Today’s Highlights:
Tammy Faye, by Elton John, the Scissor Sisters, Jake Shears & James Graham, directed by Rupert Goold, featuring Katie Brayben (Tammy Fay), Christian Borle (Jim Bakker), Nick Bailey (Paul Crouch), Charl Brown (Steve Pieters), Mark Evans (Billy Graham), Allison Guinn (Jan Crouch), Ian Lassiter (Jimmy Swaggart/Ronald Reagan/Archbishop), Raymond J. Lee (John Fletcher), Max Gordon Moore (Thomas S. Monson/Marvin Gorman), Alana Pollard (Jessica Hahn), and Andy Taylor (Pat Robertson/Ted Turner), and Autumn Hurlbert (alternate Tammy Fay), with Amanda Clement, Michael Di Liberto, Jonathan Duvelson, Lily Kaufmann, Denis Lambert, Elliott Mattox, Brittany Nicholas, Kevin Quillon, Aveena Sawyer, Allysa Shorte, TJ Tapp, Daniel Torres, and Dana Wilton, opens at Broadway’s Palace Theatre.
King Lear, directed by Kenneth Branagh, featuring Kenneth Branagh (King Lear), Mara Allen (Curan), Deborah Alli (Goneril), Raymond Anum (Burgundy), Melanie‐Joyce Bermudez (Regan), Doug Colling (Edgar), Dylan Corbett‐Bader (France), Eleanor De Rohan (Kent), Chloe Fenwick‐Brown (Oswald), Joseph Kloska (Gloucester), Corey Mylchreest (Edmund), Hughie O’Donnell (Cornwall), Caleb Obediah (Albany), and Jessica Revell (Cordelia/The Fool), opens at Off-Broadway’s The Shed.
Waiting for Godot, directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett, featuring Lincoln Bonilla (Boy), Conor Lovett (Pozzo), Aasif Mandvi (Estragon), Jack McSherry (Boy), Adam Stein (Lucky) and Rainn Wilson (Vladimir, opens at LA’s Geffen Playhouse.
A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Stephen Hamilton, featuring Daniela Mastropietro (Blanche DuBois), Katie Roders (Stella Kowalski), Katie Rodgers Stella Kowalski), Sawyer A. Spielberg (Harold “Mitch” Mitchell), Nicole Marie Hunt (Eunice Hubbell), Joe Pallister (Steve Hubbell), Carlos Barcia (Pablo Bonzalez), and Matthew Conlon (Doctor0O, with She Buckner and Adelaide Mestre, opens at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
Ann Kittredge: Romantic Notions concert, at 8 PM at NYC’s Chelsea Table + Stage.
Open Mic(hael) with Michael Orland concert, at 7 PM at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre.
**********************
$25 tickets for Once Upon a Mattress at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Lear deBessonet, have just dropped on Today Tix. The musical will run Dec. 10 – Jan. 5.
Sutton Foster (Winnifred), Michael Urie (Prince Dauntless), Ana Gasteyer (Queen Aggravain), Brooks Ashmanskas (The Wizard), Daniel Breaker (The Jester), Will Chase (Sir Harry), Nikki Renée Daniels (Lady Larken), David Patrick Kelly (King Sextimus) Ana Gasteyer (Queen Aggravain), and Kara Lindsay (Winnifred standby), with Daniel Beeman, Wendi Bergamini, Cicily Daniels, Taylor Marie Daniel, Ben Davis, Sheldon Henry, Oyoyo Joi, Amanda Lamotte, Sarah Michele Lindsey, Michael Olaribigbe, Adam Roberts, Jeffrey Schecter, Darius Wright and Richard Riaz.
**********************
Industry readings of Matt Hoverman’s PUCK’D: A Middle-Aged Summer Night’s Dream will take place Nov. 14 (2 PM) & 15 (11 AM & 3 PM) in NYC, directed by John Rando. For more information: mickey@sunnyspotproductions.com.
Abubakr Ali, Kerry Butler, David Costabile, Patrick Kerr, Kathryn Meisle, Alex Newell, Reg Rogers, and Ella Stiller.
A Farcical sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare’s four young lovers from the play are now middle-aged, unhappily married, and chasing after their own teenage kids – who have impetuously fled into the enchanted woods to elope. As they shift from prose to rhyming couplets in iambic-ish pentameter, the four aging lovers once again fall under the forest’s spell, must face their fears and, with youthful passions rekindled, decide whether to evolve together or apart. Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, PUCK’D proves that even the most magical marriages require “returning to the woods” to grow.
**********************
Complete casting has been announced for Othello, to run Feb. 24 – June 8, 2025 (0pening Mar. 23) at the Barrymore Theatre, directed by Kenny Leon.
