Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be limited theatre news for the foreseeable future. I will continue to search for anything meaningful and/or fun to report. Stay safe and healthy.
Today’s Highlights:
* BroadwayHD‘s Falsetto’s Singalong FREE benefit presentation, in support of BC/EFA, featuring Christian Borle, Stephanie J. Block, Andrew Rannells, Brandon Uranowitz, Anthony Rosenthal, Tracie Thoms, and Betsy Wolfe, at 8 PM ET.
* A Night with the Buddy Holly Boys livestreamed concert, featuring Andy Christopher, Joe Cosmo Cogen, Kyle Lacy and Nathan Yates Douglass, at 8 PM CT at The Muny.
* Kernel of Sanity FREE livestream reading, by Kermit Frazier, directed by Gregg Daniel & Paula Vogel, featuring Matthew Hancock, Abigail Breslin, Josh Hamilton, and Miatta Lebile, at 7 PM ET here, in support of Martha’s Table, followed by a discussion on Zoom.
* Will Reynolds: New Songs online concert, with special guests Adam Kaplan, Aisha Jackson, Kerstin Anderson, and Chris Ams, at 7 PM ET here.
* “Homeland” online discussion, with Alex Gansa, Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, streamed at 5 PM ET here.
* Musical Theatre Audition MasterClass, with instructors Debbie Gravitte & Michael Orland, special guests Kelli O’Hara and Jessica Vosk, and singers Rebecca Kramski, Amanda Kruger, Aidan Van Eyk, Rich Warren, Lauren Woods, and Mike Haber (with alternate Aidan Ramirez) at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on Zoom (ID: 663 981-0058, no password required).
**********************
The Music Man will begin previews Apr. 7, 2021 and open May 20 at the Winter Garden Theatre, directed by Jerry Zaks, with choreography by Warren Carlyle, and music direction by Patrick Vaccariello.
Hugh Jackman (Professor Harold Hill), Sutton Foster (Marian Paroo), Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Shinn), Jefferson Mays (Mayor Shinn), Marie Mullen (Mrs. Paroo, and Shuler Hendlsey (Marchellus Washburn), with more TBA.
Rehearsals will begin Feb. 8.
**********************
Video: “Stars in the House” with special guests Vanessa Williams, Darius de Haas, and NAACP Legal Defense Fund Associate Director-Counsel Janai Nelson. (1:04:56)
**********************
Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater reading of C.A. Johnson’s When is now available through June 27, directed by Taylor Reynolds.
Portia and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.
Maribel loves costume dramas. Her daughter Jessie loves her. On any giving day, their daily “Downton Abby” watch is puncuated by the plunking of piano keys and the flurry of strings, but today there’s much more on the menu. Maribel really wants to fix her daughter’s love life. And despite her mother’s many diversions, Jessie wants her mother to face the real music: the world is changing, and they could both use a little fresh air.
**********************
Broadway On Demand will present the Korean hit musical Xcalibur, by Frank Wildhorn, Ivan Menchell & Robin Lerner, on Sat. June 27 at 8 PM ET, directed by Stephen Rayne.
Kai (King Arthur), and many more.
The musical reinterprets the British legend of King Arthur.
**********************
Video: “This Dance Is For You” from Kent Staines, Colleen Dauncey & Akiva Romer-Segal’s The Louder We Get, which was filmed remotely by each of the participants in honor of the graduating class of 2020 who won’t have the opportunity to attend their proms and graduation, and in celebration of Pride Month 2020.
**********************
Project Sing Out, in support of the Educational Theatre Foundation, will take place Mon. July 20 at 7 PM ET here, with music direction by Ted Arthur.
Chita Rivera, Don Cheadle, Vanessa Williams, Audra McDonald, LaChanze, Ruthie Ann Miles, Brandon Victor Dixon, Ramin Karimloo, Ali Stroker, Will Swendson, Javier Muñoz, Jordan Fisher, Jenna Ushkowitz, Peppermint, Jamie Brewer, Celia Rose Gooding, Adam Jacobs, Ana Villafañe, Rodney Hicks, Jon Rua, Telly Leung, Quentin Early Darrington, Jelani Alladin, Joshua Castille, Antonio Cipriano, Ilda Mason, and Haily Kilgore.
