GRACE NOTES: Thursday, July 9, 2020

 

Today’s Highlights:

* London’s National Theatre 2016 production of The Deep Blue Sea, by Terrence Rattigan, directed by Carrie Cracknell, featuring Helen McCrory, Nick Fletcher, and Tom Burke, with Marion Bailey, Hubert Burton, Yolanda Kettle, Adetomiwa Edun, James Alper, Katy Brittain, Elsie Fallon, Nick Figgis, Andrew Lewis, and Siân Polhill-Thomas, streamed for FREE at 2 PM ET here (and remains available for free through July 16 at 2 PM ET).

* Our Leading Men FREE concert, featuring Ben Davis, Davis Gaines, Mykal Kilgore, and Jay Armstrong Johnson, streamed at 8:15 CT at The Muny.

* LA’s Fountain Theatre Zoom Conversation with playwright Robert Schenkkan, moderated by Stephen Sachs, at 4 & 7 PM PT.

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  New York Theatre Barn presents its New Works Series, offering weekly excerpts from upcoming works.

Each live 40-minute episode, which will air every Wednesday at 7 PM ET, includes excerpts from 2 mew musicals and a conversation with the creators. Donations are encouraged, with 50% of the proceeds going to different charity that supports Black lives and civil rights.

* Francois and the Rebels, by Jaime Cepero, featuring L Morgan Lee and Alex Lugo

* American Morning, by Timothy Huang, featuring Marc dela Cruz, Raymond J. Lee, and Cathy Ang.

* Talk to Me, by Charlie Sohne & Tim Rosser, featuring Josh Shapiro and Brynn Williams.

* F.L.I.P.P.E.D., by J. Oconer Novarro, featuring Jaygee Macapugay.

* iAmericano!, by Michael Barnard, Carrie Rodriguez & Jonathan Rosenberg,

* Tenn, by Jullian Hornik, featuring Christian Probst, about Tennessee Williams.

* Forget Me Not, by Kate Thomas & Joey Contreras, featuring Jacob Dickey, Amanda Lopez, Diana Huey, Kerstin Anderson, and Michael Williams.

* A Crossing, by Mark St. Germain & Zoe Sarnak.

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  Video: “Stars in the House,” with special guests Bernadette Peters and Tom Viola.   (1:03:08)

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#WhileWeBreathe: A Night of Creative Protest, an evening of short works written & directed by theatre alums, in support of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, will premiere Wed. July 29 at 9 PM ET here.  Casting TBA.

The evening will feature at least 11 world-premiere short works, written and produced in response to the current moment. Following the premiere, all of the works will remain available for viewing.

Lee Edward Colston II, Arvind Ethan David, Cheryl Davis, Nathan Alan Davis, Steve Harper, Bianca Sams, Keenan Scott II, Aurin Squire, Khari Wyatt, and Karen Zacarias.

Steven Broadnax III, Bianca LaVerne Jones, Patricia McGregor, Pratibha Parmar, and Charles Randolph-Wright.

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  Video:  Choreographer Denis Jones answered viewers questions about TootsieHoliday InnHoneymoon in Vegas, and more.  (1:10:33)

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  Showtime is developing a new limited series, “Blackbird: Lena Horne and America,” which is being written by Horne’s granddaughter Jenny Lumet.

The series will span 60 years of Horne’s life, beginning with her early-career years dancing at the famed Cotton Club in the 1930s.

Casting, timeline, and additional information TBA.

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  Jude Law is in talks to star as Captain Hook in the upcoming film, “Peter & Wendy,” directed by Toby Halbrooks.

Additional casting and more information TBA.

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  Samuel French has announced the finalists in its Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, with Dominique Morisseau as this year’s honorary festival playwright.    Click here for additional information.

Originally scheduled to take place this August at the Vineyard Theatre, the performance aspect will be removed from the festival with the six winners chosen through reading evaluation only. The winners will be announced on Aug. 20 at a private online celebratory event.

