Today’s Highlights:
Standing at the Sky’s Edge, by Richard Hawley & Chris Bush, directed by Robert Hastie, featuring Elizabeth Ayodele (Joy), Joel Harper-Jackson (Harry), Sharlene Hector (Grace), Samual Jordan (Jimmy), Mel Lowe (Connie), Baker Mukasa (George), Alastair Natkiel as Marcus, Laura Pitt-Pulford as Poppy, Lauryn Redding as Nikki, Rachael Wooding (Rose), Jonathan Andre (Max), Jonathon Bentley (Gary), Mya Fox-Scott (Jenny), Rachael Louise Miller (Cathy), Adam Price (Charles), Nicola Sloane (Vivienne), Lillie-Pearl Wildman (Justine), and David McKechnie (Joe/Workman), with Monique Ashe-Palmer, Adam Colbeck-Dunn, Viquichele Cross, Jamie Doncaster, Caroline Fitzgerald, Jerome Lincoln, Sean McLevy, Karen Wilkinson, Alayna Anderson, Luca Foster-Lejeune, Renee Hart, Eric Madgwick, Chioma Nduka, and Sam Stocks, opens at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre.
Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Brooklyn Laundry, world premiere written & directed by John Patrick Shanley, featuring Cecily Strong (Fran), David Zayas (Owen), Florencia Lozano (Trish), and Andrea Syglowski (Susie), opens at Off-Broadway’s NY City Center.
Audible’s Dead Outlaw, world premiere by David Yazbek, Erik Della Penna & Itamar Moses, directed by David Cromer, featuring Jeb Brown, Eddie Cooper, Andrew Durand, Dashiell Eaves, Julia Knitel, Ken Marks, Trent Saunders, and Thom Sesmawith Emily Fink, Austin Ku, George Merrick, and Max Sangerman, opens at Off-Broadway’s Minetta Lane Theatre.
A Tale of Two Cities, world premiere adaptation by Brendan Pelsue, directed by Leora Morris, featuring Grant Chapman (Actor Track 5), Tiffany Hobbs (Actor Track 3), Tess Malis Kincaid (Actor Track 6), Joe Knezevich (Actor Track 8), Louis Reyes McWilliams (Actor Track 2), Lee Osorio (Actor Track 4), Brad Raymond ( Actor Track 7,) and Stephen Ruffin (Actor Track 1), with Brant Adams, Daniel Annone, Sean Dale, Rebecca Gunn, Danielle Montgomery, and Ryan Siegel, opens at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre.
A Perfect Place, by Martin M. Zuckerman, directed by Hersh Ellis & Susan Kohn Green, featuring Ephie Aardema, Iris Bahr, Yair Ben-Dor, Donald Corren, Talia Sulla, and Max Wolkowitz, with Max Katz and Rebecca Salzhauer, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Clements.
POTUS:, Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, by Selina Fillinger, directed by Courtney Young, featuring Julie Cardia (Harriet), Michelle Liu Coughlin (Jean), Shannon Mary Dixon (Dusty), Ramika Katon Dongal (Chris), Cas Koenig (Bernadette), Emily Nash (Stephanie), and Marlo Denise Stroud (Margaret), previews at CA’s Coachella Valley Rep.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Feb. 25.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Betty Buckley in concert will run May 16-18 at Off-Broadway’s Joe’s Pub.
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Pittsburgh CLO has announced its 2024 Summer Season (casting & creative teams TBA)
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill (May 17 – June 30)
West Side Story (June 11-16)
The Color Purple (June 25-30)
The Music Man (July 9-14)
Young Frankenstein (July 19 – Sept. 1)
Seussical (July 30 – Aug. 4)
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The national tour of Funny Girl will run Apr.2-28 (opening Apr. 3) at the Ahmanson Theatre, directed by Michael Mayer, with choreography by Ellenore Scott, and music supervision by Michael Rafter.