**********************
RIP: Australian actor Michael Falzon has died aged 48, following a cancer battle.
The star of the original Australian production of We Will Rock You – who was hand-picked by Ben Elton and Queen for the role – was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of germ cell cancer last year.
Falzon had appeared in a number of Australian and international musical theatre productions, including The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore with Opera Queensland in his early career, as well as War of the Worlds, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Rock of Ages, as well as reprising his We Will Rock You role.
**********************
Video: “The Story Goes On,” with Liz Callaway, Victoria Clark, Laura Benanti and her mom Linda Benanti, Betsy Wolfe, NaTasha Yvette Williams and Ann Harada. Stunning.
**********************
LA’s Skylight Theatre Company presents its new reading series:
June 25 at 3 PM PT: The Sex Seance, by Henry Alexander Kelly, directed by Bruce Lemon Jr., featuring Jasmine Meadows, Carene Rose Mekertichyan. Before a “sexy-time” Zoom call, a lesbian couple first banish a ghost haunting one of their apartments.
July 2 at 3 PM PT: A scene from Lavender Men, by Roger Q. Mason, directed by Lovell Holder. Sneak a peek into the historical fantasia of Taffeta, a self-proclaimed “fabulous queer creation of color,” as she invades the private world of Abraham Lincoln to confront issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion and visibility that still challenge us today.
**********************
Boston’s Huntington Avenue Theatre Company has announced that it must regretfully postpone the start of its 2020-21 season, cancelling all in-person performances for the remainder of 2020.
A new schedule for 2021 will be released soon.
**********************
30 years after he co-founded VA’s Signature Theatre, Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer will retire from the company.
” As I look back, I am proud of what we accomplished. We created a loving institution that brought musicals and plays to life in magical ways. Signature became part of an incredible community of the most talented performers, designers, and musicians and writers. This little theater grew from Gunston Arts Center to the beloved Garage to our current home in Shirlington – a truly incredible journey, made possible by the most dedicated and passionate staff in any theatre in America. I will forever be grateful and indebted to each of them, and I have no doubt that the DC theater community will be, too.
“Through my years, I worked hard to support this community, its people, and its institutions. By helping to create the Taking Care of Our Own Fund, we established a way to serve our city’s theatre professionals in a time of need. I always looked to innovate and create pathways for more voices to be heard, with programs like the Women’s Voices Festival. I hope that the next generation of leaders can weather the many storms our profession faces. To do so, it needs to pull together, dedicate itself to the work, and avoid the toxic polarization that damages not just the institutions, but the work itself, the art.
“I hope I leave our community in a stronger place as it struggles to find its way forward through the current COVID-19 crisis. I am proud of everything we accomplished, and I look forward to continuing to be this amazing company’s biggest cheerleader. I am going to miss our talented staff, the Board of Directors, the many volunteers, the artists and, of course, our audiences.”
**********************
The Lincoln Center Theater productions of Intimate Apparel and Flying Over Sunset have been delayed until Spring 2021.
Dates, casting, and additional information TBA.
**********************
on PBS:
June 26 (9 PM): Gloria: A Life, by Emily Mann, directed by Diane Paulus, features Christine Lahti (Gloria Steinem), Brittany K. Allen, Joanna Glushak, Fedna Jacquet, Francesca Fernandez McKenzie, Patrena Murray, DeLanna Studi, and Liz Wisan. 
here.
July 17 (9 PM): Metropolitan Opera’s Porgy and Bess, directed by James Robinson, and hosted by Audra McDonald, features Eric Owens (Porgy), and Angel Blue (Bess), with Alfred Walker (Crown), Frederick Ballentine (Sportin’ Life), Latonia Moore (Serena), Golda Schultz (Clara), Donovan Singletary (Jake), and Denyce Graves (Maria). here.