Have a fabulous holiday.
GRACE NOTES will return Tues. Sept. 6.
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Holiday Highlights:
Wednesday, August 31
Los Otros, by Ellen Fitzhugh & Michael John LaChiusa, directed by Noah Himmelstein, featuring Luba Mason and Caesar Samayoa, opens at Off-Broadway’s A.R.T./New York Theatres.
Michael Orland – An Open Mic Event concert, at 7 PM PT at Studio City’s Feinstein’s at Vitello’s.
“You’ll Be Swell! You’ll Be Great! The Fine Art of Performance” virtual exhibit, concludes at NYC’s HeliCline.
Thursday, September 1
Doctor Faustus, adapted & directed by Ricky Dukes, featuring Jamie O’Neill (John Faustus), and David Angland (Mephistopheles), with Hamish Somers, Rachel Kelly, Candis Butler Jones, Charis Murray, Henry Mettle, Stefan Capper, Jordan Peedell, and Henrietta Rhodes, opens at London’s Southwark Playhouse.
Silence, world premiere by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Ishy Din & Alexandra Wood, directed by Abdul Shayek, featuring Renu Brindle, Sujaya Dasgupta, Nimmi Harasgama, Bhasker Patel, Jay Saighal, Rehan Sheikh, and Martin Turner, opens London’s Donmar Warehouse.
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith, directed by Taibi Magar, featuring Elena Hurst, Wesley T. Jones, Francis Jue, Carl Palmer, and Tiffany Rachelle Stewart, opens at Cambridge’s A.R.T.
The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, by James Ijames, directed by Whitney White, featuring Cindy gold (Martha Washington), Celeste M. Cooper (Doll), Sydney Charles (Priscilla), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Davy), Nikki Crawford (Ann Dandridge), Victor Musoni (William), Donovan Session (Sucky Boy), and Celeste M. Cooper (Doll), opens Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.
Come Fall in Love: The DDLJ Musical world premiere by Nell Benjamin, Vishal Dadlani & Sheykhar, directed by Aditya Chopra, featuring Shoba Narayan (Simran), Austin Colby (Rog Mandel), Irvine Iqbal (Baldev), Rupal Pujara (Lajjo), Vishal Vaidya (Ajit), Siddharth Menon (Kulit), Kate Loprest (Emily “Minky” Soulard), Juice Mackins (Ben), Hannah Jewel Kohn (Cookie), and Jeremy Kushnier (Roger Mandel, Sr.), with Amita Batra, Neha Dharmpuram, Tiffany Engen Rohit Gijare, Marc Heitzman, Usman Ali Ishaq, Nika Lindsay, Ilda Mason, Caleb Mathura, Meher Mistry, Shannon Mullen, Shahil Patel, Zain Patel, Becca Peterson, Kinshuk Sen, Jack Sippel, Michael Starr, Geatali Tampy, and Sonya Venugopal, begins previews at San Diego’s Old Globe.
Deaf West Theatre‘s Oedipus, directed by Jenny Koons, featuring Russell Harvard (King Oedipus), Alexandra Wailes, Amelia Hensley, and Matthew Jaeger, with Ashlea Hayes, Gregor Lopez, Andrew Morrill, On Shiu, Akia Takara, and Jon Wolfe-Nelson, begins previews at LA’s Getty Villa.
Friday, September 2
Maestro of the Movies: Celebrating John Williams at 90 concert, opens at the Hollywood Bowl.
Everybody, by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins, directed by Susan V. Booth & Tinashe Kaiese-Bolden, featuring Andrew Benator (Death), Shakirah DeMesier (Love), Skylar Ebron (Girl/Time), and Deidrie Henry (Usher/God), with Brandon Burditt, Chris Kayser, Courtney Patterson, Bethany Anne Lind, and Joseph J. Pendergrast, with Soleia Howington, Parris Sarter, and Dellan Short, begins previews at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre.
Celebrating the Music of Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye concert, featuring Carle Cooke (Sam’s daughter), Garfield Fleming, William Hart, and Brian Owens, at 8 PM ET at NYC’s Town Hall.
Saturday, September 3
Patti Murin: Feed Me and Tell Me I’m Pretty concert opens at NYC 54 Below.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell, directed by Julia-Rodriguez-Elliott, featuring Stanley Andrew Jackson III (Snowball), Bert Emmett (Mr. Jones), Geoff Elliott (Horse), Nicole Javier (Horse), Deborah Strang (Horse), Philicia Saunders (Goat), Jeremy Rabb (Donkey), Sedale Threatt Jr, (Cat), Cassandra Marie Murphy (Raven), Rafael Goldstein (Napoleon), and Trisha Miller (Squealer), opens at Pasadena’s A Noise Within.