Melissa Manchester (Mrs. Brice), Katerina McCrimmon (Fanny Brice), Stephen Mark Lukas (Nick Arnstein), Izaiah Montaque Harris (Eddie Ryan), Walter Coppage (Florenz Ziegfeld), Leah Platt (Emma/Mrs. Nadler), Cindy Chang (Mrs. Meeker), Eileen T’Kaye (Mrs. Strakosh), and David Foley Jr. (Tom Keeney), with Vinny Andaloro, Lamon Brown, Kate E. Cook, Julia Grondin, Jacks on Grove, AlexHartman, Dot Kelly, Ryan Lambert, Kathy Liu, Meghan Manning, Bryan Charles Moore, Sami Murphy, Emily Nester, Hannah Shankman, Jordon Taylor, Rodney Thompson, Sean Thompson, and Annaliese Wilbur.
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A reading of Larry Kirwan’s All the Rage will take place Tues. Mar. 12 at 7 PM at Off-Broadway’s 28th Street Theatre (TADA), directed by Karen Carpenter, with music direction by Mark Fifer.
Chilina Kennedy (Shelley) and Constantine Maroulis (Rick)
Shelley and Rick are, star-crossed lovers. The musical is set in 2009 when Shelley suddenly shows up at Rick’s East Village apartment. Former bandmates and lovers, 23 years have passed since their tumultuous break-up.
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Musical Theatre Guild‘s concert presentation of Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin & Tim Herlihy’s The Wedding Singer will take place Sun. Mar. 10 at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage, directed by Mary Jo DuPrey, with music direction by Cassie Nickols Gonzalez.
Zachary Ford (Robbie Hart), Krista Feallock (Julia), Wendy Rosoff (Linda), Barbara Minkus (Grandma Rosie), Ashley Moniz (Holly), Will Collyer (Glen), Antoine Lee (Sammy), and Lyle Colby Mackston (George), with Matthew Patrick Davis, Tal Fox, Marie Guitierrez, Janaya Jones, Nancy Lam, Kyle Montgomery, Taubert Nadalini, and Trance Thompson.
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Roundabout Theatre‘s production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, currently in previews, will open Mar. 8 at the the Todd Haimes Theatre, directed by Scott Ellis.
Liev Scheiber (Father Flynn), Amy Ryan (Sister Aloysius), Zoe Kazan (Sister James), and Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Mrs. Muller), with Christiana Clark, Olivia Cygan, Isabel Keating, and Chris McGarry.
Note: Tyne Daly was previously set to play the role of Sister Aloysius, but had to withdraw from the production after a recent hospitalization.
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Stefano Massini’s The Lehman Trilogy will run Apr. 4-21 (opening Apr. 6) at Santa Barbara’s Ensemble Theatre Company, directed by Oánh Nguyễn.
Troy Blendell, Chris Butler and Leo Marks
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Kissed by a Prince, a tribute to the late Prince, will take place Sat. Mar. 23 at 8 PM Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
Vocalists & Musicians: Dawndette Darden, Mike Mazzarco, Klyph Black, Ellis Holmes III, Sean Willis, and Bopa Kin Carré.
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Stages St. Louis has announced its 2024 season:
Steel Magnolias (May 31 – June 20)
Newsies (July 6 – Aug. 25), directed by Steve Bebout.
Ragtime (Sept 20 – Oct. 20)
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An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein will run Feb. 29 – Mar.3 at Hollywood’s 905 Cole Theatre.
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The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle has announced award nominations HERE for Theatrical Excellence in 2023:
This year, because of extenuating COVID concerns, instead of a live event, the Circle awards recipients will once again be announced online – but in a brand-new format.
The LADCC is thrilled to introduce a “first” for its awards ceremony. We invite you to join us for an online streaming presentation of the awards on Monday, April 8 at 8 PM PT, when winners in each category will be announced during a LIVE simulcast on both Instagram(Login • Instagram) and Facebook
The Circle also invites nominees to share (starting today) photos, short videos, speeches, and other celebratory comments, before, during, and after the presentation, by tagging our Instagram and/or Facebook accounts: @LADramaCritics. The LADCC will share them on their channels.
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The Verdi Spring 2024 Concert: Star-Crossed will run Apr. 27 & 28 at Santa Monica’s First Presbyterian Church.
Jamie Chamberlin Granner, Nathan Granner and Colin Ramsey.
The concert will feature operatic sequences from Mozart’s Idomeneo and Don Giovanni,Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, and Lehar’s The Merry Widow.
