Today’s Highlights:
Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Summer, 1976, by David Auburn, directed by Daniel Sullivan, featuring Jessica Hecht and Laura Linney, opens at Broadway’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Dear Liar, by Jerome Kilty & George Bernard Shaw, directed by Charlotte Moore, featuring Melissa Erico and David Staller, opens at Off-Broadway’s Irish Rep.
Passing Strange, by Stew & Heidi Rodewald, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, featuring Isaac “Deacon Izzy” Bell (Narrator), Imani Branch (sherry/Renata/Desi), Deimoni Brewington (Youth), Alex De Bard (Edwina/Marianna/Sudabey), Michael J. Mainwaring (Hugo/Christopher/Terry), Kara-Tameika Watkins (Mother), and Tobias A. Young (Mrs. Franklin/Joop/Mr. Venus), with Jordan Essex, Kalen Robinson and Tyrell Stanley, opens at DC’s Signature Theatre.
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Anne Kauffman, featuring Oscar Isaac (Sidney Brustein), Rachel Brosnahan (Iris Brustein), Gus Birney as Gloria Parodus, Julian De Niro as Alton Scales, Glenn Fitzgerald as David Ragin, Andy Grotelueschen as Wally O’Hara, Miriam Silverman as Mavis Parodus Bryson, and Raphael Nash Thompson as Max. Understudies include Joey Auzenne, Katya Campbell, Gregory Connors, and Brontë England Nelson, begins previews at Broadway’s James Earl Jones Theatre.
A Little Night Music, directed by David Lee, featuring Merle Dandridge (Desirée Armfeldt), Michael Hayden (Fredrick Egerman), Jodi Long (Madame Armfeldt), Sarah Uriarte Berry (Countess Charlotte Malcolm), Chase Del Rey (Henrik Egerman), Makara Gamble (Frederika Armfeldt), Adam James King (Frid), Ruby Lewis (Petra), Ryan Silverman (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm), Kaley Ann Voorhees (Anne Egerman), Georgia Belmont (Mrs. Nordstrom), Jared Bybee (Mr. Lindquist), Kimberly Dawson (Mrs. Segerstrom), Oriana Falla (Mrs. Anderssen), Arnold Geis (Mr. Erlanson), Brandon Borkowsky (Bertrand), Mikaela Celeste (Osa), and Danny Cron (Ingmar), Audrey Williams (Mala), with Christianna Rowader, begins previews at Pasadena Playhouse.
Easter Bonnet Competition, in support of BC/EFA, directed by Paul Smith, featuring Christian Borle and J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot); Victoria Clark (Kimberly Akimbo); Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt (Parade); Bongi Duma and Lindiwe Dlamini (The Lion King); Kimberly Marable (Chicago); Stark Sands (& Juliet); Will Swenson (A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical); and the current queens of Broadway’s Six: Bella Coppola, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Zoe Jensen, Taylor Imán Jones, Nasia Thomas, and Hailee Kaleem Wright, at 2 PM at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.
Porchlight Music Theatre‘s New Faces Sing Broadway 1984 concert, directed by Tommy Novak, featuring Neala Barron, Frankie Leo Bennett, Dawn Bless, Katherine Bourne, Kayla Boye, Anna Brockman, Tim Foszcz, Haley Gustaffson, Josiah Haugen, Cam Turner, Jerod Turner, and Evan Wilhelm, Lydia Burke, and Molly Kral, with Darilyn Burtley, Max Cervantes, Maddison Denault, David Moreland, Gilbert Domally, Andres Enriquez, Nik Kmiecik, Ziare Paul-Emile, Alis Rhode, Thero Germaine, Lucy Godinez, Emily Goldberg, Nicole Michelle Haskins, Michelle Lauto, Yando Lopez, Henry McGinniss, Brandy Miller, Bryce Ancil, Chloé Nadon-Enriquez, Anthony Norman, Patrick Rooney, Aalon Smith, Katherine Thomas, Aeriel Williams, Nicole Lambert, Courtney Mack, Mallory Maedke, and Samanthan Pauly, at 7:30 PM at Chicago’s Evanston Space.
“Chita: A Memoir” released on most platforms.
“Carmen Cusack: Lay Your Hands On Me” album released on most platforms.
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Reviews for Good Night Oscar at Broadway’s Belasco Theatre:
NY Times (Jesse Green): …the unconvincing biographical fantasia… But on the evidence of the character as written, and especially as impersonated by Sean Hayes in a gloomy if accurate performance, Levant doesn’t erase the line so much as fudge it… Certainly the play…fails to make much of a case for the genius part of the joke. Instead, it offers a spray of Levant’s most famous quips… And instead of dramatizing how marvelous Levant was, it just says so repeatedly… what we see in the director Lisa Peterson’s production is a far cry from any of it. Mostly it’s just a cry; Levant doesn’t seem brilliant but ill… Hayes…has clearly made a careful study of Levant’s mannerisms, many of them the result of a longtime addiction to painkillers. The work is startling, but the performance is less an inhabitation of character than a nonstop loop of perfectly rendered facial tics, trembling hands and compulsive gestures.
Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones): …the searing and complex play by Doug Wright… on a deeper level, this show is about the ethics of late-night TV… the inevitable role of pain in the work of great comedians… Wright leaves it up to the viewer to decide if Paar exploited Levant, or offered a stream-of-consciousness comedian and artist a well-deserved opportunity of a lifetime. Or both… the extraordinary work of Sean Hayes… Hayes, whose work as Levant has only deepened since I first saw it in Chicago… a spectacularly intense and unstinting performance, a Broadway tour de force… an old-school show with jokes that rightly have the potential to offend…
Theatermania (Zachary Stewart): There was a time when late-night television was genuinely risqué… A towering comedy that casts a long shadow of melancholy, it’s a beautiful tribute to one of America’s great wits and the woman who sustained him… Hayes…makes a sharp departure from the expected, fully embodying a character whom June describes as “Eeyore in a cheap suit”… [Emily]Bergl gives the other revelatory performance of the evening as a dedicated wife who has nearly reached the end of her patience but hasn’t given up yet… Director Lisa Peterson deftly balances the comic and dramatic strains in Good Night, Oscar, never allowing one to overpower the other in this richly designed production…
Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez): In a case of life imitating art imitating life, Sean Hayes’ stellar take on the virtuosic, self-destructive pianist Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar matches its setup: a captivating presence stuck in a waiting room… portrayed by Hayes in a mannered, hand-wringing performance that’s as full of tics as it is charged with pathos… the ensemble who, to their credit, are doing their best with a wooden, unoriginal script and Lisa Peterson’s farcical direction… It’s only when Hayes is left to his own devices, and Levant with his own demons, that the play takes off… Hayes wrestles these torments skillfully, but the play doesn’t catch up to his radiance until Levant goes live—on a couch segment with Paar…
Video: Highlights.
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David Byrne & Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love will begin previews June 17 and open July 20 at the Broadway Theatre, directed by Alex Timbers, with choreography by Annie-B Parson.
Arielle Jacobs (Imelda Marcos), Conrad Ricamora (Ninoy Aquino), Jose Llana, and Lea Salonga (Aurora Aquino July 11-13 only, followed by guest stars from the Philippines), with Bobby Garcia, Giselle “G” Töngi, Celia Kaleialhoa Kenney, Girlie Rodis, Miranda Gohh, Rob Laqui, and more TBA.
The story of former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos and her family’s rise and fall. Marcos was married to Ferdinand Marcos, the 10th president of the Philippines whose dictatorship lasted 20 years until 1986. During his regime, Philippine senator Ninoy Aquino was the Marcos family’s leading critic until being assassinated in 1983. His murder sparked the People Power Revolution, which led to the removal of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos from power.
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Judy on TV!: Celebrating The Judy Garland Show will run May 6-8 at NYC’s 92Y, written & directed by Dick Scanlan, with music direction by Billy Stritch.
Aisha de Haas, Gabrielle Stravelli, Alysha Umphress, and Max Von Essen.
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August Strindberg’s Creditors will run Apr. 27 – May 14 at Theater for the New City, newly translated & directed by Robert Greer.
Natalie Menna (Tekla), Brad Fryman (Adolf), and Mike Roche (Gustav).
The 1888 drama will be updated to modern Long Island. It’s 23-23 and Gustaf, a professor of classics and archaeology, travels in disguise to Montauk, where his faithless ex-wife, celebrity novelist Tekla, and her eminent painter husband Adolf are summering. During Tekla’s absence on a book tour, Gustav worms his way into Adolph’s confidence and undermines their already shaky marriage, with fatal consequences.
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MJ Kaufman, Joey Soloway & Faith Soloway’s A Transparent Musical will run May 20 – June 25 the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Tina Landau.
Adina Verson (Ali Pfefferman), Daya Curley (Maura Pfefferman), Liz Larsen (Shelley Pfefferman), Zachary Prince (Josh Pfefferman), Sarah Stiles (Sarah Pfefferman), Kasper (Ezra), Peffermint (Davina), and Murphy Taylor Smith (rabbi Raquel), with Samora la Perdida, Justin Rivers, Futaba Shioda, Natalie Weiss, Robert Pieranuzi, Jimmy Ray Bennett, Pat Towne, and Dahlya Glick.
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Samuel Clemens: Tales of Mark Twain, written, directed & performed by Joe Baer, will run May 6 – June 26 at The Actors Temple Theatre.
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MD’s Olney Theatre has announced it 2023-24 season:
INK (Aug. 30 – Sept. 24), by James Graham, directed by Jason Loewith, featuring Cody Nickell, Kate EAstwood Norris, and Ryan Rillette.
The Brothers Paranormal (Sept. 27 – Oct. 29), by Prince Gomolvilas, directed by Hallie Gordon & Aria Velz.
Fiddler on the Roof (Nov. 8 – Dec. 31), directed by Peter Flynn.
A Christmas Carol (Nov. 24 – Dec. 31), adapted & performed by Paul Morella.
Lend Me A Soprano (Feb. 7 – Mar. 10, 2024), by Ken Ludwig, directed by Eleanor Holdridge, featuring Natascia Diaz and Donn Migliaccio, with more TBA.
AVAAZ (Mar. 6 – Apr. 7), written & performed by Michael Shayan, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Avaaz invites you to meet Roya, our fabulous hostess, as she welcomes you into her home to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. She’s preparing dinner, but the true feast is the story of her life. As a Jew in Iran and an Iranian in America, Roya relies on a heavy dose of humor, both in her storytelling and her survival. Most significantly, Roya is portrayed by her adult son and the author of Avaaz, Michael Shayan, in a solo performance that combines masterful storytelling with a loving tribute.
Islander: A New Musical (Apr. 11-28), by Stewart Melton, Finn Anderson & Amy Draper, directed by Draper. A modern myth featuring 2 actors who use live mixing and looping technology to create a sonic landscape as dramatic as the Scottish coastline. Eilidh is the only child on Kinnan Island, where most of the dwindling population has moved to the “Big Land.” The government has proposed to resettle the rest, and the town must vote soon on whether or not to accept the offer. But the day after a baby whale beaches itself, Eilidh discovers a young girl named Arran along the shore, who seems straight out of Scottish folklore.
Long Way Down (May 22 – June 23), world premiere by Dahlak Brathwaite & Khiyon Hursey, directed by Ken-Matt Martin, with choreography by Martin & Victor Musoni. Growing up, Will’s big brother taught him three iron-clad rules of how to behave when gun violence claims someone close: Don’t cry. Don’t snitch. Get revenge. So when his brother is himself gunned down, Will is determined to follow the code and gets in the elevator on the top floor of his apartment building, armed and ready to hit the streets in search of vengeance. What happens on the way down is an emotional hip-hop journey through the cycles of violence that have plagued Will’s family and too many others.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (July 3 – Aug. 25), directed by Amy Anders Corcoran.
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(read): Patti LuPone reveals why she will never return to Broadway.
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Eli Bauman’s 44 – The Unofficial, Unsanctioned OBAMA Musical will run Apr. 26-28 at 7 PM at Hollywood’s Bourbon Room. 
Use code letusin for free tickets.
T.J. Wilkins (Barack Obama) and Shanice (Michelle Obama).
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Red Bull Theater & Fiasco Theater’s The Night of the Burning Pestle, by Francis Beaumont, currently in previews, will open Apr. 27, and continue through May 13 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Noah Brody & Emily Young,
Jessie Austrian, Royer Bockus, Tina Chilip, Paul L. Coffey, Devin E. Haqq, Teresa Avia Lim, Darius Pierce, Ben Steinfeld, Paco Tolson, and Tatiana Wechsler.
As a group of players gathers to present a play about the elopement of star-crosses lovers, they are abruptly interrupted by a grocer and his wife. They have a different kind of play in mind – an outrageous hero’s quest of derring-do… The Knight of the Burning Pestle. And they know just the fellow to star – their apprentice, Rafe. This new subplot – invented on the fly – takes over the stage in surprising and disruptive ways.
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Liz Callaway: Screen Gems will run July 6,7,8 & 11 at NYC’s 54 Below.
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The world premiere of Madeline Myers’ Double Helix will run May 30 – June 18 (opening June 3) at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater, directed by Scott Schwartz.
Samantha Massell (Rosalind Franklin), Anthony Chatmon II (Maurice Wilkins), Matthew Christian (Jacques Mering), Max Chulmecky (James Watson), Anthony Joseph Costello (Raymond Gosling), Amy Justman (Adrienne Weill), Austin Ku (Francis Crick), Thom Sesma (John Randall), and Tuck Sweeney (William Bates), with Kate Fitzgerald and Ethan Yaheen-Moy Chan.
the true story of the race to discover the structure of DNA in the 1950s, and follows the brilliant young researcher, Rosalind Franklin, as she contends with adversity, anti-semitism, and love to uncover one of life’s great mysteries. The musical also features the real-life scientists James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins whose similar pursuit of scientific greatness weave their stories throughout Rosalind’s passionate and at times heartbreaking journey. As Rosalind Franklin struggles to sacrifice what makes her human in order to discover what makes us human, Double Helix asks: what is life, and what does it mean to truly live?