Today’s Highlights:
The Apiary, world premiere by Kate Douglas, directed by Kate Whoriskey, featuring Gabby Beans, April Matthis, Carmen M. Herlihy, and Taylor Schilling, opens at Off-Broadway’s Tony Kiser Theatre.
Between Two Knees, by The 1491s, directed by Eric Ting, featuring Rachel Crowl, Derek Garza, Justin Gauthier, Shyla Lefner, Wotko Long, James Ryen, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, and Sheila Tousey, with Irma-Estel Laguerre, Jessica Ranville, John Scott-Richardson, Kholan Studi, Ryan Anthony Williams, opens at Off-Broadway’s Perelman Performing Arts Center.
Redwood, world premiere by Tina Landau, Kate Diaz & Idina Menzel, directed by Landau, featuring Idina Menzel (Jesse), De’Adre Aziza (Mel), Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Becca), Michael Park (Finn), and Zachary Noah Piser (Spencer), with Giovanny Diaz de Leon, and Lance Arthur Smith, opens at LaJolla Playhouse.
The Adams Family concert production, directed by Matthew White, featuring Ramin Karimloo, Michelle Visage, Lesley Joseph, Sam Buttery, Nicholas Mclean, Dickon Gough, Sean Kingsley, Ryan Kopel, Kara Lane, and Chumisa Dornford-May, with Leeroy Boone, Abigail Brodie, Gavin Eden, Chloe Gentles, Katie Hutton, Matthew Ives, Jessica Keable, and Castell Parker, closes at the London Palladium.
Labyrinth Theatre‘s Barn Series, offering FREE readings of new plays, concludes at Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters.
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Jonathan A. Abrams & Tyler Mitchell’s The Heart of Rock and Roll will begin previews Mar. 29 and open Apr. 22 at the James Earl Jones Theatre, directed by Gordon Greenberg, with choreography by Lorin Latarro, and music supervision by Brian Usifer.
Corey Cott, McKenzie Kurtz, Josh Breckenridge, F. Michael Haynie, Zoe Jensen, Tamika Lawrence, Raymond J. Lee, John-Michael Lyles, Orville Mendoza, Billy Harrigan Tighe and John Dossett, with Mike Baerga, Tommy Bracco, TyNia René Brandon, Olivia Cece, Taylor Marie Daniel, Lindsay Joan, Ross Lekites, Robin Masella, Kara Menendez, Michael Olaribigbe, Kevin Pariseau, Robert Pendilla, Joe Moeller, Jennifer Noble, Fredric Rodriguez Odgaard and Leah Read.
Set in 1987, and jam-packed with Huey Lewis mega-hits, the musical centers on a couple of twenty-somethings on the cusp of their futures — Bobby, a rock and roller who’s traded his guitar for the corporate ladder — and his boss, Cassandra, who’s always put the family business first. When they both get a second shot at their dreams, it’ll take “The Power of Love” and a little help from their friends to figure out what kind of life they really want.
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SlamFEST, offering readings of new play, continues through Feb. 27 at North Hollywood’s Road on Magnolia.
Click here for the complete schedule.
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PBS Great Performances will broadcast the Broadway production of Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious on Fri. May 24 at 9 PM (check local listings) on PBS (and the PBS app), directed by Kenny Leon.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Purlie), Kara Young (Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins), Heather Alicia Simms (Missy Judson), Billy Eugene Jones (Gitlow Judson), Noah Robbins (Charlie Cotchipee), Vanessa Bell Calloway (Idella Landy), Jay O. Sanders (Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee), Bill Timoney (The Sheriff), and Noah Pyzik (The Deputy).
A traveling preacher, Purlie, returns to his Georgia hometown to save the local church and the cotton pickers working on Ol’ Cap’n Cotchiepee’s plantation.
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An industry reading of Kim Powers’ Rae Bourbon’s Final Comeback Tour will take place Mon. Mar. 11 at NYC’s Producers Club.
Drew Droege.
The piece focuses on a real-life drag queen who attained the heights of his performance career (a sold-out, three-night engagement at Carnegie Hall) before being sentenced to life in prison for murder. Set in Bourbon’s prison cell, the performer makes a last-minute, nightclub-style appeal for empathy and release.
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Distinguished Concerts International New York will present Carol Barnett’s Bluegrass Mass on Sun. Feb. 18 at 2 PM at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Dr. Tucker Biddlecombe.
Downtown Voices.
A gender-bending bluegrass mass. featuring the solemnity of the classical choir-based mass together with the down home sparkle of bluegrass.
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Zoe Sarnak & Rachel Bonds’ The Lonely Few will run Apr. 26 – June 2 (opening May 20) at MCC Theatre, directed by Trip Cullman & Ellenore Scott, with music direction by Myrna Conn.