Anything Goes returning production, directed by Kathleen Marshall, featuring Kerry Ellis, Denis Lawson, Simon Callow, Bonnie Langford, Samuel Edwards, Nicole-Lily Baisden, Carly Mercedes Dyer, Haydn Oakley, and more…, closes at London’s Barbican Theatre.
Sunday, September 4
Our Town benefit staged reading, featuring Edie Falco, Chris Messina, Marin Ireland, Ben Shenkman, Liza Colón-Zavas, Katie Fineran, Darren Goldstein, Matthew Del Negro, Joe Roseto, Cezar Williams, Kalyne, and Natalie Seus, at 7 PM ET at Northport, Long Island’s Engeman Theater.
Mr. Saturday Night, by Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Jason Robert Brown & Amanda Green, directed by John Rando, featuring Billy Crystal (Buddy Young Jr.), Shoshana Bean (Susan Young), Randy Graff (Elaine Young), David Paymer (Stan Yankelman), and Chasten Harmon (Annie Wells), with Jordan Gelber, Brian Gonzales, and Mylinda Hull, closes after 28 previews and 116 regular performances at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre.
T. Oliver Reid concludes his run as Hermes in Hadestown at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre.
Liz McCartney concludes her temporary run as Mrs. Brice in Funny Girl at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre.
Millennials, written & composed by Elliot Clay, directed by Hannah Benson, featuring Luke Bayer, Hiba Elchikhe, Luke Latchman, Hannah Lowther, Rob Madge, and Georgina Onuorah, closes at London’s The Other Palace.
Primary Stages‘ On That Day in Amsterdam, by Clarence Coo, directed by Zi Alikhan, featuring Waseem Alzer, Brndon Mendez Homer, Glenn Morizio, Liz Ramos, and Jonathan Raviv, closes at Off-Broadway’s 59E59 Theatres.
That Physics Show, created by & starring David Maiullo & Andrew Yolleck, closes at Off-Broadway’s Theatre 555.
Waiting for Godot, directed by Joe Calarco, featuring Mark H. Dold (Vladimir), Kevin Isola (Estragon), Christopher Innvar (Pozzo), and Max Wolkowitz (Lucky), closes at Pittsfield, MA’s Barrington Stage.
Anne of Green Gables, world premiere by Matte O’Brien, & Matt Vinson, directed by Jenn Thompson, featuring Juliette Redden (Anne Shirley), Michelle Veintimilla (Diana Barry), Sharon Catherine Brown (Marilla Cuthbert), Aurelia Williams (Rachel Lynde), Pierre Marais (Gilbert Blythe), and D.C. Anderson (Matthew Cuthbert), with Emily Agy, Jarred Bedgood, Tristen Buettel, Giovanni Da Silva, Amanda Ferguson, Patrick Oliver Jones, Nick Martinez, Morgan McGhee, Jenna Lea Rosen, Avery Sobczak, Elaine Cotter, and Sam Pickart, closes at CT’s Goodspeed.
Maestro of the Movies: Celebrating John Williams at 90 concert, closes at the Hollywood Bowl.
4000 Miles, by Amy Herzog, directed by David Kennedy, featuring Mia Dillon (Vera Joseph), Clay Singer (Leo Joseph-Connell), Lea DiMarchi (Bec), and Phoebe Holden (Amanda), closes at CT’s Westport Country Playhouse.
Lavender Men, world premiere by Roger Q. Mason, directed by Lovell Holder, featuring Roger Q. Mason (Taffeta), Alex Esola (Elmer Ellsworth), and Pete Ploszek (Abe Lincoln), closes at LA’s Skylight Theatre.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, by Todd Kreidler, directed by Lita Gaithers Owens, featuring Paul Denk (Monsignor Ryan), Lee Garlington (Christina Drayton), Brad Greenquist (Matt Drayton), Dan Martin (John Prentice Sr.), Mary Pumper (Joanna Drayton), Vickilyn Reynolds (Matilda Binks), Mouchette van Heldsingen (Hilary St. George), Vincent Washington (Dr. John Prentice), and Renn Woods (Mary Prentice, closes at Santa Monica’s Ruskin Group Theatre.
Monday, September 5
SOMA Stage presents Broadway in the Park concert, with music direction by John O’Neill featuring Whitney Bashor, Mark Evans, Becky Gulsvig, Laurel Harris, Lauren Hooper, Jeremy Jordan, Ross Lekites, Rob Marnell, Ginna Claire Mason, Kat Nejat, Christiane Noll, Alison Posner, Ashley Spencer, and Jared Zirilli, at 4:30 PM ET at Maplewood, NJ’s Springfield Avenue Gazebo.
