Today’s Highlights:
Million Dollar Quartet, directed by Laura Braza, featuring Aja Alcazar ( Dyanne), Blake Burgess (Johnny Cash), JP Coletta (Jerry Lee Lewis), Joe Hebel (Elvis Presley), Armando Gutierrez (Carl Perkins), Seth K. Hale (Sam Phillips), Patrick Morrow (W.S. Fluke Holland), and Michael Ritter (Brother Jay, opens at Milwaukee Rep.
Sunset Comedy Night, starring Craig Robinson, Kevin Nealon, Patton Oswalt, Felipe Esparza & more, at 8 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club.
The Great War and The Great Gatsby concert, directed by Michael Mayer, featuring Adam Chanler-Berat, Nicholas Christopher, Micaela Diamond, Gracie McGraw, and Diego Andres Rodriguez, closes at NYC’s Carnegie Hall.
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Reviews for Floyd Colllins at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre:
New York Times (Laura Collinns-Hughes): …In a nail-biting news saga that lasted just over two weeks in the winter of 1925, Collins, a cave explorer, was pinned deep under the cold Kentucky soil. Inside a narrow, precarious passageway, his left foot was snared by a rock… Yet one of the wonders of the show’s glorious-sounding new production …h opened on Monday night at the Vivian Beaumont Theater with a thoroughly winning Jeremy Jordan in the title role, is how far from claustrophobic it feels. Lincoln Center Theater’s vast and airy Broadway stage becomes an exalted evocation of the enormous cavern that Floyd discovers, delighting in its echoing acoustics, just before he gets into his ultimately fatal jam… With music and lyrics by Guettel, and a book and additional lyrics by Landau, who directs, “Floyd Collins” is structurally unruly — its attention doled out among so many characters (a core of 10, plus ensemble roles) that its focus is too rarely on Floyd…
Theatermania (David Gordon) …Not a natural story for a musical, but that didn’t stop composer Adam Guettel and writer-director Tina Landau from attempting the impossible themselves. Regarded as a noble exercise when it opened at Playwrights Horizons in 1996, reviews called it “easy to admire but hard to love.” The beauty of the material was “exasperatingly undercut by the flatness, repetitiveness, and blunt sentimentality of the show’s book and lyrics.” In the ensuing decades … Twenty-nine years later, Landau and Guettel return … Sumptuously desolate yet charged with enough emotion to reach the heavens, Landau’s crystal-clear revival allows us to see the show for what it truly is: an elegy for a carefree way of life, and a searing indictment of the way technology allows us to commodify tragedy.
Variety (Christian Lewis) …The very premise of the musical presents a host of logistical challenges … Landau has a very clear take on the musical, albeit not the one audiences might expect. .. Landau makes excellent use of the cavernous stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theater … In contrast with the often thoughtful use of space, the production is marred by a baffling design choice. Jeremy Jordan, our titular hero, spends almost the entire musical onstage, trapped by an invisible rock, oddly laying on what can only be described as a barely-disguised lounge chair.,, Jordan becomes a distraction during the above-ground scenes…
Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez): … The story opens up, offering glimpses of the rescue mission, its ensuing media circus, and the effect it all had on his family. But despite Guettel’s breathtaking work, and Landau’s admirably wide scope, those outside glimpses remain as insufficient and fruitless as whatever flecks of light the unfortunate explorer might have gleaned from below… It’s still an often ravishing experience, led by Jeremy Jordan at the top of his game, with a rich, penetrating voice that at times feels like it could shatter right through that cavern…
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Apr. 13:
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Good Night, and Good Luck, the new play by George Clooney & Grant Heslov, directed by David Cromer, has broken its own all-time record for highest grossing play in Broadway history, and the house record at the historic Winter Garden Theatre where it is currently in performances on Broadway.
The production broke the record for 8 performances with a gross of $3,784,200.00 for the first full week of performances following the play’s opening night.
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The Wizard and I: Liz Callaay Sings Stephen Schwartz will run May 14 – 17 at NYC’s 54 Below, with music directed by Alex Rybeck.