Damon Duanno, Taylor Iman Jones, Peter Mark Kendall, Loren Patten, Helen J. Shen, and Thomas Sillcott.
Lila and her band, The Lonely Few, have a standing gig at Paul’s Juke Joint in their small Kentucky town. When an established musician, Amy, gives them a chance to join her on tour, they take it. Love blossoms between Lila and Amy on the road … but can it endure?
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Ebony Rep will present Zora Howard’s Stew Mar. 7-24 (opening Mar. 9) at the Nate Holden PAC, directed by Jade King Carroll.
iesha m. daniels (Lil Mama), Greta Oglesby (Mama), Roslyn Ruff (Lillian), and Nedra Snipes (Nelly).
A captivating, funny, and intimate story about the relationship between mothers, daughters and the realities that bind them together.
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Milwaukee Rep has announced its 2024-25 season.
The Coast Starlight (Sept. 3 – Oct. 6), by Keith Bunin, directed by Mark Clements.
A young man armed with a secret that can land him in terrible trouble boards the Coast Starlight, the long-distance train that runs from Los Angeles to Seattle. With the help of his fellow travelers, all of whom are reckoning with their own choices, he has one thousand miles to figure out a way forward.
Women of Rock (Sept. 6 – Nov. 3), world premiere by Mark Clements. Before Little Richard, Johnny Cash, and Jimi Hendrix, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s groundbreaking blend of gospel music, swing rhythms and fierce electric guitar made her an unconventional music superstar in the 1930s and 40s.
Prelude to a Kiss: The Musical (Sept. 10 – Oct. 20), world premiere by Craig Lucas, Sean Hartley & Daniel Messé, directed by David Ivers.
Marie and Rosetta (Oct. 22 – Dec. 22), by George Brant, directed by E. Faye Butler. The play unearths the unsung roots of the fearless “Godmother of Rock’n’Roll” and her wide-eyed protégée Marie Knight – as they begin their revolutionary ascent to become one of the most influential teams in music.
Lumberjacks in Love (Nov. 8 – Jan. 12, 2025), by Fred Alley & James Kaplan, directed & choreographed by Jeffrey Herbst. A hilarious show filled with up nort’ humor and fun-loving songs.
The Craic (Jan. 17 – Mar. 15, 2025), world premiere by Mark Clements and Deanie Vallone, directed by Clements. A group of master storyteller-musicians visit South Kerry’s most welcoming pubs, where stories and songs flow as easy as a whiskey and a pint.
The Woman in Black (Jan. 21 – Mar. 23), adapted by Stephen Mallatratt. A gripping study in atmosphere, illusion, and controlled horror. A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the specter of a woman in black – engages a skeptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and hopefully exorcise the fear that grips his soul. As they reach further into his darkest memories, they find themselves ensnared in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds. What happens next is something you must see to believe!
Romeo and Juliet (Feb. 25 – Mar. 30), adapted & directed by Laura Braza.
The Last Five Years (Mar. 21 – May 18)
Espejos: Clean (Apr. 8 – May 11), adapted by Paula Zelaya Cervantes. The lives of two women with vastly different life experiences intersect at a resort in Cancún.
Million Dollar Quartet (Apr. 22 – May 25), directed by Laura Braza.
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Michael Feinstein & Sheryl Lee Ralph: Music for Lovers and Strangers will take place Sat. Feb. 17 at 8 PM at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.
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Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean & Eva Steinmetz’s Penelope will run Mar. 5 – Apr. 21 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Steinmetz, with music direction by Ben Moss.
Jessica Phillips.
Penelope takes a familiar story and flips it entirely on its head. A witty and thoughtful new musical that examines our modern world reflected in the rocky shores of Penelope’s Ithaca. Join Penelope as she reflects on twenty long years of waiting for her wily husband to return from Troy, a glass of bourbon in one hand and a microphone in the other.
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Hamlet, adapted by Mark Izzard and directed by Selena Cadel, has been extended through Mar. 16 at Off-Broadway’s Greenwich House Theatre.
Eddie Izzard.
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Nicole Travolta is Doing Alright will run Feb. 14-24 at the Soho Playhouse, written, directed by, & starring by Lauren Burns.
Bad with money, great with a spray gun, that’s Nichole Travolta. Her one-woman show is about a compulsive shopper who freed herself from debt, shame, a messy divorce, and the weight of a famous last name, one spray tan at a time.**********************
Tony Danza: Standards & Stories will run Feb. 22-24 (all at 8:30 PM) at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club.
The evening includes a meet-and-greet with Mr. Danza.