GRACE NOTES: Thursday, November 21, 2024

 

Today’s Highlights:

  Death Becomes Her, by Marco Pennette, Julia Mattison & Noel Carey, directed & choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, featuring Megan Hilty (Madeline Ashton), Jennifer Simard (Helen Sharp), Christopher Sieber (Ernest Menville), and Michelle Williams (Viola Van Horn), with Marija Abney, Lauren Celentano, Sarita Colon, Kaleigh Cronin, Natalie Charle Ellis, Taurean Everett,  Michael Graceffa, Neil Haskell, Kolton Krouse, Josh Lamon, Sarah Meahl, Ximone Rose, Sir Brock Warren, Bud Weber, Ryan Worsing, Warren Yang. Kyle Brown, Lakota Knuckle, Johanna Moise, and Amy Quanbeck, opens at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

  The Blood Quilt, by Katori Hall, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, featuring Crystal Dickinson, Mirirai, Adrienne C. Moore, Arsema Thomas, and Susan Kelechi Watson, opens at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre.

  Gypsy, directed by  George C. Wolfe, featuring Audra McDonald (Rose), Danny Burstein (Herbie), Joy Woods (Louise), Jordan Tyson (Dainty June), Lesli Margherita (Tessie Tura), Lili Thomas (Miss Mazeppa), Mylinda Hull (Miss Electra), Jacob Ming-Trent (Uncle Jocko), Kyleigh Denae Vickers (Baby Louise), Marley Lianne Gomes & Jade Smith (Baby June), and Kevin Csolak  (Tulsa), with Shanel Bailey, Jace Bently, Brandon Burks, Hunter Capellán, Tony d’Alelio, Summer Rae Daney, Kellie Jean Hoagland, Aliah James, Brittney Johnson,  Zachary Daniel Jones, Ethan Joseph, Andrew Kober, Krystal Mackie, James McMenamin, Cole Newburg, Majo Rivero, Sally Shaw, Brendan Sheehan, Thomas Silcott, Jayden Theophile, and Jordan Wynn, begins previews at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre.

  York Theatre Company’s Welcome to the Big Dipper, by Jimmy Roberts, Catherine Filloux & John Daggett, directed by & choreographed by DeMone Seraphin, featuring Jennifer Byrne (Bonnie Haskings), Robert Cuccioli (Amos King), Christian Magby (Dez), Mia Pinero (Rebeca King), Jayae Riley, Jr. (Carly), Demone Seraphin (Mr. Sapper), Pablo Torres (Eli Stoltzfus), Debra Walton (Joan Wilkes), and Michael Yeshion (Jacky Barnes), with  Darius Harper, Jillian Louis, and Ella Olesen, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Jeans.

   MÃYÃ – The Musical in concert, by Cheeyang Ng & Eric Sorrels, directed by J. Mehr Kau, featuring Sabrina Shah, Meetu Chilana, Ruchir Khazanchi, Michael Maliakel, Yamuna Meleth, and Sorab Wadia, Deven Kolluri, Jonathan Raviv,  Sushma Saha, and Jasmine Sharma, with Emily Ballou, Martin Richard Borromeo, Kimberly Chatterjee, Andrew Cheng, Sarah Chiu, Andrew Cristi, Andy Danh, Arjun Dhawan, Patricia Jane, Brian Jose, Mel S. Maghuyop, Cameron Miya, Vaibu Mohan, Rishi Mutalik, Anu Mysore, Mio Nakanishi, Maile Oravitz, Yuki Ozeki, Nasir Ali Panjwani, Mukta Phatak, Jazz Sunpanich, Vikas Venuthurupalli, and Viet Vo, at 7:30 PM at NYC’s Symphony Space.

  Ribbit, a new musical by Scott Rothman & Paul Gordon, directed by Nell Balaban, begins FREE streaming  at 7 PM ET. on YouTube, featuring  Sean Aastin , Tim curry, and many more.     Marci is a biologist working at the Tampa Museum of Science and Research. She is on a mission to save the last Sehuencas water frog from extinction. When her best hope to save the species dies, she must turn to Romeo, the last frog crouching. The problem is, Romeo doesn’t want to mate, he likes his life the way it is. Not to be deterred, Marci puts Romeo on a dating site, but soon discovers that Romeo is not the only one resisting finding a mate. Based on a true story.

