Today’s Highlights:
A Funny Thing happened on the way to the Forum, directed & choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, featuring Erin Weaver (Pseudolus), Cameron Loyal (Miles Gloriosus), Mike Millan (Hysterium), Tracy Lynn Olivera (Domina), and Kuhoo Verma (Philia), Christopher Bloch (Senex), Sherri L. Edelen (Erronius/Vibrata), Zachary Keller (Hero), Nolan Montgomery Gymnasia, Kaylee OlsonTintinabula), Lawrence Redmond Marcus Lycus), Ryan Sellers (Protean/Geminae), Harrison Smith (Protean), Emily Steinhardt (Panacea), and Hank von Kolnitz (Protean/Geminae), with Dylan Arredondo,Rebecca Madeira, Alicia Osborn,. Graciela Rey, and Quincy Vicks, opens at VA’s Signature Theatre.
Swept Away, by John Logan & The Avett Brothers, directed by Michael Mayer, featuring John Gallagher Jr. (Mate), Stark Sands (Big Brother), Adrian Blake Enscoe (Little Brother), and Wayne Duvall (Captin), with Hunter Brown, Matt DeAngelis, Cameron Johnson, Brandon Kalm, Michael J. Mainwaring, Orville Mendoza, Tyrone L. Robinson, John Sygar,Josh Breckenridge, Rico LeBron, John Michael Finley, Chase Peacock, Robert Pendilla, and David Rowen, begins previews at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre.
Cockeyed Optimist: Where Hammerstein Found His Hope, by Dick Scanlan & Malcom Gets, directed by Scanlan, featuring Kerstin Anderson, Mikaela Bennett, Patrick Breen, Eddie Cooper, Omar Lopez-Cepero, and Katie Mariko Murray, closes at NYC’s 92NY.
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Marc Shaiman, Bob Martin, Scott Wittman & Rick Elice’s Smash will begin previews Mar. 11, 2025 and open Apr. 10 at the Imperial Theatre, directed by Susan Stroman, with choreography by Joshua Bergasse.
Robyn Hurder (Ivy), Caroline Bowman (Karen), Brooks Ashmanskas (The Prom) as Nigel, Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening) as Tracy, John Behlmann (Shucked) as Jerry, Kristine Nielsen (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as Susan, Jacqueline B. Arnold (Moulin Rouge!) as Anita, Bella Coppola (Six) as Chloe, and Casey Garvin (Some Like It Hot) as Charlie. Wendi Bergamini, Sarah Bowden, Jacob Burns, Deanna Cudjoe, Chelle Denton, Daniel Gaymon, Merritt David Janes, Megan Kane, David Paul Kidder, Ian Liberto, Libby Lloyd, McGee Maddox, Connor McRory, J Savage, Jake Trammel, and Katie Webber, and more TBA.
Video: Promo.
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Open Door Playhouse will present Mark SaFranko’s No…? beginning Nov. 20, directed by Gary Lamb.
Elaine Mello (Liz) and Michael Fletcher (John)
A man finds himself haunted by his past when he tries to reunite with an old flame.
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Graham and Kristina Fuller’s That Parenting Musical will close Nov. 3 at Theatre Row, directed by Jen Wineman.
Natalie Bourgeois, Max Crumm, McKenna OGrudnik, Brian Owen, Dwayne Washington, Mia Gentile, and Branden R. Mangan.
Raising kids is a comedy of errors.
Video: Promo
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Invitation-only concert readings of Kris Lythgoe, John Farrar, and Kara DioGuardi To Sir, With Love will take place Nov. 8-10 at Burbank’s Garry Marshall Theater, directed by Sheldon Epps.
Wayne Brady (Rick Braithwaite), John O’Hurley (Headmaster Florian), Rachel Harris (Miss Dale-Evans), Kelley Jakle (Miss Blanchard), and Darcy Rose Byrnes (Pamela Dare), Josh Adamson (Mr. Bell), Pat Towne (Mr. Weston), Nick Apostolina (Jackson), Isabella Blake-Thomas (Joseph), L.J. Benet (Denham), Anthony Carro (Sapiano), Jahbril Cook (Seals), Caiden Falstrup-Finney (Potter), Gus Pappas (Buckley), Rena Strober (Mrs. Dare) and Haley Wolff (Pegg).
