Today’s Highlights:
Lea Michele begins her run as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre.
Tovah Feldshuh begins her run as Mrs. Brice in Funny Girl at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre.
Stephanie J. Block (Baker’s Wife), Sebastian Arcelus (Baker), Krysta Rodriguez (Cinderella), Katy Geraghty (Little Red Ridinghood), Jim Stanek (Steward), Andy Karl (Cinderella’s Prince) begin their runs in Into the Woods at Broadway’s St. James Theatre.
Lena Hall begins her run as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at Off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre.
Eureka Day, by Jonathan Spector, directed by Katy Rudd, featuring Helen Hunt (Suzanne), Kirsten Foster (May), Mark McKinney (Don), Ben Schnetzer (Eli), and Susan Kelechi Watson (Carina), begins previews at London’s Old Vic.
The Notebook, world premiere by Ingrid Michaelson & Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Michael Greif & Schele, featuring Jordan Tyson (Young Allie), Joy Woods (Middle Allie), Maryann Plunkett (Older Allie), John Cardoza (Young Noah), Ryan Vasquez (Middle Noah), and John Beasley (Older Noah), with Yassmin Alers, Andréa Burns, Jonathan Butler-Duplessis, Dorcas Leung, Omar Lopez-Cepero), Sophie Madorsky, Alex Benoit, Mary Ernster, Jerica Exum, Jerome Harmann-Hardeman, RhonniRose Mantilla, and Carson Stewart, begins previews at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
Charles Kirsch’s Backstage Babble Live! concert, with music direction by Michael Lavine, featuring Charles Busch, Meg Bussert, Len Cariou, Beth Fowler, David Jackson, Jill O’Hara, Brad Oscar, Christine Pedi, Kurt Peterson, Lee Roy Reams, John Rubinstein, and David White, at 7 PM ET at NYC’s 54 Below.
Porchlight Music Theatre‘s FREE Broadway in Your Backyard concert series, directed by Michael Weber, featuring Lydia Burke, Vasily Deris, Caitlin Dobbins, Carisa Gonzalez, Nik Kmiecik, Just Akria Kono, and Bryan McCaffrey, closes at various Chicago locations.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz: Let’s Dance! by Jim Bernhard
Fill in the missing words in these song titles, each of which is the name of a dance:
| 1. “I Wish You a ____” from Ballroom | A. Rumba |
| 2. “Can That Boy ____” from Side by Side by Sondheim | B. Charleston |
| 3. “The Bombie ____” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | C. Jitterbug |
| 4. “I’m an Old ____” from Keep Off the Grass | D. Foxtrot |
| 5. “Benjamin ____” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | E. Minuet |
| 6. “Born to ____” from Grease | F. Samba |
| 7. “A Little ____ Numba” Let’s Face It! | G. Calypso |
| 8. “The ____ of the Minute” from Rose-Marie | H. Waltz |
| 9. “____ Your Troubles Away” from Mack and Mabel | I. Tap |
| 10. “Won’t You ____ With Me?” The Boy Friend | J. Hand Jive |
Scroll down for the answers…
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Yasmina Reza’s Art will run in Spring 2023 (dates TBA) at a Shubert Theatre TBA, directed by Matthew Warchus. Additional information TBA.
Alec Baldwin, Tony Shalhoub, and John Leguizamo.
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The 2022 Creative Arts Emmys — winners.
Click here for the complete list of winners.
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Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will run Sept. 15 – Oct. 30 at ME’s Ogunquit Playhouse, directed by David Ruttura, with choreography by Joyce Chittick, and music direction by Nick Williams.
Sarah Bockel (Carole King), Taylor Aronson (Cynthia Weil), Anthony Festa (Gerry Goffin), Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein), Ben Jacoby (Barry Mann), Matt Loehr (Don Kirschner), with D’Marreon Alexander (Drifters), Reggie Bromell (Drifters), Anthony Cataldo (The Righteous Brothers), J. Daughtry (Drifters), Kaitlyn Davis (Marilyn), Gabrielle Elizabeth (The Shirelles), Rosharra Frances (The Shirelles), Jack Mastriani (The Righteous Brothers), Chandler Reeves (Betty), and Salisha Thomas (The Shirelles), with Tyler Michael Breeding, Nigel O. Richards, and Aiyana Imari Smash-Jackson.
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Elizabeth Taylor and the Shadow of Her Smile, starring Ann Talman, will run Sept. 13-14, both in person & streaming, at NYC’s 54 Below, directed by Lina Koutrakos, with music direction by Alex Rybeck.
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Listen: Charles Kirsch‘s interview with Constance Towers.
