Today’s Highlights:
Greg Kinnear (Atticus Finch) and Baize Buzan (Scout) begins their runs in To Kill a Mockingbird at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “Has anybody ever seen a dramatic critic in the daytime? Of course not. They come out after dark, up to no good.” ~ P.G. Wodehouse
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. RIP: Joan Copeland, actress and sister of playwright Arthur Miller, has died at the age of 99.
Joan made her Broadway debut as Nadine in Sundown Beach in 1948. Her many other Broadway credits in Detective Story (1949), Not For Children (1951), Handful of Fire (1958), Tovarich (1963), Something More! (1964), The Price (1968), Coco (1969), Two By Two (1970), Pal Joey (1976), Checking Out (1976), The American Clock (1980z0, and 45 Seconds From Broadway (2001).
In addition to her work on stage, Copeland also played a number of prominent roles on various soap operas throughout her career, including Andrea Whiting (“Search for Tomorrow”), and Gwendolyn Lord Abbott (“One Life to Live”),
Film appearances include “The Goddess” (1958), “Middle of the Night” (1959), “Roseland” (1977), “It’s My Turn” (1980), “A Little Sex” (1982), “Happy New Year” (1987), “The Laser Man” (1988), “Her Alibi” (1989), “Jungle 2 Jungle” (1997), “The Object of My Affection” (1998), “The Adventures of Sebastian Cole” (1998), “The Audrey Hepburn Story” (2000), “The Last Request (2006), and “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (2009). She also voiced Tanana in Disney’s “Brother Bear” (2003)
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James Monroe Iglehart will replace Tom Hewett as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Jan. 17 at the Ambassador Theatre.
Ana Villafañe (Roxie Hart), Bianca Marroquín (Velma Kelly), Jennifer Fouché (Matron “Mama” Morton), Raymond Bokhour (Amos Hart) and R. Lowe (Mary Sunshine), with David Bushman, C. Caballero, Jennifer Dunne, Jessica Ernest, Jeff Gorti, Arian Keddell, Mary Claire King, Barrett Martin, Sharon Moore, Drew Nellessen, Celina Nightengale, Brian O’Brien, Denny Paschall, Jermaine R. Rembert, Rachel Schur, Michael Scirrotto, Christine Cornish Smith and Brian Spitulnik.
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Article: Claybourne Elder reunited with the mystery man who paid for his Broadway tickets 15 years ago.
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Spamilton will run Jan. 28-30 at PA’s Buck’s County Playhouse, directed by Gerard Alessandrini, with choreography by Jerry McIntyre, and music direction by Fred Barton.
Casting TBA.
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Marry Me A Little will run Feb. 9-27 (opening Feb. 11) at Long Beach’s International City Theatre, directed by Kari Hayter, with music direction by Diane King.
Katy Tang and Nick Tubbs.
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Black Theatre Coalition co-founders T. Oliver Reid, Warren Adams, and Reginald “Reggie” Van Lee, have announced new leadership within the organization.
BTC is aiming “to build a sustainable, ethical roadmap to increase employment opportunities for Black theatre professionals” brings on Lico Whitfield as Program Director and Olivia Jones as Executive Director.
Lico Whitfield (Program Director)brings over a decade of experience navigating the world of professional commercial and non-profit theater to his role with Black Theatre Coalition. Lico hopes that his role with BTC will support the disruption of homogeneity in our industry and broaden the scope of creators and appreciators of theater.
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Irish Rep has announced its 2022 Winter Season:
The Streets of New York (continues through Jan. 30), by Dion Bouciault, with adaptation, songs & direction by Charlotte Moore.
A Girls is Half-Formed Thing (Jan. 14-30), by Eimear McBride, adapted by Annie Ryan, directed by Nicola Murphy, featuring Jenn Murray
Transatlantic Living (Jan. 18), written & performed by Clare O’Malley.
Love Songs for the Hopeless Romantic (Jan. 25), by Gregory Harrington.
Made by God (Feb. 11 – May 20, opening Feb. 17), world premiere by Ciara N Chuírc, directed by Olivia Songer.
A Touch of the Poet (Feb. 26 – Apr. 17, opening Mar. 8), directed by Ciarán O’Reilly
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Due to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Craig Lucas, Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Nathan Tysen, Masi Asare, Larry Kerwin & Jason Howland’s Paradise Square will arrive on Broadway a little later than originally announced. Previews will now start on Mar. 15, with an opening is set for Apr. 3 at the Barrymore Theatre, directed by Moisés Kaufman, with choreography by Bill T. Jones, and music supervision by Jason Howland.
