Today’s Highlights:
Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Lackawanna Blues, written, directed by & starring Ruben Santiago-Hudson, opens at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
The Mirror and the Light, by Dame Hilary Mante, directed by Jeremy Herrin, featuring Ben Miles (Thomas Cromwell), Nathaniel Parker (Henry VIII), Melissa Allan, Samuel Awoyo, Ian Drysdale, Jo Herbert, Andrew Hodges, Niamh James, Umi Myers, Liam Smith, Nicholas Tizzard, Nicholas Boulton, Matt Pidgeon, Giles Taylor, Rosanna Adams, Paul Adeyefa, Aurora Burghart, Terique Jarrett, Jordan Kouamé, Geoffrey Lumb, Olivia Marcus, Tony Turner, Leo Wan, and Nicholas Woodeson, opens at London’s Gielgud Theatre.
1-2-3 Manhunt, by Tony DiMurro, directed by William Roudebush, featuring Ilene Kristen, Anthony Barile, Chris Paul Morales, and Santo Fazio, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theater for the New City.
Ensemble Theatre Company‘s Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, by Janet Yates Vogt & Mark Friedman, directed by Jenny Sullivan, featuring Linda Purl and David Engel, begins previews at Santa Barbara’s New Vic.
“50 Women in Theatre,” featuring Audra McDonald, Lynn Nottage, Caryl Churchill, Sonia Friedman, Garry Hynes, and many more, released in hardcover here.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “Not to go to the theatre is like making one’s toilet without a mirror.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
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Additional casting has been announced for the revival of Funny Girl, which will begin previews Mar. 26, 2022 and open Apr. 24 at the August Wilson Theatre, directed by Michael Mayer, with a revised book by Harvey Fierstein, choreography by Ellenore Scot, and tap choreography by Ayodele Casel.
Beanie Feldstein (Fanny Brice), Ramin Karimloo (Nick Arnstein), Jane Lynch (Mrs. Brice), and Jaren Grimes (Eddie Ryan), with more TBA.
Those who subscribe here before the public on-sale option on Oct. 8 will also be entered to win a pair of tickets to opening night.
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Slave Play, by Jeremy O. Harris, was set to arrive on the West Coast next year as part of the Center Theatre Goup’s new season. However, the show may not run as planned.
Harris has tweeted that he is withdrawing the play from the season to make room for works from young, female playwright. “As a playwright who holds dear the principles of inclusion, it was a shock to realize that this season was programmed with only woman across all theatres. As an Angeleno and love of theatre I think Los Angeles audiences deserve an equitable showing of playwrights working in the U.S. right now.”
Center Theatre Group leadership has responded with the following statement…
“In assembling Center Theatre Group’s upcoming Taper and Douglas seasons, we first honored commitments to many shows that were disrupted by the pandemic over the course of the last two years. Some of those commitments include plays by women that have been scheduled for next season due to artist availability but are not yet announced. We understand the frustration, disappointment and even anger in the scarcity of women playwrights in the upcoming season. Although we have announced a lineup featuring voices from many standpoints and identities, we acknowledge that we’ve fallen short of our own expectations and those of our community in regards to gender equity, and for that, we apologize. We can and will do better.”
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I Put a Spell on You: The Sanderson Variant, in support of BC/EFA, will stream Thurs. Oct. 28 at 8 PM ET here (and continue on-demand through Nov. 1). Building on last year’s successful stream, this year’s concert adds new numbers and new special guests to an already spooktacular evening.
Jonathan Burke, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Gavin Creel, J. Harrison Ghee, Todrick Hall, Robyn Hurder, Eva Noblezada, Heath Saunders, Ahmad Simmons, and Will Swenson, with Jasha Benedicto, Jimmy Brewer, Brittany Bohn, Hayden Clifton, Jai’Quin Coleman, Cara Diaz, Brian Duke, Tyler Eisenreich, Taurean Everett, Zachary Flores, Zuri Noelle Ford, Lilli Froehlich, Taylor Isaac Gray, Allison Griffith, Gabriel Hyman, Brittany Jenkins, Karma Jenkins, Erin Kei, Sarah Kleist, Kourtni Lind-Watson, Danny Marin, Emilio Ramos, Jennifer Reed , Austin Reynolds, Ana Riley-Portal, Kellie Rodriguez, Sydnie Roy, Alanna Saunders), Claire Saunders, Cassy Surianello, Michael Sylvester and Kris Ward.