Patti Murin: Feed Me and Tell Me I’m Pretty concert closes at NYC 54 Below.
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Reviews for The Public Theater’s As You Like It at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre:
NY Times (Alexis Soloski): …the shimmering Shakespeare adaptation at the Delacorte Theater… Adapted by Laurie Woolery, who directs, and the singer-songwriter Shaina Taub, who provides the music and lyrics, this easeful, intentional show bestows the pleasures typical of a Shakespeare comedy — adventure, disguise, multiple marriages, pentameter for days. And, in just 90 minutes, it unites its dozens of actors and its hundreds of audience members as citizens of the same joyful community… Taub and Woolery’s adaptation retains the outline of the original, while shortening and tightening the talkier bits, making space for songs… Woolery also directs the adaptation with extraordinary fluidity…
Variety (Frank Rizzo): Get thee to Arden — or at least to the Arden depicted in the glorious, delightful and big-hearted musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. This Arden, as envisioned in Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery’s just-the-essentials, 95-minute adaptation, is a place of refuge, generosity, joy, growth and forgiveness — but most of all, of transformational love. After all, it ends with a quadruple wedding ceremony…. It’s also a well-populated place, featuring two alternating casts of 80… This clear-eyed production…sees the forest for the trees as themes of identity, change and the great circle of life are delicately woven through script, music and performances… Performances are splendid…
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz): …Call it reforestation at its best and most theatrical… this cheeky and big-hearted musical adaptation…offers a breezy summer diversion… In this nearly sung-through take, the plot is streamlined to essentials… This intro hints that the show aims to entertain. Between a batch of lively songs, an appealing (and enormous) cast of stage pros and eager amateurs, winks to the WWE and *NSYNC, and rustic puppets, it mostly hits the mark… Taub’s As You Like It score bursts with flavors — fitting for a work that prizes diversity. The melodies and rhythms roam from pop-rock to boy band to R&B and beyond. If her lyrics fall into predictable patterns, she also pulls off some fun surprises…
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Sun. Aug. 28.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “His work is the most beautiful marriage of lyric and a melody. You can just walk into his songs. … I don’t know that there’s anyone else who can do it.” ~ MerylStreep (on Stephen Sondheim)
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Walking with Ghosts, written by & starring Gabriel Byrne will return to Broadway Oct. 18 – Dec. 30 (opening Oct. 27) at the Music Box Theatre, directed by Lonny Price.
As a young boy growing up on the outskirts of Dublin, Gabriel Byrne sough refuge in a world of imagination among the fields and hills near his home, at the edge of a rapidly encroaching city. Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and a commentary on stardom in Hollywood, he returns to Broadway to reflect on a life’s journey. In his own words.
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Sondheim Unplugged will take place Sun. Sept. 18 at 7 PM ET at NYC’s 54 Below.
Jim Brochu, Evan Harrington, Rob Maitner & Kellie Rabke, with special guests Danielle Ferland, Eric Michael Gillett, Albert Guerzon, Sarah Rice, and Lucia Spina.
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Gingold Theatrical Group will present Shaw’s Candida Oct. 5 – Nov. 19 at Theatre Row, directed by David Staller.
Avanthika Srinivasan (Candida), R.J. Foster (James Mavor Morell), Avery Whitted (Eugene Marchbanks), David Ryan Smith (Burgess), Amberber Reuchean Williams (Prosperine), and Peter Romano (Lexy Mill), with Alton Alburo, Fernando Lamberty, and Matenin Sangare.
The play is reset from London 1894 to NYC in 1929. It’s a time of global upheaval and these six characters come together on the one tumultuous day to ultimately redefine not only who they are but how to launch into the world i a new way. Written as a response to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, this short but pithy play races along in ever-surprising ways. The Reverend James Morell and his wife Candida live a comfortable life until the young poet, Marchbanks, is taken into their home and challenges everything they’d built their lives upon.
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September streaming options:
“Central Park,” Season 3 (released Sept. 9 on Apple TV+).
“Goodnight Mommy” (released Sept. 16 on Prime Video), starring Peter Hermann and Naomi Watts. The series follows twin brothers ( Cameron & Nicholas Crovetti), as they arrive home to find their mother covered in surgical bandages. As her behavior shifts, they begin to suspect that there’s another woman beneath the gauze.
