Today’s Highlights:
Yellow Face, by David Henry Hwang, directed by Leigh Silverman, featuring Daniel Dae Kim (DHH), Kevin Del Aguila (Actor A,) Ryan Eggold (Marcus), Francis Jue (HYH), Marinda Anderson (Actor B), Greg Keller (Reporter), and Shannon Tyo (Leah), opens at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre.
Macbeth, directed by Max Webster. featuring David Tennant (Macbeth), Cush Jumbo (Lady McBeth), Moyo Akandé (Ross), Annie Grace (Musician/ Gentlewoman), Brian James O’Sullivan (Donalbain/Soldier/Murderer/ Musician) Casper Knopf (Fleance/Young Siward), Cal MacAninch (Banquo) Kathleen MacInnes (The Singer), Alasdair Macrae (Musician), Rona Morison (Lady Macduff), Noof Ousellam (Macduff) Raffi Phillips (Macduff’s Son/ Fleance/ Young Siward/), Jatinder Singh Randhawa (The Porter/Seytan) Ros Watt (Malcolm), and Benny Young (Duncan / Doctor), opens at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre.
Good Bones, by James Ijames, directed by Saheem Ali, featuring Mamoudou Athie (Travis), Khris Davis (Earl,) Téa Guarino (Carmen), and Susan Kelechi Watson (Aisha), opens at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater.
Drag: The Musical, by Alaska Thunderf*ck, Tomas Costanza & Ashley Gordon, directed & choreographed by Spencer Liff, featuring Alaska Thunderf*ck, Jujubee, Jan Sport, Lagoona Bloo, Elaine Marcos, and Joey McIntyre, opens at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages.
The Big Gay Jamboree, by Marla Mindelle, Jonathan Parks-Ramage & Philip Drennen, directed & choreographed by Conor Gallagher, featuring Marla Mindelle (Stacey),Paris Nix (Clarence), Constantine Rousouli (Bert), and Natalie Walker (Flora), with Brad Greer, Amanda Lee, Jillian Mueller, Olivia Puckett, Melvin Tunstall, and John Yi, with swings Jaden Dominique, Jeremiah Ginn, Clyde Voce, and Cortney Wolfson, opens at Orpheum Theatre, opens at Off-Broadway’s Orpheum Theatre.
Babbitt, world premiere by Joe DiPietro, directed by Christopher Ashley, featuring Matthew Broderick (George F. Babbit), Mara Davi (Storyteller #5), Ann Harada (Storyteller #1), Nehal Joshi (Storyteller #2), Judy Kaye (Storyteller $6), Matt McGrath (Storyteller #3), Chris Myers (Storyteller #7) and Ali Stroker (Storyteller #4), begins previews at DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Romeo and Juliet, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, featuring Cole Taylor (Romeo), Caro Reyes Rivera (Juliet), Todd Scofield (Lord Capulet), Fran Tapia (Lady Capulet), Tony Nam (Lord Montague), Renee Elizabeth Wilson (Lady Mantague), Briovanna Alcântara Drummond (Confidant), John Floyd (Confidant) Alina Collins Maldonado (Tybalt), Luz Nicholas (Nurse), Brandon Carter (Friar Lawrence), Deidra LaWan Starnes (Prince), and Gabriel Alejandro (Paris), opens at DC’s Folger Theatre.
The Boy Who Loved Batman, world premiere by Asa Somer, directed by Jeff Calhoun, featuring Dan Fogler (Michael Uslan), Paul Adam Schaefer (Imaginary Friend), and Katherine Yacko (Nancy Uslan), with Kelly Bashar, Nicholas Perez-Hoop, and Hugh Timoney, opens at Tampa’s Straz Center.
Ghost Concert presentation by Bruce Joel Rubin, Dave Stewart & Glen Ballard, directed by Paul Warwick Griffin, featuring Lucie Jones (Molly), Oliver Tompsett (Sam), Moya Angela (Oda Mae Brown), David Seadon-Young (Carl Bruner), Sam Mackay (Willie Lopez), Lisa Davina Phillip (Clara), Jenny Fitzpatrick (Ortisha), and C.J. Borger (Orlando), with Michael Cortez and Stevie Hutchinson, at 8 PM at London’s Adelphi Theatre.
LA Opera‘s Madame Butterfly, conducted by James Conlon, featuring Karah Son (Cio-Cio-San), Jonathan Tetelman (B.F. Pinkerton), Hyona Kim (Suzuki), and Michael Summel (Sharpless), Michael Sumuel (Sharpless), Hyona Kim (Suzuki), Rodell Aure Rosel (Goro), and Hyungiin Son (Prince Yamadori), Wei Wu (Bonze), and Vinícius Costa (Imperial Commissioner), closes at LA’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Parents in Chains developmental workshop, by Jay Martel, directed by Andy Fickman, featuring Jason Alexander, Kristen Bell, Yvette Nicole Brown, Tom Everett Scott, Jackie Tohn, and Gary Anthony Williams, closes Hollywood’s Whitley Theatre.
