Today’s Highlights:
All In: Comedy About Love, by Simon Rich, directed by Alex Timbers, featuring John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry (12/11 – 12/30), Chloe Fineman (1/2 – 1/12), Richard Kind, opens at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre (with a rotating cast of 4 actors for 10 weeks):
Gwyneth Goes Skiing, by Awkward Productions, directed by Linus Karp & Joseph Martin, featuring Linus Karp (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Joseph Martin (Terry Sanderson), opens at London’s Pleasance Theatre.
Pen Pals, by Michael Griffo, directed by SuzAnne Baraba, featuring (rotating cast) Johanna Day, Nancy McKeon, Catherine Curtin, Sharon Lawrence, Nia Vardalos, Mary Beth Peil, and Pauletta Washington, opens at Off-Broadway’s Theater at St. Clement’s.
Adam Pascal begins his run as Tom Hutchinson in Drag: The Musical at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages.
Darius Haas: Let Me Carry You This Christmas concert, opens at PA’s Buck’s County Playhouse.
The 39 Steps, by John Buchan, directed by Jamie Torcellini, featuring Louis Lotorto (Clown 1), Matthew Floyd Miller (Richard Hannay), Ashley Morton (Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret), and Christopher Shaw (Clown 2), previews at CA’s Coachella Valley Rep.
Winter Rhythms: Simply Barbra: The Holiday Show, starring Steven Brinberg, at 9 PM at Off-Broadway’s Urban Stages.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Dec. 8.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Elektra will run Jan. 24 – Apr. 12 (opening Feb. 5) at the Duke of York’s Theatre, directed by Daniel Fish.
Brie Larson (Elektra), Stockard Channing (Clytemnestra), Marième Diouf (Chrysothemis), Greg Hicks (Aegisthus), Patrick Vaill (Orestes), and more TBA.
Elektra, haunted by her father’s assassination, is consumed by grief, a need for survival, and a thirst for vengeance. When her long-lost brother Orestes returns, she urges him to a savage conclusion—but at what cost?
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L.A. Theatre Works will release a new collection of 4 audio plays by Tennessee Willams in 2025:
The Glass Menagerie (Dec. 10), featuring Julie Harris, Calista Flockhart (in her Broadway debut), Kevin Kilner and Zeljko Ivanek, and John Goodman.
A Streetcar Named Desire (Mar. 11), featuring Glenne Headly, Vincent D’Onofrio, Amy Brenneman and David Selby
The Rose Tattoo (Apr. 8), featuring Mercedes Ruehl, Anthony LaPaglia, Emily Bergl, Marieclare Costello, Tim DeKay, Brent Hinkley, Carol Locatell, Kate Mulligan, Antonia Ray, Peggy Roeder, Vincent Schiavelli and Claudette Sutherland.
Summer and Smoke (May 6), featuring Ann Gee Byrd, Kristen Frazier, Mark Kudisch, Carlos Lacamara, Gabriel Olds, Tina Sánchez, David Selby, Tegan West, Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink and Sarah Zimmerman.
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Lynn Nottage’s Crumbs From the Table of Joy will run Jan. 10 – Feb. 2 (opening Jan. 12) at Lyric Stage of Boston, directed by Tasia A. Jones.
Thomika Marie Bridwell, Dominic Carter, Madison Margaret Clark, Bridgette Hayes, and Catia Ramos.
Adrift in Brooklyn during the racially charged 1950s, two teenage sisters Ernestine and Ermina live with their devout, recently widowed father, Godfrey, who follows the teachings of spiritual leader Father Divine. Almost to the point of obsession, Godfrey’s staunch beliefs cause his girls to heal their wounds with Hollywood films, daydreams, and lots of cookies. Their humdrum lives are turned upside down with the arrival of their vivacious Aunt Lily, who brings with her a few bad habits and a taste for rebellion. When Godfrey makes a shocking decision that involves a German woman named Gerte, can the family find new meaning in what makes a home?
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David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross will run Mar. 20 – May 31 (opening Mar. 31) at the Palace Theatre, directed by Patick Marber.
Kieran Culkin (Richard Roma), Bob Odenkirk (Shelley Levene), Bill Burr (Dave Moss), and Michael McKean (George Aaronow). TDonald Webber Jr. (John Williamson), Howard W. Overshown (Baylen), and John Pirruccello (James Lingk).
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Emily Goglia Presents The Limelight Club continues Mon. Dec. 16 at 8 PM at LA’s The Moon Room on Melrose.
Eric Peterson, Geneviève Flati, Ryne Strom, Devon Davidson, and Juliette Goglia.
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The Second Annual Summer Cabaret Conference will take place July 14-18 at NYC’s 92NY.
Joe Iconis Master Class (Feb. 21-22 . Info here.
Faith Prince Summer Cabaret Class (July 14-18). Info here.
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Principle casting has been announced for the original series “The Artist,” which will premiere Mar. 2025 (date TBA) on The Network (a free ad-supported streaming platform).
Patti LuPone (Rosie Morsch), Mandy Patinkin (Norman Henry), Janet McTeer (Marian Henry), Danny Huston (Edgar Dégas), Hank Azaria (Thomas Edison), Zachary Quinto (Delphin Delmas), Clark Gregg (Harry Kendal Thaw), Katharine McPhee (Nora Bayes), Ever Anderson (Evelyn Nesbit), Jill Hennessy (Nesbit’s Mother), and Ana Mulvoy Ten (Lilith).
The murder mystery is set in the twilight of the Gilded Age as Thomas Edison, Edgar Degas, and Evelyn Nesbit meet at the home of an eccentric and failing tycoon and his wife— an evening which ends in the tycoon’s untimely demise.
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The world premiere of Dennis Danziger’s The Brothers Abelson will run Jan. 31 – Mar. 2 at LA’s Venice, CA’s Electric Lodge, directed by Matthew Leavitt.
Rick Zieff, Wendy Hammers, and Jonah Robinson.
In 1970s Texas, Benny Abelson, estranged from his parents, yet dependent on their money to support his burgeoning career as a cartoonist in NYC, returns home for Thanksgiving to find his father on the verge of a mental breakdown and his mother preparing to leave him. Torn between his desire for independence and familial obligation, Benny must decide whether to stay or go, as tempers flare and long-buried family secrets are revealed.
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Video: Stark Sands and Adrian Blake Enscoe Perform “Murder in the City” from Broadway’s Swept Away.
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The world premiere of Dennis Danziger’s The Brothers Abelson Since 1946 will run Jan. 31 – Mar. 2 (opening Feb. 1) at Venice, CA’s Electric Lodge, directed by Matthew Leavitt.
Rick Zieff (Isaac Abelson), Wendy Hammers (Miriam), and Jonah Robinson (Benny Abelson).
Twenty-six-year-old cartoonist Benny Abelson faces a life-changing decision when he visits his family in Texas for Thanksgiving, 1977. At first his dad’s nervous breakdown and his mom’s decision to walk out on her husband of 35 years elicit Benny’s wit and our laughter. Benny prepares to hightail it back to NYC, but as family secrets erupt, the Abelsons open a window for all of us onto the staggering heartbreak of keeping secrets..
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Swept Away, which last week announced an abrupt Dec. 15 closing, is sticking around a little longer.
Following a surge in ticket sales—what was initially set to be the final week of performances, has already completely sold out—the show has moved its closing date to Dec. 29, at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre.