Today’s Highlights:
Nothing today…
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Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano will stream Apr. 21 – May 23 at New Normal Rep.
Jimmy Smits, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Florencia Lozano, and Gary Perez.
Set in a spacious colonial house in Cuba in 1991, the play focuses on a pair of sisters who are under house arrest after serving two years in prison. When two men, a piano tuner named Victor Manuel and the inquisitive Lt. Portuondo enter the picture, things get complicated.
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Clueth, the unauthorized world premiere parody, written & directed by Steve Wargo, will run, both in-person & virtually Apr. 23-24 at NYC’s Radial Park.
Manu Narayan , Brian Charles Rooney, Thom Sesma, Jordan Kai Burnett, Victoria Huston-Elem, Jillian Louis, Christian Elán Ortiz, Dick Terhune, and Stuart Williams.
It’s like if Shakespeare wrote “Clue.” Forsooth. The play resets the story to 1606 England as though Shakespeare had originally penned the cult classic murder-mystery comedy based on the popular board game.
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A Stage & Screen auction, in support of The Actors Fund, has announced its available items. Click here to view all items.
Donated by Andrew Lloyd Webber: Two tickets to the re-opening night of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway on Wed. Apr. 28 at 10 AM ET (as Lloyd Webber’s personal guests), along with the iconic and rare “Lot 665” Prop (direct from the West End production), which is “a papier-mâché musical box in the shape of a barrel organ. Attached, the figure of a monkey in Persian robes playing the cymbals.”
Celeste Holm’s Golden Globe Award for “Gentlemen’s Agreement” (1947)
Classic Broadway costume & set designs from the Estate of Thomas P. Lacy.
A “Wolverine” jacket from Hugh Jackman‘s closet.
Boots, jeans, and t-shirt from Bruce Springsteen.
Black sequin gown made my David Dalrymple. Worn at Hulaween 2014 by Bette Midler.
Banjo signed by Steve Martin.
Iconic glasses from Elton John.
Bob Mackie dresses from Carol Burnett.
Dolce & Gabbana dress worn by Glenn Close on the red carpet for the opening of Sunset Boulevard (2-9-17).
Alan Cumming’s leather suit at the 1998 Tony Awards, when he won Best Actor in a Musical for Cabaret (1998).
A collection of signed books from Julie Andrews.
Oscar de la Renta gown worn by Renée Fleming at the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II (2012) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Limited edition leather-bound copy of the “Downton Abbey” screenplay (for the first film), signed by the director, writer, producer, and cast. Only 30 in existence.
Screen worn leather jackets from “The Good Wife.”
Dress worn by Tina Fey at the 2013 Emmy Awards (she won for writing for “30 Rock).
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Video: The Broadway cast of Follies on the “David Frost” show (1971). (1:12:47)
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The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will host virtual celebration to launch the behind-the-scenes book, “On the Roof: A Look Inside Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish” by one of the show’s stars, Samantha Hahn. The book party will include a discussion moderated by producer Jana Robbins. Click here to purchase the book in hardcover or Kindle.
Producer Jana Robbins, Bebe Neuwirth, Joel Grey, Zalmen Mlotek, Stephanie Lynn Mason, Rosie Jo Neddy, Raqel Nobile, and Rachel Zatcoff
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The Billy Holiday Theatre‘s monologue showcase will return Thurs. May 6 at 8 PM ET with Shattering the Glass Ceiling, an evening celebrating the 2020 election, which saw the country elect its first female and first Black Vice President.
Fifty monologues were selected from women of African descent from across the globe.
Lisa Arrindell, Marsha Stephanie Blake, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Sanaa Lathan, Dawnn Lewis, Audra McDonald, Celestine Rae, Retta, Angelica Ross, Michele Shay, Gabourey Sidibe, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Wanda Sykes, Paulette Washington, and Vanessa Williams.
