Today’s Highlights:
LA Stage Alliance presents the 31st annual Ovation Awards, to livestream for FREE at 8 PM PT.
Broadway Backwards benefit concert— from previous editions: Ward Billeisen, Charl Brown, Tituss Burgess, Joshua Buscher-West, Len Cariou, Carolee Carmello, Jamie Cepero, Bryan Terrell Clark, Darren Criss, Steven Cutts, Ariana DeBose, Cynthia Erivo, Garlen Gilliland, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Andy Kelso, Eddie Korbich, Marty Lawson, Michael McElroy, Bonnie Milligan, Debra Monk, Alfie Parker Jr., Brandon Pearson, Eric Petersen, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva, Andrew Rannells, Alex Ringler, Chita Rivera, Michael James Scott, Ryan Steele, Dennis Stowe, Lillias White, Curtis Wiley and Tony Yazbeck, in addition to Stephanie J. Block, Deborah Cox, Lea Salonga, Amy Adams, James Monroe Iglehart, Cheyenne Jackson, L Morgan Lee, Raymond J. Lee, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Ruthie Ann Miles, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Kelli O’Hara, Karen Olivo, Bernadette Peters, Sis and Elizabeth Stanley. The finale also includes special appearances by Debbie Allen, Matt Bomer, Brenda Braxton, Len Cariou, Glenn Close, Loretta Devine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cherry Jones, Aasif Mandvi, Michael McElroy, Javier Muñoz, Jim Parsons, Eve Plumb, Roslyn Ruff and Tony Yazbeck, streams for FREE at 8 PM ET here.
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Video: Jim Caruso’s Cast Party variety show, celebrating its one year anniversary, with special guests Amelia Eisenhauer, Khaila Anyè Wilcoxon, Julia Knitel, Colleen Ballinger, and Jenny Mollet. (1:58:52)
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Manhattan Theatre Club has announced a performance of Liza Birkenmeier’s PLEASE WELCOME OUR GUEST: a personality test/performance piece (only 20 minutes long), to stream Apr. 8-11, directed by Trish Harnetiaux.
A piece that’s not about the playwright, and is all about you! Are you (a) authentically you, (b) utterly fake, (c) sure this is a trap? Do you gain a sense of meaning from (a) myers-briggs, (b) astrology, (c) buzzfeed quizzes that compare you to fictional characters? With the help of a surprise guest star and an experimental survey, maybe Liza will guide you toward a better understanding of your unique self. Note: You will not be on camera.
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Ute Lemper: Rendezvous With Marlene (2019) will stream Apr. 8-10 at Off-Broadway’s York Theatre.
A magical fusion of theatre and cinema, gorgeous music that will take you on an intense journey. When Marlene Dietrich phoned a young singer out of the blue, the icon stayed on the line for an unforgettable three hours. 30 years later Broadway and West End star Ute Lemper reveals all in her 5-star critically acclaimed show.
Set List:
Where Have All The Flowers Gone / Sag mir wo die Blumen sind (Pete Seeger)
Just A Gigolo (Leonello Casucci)
One For My Baby (Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer)
Life’s A Swindle (Mischa Spoliansky / Marcellus Schiffer)
They Call Me Naughty Lola / Ich bin die fesche Loal (Friedrich Hollaender)
Boys In The Backroom (Frank Loesser / Friedrich Hollaender)
Lili Marleen (Norbert Schulze / Hans Leip)
Ruins Of Berlin (Friedrich Hollaender)
Black Market (Friedrich Hollaender)
When The World Was Young (Johnny Mercer / M. Philippe-Gérard)
Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel)
Laziest Gal In Town (Cole Porter)
Die Antwort mein Freund weiss ganz allein der Wind / The Answer My Friend Is Blowing In The Wind (Bob Dylan)
Que reste-t-il de nos amours / I Wish You Love (Charles Trenet)
Falling In Love Again (Friedrich Hollaender)
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War Horse (London’s National Theatre production), will livestream Mar. 31 – Apr. 6 here.
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The 1955 and 1956 black and white TV broadcasts of “Peter Pan,” starring Mary Martin, are now available on Blu-Ray & DVD here.
