GRACE NOTES: Thursday, July 27, 2023

 

Today’s Highlights:

  Audible‘s Center of the Universe, by Joan Vail Thorne, directed by Christopher Gatelli, featuring Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski, opens at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre.

  A Tailor Near Me, world premiere by Michael Tucker, directed by James Glossman, featuring Richard Kind and James Pickens Jr., begins previews at New Jersey Rep.

  Susan Edwards Martin: Unlimited concert, at 8 PM at LA’s Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel. : 310-472-3330

**********************

   Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, by Jocelyn Bioh, will begin previews Sept. 12 and open Oct. 2 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Whitney White.

  TBA.

  Jaja’s bustling hair braiding salon is in Harlem, where every day a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.

**********************

  Celebrity Autobiography will return Wed. Aug. 9, at 7 & 9 PM at to Off-Broadway’s Triad Theatre.

  Cecily Strong, Rachel Dratch, Jackie Hoffman, Mario Cantone, Tate Donovan, Alan Zweibel (9 PM only), and show creators, Eugene Pack & Dayle Reyfel.

**********************

  Is a 2024 Los Angeles revival of Fiddler on the Roof in the works, directed by Lonny Price and starring Jason Alexander?

**********************

  Elizabeth Baker’s Partnership will run Sept. 30 – Nov. 12 at the Mint Theatre, directed by Jackson Grace Gay.

  Gina Daniels, Joshua Echebiri, Gene Gillette, Olivia Gilliatt, Sara Haider, Christiane Noll, Tom Patterson, and Madeline Seidman.

  A story of yearning for more, but wrapped in the pink charmeuse of light comedy. Kate Rolling owns a small but very smart shop in Brighton and is eager to grow. When George Pillatt, owner of the biggest shop in Brighton, proposes a merger on favorable terms — including matrimony — Kate sees an irresistible business opportunity. “Oh, don’t worry about me,” Kate assures her colleagues, “I never expected anything great in the way of love.” But isn’t romance most likely when it’s least expected?  

**********************

   LA Opera will present Mozart’s Don Giovanni Sept. 23 – Oct. 15 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, conducted by James Conlon.

  Lucas Meachem (Don Giovanni) and Isabel Leonard (Donna Elvira), with Craig Colclough, Guanqun Yu and Isabel Leonard.

  His latest conquest ended in murder, and now serial seducer Don Giovanni is on the run from the law (and from all the women he’s wronged).

**********************

  Jay Armstrong Johnson’s I Put a Spell on You: The Witches Era, in support of the Ali Forney Center, will take place Oct. 23 at 8 PM at NYC’s Sony Hall.

  Allison Robinson, Amanda Williams Ware, and more TBA.

**********************

  John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea will run  Oct. 30 – Jan. 6, 2024 (opening Nov. 13) at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Jeff Ward.

  Aubrey Plaza (Roberta) and Christopher Abbott (Danny).

  Have you ever been caught in an earthquake? A chance meeting. A dive bar. Some encounters are so dangerous and so beautiful, they redefine the meaning of love. Follow two desperate people in the Bronx, Danny and Roberta, as they walk the line between destruction and transcendence.

**********************

  Pasadena Playhouse has announced its 2023-24 season. Casting, creative teams, and additional information TBA.

  The Sound Inside (Sept. 6 – Oct. 1, opening Sept. 10), by Adam Rapp. Not everything is as it seems behind the ivy-covered walls of Yale, where an unlikely bond leads to an unthinkable favor. Writing professor Bella Baird is looking for answers, but a fateful encounter with a mysterious student could lead to life-changing consequences for both of them. Nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play, Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp’s haunting 90-minute thriller will leave you wondering who you can trust and remind you everyone has a story — the question is how it ends.

  Inherit the Wind (Nov. 1-26, opening Nov. 5), by By Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, directed by 

  The Pasadena Playhouse Holiday Variety Show (Dec. 7 – 23, opening Dec. 10), created by Sam Pinkleton.