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RIP: Mimi Hines, a Canadian-born star of stage, television and nightclubs, died peacefully Monday at her home in Las Vegas of natural causes at age 91.
After meeting her future partner and husband, Phil Ford, at the Last Chance Saloon in Anchorage, Alaska, the duo’s break came when they were invited to appear on “The Tonight Show” on Aug. 28, 1958 where Mimi’s career kicked off when she sang “Till There Was You.” Jack Paar cried, placing she and her partner Phil Ford in instant demand, frequently thereafter appearing on that show and every other talk and variety show imaginable. After headlining in all the top nightclubs and showrooms in the country, Mimi parlayed her career by replacing Barbra Streisand on Broadway in Funny Girl, and led the cast for 18 months.
Following Funny Girl, Mimi starred in national touring companies of I Do! I Do!, Prisoner of Second Avenue, Sugar Babies and Hello, Dolly!, as well as star packages of Anything Goes, Never Too Late, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, No, No Nanette, Sugar, On The Twentieth Century and Nite Club Confidential, among others, frequently appearing with opposite Phil Ford.
During this period, Mimi also recorded several very successful albums, appeared as Mrs. Latimer on the hit series, “Frasier,” and then returned to Broadway as Miss Lynch in Grease and as Hattie Walker in the New York City Center’s production of Follies, stopping the show with her rendition of a song which summed her up best, “Broadway Baby.”
Video: Watch a flashback interview with Hines on “Broadway Beat”
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Red Bull Theater will present a reading of Jessica Hill’s The Dark Lady on Mon. Nov. 18 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Sheen Center, directed by Redrigo Beilfuss.
Jessica B. Hill and Matthew Rauch.
What if all the women in Shakespeare’s plays were based on the love of his life? What if she happened to be a writer herself? Enter Emilia Bassano: trilingual, multiracial, and the possible ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets. When Emilia meets Will, it’s a meeting of minds that sets their hearts and pens ablaze. But while Emilia struggles to leave her creative legacy, she’s also watching their love and art slowly turn Will into Shakespeare.
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LA Opera‘s Romeo and Juliet will run on various dates Nov. 2-23 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan & Lina González-Granados.
Amina Edris (Juliet), Duke Kim (Duke KimRomeo), Justin Austin (Mercutio), Craig Colclough (Lord Capulet), and Wei Wu (Friar Laurence).
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Gingold Theatrical Group‘s production of Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple, adapted & directed by David Staller, continue through Nov. 23 at Theater Row.
Nadia Brown, Susan Cella, Tina Chilip, Teresa Avia Lim, and Polami Williams, with Fiona Maguire and Lauren Zbylski.
1777. New Hampshire. America’s destiny is on the line. Five fearless women bring you a revolutionary take on Bernard Shaw’s almost-true historical adventure-comedy.
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Video: “Some Enchanted Evening,” with Alita Moses
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“1660 Vine,” by Jackson Prince, continues streaming for FREE here and on Prime Video, directed by Patricia McGregor, with choreography by Paula Abdul.
Norodom Khemuni, Cheryl Porter, Chris Olsen, Pia Toscano, Malachi Durant, CJ Cruz, Ty Deran, Fernanda Romero, Brianna Rose Gentilella, Jaiden Klein, Maya Lagerstam, Sam Haft, Lisa Loeb, Jessica Ruth Bell, and Kausha Campbell.
Follow a group of influencers as they take up residence in a famed Hollywood apartment building to pursue their dreams of social media stardom. Voiced by an original script and score written by a diverse group of 20-something songwriters, the various characters of “1660 Vine” confront questions of fame, influence, identity, and mental health. All the while, the residents update their followers through vlogs, gaming streams, makeup tutorials, TikTok dances, songs and pranks, as they navigate their search for identity, discovering the difference between what is authentic and what is curated
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Kristin Chenoweth Holiday Concert will take place Sat. Dec. 14 at 7:30 PM at LA’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with music direction by Mary Mitchell-Campbell.