Listen to some of the stories of her legendary career: the sage advice that John Wayne gave….. the scene that George Abbott wouldn’t direct….. why Yul Brynner insisted on brown dressing rooms….. dealing with “The King” onstage and off….. the song that was the hardest to memorize….. the role that she turned down….. the film director that would shoot off a gun to get attention….. how she began her charitable organization Project Connie….. her relationship with Richard Rodgers….. why she didn’t think she was right for her role in Showboat….. the role that she performed the most times….. working with Lillian Gish….. the genius of John Ford….. and so much more.
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Video: Julie Benko discusses her “big break” in Broadway’s Funny Girl.
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Pittsburgh CLO has announced its 2023 Summer season:
Anything Goes (June 13-18)
Into the Woods (June 27 – July 2)
The Sound of Music (July 11-16)
Once On This Island (July 25-30)
Guys and Dolls (Aug. 8-13)
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Aug. 22-27)
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A revival of Sweeney Todd will begin previews Feb. 26 (opening Mar. 26) at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre, directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Steven Hoggett, and music direction by Alex Lacamoire.
Josh Groban (Sweeney Todd) and Annaleigh Ashford (Mrs. Lovett), with more TBA.
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On Mon. Sept. 12, Broadway’s Cort Theatre will be officially renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre.
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Jonathan Groff narrates Ted Chapin‘s memoir audiobook “Everything Was Possible,” which is now available on paperback and Kindle here.
The book chronicles the birth of the musical Follies. Chapin found himself front row center as a production assistant at the creation of one of the greatest the musical. Needing a college credit to graduate on time, he kept a journal of everything he saw and heard and thus was able to document in unprecedented detail how a musical is actually created. Now, more than 30 years later, he has fashioned and extraordinary chronicle.
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Alaska Thunderf*ck’s DRAG: The Musical will run Sept. 23 – Oct. 15 (opening Sept. 30) at Hollywood’s Bourbon Room.
Nick Adams, Joey McIntyre, Alysha Deslorieux, Alaska, Jujubee, Jackie Cox. Jan Sport, Lagoona Bloo, Aria B. Cassadine.
The story of two rival drag clubs that must overcome their differences in order to survive.
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Jonathan Freedland’s Jews. In Their Own Words will run Sept. 19 – Oct. 22 (opening Sept. 28) at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Vicky Featherstone & Audrey Sheffield.
Debbie Chazen, Louisa Clein, Steve Furst, Rachel-Leah Hosker, Alex Waldmann, and Hemi Yeroham.
A social worker. A doctor. A politician. An ex-politician. A refugee. A novelist. A decorator. A journalist. A Talmudist. An actress. A student. A researcher. Different lives, but all marked by the same enduring prejudice. The play includes verbatim interviews to expose the roots and damning legacy of antisemitism in Britain — found in the places where you’d least expect it.
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The world premiere workshop reading of Birthday Brunch, written & directed by Jen Olivares, will take place Sept. 28 & 29 (both at 7:30 PM PT) at Hollywood’s LGBT Center. No RSVP necessary.
Casting TBA.
Through the lens of Tiffany, a queer, housing-unstable artist venturing back into her homelands, we dance alongside her struggles and joys as her estranged family reveals and reconnects the unjust histories and bonds buried between them. With little land, and at times, community to hold onto, Tiffany’s birthday wish is for a home reborn.
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Complete casting has been announced for Little Shop of Horrors, to run Sept. 20 – Oct. 2 at MA’s North Shore Music Theatre, directed by Bob Richard, with choreography by Diane Laurenson, and music direction by Dan Rodriguez.
Montgomery Coleman (Seymour), Kim Sava (Audrey), Ed Romanoff (Mr. Mushnik), Ryan Knowles (Orin Scrivello), Tarra Conner-Jones (Audrey II), Charlotte Odusanya (Crystal), Erica Durham (Ronnette), and Maria Sylvia Norris (Chiffon), with Janaysia Gethers, Ross Griffin, TJ Lamando, Marissa Parness, Joseph Spieldenner, and Alyssa Watkins.
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The Secret Comedy of Women will run Sept. 14 – Oct. 16 at CA’s Huntington Beach Library Theatre, written by & starring Barbara Gehring & Linda Klein.
The piece celebrates the joys of the journey from girlhood to womanhood. An immersive theatrical experience that rejoices in the challenges of being a woman – from boys to bras and pantyhose to menopause.
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The Negro Ensemble Company has announced Our Voices, Our Time, a program of three one-act plays to run Oct. 19 – Nov. 6 at the Cherry Lane Theatre.
Casting TBA.
