GRACE NOTES: Wednesday August 27, 2025

 

Today’s Highlights:

 

Relax, let go, let fly…

 

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  Broadway Grosses for the week ending Aug. 24.

 

Click here for the complete analysis.

 

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  Chicago’s Porchlight Music Theatre will present New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 Tues. Sept. 20 at 7:30 PM at the The Rhapsody Theater, directed by Frankie Leo Bennett.

 

  Lisa Buhelos, Kaitlin Feely, Mary Laura Godby, Nicholas Ian, Nathan Kabara (Fiddler on the Roof at Drury Lane Theater), Jackson Mikkelsen, Nicholas Roman, and Janelle Sanabria.

 

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  William Finn & Rachel Sheinkin’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will run Nov. 7 – Feb. 15, 2o26 (opening Nov. 17) at New World Stages, directed byDanny Mefford.

 

  Justin Cooley (Leaf Coneybear), Kevin McHale (William Barfée), Philippe Arroyo (Chip Tolentino), Leana Rae Concepcion and (Marcy Park),  Justin Cooley (Leaf Coneybear), Kevin McHale (William Barfée), Philippe Arroyo (Chip Tolentino), and Leana Rae Concepcion (Marcy Park), Jasmine Amy rogers (Olive Ostrovsky), Autumn  Best (Logaininne Schwartzgrubenierre, and Matt Manuel.

 

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. Ashley Griffin’s The Opposite of Love continues through Aug. 31 at the Hudson Theatre, directed by Melora Marshall.

 

  Ashley Griffin and Evan Strand.

 

   A down on his luck hustler and a trust fund baby form an unlikely bond when she hires him to help her move past her sexual trauma. But their search for intimacy must survive darker inclinations in a world where love is a commodity. 

 

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  The Muppets and Magician Rob Lake will run Oct. 28 – Jan. 6, 2026 (openingNov. 6) at the Broadhurst Theatre.

 

Expect quite a few special guests (TBA)

 

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  The Joni Project — Celebrating the Music of Joni Mitchell will take place Sat. Oct. 8 at 8 PM at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.

 

Katie Pearlman and her band.

 

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  A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder will run Sept. 17 – Oct. 5 (opening Sept. 21) at Laguna Playhouse, directed by Noelle Marion, with choreogaphy by Luke Harvey Jacobs, and music direction by Anthony Aediker.

 

  Michael Cavinder (Inspector Pinckney), Shinah Hey (Miss Barley/Lady/ Eugenia), Jean Kauffman (Miss Shingle) Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (D’Ysquith Family), Andrew Polec (Monty, Katy Tang (Phoebe D’Ysquith, and Lauren Weinberg (Sibella.

                   

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   Darren Criss will not leave Maybe Happy Ending at the Belasco Theatre. However, he will begin a temporary leave of absence, and will return to the production on Nov. 5.

 

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   East West Players will present Prince Gomolvilas’s Paranormal, Inside Oct. 9 – Nov. 2 at The David Henry Hwang Theater, directed by Jeff Liu.

 

  Tamika Simpkins (Delia), David Huynh (Max), Nicole Javier (Bincy), Alberto Isaac (Somboon), Aja Hinds (Tasha), and Davide Costa (Ethan), with  Dekontee Tucrkile, Ace Christensen, Ratana, and Ryan Beaghler.

 

  This haunting sequel to The Brothers Paranormal, which made its acclaimed Los Angeles premiere at EWP in 2022, dives back into the mysterious world of Max and Delia – two souls brought together by tragic loss and mutual compassion. As they grapple with the depths of intergenerational trauma, a malevolent spirit threatens to consume them. Will they survive the night, or will they succumb to the spiritual possession that lurks within?

 

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 Gingold Theatrical Group will present Shaw’s Pygmalion Oct. 22 – Nov. 22 at Theatre Row, directed by David Staller.

 

Casting TBA.

 

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   Video: Preview of She Loves me at Bucks County Playhouse, which continues through Sept. 14.

 

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  The immersive version of Next to Normal, which previously played Spain, will premiere in Buenos Aires on Sept. 19.

 

  Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Adam Pascal, J. Robert Spencer, Ema Gimenez Zapiola, Valentin Zaninelli, and Axel Munton.

 

 The production transforms the musical into a fully immersive experience with 360° projections, surround sound, and performers sharing the space with the audience.

 

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   Danny Boy, written & directed by Michael J. Harney will run Sept. 6 – Oct. 19 (opening Sept. 19) at The Actors Company.

 

Kevin Kelly, Marie Broderick, Lisa Richards, Robert Kerbeck , Ralph Guzzo, Craig Barnett, Carla Barnett, Oscar Best, and Daniel V. Graulau.

 

  Danny showed promise as a talented writer. Crushed by publishing house rejections and a troubled past, he now ekes out a living as a street clown, entertaining children in the park. At least he gets to make them smile. From playwright/ director Michael J. Harney: “This is the story of a man deep in the throes of spiritual struggle , crushed by addiction and sorrow. It’s a modern Pagliacci set in the turmoil of addiction, depicting a man trapped within the confines of self….

 

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  Tim Blake Nelson’s And Then There Were More will run Sept. 19 – Nov. 2 (opening  Sept. 28) at at La Mamma, directed by Mark Wing-Davey.

 

  Elizabeth Marvel,  Scott Shepherd, Jennifer Mogbock, Henry Stram (Titanic, The Elephant Man), Elizabeth Yeoman, William Appiah, E.J. An, Kasey Connolly , and Craig Wesley Divino (London Assurance.

 

   In the not-too-distant future a lawyer is forced to represent a prisoner deemed ‘beyond rehabilitation’ and destined to perish in a newly developed machine designed to execute ‘without pain.’ The attorney must strive for justice in a system devoid of mercy.

 

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  Diana Ross and Jon Batiste will take place Thurs. Aug. 28 at 8 PM at the St. Louis Muny.

 

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   Darren Chris will return to Maybe Happy Ending on Nov. 5 at the Belasco Theatre.

 

   The story explores themes of love, loss, memory, and connection from a unique robot perspective, prompting audiences to reflect on what it means to be human, even as the robots face their own mortality.

 

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  The world premiere of Rudi Goblen’s littleboy/littleman will run Oct. 1 – Nov. 2, (opening Oct. 9) at the Geffen Playhouse, directed by Nancy Medin.

 

  Alex Hernandez (Bastian Monteyero) and Marlon Alexander Vargas (Fíto Palomino).

 

  When Nicaraguan brothers Fíto and Bastian clash over their visions of the American Dream, their choices send them on a collision course with fate—risking not just their futures, but their bond. Fíto, a poet, is impulsive and ambitious, willing to take risks to get what he wants. Bastian, a telemarketer, is steady and principled, holding onto caution as a guide. Blending poetry, live music, and ritual, this electrifying tale of brotherhood and belonging pulses with rhythm and emotion, pulling us into a world where family is everything, but dreams come at a cost.

 

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  The immersive version of Next to Normal, which previously played Spain, will open in Buenos Aires on Sept. 19. directed by Simon Pittman.  Link TBA.

 

  Alice Ripley (Diana) J. Robert Spencer Emma Gimenez Zapiola, Valentin Zaninelli, Axel Munton, and a special a special appearance by Adam Pascal.

 

 


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