“Reboot” (released Sept. 20 on Hulu), starring Judy Greer and Rachel Bloom, with Krista Marie Yu, Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Paul Reiser, and Calum Worthy. The series follows the fictional reboot of an early 2000s family sitcom which forces its dysfunctional cast to reunite.
“Blonde” (released Sept. 28 on Netflix). Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe biopic, which reimagines the life of Monroe from her volatile childhood through her rise to stardom.
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Complete casting has been announced for Little Shop of Horrors, which will 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.
Janaysia Gethers, Ross Griffin, TJ Lamando, Marissa Parness, Joseph Spieldenner, and Alyssa Watkins.
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Charles Kirsch’s Backstage Babble Live! will take place Tues. Sept. 6 at 7 PM ET at NYC’s 54 Below, with music direction by Michael Lavine.
Beth Fowler, Brenda Braxton, Charles Busch, Meg Bussert, Len Cariou, Jill O’Hara, Brad Oscar, Christine pedi, Kurt Peterson, and Lee Roy Reams.
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Video: Trailer for “The Son,” starring Hugh Jackman, directed by Florian Zeller, which will be released Nov. 11.
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The Negro Ensemble Company presents Our Voices, Our Time, a program of three on-acts, which will run Oct. 19 – Nov. 6 at the Cherry Lane Theatre.
Clipper Cut Nation, by Cris Eli Blak, directed by Ralph McCain. The play is set in a well-regarded local barbershop, where everything is business as usual as the owner opens up shop with the help of his young apprentice. A rising politician, fully of hometown pride, comes in, to great praise – that is, until another neighborhood resident enters the shop and accuses the politician of murdering his son years ago in an incident of gun violence.
What If, by Cynthia Grace Robinson, directed by Daniel Carlton. A Black college student’s need to fight for justice unleashes her mother’s fears for her child’s life.
I Don’t Do That, by Mona R. Washington, directed by Petronia Paley. A play of sexual politics in Black couples. Newly engaged, Norah (African-American) and Simon (Nigerian) are in love. As two of their friends look on and narrate, a thwarted romantic moment spirals the couple into an argument based on stereotypes and power.
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Producer Marcia Seligson (also a former best-selling journalist) has written her memoir, titled “MY MOTHER WOULD HATE THIS BOOK,” about her adventurous life in the theatre, working with Jean Smart, Christine Baranski, Kelsey Grammer and moremoremore — as well as her travels — chasing Mother Teresa around India, camping with John Denver in Big Sur, kissing giraffes in Kenya, and moremoremore, is now available on Kindle and ebook sites. Click here to order on Amazon.
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Gingold Theatrical Group‘s Candida, by Bernard Shaw, will run Oct. 5 – Nov. 19 (opening Oct. 25) at Theatre Row, directed by David Staller.
R.J. Foster (Morell), Peter Romano (Lexy), David Ryan Smith (Burgess), Avanthika Srinivasan (Candida), Avery Whitted (Marchbanks), and Amber Reauchean Williams (Prossy), with Alton Alburo and Matenin Sangare.
This taut romantic comedy is reset from London 1895 to Harlem 1929. The Reverend James Morell and his wife Candida live a comfortable life until the young poet, Marchbanks, is taken into their home and challenges everything they’d built their lives upon. It’s a time of global upheaval as six characters come together on one tumultous day to redefine not only who they are but also how to launch into their futures in a more fully self-aware way.
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LOVE DOLLY – Celebrating the life & career of Dolly Parton, starring Kim Eberhardt, will take place Sun. Sept. 25 at 3 PM PT at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre.
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Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe & Tom Kitt’s new musical adaptation of Croew’s film, will run Oct. 3. – Apr. 9, 2023 (opening Nov. 3) at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, directed by Jeremy Herrin, with choreography by Sarah O’Gleby.
Chris Wood, Anika Larsen, Solea Pfeiffer, Drew Gehling, Rob Colletti, and Casey Likes, with Matt Bittner, Chad Burris, Gerard Canonico, Julia Cassandra, Brandon Contreras, Jakeim Hart, Van Hughes, Jana Djenne Jackson, Katie Ladner, Danny Lindgren, Erica Mansfield, Alisa Melendez, Kevin Perdido, Andrew Poston, Emily Schultheis, Daniel Sovich, Libby Winters, and Matthew C. Yee.
Led Zeppelin is king, Richard Nixon is President, and idealistic 15-year-old William Miller is an aspiring music journalist. When Rolling Stone magazine hire him to go on the road with an up-and-coming band, William is thrust into the rock-and-roll circus, where his love of music, his longing for friendship, and his integrity as a writer collide.