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   Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day will begin previews Nov. 25 and open Dec. 16 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Anna D. Shapiro.

  Amber Gray, Jessica Hecht, and Bill Irwin.

  Eureka Day is a private California elementary school with a Board of Directors that values inclusion above all else—that is, until an outbreak of the mumps forces everyone in the community to reconsider the school’s liberal vaccine policy. As cases rise, the board realizes with horror that they’ve got to do what they swore they never would: make a choice that won’t please absolutely everybody.

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   Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends will run Feb. 8 – Mar. 9, 2025 (opening Feb. 13) at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Matthew Bourne.

  Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, Beth Leavel, Gavin Lee, Ryan McCartan, Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, David Harris, bonnie Langford, Jason Pennycooke, and Joanna Riding,  with Jeremy Secomb, Jeremy Seccomb Maria Wirries, Daniel Yearwood, Kevin Early, Pairge Faure, and Alexa Lopez.

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  John Leslie’s The Christmas Cracker begins Dec. 4  at Open Door Playhouse, directed by Bernadette Armstrong.

  Noelle Evangelista, Matt Foyer, Cynthia Gravinese Brown, Kevin Carr, and Gilbert Glenn Brown.

   Three friends open Christmas crackers at a holiday party. Two contain the usual paper crowns and bad jokes. The third contains something that’s absolutely terrifying. Don’t know what Christmas crackers are? Don’t worry. It will be made clear in the course of the narrative.

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 Chicago Shakespeare Theater‘s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, by Jocelyn Bioh, will run Jan. 14 – Feb. 2, 2025, directed by Whitney White.

  Melanie Brezill, Leovina Charles, Victoire Charles, Yao Dogbe, Mia Ellis, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Jordan Rice, Awa Sal Secka, Aisha Sougou, and Bisserat Tseggai.

  A glimpse into the lives of a group of West African immigrant women who find community in a bustling Harlem hair salon. Over the course of a sweltering summer day, love ignites, dreams soar, and secrets unravel. Uncertainty simmers below the surface, and when it boils over, this tight-knit community is forced to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.

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  The Hollywood Fringe Festival will run June 5-30, 2025 at various locations. Click here for more information.

  The festival  is an open-access festival, meaning anyone who meets the basic qualifications can join; there is no jury deciding who can and can’t be a part of it all. It is a self-produced festival, meaning its participants produce, promote, and stage their own work.

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    Shit. Meet. Fan., written & directed by Robert O’Hara, has been extended  through Dec. 15 at MCC Theater.

Garret Dillahunt,  Genevieve Hannelius, Billy Magnussen, Debra Messing, Tramell Tillman, and Constance Wu.

  Here’s the game… Phones Out.  Face Up.  Volume High. Every text, every email, and every call must be shared aloud. That’s what a group of long-time friends gather to play on the night of the eclipse. With the cocktails flowing among grownups who refuse to grow up, outrageous secrets and skeletons begin to emerge… Shit. Meet. Fan.  Are they ready for the ensuing chaos? Are you?

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  Steve Ross and Jed Distler Birthday Bash will take place Sun. Dec. 8 at 2 PM at NYC’s Klarierhaus (790 11th Ave), offering both live & livestreamed options.

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   Off-Broadway’s Labyrinth Theater will present its   25th Annual Barn Series, a free week-long reading festival, running Feb. 18-23 , 2025

Playwrights, directors and casting TBA.

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  Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now has been extended through Dec. 21 at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages, with music direction by Andrew Byrne.

  Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, and Marissa Jaret Winokur.

  A hilarious and meaningful musical journey about these women’s origins, friendships, careers, and becoming mamas themselves . For decades, they performed as teenagers on stage, now see the fully bloomed divas they’ve become in Mama I’m a Big Girl Now.

 


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