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Reviews for McNeal at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre:
NY Times (Jesse Green): …a thought experiment about art and A.I…. computer-mediated interactions — predictive chatbots, large language models, generative intelligence — are pitted against their analog forebears. What creative opportunities does such technology afford the artist? What human opportunities does it squander? Forget the sword: It’s the pen vs. the pixel… I’m afraid, alas, the pixel wins, because the play…works only as provocation. Timely but turgid, it rarely rises to drama; in a neat recapitulation of current fears about technology, its humans, hardly credible as such, have been almost entirely replaced by ideas.
Los Angeles Times (Charles McNulty): …How indebted can a novelist be to the work of other people? Where is the line between creativity and plagiarism? (Were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides guilty of ripping off Homer?) If a writer gets an assist from a machine, can he legitimately claim authorship?… McNeal doesn’t subscribe to the Romantic view of the artist as solitary genius… A film actor unaccustomed to having to articulate to the back row, Downey relies on the excessive amplification of Bartlett Sher’s production. But his characterization is properly scaled for the stage. McNeal’s ambivalence is boldly handled … The artificiality of the protagonist’s interactions made me wonder if the whole play might be an AI dream…
Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez): …an impotent new Ayad Akhtar play about the value of art and the moral dangers of artificial intelligence … It seems to want to warn us of the soullessness of technologies like ChatGPT in its tale of a Great Male Novelist (Downey) staring down an authenticity scandal just as he’s awarded his long-awaited Nobel. But the play’s premiere production at Lincoln Center isn’t too sure … It’s not a new paradigm – Genius Artist Exploits Others For Material – despite the amount of diversions Akhtar throws its way via a cavalcade of supporting performances from embarrassingly overqualified actors…
Theatermania (David Gordon): …Robert Downey Jr. in his Broadway debut as a writer who wins the Nobel Prize for Literature on the same day he discovers that he’s dying of liver failure. He has an obsession with artificial intelligence, and also may have stolen his dead wife’s novel and published it under his name… The supporting performances are generally competent, though the roles tend to be either underwritten, overwritten, or lacking in credibility … Sher’s direction keeps the production fluid, navigating Akhtar’s dense, idea-driven script with clarity and tension.
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York Theatre Company will present a developmental reading of Ray Roderick & Joseph Baker’s Brooklyn’s Bridge: A New Musical on Tues. Oct. 8 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Theater at St. Jean’s, directed by Ray Roderick, with music direction by Joseph Baker.
Stephen Berger, Tommy J. Dose, Savannah Frazier, Andrea GrossiBenitez, Matthew Harmon, John Hillner, Ben Jones, Paula Leggett Chase, Conor McShane, Fergie L. Philippe, Drew Tanabe, and Chelsea Wheatley.
The musical is Inspired by the extraordinary life of Emily Roebling, wife of Brooklyn Bridge Chief Engineer Washington Roebling. While working in the caissons under the east river, Washington had a debilitating attack of “the bends” and became bedridden. For the next eleven years, only Emily was seen on the work sight, delivering plans, handling both engineering and political issues. The New York Times recently revised their obituary for Emily Roebling, acknowledging that SHE built the bridge.
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Kate Hamill’s Dracula will run Oct. 16 – Nov. 3 at Virginia Stage, directed by Melissa Mowry.
Brianna-Lynn Baker (Marilla), rober Beitzel (Dracula), Victoria Blake (Miller/Merchant), Madeline Calais-King (Mina Harker), Dan Cimo (Dr. George Seward), Eric Harrell (Jonathan Harker), Darlene Hope (Doctor Van Helsing), Yayra McGodfred (Maid), Lizzie Morgan (Lucy Westerna), Komal Smruti (Drusilla), and Anna Sosa (Renfield).
This story of Dracula is unlike any you’ve ever seen — follow these reinvigorated characters through the dark in this disquieting, yet comedic drama that explores the nature of predators, monsters, and the terrors of everyday life. This re-imagined tale of Bram Stoker’s classic reveals new monsters beneath the skin and drives a stake right through the patriarchy.
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You Will Be Found – A Benefit Concert for NAMI Glac (National Alliance on Mental Illness, Greater Los Angeles County) will take place Sun. Nov. 10 at 7:30 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club, with music direction by Brad Ellis, and hosted by Jason Kravits & Brad Ellis.