The annual show is a spoof and tribute to the beloved cult classic movie Hocus Pocus . Once again, the Sanderson Sisters return with a COVID-safe visual album complete with larger-than-life performances and choreography, over-the-top costumes and makeup, unmatched production value and a healthy dose of Broadway magic. This year, the beloved sisters attempt to spread their variant while recruiting some of pop culture’s most iconic villains to fulfill their delightfully devious plot. Johnson returns as Winifred Sanderson with Allison Robinson and Amanda Williams Ware as sisters Sarah and Mary.
$20 tickets for the online stream are available here.
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The world premiere of Molly Wagner’s The Calorie Counters will run Oct. 15-30 at North Hollywood’s Loft Ensemble directed by Danielle Ozymandias.
Tor Brown, Madylin Sweeten Durrie, Carlos Gomez Jr., Matt Lorenzo, Natasha Renae Potts, and Matthew J. Tucker.
Maggie’s sister is getting married, and the bridesmaid’s dress can only be ordered up to a size 12. And that’s not going to work. As a gift to her sister, Maggie joins a weight loss program to make sure the dress will fit, and her sister will be happy. What follows is a tumultuous and comedic journey through self-discovery, identity, body shaming, and the pitfalls of equating self-worth with one’s weight and physique. As the wedding draws near, Maggie and her sister square off to face secrets, truths, and what it means to love and be loved… by yourself.
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Light the Lights! A Drama League Celebration will take place Mon. Oct. 18 at 6 PM ET at NYC’s The Players, hosted by Kandi Burruss.
Wayne Brady
Titus Burgess, André De Shields, Telly Leung, Bonnie Milligan, Josh Bergasse, Brenda Braxton, and Jerry Mitchell. Chita Rivera will offer a special video message. In addition, the winners of the Drama League’s TikTok songwriting challenge, including Deborah Abramson & Amanda Yesnowitz; Nico Juber & Selena Seballo, Jordan Li-Smith, Paulie Pecorella & Sean McCabe, and Alec Powell, all of whom will perform the five winning “Anthems for the Future of Theatre” at the celebration.
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Video: The cast of SIX performs “No Way” on “The View.”
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Complete casting for the world premiere of Tom Kitt, Brian Yorkey & Kwame Kwei-Armah’s The Visitor, to run Oct. 14 – Nov. 28 (opening Nov. 4) at The Public Theater, directed by Daniel Sullivan, with choreography by Lorin Latarro.
Ari’el Stachel (Tarek), David Hyde Pierce (Walter), and Alysha Deslorieux (Zainab), with Jacqueline Antaramian, Robert Ariza, Anthony Chan, Delius Doherty, C.K. Edwards, Will Erat, Brandon Espinoza, Sean Ewing, Crystal Joy, Marla Louissaint, Ahmad Maksoud, Sahar Milani, Dimitri Joseph Moïse, Takafumi Nikaido, Paul Pontrelli, and Katie Terza.
Widowed and living alone, Walter is a college professor whose life has lost a sense of purpose. When Tarek, a vivacious drummer, and Zainab, an iron-willed jewelry maker, enter his life in the most unexpected circumstances, Walter is swept up into their struggle to stay in an America that they have made their home, but seeks to cast them out. Tony winner Daniel Sullivan directs this unforgettable new musical about friends and lovers caught between two worlds.
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Complete casting has been announced for Rent, to run Nov. 2 – Jan. 2, 2022 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Matthew Gardiner, with choreography by Rickey Tripp, and music direction by Mark G. Meadows.