Joaquina Kalukango (Nelly Freeman), Chilina Kennedy (Annie Lewis), John Dossett ( Frederick Tiggens), Sidney DuPont (Washington Henry), A.J. Shively (Owen Duignan), Nathaniel Stampley (Rev. Samuel Jacob Lewis), Gabrielle McClinton (Angelina Baker), Jacob Fishel (Milton Moore), Matt Bogart (Willie O’Brien), and Kevin Dennis (‘Lucky’ Mike Quinlan), with Colin Barkell, Karen Burthwright, Kennedy Caughell, Dwayne Clark, Garrett Coleman, Eric Craig, Colin Cunliffe, Chloe Davis, Josh Davis, Bernard Dotson, Jamal Christopher Douglas, Camille Eanga-Selenge, Sam Edgerly, Shiloh Goodin, Jacobi Hall, Sean Jenness, Joshua Keith, Jay McKenzie, Ben Michael, Jason Oremus, Kayla Pecchioni, Eilis Quinn, Lee Siegel, Erica Spyres, Lael van Keuren, Alan Wiggins, Kristen Beth Williams, and Hailee Kaleem Wright.
Set in Manhattan’s Five Points neighborhood during the Civil War, the musical follows the inhabitants of a local saloon—including the Black woman who owns it, a conflicted newly arrived Irish immigrant, a freedom seeker, and a once-great songwriter.
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Larissa Fasthorse’s The Thanksgiving Play will run Jan. 19 – Feb. 6 at Virginia Stage, directed by Jessica Holt.
Ryan Clemens (Jaxton), Julian Stetevych (Caden), Lauren Blumenfeld (Logan), and Jenny Hickman (Alicia).
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James Lapine, Tom Kitt & Michael Kories’ Flying Over Sunset, originally scheduled to close Feb. 6, will now close on Jan. 16 at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
Carmen Cusack (Claire Boothe Luce), Harry Hadden-Paton (Aldous Huxley), Tony Yazbeck (Cary Grant), Emily Pynenburg, Michele Ragusa, Robert Sella, Laura Shoop, and Atticus Ware, with Aria Braswell, Danny Gardner, Kate Marilley, Patrick Scott McDermott, Tony Roach, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Nehal Joshi, and Michael Winther, closes at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
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. Hollywood’s Blank Theatre will present a reading of Lia Romeo’s The Lucky Ones on Mon. Jan. 10 at 8 PM PT, directed by Christopher James Raymond. A free watch code will be provided upon registration.
Robyn Cohen, Lizzie Peet, and Adam J. Smith.
Vanessa and Janie are best friends. A devastating diagnosis forces them to consider what that friendship means and how much it matters. Vanessa is sick, and she’s getting sicker, while Janie is embarking on a new love affair. As Janie tries to balance her role as a caretaker with her dreams for her own future, the cracks in the friendship begin to emerge. An exploration of the value and complexity of female friendship in a patriarchal society.
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The 2022 Roundabout Theatre Company‘s Paint the Town Gala will be held Mon. Mar. 7 at 7 PM at NYC’s Ziegfeld Ballroom.
Chita Rivera.
Sara Bareilles
Additional information TBA.
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The final performances (through Jan. 16) of Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s are now streaming at Second Stage’s Hayes Theatre.
A limited number of $59 tickets are now available here.
The cast features Edmund Donovan, Uzo Aduba, Ron Cephas Jones, Reza Salazar, Kara Young, and Edmund Donovan.
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Video: “The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal” (Jan. 1, 2022)
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The Phantom of the Opera turned 35 on Oct. 9, having opened in 1896 at London’s Her Majesty’s Theatre. BBC Radio is now celebrating the milestone with “Celebrating 35 Years of Phantom of the Opera.“ a series of audio documentaries available for international on-demand listening.
Luke Evans narrates the two-hour documentary looking at the record-breaking musical with interviews from original and current cast & company members chronicling the musical’s first moments on stage to the show’s post pandemic return this season.
The Phantom of the Opera is also Broadway’s longest-running musical, opening Jan. 26, 1988 at the Majestic Theatre.
Click here to listen to “Celebrating 35 Years of Phantom of the Opera.“
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& 
I Wish: The Roles That Could Have Been will return Sun. Jan. 23 at 9:45 PM ET to 54 Below, with music direction by Drew Wutke, and hosted by Alexandra Silber.
Jewelle Blackman, Joe Carroll, Alex Finke, Brittney Mack, Lauren Marcus, Mauricio Martínez, Ben Rappaport, Nicholas Rodriguez, and Presley Ryan.