  Will Arbery, George Brant, Larissa Fasthorse, Nambi E. Kelley, Kimber Lee, Madhuri Shekar, Karen Zacarías, Nan Barnett, and Susan Westfall


* A Christmas Pickle, by Uma Incrocci
* Alligators, Minks + New Money, by Danielle Eliska Lyle
* Beech. Oak. Iris., by Julianne Jigour
* Cara has a Hole in Her Head, by Elise Wien
* Chimera, by Haley Rice
* Closing Doors, by John Minigan
* Crush, by Krista Knight
* Drop, by Caitlin Duffy
* First Born, by Cristina Luzárraga
* He Misses, by Patrick Vermillion
* I Didn’t Think You’d Be So Unhappy, by Shara Feit
* Inevitable, by Bethany Dickens
* Laces, by Makaela Shealy
* Love and the Fear of It All, by Andrew Rincón
* Masking Our Blackness, by Vincent Terrell Durham
* Meditaysh, by Veronika Gribanova
* My Body, by Rachel Bublitz
* Party People, by Lisa Mongillo
* Sincerely, Best Wishes, Regards, by Gillian Beth Durkee
* Slow Jam, by Caity-Shea Violette
* Testimony, by Miranda Huba
* The Falling Man, by Gethsemane Herron-Coward
* The Improv Class, by John Connon
* The Remains, by Andrew Piechota
* Three Anne Franks, by Maya Macdonald
* Uncovering, by Erin Mallon
* Voir Dire, by Carissa Atallah
* We Are Wombats, by Megan Chan Meinero
* We’re All Athletes, by Seth McNeill
* You’re My Favorite, by Jenny King

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  Video: Theatre celebrities honor playwright Theresa Rebeck, including Katie Finneran, Janet McTeer, Julie White, Raúl Esparza, and more, to celebrate the July 15 release of “Theresa Rebeck: Collected Plays Volume 5” (from 2011-19).

No word yet when the compendium will be available.

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Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater  presents a podversation, “All the World’s a Stage,” with Stephen Spinella on Mon. July 13 at 7:30 PM ET, hosted by Nathan Windelstein.

Spinella will discuss his approach to text and the character of the great melancholic enigma Jacques from As You Like It.

Click here if you would like to ask a question (deadline: July 13 at 10 AM ET)

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  Video: 27 ballet dancers from companies around the world perform the main theme from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake — each from their respective bathtubs (or pools).  Scroll down…   OMG! Stunning.

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  The 22nd Broadway Barks star-studded dog & cat adoption event, this year titled “Broadway Barks Across America,” will take place Thurs. July 16 at 7:30 PM ET, hosted by Bernadette Peters, and in support of BC/EFA.

Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Betty Buckley, Danny Burstein, Kristin Chenowith, Victoria Clark, Alan Cumming, Ted Danson, Ariana DeBose, Raúl Esparza, Gloria Estefan, Sutton Foster, Victor Garber, Whoopie Goldberg, Jeff Goldblum, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Joel Grey, Josh Groban, Jake Gyllenhaal, Julie Halston, Jon Hamm, Emmylou Harris, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane, Laura Linney, Rebecca Luker, Audra McDonald, Malcom McDowell, Laurie Metcalf, Bette Midler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Bebe Neuwirth, Alex Newell, Mandy Patinkin, Randy Rainbow, Andrew Rannells, John Stamos, Mary Steenburgen, Will Swenson, Michael Urie, Nia Vardalos, Adrienne Warren, and Vanessa Williams.

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  Laguna Playhouse has delayed the start of its 2020-21 season, and will now begin in early 2021.

The 7 productions in the season will be announced soon.

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Carol Channing‘s last 2 albums will be released digitally on July 10 (link for downloading not available until July 10)

“For Heaven’s Sake” is a collection of classic spiritual songs originally released in 2009.

“True to the Red, White & Blue” with 29 tracks, was originally released in 2011.

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  VideoJames Earl Jones reads Frederick Douglass’ speech, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”

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  Paul Gordon’s “No One Called Ahead,” a new musical film, directed by Tim Kahani, will premiere  Sun. July 12 at 6 PM ET here.

 Justin Matthew Sargent, Lora Lee Gayer, Ann Harada, Storm Lever, Morgan Weed, and Pamela Winslow Kashani.

Ben is an artist who encounters the spirits of several memorable women during a weekend retreat.

  Video: Trailer

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  Video: “The Schuyler Sisters” from Hamilton… in MCC Theater’s MisCast (2016). Fabulous! Do not miss this!

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&   Oprah Winfrey, The New York Times and Lionsgate are partnering on a series of feature films and television shows based on “The 1619 Project.”

The collaboration was announced nearly a year after the Times debuted “The 1619 Project” series to re-examine the legacy of slavery in the United States on the 400th anniversary of the first Africans’ arrival in Virginia.

Timeline and additional information TBA.

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