Jake Loewenthal (Mark Cohen), Vincent Kempski (Roger Davis), Arianna Rosario (Mimi Marquez, David Merino (Angel Dumott Schunard), Josh A. Dawson (Tom Collins), Katie Mariko Murray (Maureen Johnson), Ines Nassara (Joanne Jefferson), and Da’Von T. Moody (Benjamin Coffin III), with Kaiyla Gross, Imani Branch, Adelina Mitchell, Solomon Parker III, Usman Ali Ishaq, Jimmy Mavrikes, and Devin Bowles with swings Ricardo Blagrove, Alex De Bard, Emmanuel Kikoni, and Sarah Anne Sillers.
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David Rockwell is designing a new Broadway-inspired hotel in New York’s Theater District, set to open later in the fall. The Civilian hotel, from Sixty Collective hotelier Jason Pomeranc, has 27 stories and 203 rooms and will be filled with theatrical memorabilia.
There will be more than 250 pieces of theatrical art, including costumes, sketches, still photos and more. The hotel will feature sketches of Broadway houses by set designers including Derek McLane, Es Devlin, Scott Pask, Tony Walton and Mimi Lien.
Partial proceeds from Civilian will be donated to the American Theater Wing.
Click here for more information.
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RIP: Cynthia Harris, best know as Helen Hunt’s mother, Sylvia Buchman, on NBC’s “Mad About You,” died on Oct. 3 at the age of 87.
Harris had a decades-long stage career before her role on “Mad About You.” In 1992, the same year she began work on that show, she co-founded The Actors Company Theatre (TACT), the off-Broadway troupe that regularly revived neglected gems that offer great roles for actors. Harris served as co-artistic director of the company for many years. It ceased operations in 2018 following the production of Three Wise Guys.
Before the Actors Company, Harris appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including Terrence McNally’s Bad Habits (1974) and Stephen Sondheim & George Furth’s Company as a replacement for original cast member Barbara Barrie (1971).
Off-Broadway, Cynthia performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and the Delacorte Theatre (playing Mistress Ford in the 1974 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merry Wives of Windsor). Most recently, she appeared opposite Charles Busch in his 2014 comedy, The Tribute Artist, as a wealthy widow living “like exiled royalty” in a West Village townhouse.
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The Lark, a longtime home to theatre writers and new works for nearly three decades, is shutting down. A recent statement says that the closure was determined by a unanimous vote from the organization’s board of directors, and that the group intends to transfer its current programming and fellowship initiatives to similar institutions. Earlier this year, May Adrales was named new artistic director of the organization.
The Lark says the closure follows several hardships faced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, adding “there is no sustainable and viable path forward.”.
Among the myriad writers to develop works at the Lark are David Henry Hwang (a board member himself), Kristoffer Diaz, Katori Hall, Rajiv Joseph, Arthur Kopit, Koffi Kwahule, Javier Malpica, Theresa Rebeck, Saviana Stanescu, Sinan Unel, Tracey Scott Wilson, and Karen Zacarías.
Click here to read more about the closure.
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Video: First trailer for “Cyrano,” starring Peter Dinklage (Cyrano), Haley Bennett (Roxanne), and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Christian) .
The preview features the latter two singing original numbers from the musical. The film will be released in theaters on Dec. 31.
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Fannie (The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer), adapted by Cheryl L. West, will run Oct. 15 – Nov. 14 (opening Oct. 25) at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, directed by Henry Godinez.
E. Faye Butler, with musicians Deonté Brantley, Morgan E. and Felton Offard Oct. 15 -31) and Michael Ross (Nov. 3-14).
Fannie Lou Hamer, the 1960s civil rights activist whose bravery, humor and grit reminds us that there’s courage in the face of fire, hope in tomorrow and that we all have a stake in our country. Replete with music and spirituality, this electric, immersive call to action defines what it means to be a true revolutionary.
The film about Rustin, who overcame obstacles and altered the course of American history by organizing the 1963 March on Washington, will be produced by Oscar winner Bruce Cohen (American Beauty) and Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis and executive produced by Higher Ground’s Mark R. Wright and Alex G. Scott.