Eydie Alyson, Owen Bakula, Scott Bakula, Roger Befeler, David Burnham, Chelsea Field, Kate Flannery, Barrett Foa, Julie Garnyé, Kim Huber, Jane Lynch, Maude Maggart, Andrea Marcovicci, Tracie Thoms and Nita Whitaker.
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Joseph Robinette, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul’s A Christmas Story the Musical will run Nov. 1 – Dec. 29 (opening Nov. 13) at CT’s Goodspeed, directed by Hunter Foster, with music direction by Adam Souza, and choreography by Mara Newbery Greer.
John Scherer (Jean Shepard), Christopher Riley (Ralphie), Jim Stanek (The Old Man), Jenn Gambatese (Mother), Camilo Velasquez Escamilla (Randy), and Rashidra Scott (Miss Shields), with Jenniellen Beattie, Kyle Caress, Jack Casey, Sy Chounchaisit, Marjorie Failoni, Thomas Goldbach V, Laura Guley, Treston J. Henderson, Gavin Holwitt, Addie Jaymes, Ian Knauer, Gabriel Lafazan, Oliver Logue, Izzy Pike, Jesse Swimm, Tommy Betz, and Paris Martino.
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The L.A. Dance Project will present Romeo & Juliet Suite Oct. 10-12 at at LA’s Wallis Annenberg Center, choreographed by Benjamin Millepied,.
A different cast for each performance.
With this dazzling production, Millepied offers a contemporary vision of Prokofiev’s masterpiece Romeo & Juliet – a mythical take through a modern and original prism further embellished by its beautiful music. The choreographer navigates between cinema, dance, and theatre, reinterpreting Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers as young adults in an urban environment where social norms prevent them from living out their love story. On stage and off, the plot unfolds using a unique projection system. Tableaux are broadcast in real-time, from unexpected places inside the theater and backstage. The dancers, filmed live, pass from stage to screen. Each performance features a different cast and highlights diverse couples – male/female, male/male, female/female – making this version of Romeo & Juliet a universal celebration of love.
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Red Bull Theater will present a reading of Aaron Mark’s Another Medea on Tues. Oct. 8 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Sheen Center, directed by Aaron Mark.
Tom Hewitt.
Marcus Sharp is a charismatic and enigmatic New York actor who recounts in gruesome detail how his obsessions with a wealthy doctor named Jason and the myth of Medea lead to horrific, unspeakable events. At once ancient and contemporary, this provocative mono-thriller is Grand Guignol horror in the style of Spalding Gray.
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Mint Theater‘s production of Lynn Riggs’ Sump’n Like Wings, currently in previews, will open Oct. 10 and close Nov. 2 at Theater Row, directed by Raelle Myrick-Hodges.
Julia Brothers, Andrew Gombas, Traci Hovel, Lukey Klein, Richard Lear, Mariah Lee, Mike Masters, Leon Pintel, Buzz Roddy, Lindsey Steinert, and Joy Avigail Sudduth.
The story of Wille Baker, a 16-year-old girl too proud and too wild for the life she’s living. Her mother runs the dining room in the hotel her uncle owns. Willie is stuck helping her, squirming under her thumb while her uncle argues for tenderness and compassion.
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Ain’t Misbehavin’ will run Oct. 18 – Nov. 3 (opening Oct. 19) at Long Beach’s Musical Theatre West, directed & choreographed by Ron Kellum, with music direction by William McDaniels.
TBA
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Fiddler on the Roof will run Nov. 8 – Dec. 1 (opening Nov. 9) at CA’s La Mirada Theatre, directed by Lonny Price, with choreography by Lee Martino, and music direction by alby Potts.
Jason Alexander (Tevye), Valerie Perri (Golde),Rachel Ravel (Tzeitel),Alanna J. Smith (Hodel), Emerson Glick (Chava), Cameron Mabie (Motel),Remy Laifer (Perchi), Sawyer Patterson (Fyedka), Eileen T’Kaye (Yente), nRon Orbach (Lazar Wolf,) Gregory North (Constable), Catherine Last (Shprintze), Ava Giselle Field (Bielke),David Prottas The Fiddler/Yussel), Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (Mordcha), Hayden Kharrazi (Mendel), Ryan Dietz (Avram), Marc Moritz (Rabbi), Daniel Stromfeld (Nachum), Jean Kauffman (Grandma Tzeitel). Gwen Hollander (Fruma-Sarah), Dana Weisman (Shaindel) and Hannah Nicole Sedlacek (Fredel), with Anthony Cannarella, Michael James, Bruno Koskoff, Gavin Leahy, Mark C. Reis, Michalis Schinas, Chad A. Vaught, Michael Wells, Bailey Herskowitz, Charley Rowan McCain, and Donovan Mendelovitz.