Today’s Highlights:
Davis Gaines: Love is in the Air, both live and livestreamed concert, opens at NYC’s Green Room 42.
**********************
MCC Theater‘s 25th anniversary of Miscast will take place Mon. Apr. 7 at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with music direction by Will Van Dyke.
Sheryl Lee Ralph and MCC Youth Company Alum & Artist Travis Raeburn.
Annaleigh Ashford, Danielle Brooks, Tituss Burgess, Cole Escola, Jordan Fisher, Steven Pasquale, Andrew Rannells, Nicole Scherzinger, Britton Smith, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, Aaron Tveit, Jordan Tyson, Michael Urie, and more TBA.
**********************
The 2025 Building the Change Gala will take place Mon. Mar. 3 at 6 PM at NYC’s Rainbow Room, directed by Oliver Reid.
Phylicia Rashad, Luis A. Miranda, Jr. John Gore Organization, and Girl Be Heard.
Anika Noni Rose, and the original Broadway cast from Motown the Musical (Valisia LeKae, Charl Brown, Bryan Terrell Clark, Ryan Shaw, and Morgan James).
**********************
Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced its partial Inaugural Creative Collective season:
Camino Real ( dates TBA ), by Tennessee Williams, directed by Dustin Wills.
Spirit of the People (dates TBA ), world premiere by Jeremy O. Harris.
Not About Nightingales (dates TBA ), by Tennessee Williams, directed by Robert O’Hara.
World premiere (title & dates TBA ), inspired by Tennessee Williams, directed by Will Davis.
Vanessa (dates TBA ), by Samuel Barber & Gian Carlo Menotti.
**********************
The national tour of Beauty and the Beast will launch in July (date TBA) at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, directed & choreographed by Matt West.
Kyra Belle Johnson (Belle), Fergie L. Philippe (Beast), and more TBA.
**********************
Mfoniso Udofia’s The Grove, currently in previews, will open Feb. 19 and continue through Mar. 9 at Boston’s Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont St.), directed by Awoye Timpo.
Patrice Johnson Chevannes (Abasiama Ufot), Abigail C. Onwunali (Adiaha Ufot), Joshua Olumide (Disciple Ufot), Amani Kojo (Ekong Ufot), Aisha Wura Akorede (Toyoima Ufot), and Paul-Robert Pryce (Udosen Udoh), with Ekemini Ekpo, Janelle Grace, Dayenne CB Walters, Sharmarke Yusuf, Maduka Steady, Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Chibuba Bloom Osuala, and Awoye Timpo.
The story of a family homecoming, asking how we draw on the wisdom and beauty of our ancestors when the bonds of family are stretched to the limit. Abasiama’s eldest daughter Adiaha believes that becoming a writer can make her family proud, but at her graduation party, she has to choose whether to fulfill her parents’ desires or stay true to her own dreams.
**********************
Lillias White in concert will run Mar. 11-12 at LA’s Catalina Jazz Club.
**********************
Off-Broadway’s Labyrinth Theatre has announced its Barn Series of readings, to run Feb. 18-23.
Bodegueros (Feb. 18 at 7:15 PM), by Bobby Daniel Rodriguez, directed by Javier Molina. The Hermanos Rivera Deli & Grocery has served its community for more than thirty years but when their landlord decides to sell, it forces the Bodega’s owner and its regulars to reconcile the fact New York City is changing, along with their place in it.
The Starters (Feb. 19 at 7:15 PM), by Laura Winters, directed by David Zayas Jr. Matt Shears is one of the oldest players in the NFL. His wife Emily wants him out of the league, now, but when Matt’s plan to retire after a Super Bowl win gets derailed, he tries to convince her he should hold out for one more year.
Implicit Memory Systems: A Jungian Farce (Feb. 20 at 7:15 PM), by David Deblinger, directed by Dina Janis. Morris is tired of being emotionally triggered by men, women and animals. He leaps into the dream world of his unconscious where he is joined by two shape shifting guides: his deceased MA and DA…hoping the journey can lead him up and out of who he was, and into a new experience of who he is becoming.
My Body Says No (Feb. 21 at 7:15 PM); by Tomokoh Deblinger, directed by Dina Janis. “Why do I suddenly get so wet, so often, now that I am in my late forties?” A middle-aged woman is awakened by unpredictable physical responses that lead her on a dangerous journey.
The German (Feb. 22 at 2 :15 PM), written & directed by Lyle Kessler. A Man returns to the scene of the crime. A Jew and a German.
Don’t Believe in Fairies (Feb. 22 at 7:15 PM), by Elizabeth Narciso, directed by John Gould Rubin. In this retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream when Hermia is confronted with the choice to marry Demetrius, go to a nunnery, or die, this Hermia chooses death! But her father, Theseus, and the court aren’t having it. Soooooo, lost in a nunnery with Thisbe, moonshine and a tree, Hermia fights her way back to life with poetry, love and maybe just a little magic.
New York “Oh. The Need” Talkin’ Diary (Feb. 23 at 7:15 PM, by Bob Glaudini, directed by Lola Glaudini). A comedy, six scenes and an epilogue. 4 friends. Upstate New York. Shifting status. Things aren’t what they seem.
**********************
Donna McKechnie in concert will take place. Wed. Apr. 9 at 8:30 PM at LA’s Catalina Jazz Club.
**********************
Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie will run Mar. 28 – Apr. 20 (opening Mar. 29) at North Hollywood’s Two Roads Theatre, directed by Bill Sehres.
Dan Frischman (Erie Smith), Andy Forrest (Charlie Hughes), and Scott MacDonell (Charlie Hughes).
Set in a hotel lobby in New York City during the summer of 1928. Small-time gambler Erie Smith returns from a four-day drunk, and he boasts of his betting wins and carnal scores to the new night clerk. Slowly, however, his slick veneer thins, revealing a man broken over the death of his only friend — the hotel’s previous night clerk.
**********************
Label•less, a new musical by Lea & Drew Lachey, will run Mar. 20 -30 at Theatre Row, directed by Lea & Drew Lachey, with choreography by Lea Lachey.
A cast of young performers (TBA)
This 90-minute groundbreaking show takes audiences on an emotional journey through the challenges we all face, highlighting the power of resilience, empathy, and hope. With each story, label•less breaks down barriers and encourages us to see beyond labels, reminding us of our shared humanity.
**********************
Cybill Shepherd: Queen of the Lucky Club will run Apr. 18-19 at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club, with music direction bySunnie Paxson.
Cybill graciously shares the soundtrack of her life, the magic of Memphis music, and how she came to be Queen of the Lucky Club.
**********************
Arthur Miller’s The Price will run Feb. 19 – Mar. 15 (opening Feb. 21) at Theater at St. Clements, directed b Noelle McGrath.
Bill Barry (Victor), Janelle Farias Sando (Victor’s Wife), Cullen Wheeler (Walter), and Michael Durkin (Solomon), with John Palacio, Benjamin Russell, Joe Bowen, and Monica Lowy.
**********************
An Intimate Evening with Lucy Arnaz will run May 16-17 at LA’s Catalina Jazz Club.