Denzel Washington (Othello), Jake Gyllenhaal (Iago), Molly Osborne (Desdemona), Andrew Burnap (Cassio), Anthony Michael Lopez (Roderigo), Daniel Pearce (Brabantio), Kimber Elayne Sprawl (Emilia), Neal Bledsoe (Duke of Venice), Julee Cerda (Bianca), Ezra Knight (Montano), Gene Gillette (Gratiano), and Rob Heaps (Ludovico), with William Connell, Ty Fanning, Ben Graney, Daniel Reece, Christina Sajous, Greg Wood, and Abiola Obatolu.
**********************
5 Star Theatricals will present Kris Lythgoe’s Panto, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell: A Pirate’s Christmas Dec. 13 – 29 at CA’s Thousand Oaks’ Bank of America Theatre, directed by Bonnie Lythgoe, with music direction by Michael Sobie, and choreography by Clarice Ordaz.
John O’Hurley (Captain Hook), Alkaio Thiele (Peter Pan), Julia Roome (Wendy), Nayah Danasen (Tinker Bell), and Ben Giroux (Smee), with Camryn Eakes (Tiger Lily), Raquel Glasser, Kevin Ivins, Camal Pugh, and Davon Rashawn.
A swashbuckling adventure performed in the high-flying style of a British holiday Panto. Take off on a wild quest with Tinker Bell, Wendy and Peter Pan as they try to put a stop to the plot of some dastardly pirates who plan to kidnap Peter as a present to Captain Hook. Filled with big laughs, magic, dancers and contemporary songs by everyone from Taylor Swift to The Bee Gees, this family show has a little bit of something for everyone!
**********************
. LA’s Theatre Asylum will present the 30 Minutes or Less Festival Jan. 15-26 at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre (5636 Melrose Ave.).
Applications are being accepted now through Dec. 15. The festival is open to all types and genres of live performances, as long as each show is 30 minutes or less. Shows may share a slot by pairing two 15-minute performances, and each evening’s lineup will be grouped by categories such as short dramas, comedy scenes, solo performances, TV/film script readings, musicals, and more. Audiences will experience a dynamic lineup of storytelling, featuring multiple performance styles each evening, creating a festival atmosphere perfect for discovering new voices and styles.
A celebration of storytelling and live performance in a 30-minute format. Applications are being accepted now for this exciting event, which invites artists from all genres to showcase their work in front of a live audience. The festival will take place at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre and runs from Jan. 15 to Jan. 26, 2025, with a diverse lineup of performances each night.
**********************
An Actor’s Carol: One Clown Dickensian Marathon Toward Redemption, adapted by David Weber, Tim Blewitt, and Zach Hilbun, will take place Nov. 30 at 8 PM & Dec. 1 at 7 PM at Hollywood’s Broadwater Second Stage. 
Pay what you can (suggested donation: $10)
David Weber
A unique and transformative adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, A Christmas Carol, performed by David Weber. The one-man show pushes the boundaries of traditional storytelling by incorporating elements of vaudeville, clown, and mime. The kinetic performance, punctuated by moments of clarity and hilarity from our Clown’s backstory, promotes an athletic-paced experience that offers a fresh twist on the timeless and redemptive tale.
**********************
Roundabout‘s jazz-infused revival of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, adapted by Rupert Holmes, will run Apr. 4 – June 22, 2025, (opening Apr. 24) at the Todd Haimes Theatre, directed by Scott Ellis, with choreography by Warren Carlyle, and music direction by Joseph Joubert.
Ramin Karimloo (Pirate King), David Hyde Pierce (Gilbert/Major General Stanley), Jinkx Monsoon (Ruth), Nicholas Barasch (Frederic), Preston Truman Boyd (Sullivan/Police Sergeant), and Samantha Williams (Mabel Stanley), with Kelly Belarmino, Maria Briggs, Eddie Cooper, Cicily Daniels, Ninako Donville, Alex Dorf, Rick Faugno, Niani Feelings, Tommy Gedrich, Alex Gibson, Afra Hines, Dan Hoy, Ryo Kamibayashi, Tatiana Lofton, Nathan Lucrezio, Shina Ann Morris, Cooper Stanton, and Bronwyn Tarboton.
**********************
Off-Broadway’s Keen Company has announced complete casting for its benefit concert of Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little, to take place Mon. Nov. 18 at NYC’s Symphony Space, directed by Jonathan Silverstein, with music direction by John Bell.
Melissa Errico, John Cariani, Jason Tam, Lauren Molina, Philippe Arroyo, Zachary Noah Piser, Morgan Siobhan Green and Nik Walker.