Clipper Cut Nation, by Cris Eli Blak, directed by Ralph McCain. The play is set in a local barbershop run by an owner and his young apprentice. Hometown pride, a rising politician, and gun violence tangle together as questions of forgiveness, redemption, grief, loss and survival come to the forefront.
What If, by Cynthia Grace Robinson, directed by Daniel Carlton. The play examines a mother’s fear for her child’s life as her daughter fights for justice.
I Don’t Do That, by Mona R. Washington, directed by Petronia Paley. The play follows a newly engaged couple, Norah, who African American, and Simon, who’s Nigerian, as two of their friends narrate the seemingly blissful romance spiraling into an argument over stereotypes and power.
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CT’s Westport Country Playhouse has announced its 2023 season:
Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Apr. 11-29), directed & choreographed by Jeffery L. Page
Dial ‘M’ for Murder (May 30 – June 17), directed by Mark Lamos.
TBA (July 11-29)
Antigone (Aug. 29 – Sept. 16), world premiere modern translation by Kenneth Cavander.
School Girls: or, The African Mean Girls Play (Oct. 24 – Nov. 11)
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The world premiere of Robert A. Papazian & James G. Hirsch’s Love Among the Ruins will run Oct. 26 – Nov. 13 (opening Oct. 30) at Laguna Playhouse, directed by Michael Arabian.
JoBeth Williams (Jessica Midlicott), Peter Strauss (Sir Arthur Granville-Jones), Ava Burton (Stenographer), CJ Blaine Eldred (Alfred Pratt), Martin Kildare (George Druise), Tom Shelton (Judge Philip Tandy), Katy Tank (Hermione Davis (Tyee Tilghman (Sir John Francis Dive), Patrick Merck Vest (Herbert/Bailiff), and Wendy Worthington (Fanny Pratt), with Nick Molari.
When wealthy widow and socialite Jessica Medlicott is sued for breach of promise by her money-seeing ex-fiancé, will her past as an actress help her or haunt her? As highly respected, strait-laced lawyer Sir Arthur Granville-Jone steps into the picture, he is driven to hilarious distraction by her larger-than-life personality.
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Chicago’s Davenport’s Piano Bar & Cabaret has announced its September schedule of performances:
Singing Nonsense with Joe Augustinsky (Sept 9)
The Vagina Monologues (Sept. 10), with Miriam Plotkin, Maia Madison, and Anjali Bhimani.
Josephine Sanges: The Funny Girl in Me (Sept. 16 at 8 PM)
Kevin Wood and Taking a Chance (Sept. 17 at 8 PM)
David Sabella: The Razzle Dazzle of Chicago, the Musical (Sept. 18 at 7 PM)
Sonia Oyla & Bob Solone: More Songs We Love (Sept. 22 & 29 at 8 PM)
Sophie Grimm: Turn that Grimm Upside Down (Sept. 23, 25, and more TBA)
Moonlight Cabaret: Friends & Rivals (Sept. 30)
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Ain’t Misbehavin’ will run Sept. 20 – Oct. 2 at Houston’s TUTS, directed by Monique Midgette, with choreography by Courtney D. Jones, and music direction b Phillip Hall.
Ashley Tamr Davis (Charlaine), Will Mann (Ken), Melrose Johnson (Armelia), David LaMarr (Andre), and Paris Bennett (Nell), with Sterling Lovett, Regina Hearne, Anthony Boggess-Glover, and Ambi Anuh-Ndumu.
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“The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes, and Disagreements,” by Peter Felichia, is now available in Paperback and Kindle here.
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York Theatre Company has announced complete casting for Barry Kleinbort’s Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, to run Sept. 13 – Oct. 16 at Theatre at St. Jean’s, conceived, directed & choreographed by Randy Skinner, with music direction by David Hancock Turner.
Darrell T. Joe, Jeremy Benton, Darien Crago, Kaitlyn Davidson, Danny Gardner, and Melinda Porto, with Corinne Munsch and Sean Quinn.
An all-singing, all-dancing celebration of the most famous songs that Irving Berlin composed for the silver screen. Mr. Berlin understood the impact dance had on a the public, and his melodies, rhythms, and lyrics reflected his love of that art form.
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Video: Julia Murney discusses her role in the new musical Between the Lines., which continues through Sept. 11 at Off-Broadway’s Tony Kiser Theatre. (1:25:59)
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Kate Hamill’s new adaptation of Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy will run Sept. 9-18 at Actors Theatre of Louisville, directed by Jennifer Pennington.
Lipica Shah (Mina Harker), LaShondra Hood (Doctor Van Helsing), Nick Jordan (Dracula), Dara Jade Tiller (Marilla), Alanna Darby (Drusilla), Mark Mozingo (Doctor George Seward), Brittany “BeeBee” Patillo (Lucy Westenra), Justin Jackson (Jonathan Harker), and Abigail Bailey Mapuin (Renfield).
Bouncing between horror and humor, Hamill reimagines Bram Stoker’s vampire classic as a full-throated battle cry against toxic masculinity. No damsels in distress, no romanticized villains – just a gleeful stake through the heart of the patriarchy.
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Boston’s Lyric Stage Company has announced its 2022-23 season:
Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine (Sept. 16 – Oct. 9), by Lynn Nottage, directed by Dawn M. Simmons.
The Play That Goes Wrong (Nov. 11 – Dec. 18)
Preludes (Jan. 6 – Feb. 5, 2023)
The Great Leap (Feb. 24 – Mar. 19)
Sister Act (Apr. 7 – May 14)
Rooted (June 2-25)
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LA Opera‘s new season begins with Lucia di Lammermoor (a co-production with the Metropolitan Opera), to run Sept. 17 – Oct. 9, conducted by Lina González-Granados, and directed by Simon Stone.
Amanda Woodbury (Lucia, Sept. 17-24), Liv Redpath (Lucia, Sept. 18 – Oct. 9), Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Edgardo), Alexander Birch Elliott (Enrico), Eric Owens (Raimondo), and Anthony León (Normanno).
Mourning her mother, tormented by her brother, and sold off into marriage to save her family’s finances, Lucia finds her sanity slipping as her wedding day approaches — and soon, she sees the unthinkable as her only way out.
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Manhattan Theatre Club will present the world premiere of Summer, 1976, with previews beginning Apr. 4, 2023 (opening date TBA) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Daniel Sullivan.
Laura Linney, and more TBA.
The deeply moving, insightful piece is about connection, memories, and the small moments that can change the course of our lives. Over one fateful summer, an unlikely friendship develops between Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist and single mom, and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife. As the Bicentennial is celebrated across the country, these two young women in Ohio navigate motherhood, ambition, and intimacy, and help each other discover their own independence.
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The LA Writers Workshop Festival will run Sept. 9-18 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, featuring two weekends of new works from 10 women-identifying playwrights.
The festival will include all local directors and 22 L.A. actors.
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The Shubert Organization has announced that on Mon. Sept. 12, Broadway’s Cort Theatre will be officially renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre.
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Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe will run Sept. 21 – Oct. 23 (opening Sept. 28) at the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Leigh Silverman.
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For those who haven’t already read it, here’s the complete NY Times obituary for Robert LuPone.
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The 33rd New York Cabaret Convention will run Oct. 26-28 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Oct. 26: Look to the Rainbow: The Songs of Yip Harburg, co-hosted by Andrea Marcovicci & Jeff Harnar.
Oct. 27: Natalie Douglas – Unforgettable: A Tribute to Nat King Cole.
Oct. 28: KT Sullivan – Through the Years: Celebrating Timeless American Standards.
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Amra-Faye Wright (Velma Kelly) and Brandon Victor Dixon (Billy Flynn) will join the company of Chicago on Sept. 12 at the Ambassador Theatre.
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José Cruz González’s American Mariachi will run Sept. 17 – Oct. 9 at Cleveland Play House, directed by Henry Godinez.
Gloria Vivica Benavides, Gigi Cervantes, Lucy Godínez, Ricardo Gutierrez, Molly Hernández, Eréndira Izguerra, Amanda Raquel Martinez, Bobby Plasencia, Christopher Llewyn Ramirez, and Elizabeth Romero.
Familia. Amor. Tradición. These values are at the heart of mariachi music and the community where Lucha cares for her mother battling dementia. So when an old mariachi recording re-awakens her mother’s memory, Lucha vows to learn and perform the song with her own all-female mariachi band. Join Lucha as she recruits band members, tracks down instruments, and stands up to long-held traditions to make her dream a reality.
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GRACE NOTES Quiz answers: Let’s Dance!
1-H. “I Wish You a Waltz” from Ballroom
2-D. “Can That Boy Foxtrot” from Side by Side by Sondheim
3-F. “The Bombie Samba” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
4-C. “I’m an Old Jitterbug” from Keep Off the Grass
5-G. “Benjamin Calypso” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
6-J. “Born to Hand Jive” from Grease
7-A. “A Little Rumba Numba” from Let’s Face It!
8-E. “The Minuet of the Minute” from Rose-Marie
9-I. “Tap Your Troubles Away” from Mack and Mabel
10-B. “Won’t You Charleston With Me?” from The Boy Friend