by Kristin Stowell.
Casting TBA.
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A Toast to Steve & Eydie will take place Mon. Mar. 18 at 7:30 PM at Carnegie Hall.
David Lawrence and Debbie Gravitte.
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Rogue Machine Theatre‘s Middle of the World, by Juan Jose Alfonso, will run Jan. 20 – Mar. 4, 2024 (opening Jan. 27) at Hollywood’s Matrix Theatre, directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos.
Cheryl Umaña (Victoria), Christian Telesmar Glenn Joyne), Leandro Cano (Bob Gonzalez), Jennifer Pollono (Barbara Blanchard), and Dan Lin (Warren Lim).
An unlikely encounter between two individuals sets in motion a story of redemption and an unexpected alliance that straddles two countries and two very different work cultures.
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Pasadena Playhouse has announced that the world premiere of Nina Meehan, Daniel Mertzlufft & Jacob Ryan Smith’s Grumpy Monkey, The Musical will run Feb. 3 – Mar. 3, 2024 at Pasadena’s Porticos Art Space, directed by Meehan.
Hao Feng (Jim Panzee), Marc Ginsburg (Norman), Kay Sibal (Snake), Ciarra Stroud (Marabou), and Frankie Zabilka (Lemur), with Danny Holmberg.
Meet Jim Panzee and all his friends as they enjoy a wonderful day of exciting adventures. There’s just one problem; Jim is in no mood for any fun OR games and no one knows why!
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New York Theatre Barn will host A Day at the Stand on Sat. Dec. 9 at Noon at the Tree Riders NYC Christmas tree stand in NYC’s East Village. The concert will also be livestreamed on the New York Theatre Barn YouTube channel.
Aaron Kenny, Rob Berliner, Harrison Bryan, S.C. Lucier, Meghan Rose, David Nehls, Joriah Kwamé, Nico Juber, Joe Barros, and Matthew Puckett.
Aaron Kenny, Rob Berliner, Harrison Bryan, Cheyenne Taylor Ballew, MaKayla Barksdale, Georgia Billington, Jairus Bob, Indya Emelyn Cherise, Alexandra Derousie, Marissa DeVries, Aakash Dookhie, Camila Fernandez, Hallee Hazelton, Ileann, JoJo, Joshua Irby-Shabazz, Da’Marion Ta’sean Jones, Daniel LaMond, Jordan Livingston, Rachel Locke, Sophia Lopez, Ju’el Martin, Mattie MacFalls, Valeria N. Mictil Rivera, Bailey Monet, Camille Paré, Teresa Peroni, Kyle Rehme, Alicia Rignola, Iris Sandoval, Elisa Shaw, Ollice Spaulding, Jonah Staskel, Claire Sutton, Jaeden Thomas, and Kimora Whitacre.
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Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater has announced its late 2023- 24 season:
The Country Wife presentation (Mon. Dec. 11), by Maltby & Shire, directed by Maltby, with choreography by Lisa Shriver, featuring Nicholas Edwards, Carson Elrod, Jennifer Fouché, Andy Grotelueschen, Eddie Korbich, Cedric Lamar, Kristolyn Lloyd, Ellyn Marie Marsh, Brad Oscar, Julian Remulla, Jelani Remy, Christina Sajous, and Lauren Worsham.
Medea: Re-Versed (Sept. 12 – Oct. 15, opening Sept. 23), by Luis Quintero & Nathan Winkelstein, directed by Winelstein, featuring feature Sarin Monae West and more TBA. An ice-cold, high-octane adaptation of Euripides’ play written in battle rap verse, this brand-new hip-hop version of Medea sheds contemporary light on the classic tragedy of family, power, and revenge – as terrifying and shocking today as it was two thousand years ago. Quintero’s version of the story reignites the sacred rage of our ancestors and illuminates in the most human terms the extraordinary lengths that some people will travel to even the scales of justice.
Podcasts (various dates), featuring Miriam Silverman, Bill Camp, Hamish Linklater, Michael Stuhlbarg, Zainab Jah, and more…
Revelation Readings (in-person on various dates, and at various locations), featuring Jordan Boatman, Will Brill, Arnie Burton, Reeve Carney, Christian Coulson, Kelly Curran, Santino Fontana, Rebecca Hall, Chukwudi Iwuji, Mark Linn-Baker, Peter Macon, Audra McDonald, Jacob Mint-Trent, Patrick page, Lorenzo Pisoni, Lily Santiago, Alexandra Silber, Myra Lucretia Taylor, John Douglas Thompson, Matthew Rauch, Raphael Nash Tompson, and John Yi.
Short New Play Festival (dates and plays TBA), featuring classically-inspired 10-minute plays.
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An industry presentation of Charlie Barnett’sThe Last Days of Cleopatra will take place on Dec. 14 at Off Broadway’s Theatre Row, directed by Tim Caruso, with music direction by Matthew Smedal.
