Today’s Highlights:
A Train, written & performed by Annie Torsiglieri, directed by Risa Brainin, opens at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre.
The Kingston Trio concert, featuring Mike Marvin, Tim Gorelankton, and Buddy Woodward, opens at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre.
Julie Benko: Standby, Me concert, at 8:30 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Apr. 7.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Kiss Me Kate will run June 4 – Sept. 14 (opening June 18) at the Barbican Theatre, directed by Bartlett Sher, with choreography by Anthony Van Laast, and music supervision by Stephen Ridley.
Stephanie J. Block (Lilli Vanessi & Katharine), Adrian Dunbar (Fred Graham & Petruchio), Charlie Stemp (Bill Calhoun & Lucentio), Georgina Onuorah (Lois Lane & Bianca), Josie Benson (Hattie), Jack Butterworth (Paul), Jude Owusu (Harry Trevor & Baptista), Carl Au (Hortensio), Jordan Crouch (Gremio), Gary Milner (Ralph), and James Hume (Pops), with Alisha Capon, Shani Cator, Maya de Faria, Amelia Kinu Muus, Jacqui Jameson, Lucas Koch, Alex Lodge, Nell Martin, Anna McGarahan, John Stacey and Harrison Wilde. Swings are Robin Kent, Barry Drummond, Emily Goodenough, and Maddie Harper.
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Jenne Wason & Joseph Benoit’s Winesday: The Wine Tasting Musical, will run May 8 – July 24 (opening May 22) at the Jerry Orbach Theater, directed by Jamibeth Margolis, with musical direction by Alec Bart.
Dawn Cantwell, Jennifer Diamond, Debra Thais Evans, Shannen Hofheimer, Amanda Lea Lavergne and Michael Valvo, with Suzanne Dressler.
When these five wine-loving women get together every Wednesday night, they’re theoretically meeting for a book club or a yoga class, but really, they just want to indulge in wine and talk about their lives. It’s like “Sex and the City” meets the vineyard – including a friendly wine steward to guide the audience through the wine paired with each upcoming scene.
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Renee Fleming in Conversation with David Rubenstein: Music and Mind will take place Sun. Apr. 21 at 7:30 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
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The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced its 2023 Award recipients.
Click here to watch the ceremony.
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The Classical Theatre of Harlem will present it annual fundraiser, Hold ’em in Harlem, on Thurs. May 23 at 6 PM t The Renaissance Harlem Hotel Ballroom.
Special guests and additional information TBA.
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Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater has announced its Music Mondays Season:
Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes (July 8), directed by Scott Wittman.
The Harlem Gospel Choir – A Gospel Concert with a Special Tribute to Aretha Franklin (Aug. 5)
Erich Bergen (Aug. 12)
Ari Axelrod – A Place For Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway (Aug. 19)
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How to Dance in Ohio, which closed on Broadway on Feb. 11, will return with the original cast for a on-nite-only concert presentation on Mon. May 20 at NYC’s Palladium Times Square.
Additional details TBA.
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Group Rep‘s Can’t Live Without ‘Em, by Lee Redmond, will run April 11 – May 12 at North Hollywood’s Lonny Chapman Theatre, directed by Mareli Mitchel-Shields.
Bert Emmett (Thomas Axelrod), Paul Anthony Kelly (Dr. Payne), Jessica Kent (Tammy), and Cynthia Payo (Maureen Axelrod), with Danny Saolay, Holly Seidcheck, Daisy Staedler, and Jazz Strong.
Famous author and charming philanderer Thomas Axelrod lands in a hospital following a stroke. Tom is in a coma; but can still hear. His ex-wife, current wife, and his mistress all have thoughts on next steps of care. But does he want to hear what the various women in his life have to say, especially when they are all in the room at the same time?
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater has announced its 2024-25 season:
Corduroy (June 18 – July 14), adapted by Barry Kornhauser. Corduroy’s button has gone missing and he can’t go home with the kindhearted Lisa without it. Audiences follow the beloved bear on a rollicking and delightfully destructive journey through the department store as he searches high and low in this imaginative tale of friendship and belonging.
The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale ( July 9 – Sept. 1 ), by Shaun McKenna, Matthew Warchus directed by Paul Hart & A. R. Rahman.
Henry V Sept. 6 – Oct. 6)
Pericles (Oct. 20 – Dec. 28)
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (Jan. 14 – Feb. 2, 2025), by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Whitney White.
Avaaz (Jan. 21 – Feb. 9), written & performed by Michal Shayan. Roya welcomes audiences into her home to celebrate the Iranian New Year and shares her quintessential American journey from Tehran to “Tehrangeles,” California, formerly known as Westwood.
Short Shakespeare! a Midsummer Night’s Dream (Feb. 4 – Mar. 8), adapted & directed by Edward Hall.
Hamlet (Mar. 13-23), a new adaptation by Teatro Plaza.
Sunny Afternoon (Mar. 21 – Apr. 27), by Ray Davies & Joe Penhall. The story of the groundbreaking British rock band, The Kinks.
Hymn (Apr. 21 – May 25), by Lolita Chakrabarti. The play charts the lives of two middle-aged Black men as they form a deep bond in an intimate exploration of the loyalties and betrayals of brothers, fathers, and sons.
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Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses will run May 7 – June 16 at DC’s Folger Theatre, directed by Psalmayene 24.
Edwin Brown III, Renea S. Brown, DeJeanette Horne, Yesenia Iglesias, Billie Kirshawn, Manu Kumasi, Miss Kitty, Jon Hudson Odom, Kalen Robinson, Gerrad Taylor, and Renee Elizabeth Wilson.
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“Whoopi Goldberg: Bits & Pieces” will take place Mon. May 6 at 5:45 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
A candid conversation about her life and her new memoir, “Bits and Pieces.”
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Initial casting has been announced for the upcoming screen version of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” written & directed by Bill Condon, which will be released on a date TBA.
Jennifer Lopez (Spider Woman), Tonatiuh (Luis Molina), Diego Luna (Valentin Arregui), and more TBA.
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A new production of the 2006 musical The Lord of the Rings, by Shaun McKenna, Matthrew Warchus & A.R. Rahman will run July 19 – Sept. 1 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, directed by Paul Hart.
Casting TBA.
This version is retold from the perspective of the Hobbits. Set on Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday when Bilbo gives Frodo a gold ring, the musical follows Frodo on the daunting and perilous task of journeying across Middle Earth to save them all from the Dark Lord Sauron. Audiences then join an ensemble cast and large-scale puppets on the story about the power of friendship and the common good.
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Zoe Sarnak & Rachel Bonds’ The Lonely Few will run Apr. 27 – June 2 (opening May 20) at MCC Theatre, directed by Trip Cullman & Ellenore Scott.
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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Jenna, Merle & Friends will take place Sun. Apr. 21 at 7:30 PM at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage, directed & hosted by Jenna Ushkowitz and Merle Dandridge, with staging by Lee Martino, and music direction by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley. Proceeds will support Harvest Home.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cheyenne Jackson, Katie Lowes, Kevin McHale, Austin McKenzie, Adam Shapiro, Tracie Thoms, Carly Thomas Smith, Kim Dawson, Rachel Bay Jones, Carly Hughes, Ty Taylor, and Troy Baker.