By pairing his iconic songs with tales of their lifelong professional relationship and friendship. Attendees can expect to hear tunes from such Schwartz musicals as Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, The Baker’s Wife, and more. Callaway will honor Schwartz by pairing his iconic songs with tales of their lifelong professional relationship and friendship. Attendees can expect to hear tunes from such Schwartz musicals as Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, The Baker’s Wife, and more.
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Jesse Eisenberg’s untitled musical comedy film is currently in development.
Jesse Eisenberg, Julianne Moore, paul Giamatti, Bernadette Peters, Halle Bialey,, Havana Rose Liu, bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan. Lilli Cooper, and Maulik Pancholy.
The film follows a timid woman (Moore) who is unexpectedly cast in a community theater production of an original musical. After joining the production, she finds herself lost under the spell of the character and the dynamic director (Giamatti).
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Irene Sankoff & David Hein’s Come From Away will run May 15 – June 14 at ME’s Ogunquit Playhouse, directed & choreographed by Richard J. Hinds.
Hashini Amarasinghe (Janice,) Kyle Nicholas Anderson (Kevin T/Garth), Isaiah Bob/Muhumuza), David Benoit Claude), Dayna Jarae Dantzler (Hannah/Muhumuza’s Wife,) John El-Jor (Kevin J/Ali), Kent M. Lewis (Nick/Doug), Mary Kate Morrissey (Beverley/Annette), Liz Pearce (Diane), Ben Roseberry (Oz), Jessica Sheridan (Beulah), and Erica Spyres (Bonnie), with ,Travis Darghali, Andrew Harvey, Laura Stracko, and Katherine Alexis Thomas.
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Video: Aaron Tveit, in a tribute to Gavin Creel, performs “I Know Him so Well” in MISCAST25
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At least six staffers at the Kennedy Center were dismissed last Friday, according to a new report from The New York Times.
Roughly 20 employees have now been let go, with the latest layoffs affecting teams in government relations, marketing, social media, and rentals.
Trump’s surprise move to install himself as chairman and remove Biden-era appointees—along with longtime chair and major donor David M. Rubenstein—sparked backlash. He replaced President Deborah Rutter with former ambassador Richard Grenell, who has since pushed staff cuts, citing financial strain. Grenell has also criticized past diversity efforts and pledged to steer programming toward what he calls “common sense.”
Last month, Grenell axed the Social Impact team, which had focused on community outreach, equity initiatives, and commissioning new works. Critics argue that the financial issues are overstated and that the cuts align more with a political agenda than fiscal necessity. While fundraising has been strong, the Kennedy Center’s $163 million endowment remains modest for its scale.
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Jesse Eisenberg has added more stars to his untitled musical comedy film. Production will begin early next year.
Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Bernadette Peters, Halle Bailey, and Havana Rose Liu with Bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper, and Maulik Pancholy.
A timid woman (Julianne Moore) is unexpectedly cast in a community theater production of an original musical. After joining the production, she finds herself lost under the spell of the character and the dynamic director (Giamatti).
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Billy Barne’s Bash benefit concert, in support of the Billy Barnes Foundation, hosted by Jason Graae, will take place Sun. Apr. 27 at 1 PM at at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club, with music direction by Michael Orland.
Eileen Barnett, Nicolas Dromard, Jane A. Johnston, Jackie Joseph, Maude Maggart, Mark Arthur Miller, Joanne O’Brien, Shawn Ryan, Todd Sherry, Melanie Taylor, Mary VanArsdel, and Jo Anne Worley.
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Lea Michele in Concert has announced its tour dates.
Click here for the tour schedule May 29 – June 28.
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Come From Away will run May 15 – June 14 at ME’s Ogunquit Playhouse, Directed and choreographed by Richard J. Hinds.
Hashini Amarasinghe (Janice,) Kyle Nicholas Anderson (Kevin T/Garth), Isaiah Bailey (Bob/Muhumuza), David Benoit (Claude,) )Dayna Jarae Dantzler (