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Eric Rockwell & Joanne Bogart’s The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) will stream Apr. 18-21 at Off-Broadway’s York Theatre, directed by Tom D’Angora & Michael D’Angora, with music direction by Pamela Hunt.
Betty Buckley, Matthew Broderick, André De Shields, Jane Krakowski, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Mandy Patinkin, Chita Rivera, Lillias White, Mercedes Ruehl, Lewis Black, Richard Kind, Jose Llana, Isaac Mizrahi, Lesli Margherita, Debra Messing, Andrea McArdle, Brad Oscar, Ethan Slater, Giancarlo Esposito, Martha Plimpton, Randy Rainbow, Soara-Joye Ross, Christy Altomare, Colleen Ballinger, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Kelvin Moon Loh, Telly Leung, Christine Pedi, Jelani Remy, Jackie Sanders, Michael West, and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The musical is structured in five acts, each of which is a mini-musical parodying (and paying homage to), the style of a legendary musical theater writer: Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander & Ebb. Each act is based on the same classic melodrama plot: “I can’t pay the rent … You must pay the rent … I can’t pay the rent … Then I’LL pay the rent!”
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Video: Colleen Ballinger’s Miranda Sings auditions for Christine in Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera.
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“Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It“ will be released June 18 in theaters, directed by Mariem Pérez Riera. In addition, PBS American Masters will present the U.S. broadcast sometime after the theatrical release.
George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Karen Olivo.
The film chronicles Moreno from her early years in Puerto Rico through her childhood as an immigrant in New York City and the racial bias she faced in the studio system, while breaking down barriers and overcoming sexism and identity discrimination with integrity.
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Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, will begin previews Mar. 10, 2022 and open Mar. 31 at the Gielgud theatre, directed by Bartlett Sher.
Rafe Spall (Atticus Finch) and more TBA. Spall replaces the previously reported Rhys Ifans.
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Shakespeare Sonnet Slam: The Bard’s Birthday Bash, and Open Mic event, will livestream on Zoom Fri. Apr. 23 at 6 PM ET here.
Register here in advance to join and interact with us in the party, by Thurs., Apr. 22 at 4 PM ET.
The event will also be available live on Facebook.
Throughout the evening, we’ll invite you–as members of our family–to join in and volunteer offerings by your favorite Sonnets and Sonnet-inspired work, too! We ask that you kindly keep it to under 3 minutes, so we may hear from as many guests as possible. If you just want to watch, toast, and add good vibes to the room, that’s more than welcome, too. So please come as you are, and bring something sonnet-related to share or just BYO-something to toast to the Birthday Bard! Either way, we look forward to celebrating with you!
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Henry Filloux-Bennett’s adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray has been extended through Apr. 17 here, directed by Tamara Harvey
Fionn Whitehead, Alfred Enoch (Harry Wotton), Joanna Lumley (Lady Narborough), Russell Tovey, Emma McDonald (Sibyl Vane), and Stephen Fry (Interviewer).
The contemporary twist focuses on the impact of social media and dating apps. Set in a profile pic-obsessed, filter-fixated world, the adaptation follows influencer Dorian Gray as he makes a deal for his social star never to fade.
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“Being the Ricardos” is expected to be released in 2022, written & directed by Aaron Sorkin.
Nicole Kidman (Lucille Ball), Javier Bardem (Desi Arnaz), J.K. Simmons (Fred Mertz), and Nina Arianda (Ethel Mertz), with Linda Lavin, John Rubenstein, Christopher Denham, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat, and more TBA.
The film is set during one production week of “I Love Lucy” – the Monday table read through Friday audience filming – when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.
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Dennis T. Giacino’s Disenchanted! will stream Apr. 9-11 here, directed by Tom Jackson Greaves.
Jodie Steele (Snow White), Sophie Isaacs (Cinderella), Grace Mouat (Pocahontas), Millie O’Connell (The Little Mermaid), and Shanay Holmes (The Princess Who Kissed The Frog), with Courtney Bowman, Natalie Chua, Allie Daniel, Aisha Jawando, and Jenny O’Leary.