Matt Bogart (Richard Burton), Shereen Ahmed (Elizabeth Taylor), Nikita Burshteyn (Eddie Fisher), Lauren Zakrin (Bianca D’Ambrosio), Jed Resnick (Joseph Mankiewicz), De’Lon Grant (Rex Harrison), George Abud (Fred E. Smith), Milo Alosi (Giuseppe), Fred Berman (Paulo), and Dee Roscioli (Sybil Burton), with Kaleigh Cronin, Ben Lurye, Sheridan Mirador, Jenna Lea Rosen, Teddy Trice, and Zuri Washington.
The musical comedy centers on the scandalous affair between costars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor following the filming of the 1963 “Cleopatra.” **********************
The 18th annual Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals will run Jan. 12-14 at CT’s Goodspeed. Casting and additional information TBA.
Photosynthesis (Jan. 12 at 7 PM), by Claudine Mboligikpelani Nako. Nika is an extremely talented floral artist and the sole owner and operator of Miss Nika’s Awesome Blossoms. As Nika feels pressure to maintain the facade of “thriving” as a Black female business owner and community role model, she increasingly resents that she makes a living delivering joy to other people while she can’t seem to hang onto any for herself. When her rickety old Volkswagen Beetle breaks down it sends her into a breakdown of her own. Nika discovers that her own broken parts may need repairing as well.
Festival Cabaret (Jan. 12 at 9:30 PM): Nevado Lozan
Seminars (Jan. 13) from 10 AM – 1 PM
2024 Terris Theatre Season Announcement (Jan. 13 at 3 PM)
Symposium: Getting to Know Maggie (Jan. 13 4:30 PM)
Letters to the President (Jan. 13 at 7:30 PM), by Michael Bello, Jessica Kahkosaka, Ari Afsar & Candace Quarrels, Preston Max Allen, Simone Allen, Dr. Dawn Avery, Nick Blaemire, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Elliah Heifetz, Anna K. Jacobs, Naomi Matlow & Teresa Lotz, Madeline Myers, Ronvé O’Daniel & Jevares Myrick, Rona Siddiqui, Mark Sonnenblick, Will Van Dyke & Jeff Talbott, Ben Wexler, & Zack Zadek. Since George Washington took office in 1783, writing letters to the President has provided citizens of all ages, races, political parties, and backgrounds an outlet to express their most personal concerns, hopes, and dreams for America. Letters to the President reimagines this historic canon of letters as a multi-composer musical event, with each song inspired by an individual letter from the archive. This presentation features brand-new material that has been written, created, and developed after the powerful cabaret at last year’s Festival.
Festival Cabaret: Nikki Lynette, (Jan. 13 at 9:30 PM.
The Snow Goose (Jan. 14 at 1 PM), by Claire McKenzie & Scott Gilmour. The story of the unlikely friendship that forms between Rhayader, an outsider who has retreated from the world, and a young girl, Fritha, when they rehabilitate an injured snow goose. As they nurse the bird back to flight, their friendship grows as the threat and horror of an impending world war looms. Though the pair come from very different experiences, their paths seem destined to join in the face of a changing world.
Meet the Writers Q&A (Jan. 14 at 3:30 PM). Gain insight into the inspirations and processes of the writers during this lively festival wrap-up discussion.
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The 2023 Red Bucket Follies (which took place Dec.4 & 5), has announced a fundraising total of $4,553,203 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
The top overall fundraiser for the year was the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along, which raised $631,932. The highest fundraising Broadway play was Purlie Victorious, which raised $87,781. The top Off-Broadway fundraiser was Little Shop of Horrors, raising of $52,727, and the highest fundraising national tour was the Munchkinland company of Wicked, which raised $202,894.
The award for best presentation went to the company of The Lion King, who presented a piece challenging toxic masculinity.
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(online & in-person): Red Bull Theater presents a reading of Edward Young’s The Revenge on Mon. Jan. 22 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons, directed by Nathan Winkelstein.
Christian Coulson, Merritt Janson, Peter Macon, Ismenia Mendes, Matthew Rauch, and Alexandra Silber.
Immensely popular in the late 18th and early 19th century, this potboiler tells a tale that Shakespeare audiences will recognize – a general and his new bride manipulated to tragic ends by a supposed friend. But in this tale, it is the Moor, Zanga, seeking righteous vengeance on the hated conquerors of his people, who fulfills the role of the friend turned traitor. The fiery Zanga, a favorite role of both Ira Aldridge and Edmund Kean, finally gets his return to the spotlight.
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Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters has announced its Winter 2024 season:
The Christine Jorgensen Show (Feb. 8 – Mar. 3), by Donald Steven Olson, directed by Michael Barakiva & Zoë Adams.
Ibsen’s Ghost: An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy (Mar. 2 – Apr. 14) written & performed by Charles Busch, directed by Carl Andress.
The Slow Dance (Mar. 8-23), by Lisi DeHaas, directed by Lily Kanter Riopelle.
King (Mar. 26 – Apr. 14), written & performed by Pat Kinevane, directed by Jim Culleton.
Not Now (Apr. 3-21), by David Ireland, directed by Max Elton, featuring Matthew Blaney and Stephen Kennedy.