  Kate (Jan. 17 – Feb. 11, 2024), written and performed by Kate Berlant.  Kate explores the events of her life that have brought her to this moment.

  One of the Good Ones (Mar. 13 – Apt. 7), by Gloria Calderón Kellett. When the “perfect” Latina daughter brings her boyfriend home to meet the parents, her family’s biases and preconceptions are put on full display.

   Jelly’s Last Jam (May 28 – June 23).

**********************

  The Geffen Playhouse has announced its selection of LA-based writers to participate in the 2023/2024 cycle of The Writers’ Room, a forum for engagement and collaboration between LA. playwrights.

 Ashley August, Paris Crayton III, Christina Ham, Paloma Nozicka, Alexis Roblan, and the musical-writing team of Jennifer Chang and Inara George.

At the conclusion of the residency, each playwright will have the opportunity to further develop their completed draft in a culminating reading produced by the Geffen.

**********************

  A studio cast album of Oklahoma, the first to feature the complete score with Robert Russell Bennett’s original orchestrations, is in the works, conducted by Jon Wilson leading the Sinfonia of London. The album is expected to be released Sept. 15 on all platforms.

  Sierra Boggess (Laurey), Nathaniel Hackmann (Curly), Rodney Earl Clarke (Jud), Jamie Parker (Will Parker), Sandra Marvin (Aunt Eller), and Louise Dearman (Ado Annie), Nadim Naaman (Ali Hakim), Leo Roberts (Andrew Carnes), Juan Jackson (Ike Skidmore), Will Richardson (Joe), Sejal Keshwala (Gertie Cummings), Emma Kingston (Kate), Kelly Mathieson (Ellen), Rebekah Lowings (Virginia), Charlotte Kennedy (Vivian), Ceili O’Connor (Sylvie), Danny Whitehead (Fred), Michael Colbourne (Cord Elam), and Freddie King (Farmer).

**********************

  Mint Theater has announced complete casting forElizabeth Baker’s Partnership, to run Sept. 30 – Nov. 12 (opening Oct. 19), directed by Jackson Grace Gay.

  Christiane Noll, Gina Daniels, Gene Gillette, and Tom Patterson, with Joshua Echebiri, Madeline Seidman, and Sara Haider.

  A light comedy from 1917 about Kate Rolling, a shop owner in Brighton eager to grow her small, but smart, business. And the opportunity to do so comes along—with a marriage proposal, too!—when George Pillatt pitches a merger with his shop, the biggest in Brighton.

**********************

  WestFest will run Aug. 4-13, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM at at LA’s Theatre West. Reservations not required.

WEEK ONE (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 one room for Cinderella.

 T3 Trojan, by Judith Duncan, directed by Charlie Mount, featuring Sardia Robinson, Mary Somers

   Albuquerque, written & directed by Clara Rodruguez, featuring Saratoga Ballantine, and Clara Rodriguez

  Open Call, written & directed by Donald Moore, featuring Maria Kress, Christopher Landis, Cecil Jennings.

  The Power of Nothing: A musical comedy, written & performed by Freddie Weber.|

WEEK TWO (Aug. 11-13)
  Modern Love, written & directed by Thomas Mendola, featuring Scottie Nevil and Christopher Lanids.

  Anticipation, written & directed by Elayne Heilveil, featuring Saratoga Ballantine and Phillip Sokoloff.

  Sons of God, by Michael Van Duzer, directed by Rick Simone-Friedland, featuring David Mingrino and Michael Van Duzer.

  Issues, written & directed by Clara Rodriguez, featuring Scottie Nevil, Seemah Wilder Idelson, Steve Nevil, Riley Smith.

  The Friction, by Chris DiGiovanni, directed by Donald Moore, featuring Cecil Jennings, Rick Simone-Friedland, Alexandria Sanders.

 


Posted

in

by

Tags: