Today’s Highlights:
Two Thousand Miles: A New Musical concert, by Alyssa Williams, Hans Zanger, Taylor Guttadauro & Jaclyn Nash, directed by Giovanni Marine, featuring Anthony Bologna, Jamie Boswell, Rebecca Lynn Goldfarb, Matt Henningsen, Giovanni Marine, Michelle Shapiro, Morgan Smith, Nik Sorocenski, and Tori Tiernan, at 9:30 PM at NYC’s 54 Below.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Aug. 27. Click here for the complete analysis.
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Sunset Boulevard will run Oct. 26 – Nov. 19 at CT’s A Contemporary Theatre, directed by Daniel C. Levine, with music supervision by Bryan Perri, and choreography by Sara Brians.
Pearl Sun (Norma Desmond), Michael Burrell (Joe Gillis), and Helen J. Shen (Betty Schaefer), with William Aaron Bishop, Pragun Bhardwaj, Claire Fossey, Jasmine Gobourne, Gary Harger, Amanda Hunter-Finch, Conor McGiffin, Victoria Madden, Matthew Marvin , Val Moranto, Mac Myles, Daniel Pahl, Emily Solo, Liz Schmitz, Will Stone, and Andrew Winans.
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The national tour of Hadestown will return to the Ahmanson Theatre Oct. 3-15 (opening Oct. 4).
Nathan Lee Graham (Hermes), Maria-Chritina Oliveras (Persephone), Matthew Patrick Quin (Hades), Hannad Whitley (Eurydice), and Chibueze Ihuoma (Orpheus), with Dominique Kempf, Belén Moyano, Nyla Watson as The Fates, along with Jordan Bollwerk, Lindsey Hailes, Courtney Lauster, Eddie Noel Rodríguez, and Jamari Johnson Williams. Swings for the tour will include Tyla Collier, Ian Coulter-Buford, Alex Lugo, J. Antonio Rodriguez, and Cecilia Trippiedi.
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Video: Promo for Sinatra the Musical at Birmingham Rep, starring Matt Doyle (Sinatra), Ana Villafane (Ava Gardner), and Phoebe Panaretos (Nancy Sinatra).
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An industry reading of Vincent Gogliormella’s Love Goumbas Style will take place Wed. Sept. 27 in NYC, directed by Charles Messina.
(industry only): info@dmmnyc.com
Eric Roberts, Amanda Bruton, Dominic Scaglione Jr., Rico Simonini, Johnny Tammaro, and Joli Tribuzio.
The play spotlights an Italian family that includes Donna and Jimmy as they strive to reignite a waning flame; Mikey and Susan on their whirlwind wedding detour; Lenny and Claudine as they discover passion in the quirkiest corners; and Wendy, torn between choices and chances.
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The world premiere of David Adjimi’s Stereophonic will run Oct. 6 – Nov. 19 (opening Oct. 29) at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Daniel Aukin.
Will Brill (Reg), Andrew R. Butler (Charlie), Juliana Canfield (Holly), Eli Gelb (Grover), Tom Pecinka (Peter), Sarah Pidgeon (Diana), and Chris Stack (Simon).
The play is set in a music studio in 1976 where a fledgling rock band is recording a major new album. The playwright invites audiences to be flies-on-the-wall in the studio, and the powder keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up.”
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Video: Promo for Netflix’s film “Rustin,” directed by George C. Wolfe, which premieres on Nov. 3.
Colman Domingo and Audra McDonald, with Adrienne Warren, Michael Potts, Glynn Turman, CCH Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Chris Rock, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Powell, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, Kevin Mambo, Carra Patterson, Bill Irwin, Cotter Smith, and Jeffrey Wright.
The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten.
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Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theaters has announced its 2023-24 season:
The Civilian’s Artificial Flavors (Oct. 22 – Nov. 19, opening Oct. 27), created & directed by Steve Cosson. The play turns the hot topic of artificial intelligence into a theater experience like nothing else. Knowing that the stories we tell ourselves shape and influence what happens in society, what will happen when many of those stories are computer generated?
Pair (Nov. 3 – 18, opening Nov. 5), by #12 Productions, directed by Ryan Emmons. A playful meditation on the nature of art and partnership. Claes and Coosje were renowned for their larger-than-life pop art sculptures that inflated everyday objects to extraordinary proportions. As the artists explore their creative process, something fantastical is happening as a pear (yes, the fruit) embarks on a worldwide quest for self-discovery. What emerges is a funny and intimate play about collaboration, imagination, and love.
Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin: A Play with Music (Noc. 16 – Dec. 24 (opening Nov. 19), directed by Joel Zwick. The romantic story and music of the Polish pianist-composer Fryderyk Chopin, set in Chopin’s Parisian salon where he will teach a piano lesson that actually took place in March 1848, just days after the February 1848 revolution. As the piano lesson unfolds, Chopin reveals secrets about the art of the piano and composition, as well as secrets about himself. Hershey Felder delves deep into the music and psyche of the man, considered by his contemporaries, and now by history, as the true “Poet of the Piano.”
ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly (Nov. 29 – Dec. 24, opening Dec. 5), by Happenstance Theater, directed by Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell. A ship of fools adrift at sea. They ask, “What do we do now?” After an apocalypse, the search begins.
Unconfined (Dec. 6 – 22, opening Dec. 9), written & performed by Liz Richardson, directed by Ed Thomason. Can a young man guilty of a terrible crime rehabilitate himself in spite of an incarceration system bent on de-humanizing him?
The Greatest Hits Down Route 66 (Jan. 13 – Feb. 18, 2024, opening Jan. 23 ), by Michael Aguirre, directed by Sara Norris. It’s the summer of ‘99. The Franco family is taking the Great American Road Trip and getting to know each other along that legendary highway, whether they like it or not.
In Vogue (Jan. 9-28, opening Jan. 14) by Beverly Johnson & Josh Ravetch, directed by Ravetch, starring Beverly Johnson. Exactly 50 years ago, Beverly Johnson made history as the first Black woman to appear on the cover of American “Vogue.” The play takes us on a journey through her super-modeling career, her unimaginable tumultuous relationships, the truth about Bill Cosby, and her involvement in the #MeToo movement. Like Johnson herself, this show is funny, fearless, and unapologetic while illustrating how she bucked trends and broke through barriers, blazing a trail that continues to burn brightly today.
The Sweet Spot (Jan. 11-27, opening Jan. 13), by Alice Jankell, directed by Page Clements. Jerry and Vita are an independent, passionate couple with 50 years of marriage under their belts. The type of couple who knows each other so well they can finish each other’s complaints. An opportunity to move to an assisted living community arrives sooner than expected and they must quickly make a life-changing decision. We follow the pair over three intimate, banter-filled mornings as they grapple, negotiate, and reminisce to determine what decision they can live with.
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Country Sunshine: The Legendary Ladies of Nashville With Katie Deal will run Sept. 8 – Oct. 29 at Milwaukee Rep.
Celebrate the queens of classic country as award-winner Katie Deal honors a mighty lineage of artists: Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and more.
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Cooper Jordan, Zoe Ann Jordan, Patrick Spencer & Anthony De Angelis’ Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw will begin previews Sept. 16 and open Oct. 1 at the AMT Theatre, directed by Stephanie Rosenberg, with music direction by Leigh Pomeranz.
Bart Shatto (Gordon), Adam Parbhoo (Adam), Jill Owen (Amanda/Alli/Jugsaw/), and Donnell Johnson (Voice of Detective Tapp), with Danny Durr, Gabrielle Goodman, Patric Voss Davis, James Lynch, Thomas Skea, Morgan Traud, Jessica Morilak, and more TBA.
The musical hilariously captures the events of the first movie, parodying the Saw that started it all, following from where Lawrence Gordon and Adam Stanheight find each other for the first time in the bathroom trap. Will they follow “the rules” as they discover each other’s secrets? Will they escape the game in time and saw right through?
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Dial M for Murder, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, continues through Sept. 17 at Fayetteville, Ark’s TheatreSquared, directed by Melissa Rain Anderson.
Ka-Ling Cheung, Almanya Narula, Colin Sphar, Kieran Cronin, and Eric Dean White.
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A concert presentation of Keenan Scott II & Tre Matthews’ The Return of Young Boy will take place Wed. Oct. 18 at 9:30 PM at NYC’s 54 Below, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, with music direction by Rashad McPerson.
Phoenix Best, Esau Pritchett, and Roya Marsh, and more TBA.
The new work follows the titular Young Boy as he returns home after a five-year trek to become the next griot after his grandfather’s death. He soon learns that his grandfather may not have been the man he thought him to be. Set in New York City, the musical is inspired by African folklore and ancient civilizations. It also explores, according to press notes, “family, generational trauma, PTSD, and the tribal nature of humanity.” Scott and Matthews’ score is reportedly an amalgamation of rhythm and blues, hip-hop, gospel, amapiano, and SLAM poetry.
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Red Bull Theater‘s world premiere English translation reading of Guillén De Castro’s Don Quixote will take place Mon. Oct. 2 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Repertorio Español (128 E. 27th St.), directed by José Zayas. An on-demand option will also be available Oct. 3 at 7:30 PM – Oct. 8 at 11:59 PM ET.
Jacob Ming-Trent (Don Quixote), Heidi Armbruster, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Darryl Gene Daughtry, Carson Elrod, Irene Sofia Lucio, Melissa Mahoney, Ismenia Mendes, Luis Moreno, David Ryan Smith, and Arturo Luis Soria.
A play about Western literature’s most beloved windmill-tilting knight and his loyal sidekick. Don Quixote ‘rides’ back into the spotlight in this hilarious Spanish comedia about spurned lovers, changeling children, and, of course, the fanciful knight who wants to save them all.