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San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon has announced upcoming events:
Perfect Hermany: A Musical Tribute to Jerry Herman (continues through May 2), starring Jason Graae, with music direction by John Boswell.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (May 8-30), directed by Brandon Jackson, with music direction by Marcus McCauley, starring Doris Bumpus.
Don’t Touch That Dial: DC and Peter’s Glorious Romp Through the Golden Age (June 5-27), directed by DC Scarpelli & Peter Budinger, with music direction by Daniel Thomas, and choreography by Jean-Paul Jones.
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National Theatre Network is the first of its kind digital platform for major regional theatres that allows audiences to watch, support, and connect with these iconic institutions, and works in collaboration with Broadway On Demand.
The Netword provides an entire online platform and app for organizations to stream their professional-grade digital programming and creates a single source for theatre fans around the world who want to discover the rich content American regional theatre companies are producing.
On the cutting edge of how theatre artists and fans are using technology, the Network brings live and recorded performances, classes, galas, award ceremonies and more to an expanded global audience. This new avenue of digital programming breaks down barriers to entry that have long been problematic, growing audiences exponentially and creating an opportunity to deliver the content fans love, live, on whatever screen is handy and with technology that raises the bar.
The Network will debut on Sat. May 15 with a presentation of the original film adaptation of Heather Christian’s Animal Wisdom, directed by Amber McGinnis. The cast features Sasha Brown, Eric Farber, B.E. Farrow, and Maya Sharpe.
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Chicago’s Goodman Theatre has announced 3 livestreamed productions:
The Sound Inside (May 13-16), by Adam Rapp, directed by Robert Falls, starring Mary Beth Fisher and john Drea. Creative writing professor Bella values her solitude but finds herself opening up to Christopher, a reclusive, mysterious freshman with lofty literary aspirations. As the two connect beyond the classroom, Bella realizes she must ask Christopher for an impossible favor. Their story unfolds to a stunning conclusion, blurring the lines between fiction, friendship and endings.
Ohio State Murders (June 17-20), by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Riffany Nichole Greene. Casting TBA. When Suzanne arrives at Ohio State University in 1949 as one of a handful of Black freshmen, she discovers the “safe haven” of academia offers little sanctuary. Decades later, the accomplished writer returns to her alma mater to speak about her work—and unravels the heartbreaking truth and chilling mystery of her life lived in the shadows.
I Hate It Here (July 15-18), by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Casting TBA. If there’s one thing Americans can agree on, it’s that 2020 was not the best way to begin a new decade. With guts and humor, punctuated with story and song, Ike Holter asks who we are in a world on the brink of explosion.
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“The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia,” a 652-page tome dedicated to the composer & lyricists, is available in Hardcover and Kindle here.
A comprehensive reference book, with entries covering Sondheim’s major musicals, key collaborators and material, and detailed discussions of Sondheim’s life, career, awards, and the actors who have originated roles in his shows.
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Video: Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus perform “Move On” from Sunday in the Park with George.
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Neat, written & performed by Charlayne Woodard, continues through Apr. 25 at Manhattan Theatre Club (1997 production).
Woodard spins her own real-life remembrances of her disabled aunt, Neat. We find ourselves on an excursion from entrenched prejudice in the South to racial violence in the North, with side trips to teenage fashions, hairdos and pop music, family relations, friendship and religion.
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John Cameron Mitchell will play larger-than-life zoo owner Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage in the upcoming NBC limited series “Joe Exotic.”
Mitchell costars as the Oklahoma-based operator of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, opposite Kate McKinnon as his archnemesis, Florida big-cat rights activist Carole Baskin.
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For the Record: The Brat Pack Reunion Concert will stream May 21-23 at Beverly Hills’ The Wallis.
Performers TBA.
The concert follows 5 teenage archetypes, well known to any lover of “The Breakfast Club.” through the epic saga of growing up. From sweet sixteen to gym class, detention to prom and finally graduation. the Brat Pack is a group of the most unlikely of friends surviving the carnage of love and friendship, smashing stereotypes along the way.