Today’s Highlights:
Penguin Rep’s Gene & Gilda, by Cary Gitter, directed by Joe Brancato, featuring Jordan Kai Burnett (Gilda Radner) and Jonathan Randell Silver (Gene Wilder), opens at Off Broadway’s 59E59 Theatrers.
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A Chorus Line Official 50th Anniversary Celebration benefit concert will take place Sun. July 27 at 7:30 PM at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre, directed & choreographed by Baayork Lee.
(original 1975 Broadway cast members) Kelly Bishop, Wayne Cilento, Baayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez and Donna McKechnie, with special performances by Charlotte d’Amboise, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Robyn Hurder, Francis Jue, Krysta Rodriguez, Jessica Vosk, Anthony Wayne, Tony Yazbeck, Leigh Zimmerman, Charlotte d’Amboise, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Robyn Hurder, Francis Jue, Krysta Rodriguez, Jessica Vosk, Anthony Wayne, Tony Yazbeck, Leigh Zimmerman, and more.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending July 20.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Sheldon Epps, Cheryl L. West & Duke Ellington’s Play On will run Aug. 12 – Oct. 5 at DC’s Signature Theatre, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, with choreography by Breon Arzell, and music direction by Jermaine Hill.
Wesley J. Barnes, Chuckie Benston, Awa Sal Secka, Alana S. Thomas, and Derrick D. Truby Jr.
A delightful musical based on Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, set to the syncopated soundtrack of Duke Ellington’s greatest hits. Aspiring songwriter Vy comes to swinging 1930s Harlem to make it big. But when she discovers the doors of opportunity are closed to women, she disguises herself as a man to pitch her songs to Harlem’s hottest composer, the Duke. However, when her tunes attract the attention of Cotton Club performer Lady Liv, the object of the Duke’s affection, Vy-Man is swept up in a swinging tempest of love, mistaken identity and jazz.**********************
Off-Broadway’s York Theatre has announced its 2025-26 season:
Casting and additional details TBA.
This is Not a Drill (Sept. 9 – Oct. 11), world premiere by Holly Doubet, Joseph McDonough & John Vester, directed by Gabriel Barre. Based on terrifying true events that creator Holly Doubet experienced, The musical takes audiences inside the surreal chaos of a morning in 2018, when an emergency alert warned Hawaii residents and visitors of an incoming missile attack. As fear grips the island, strangers and loved ones alike are forced to confront their mortality and their humanity. Set to a soaring and heartfelt score, this powerful new musical tells the story of connection, compassion, and what truly matters when time stands still.
Gotta Dance (Nov. 25 – Dec.. 28), with American Dance Machine, directed by Nikki Atkins & Randy Skinner, with music directed by Eugene Gwodz.
Monte Christo (Mar. 10 – Apr. 5, 2026), by Stephen Weiner & Peter Kellogg, directed by Peter Flynn, with choreography by Marcos Santana. A sweeping musical adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ beloved novel. Monte Cristo tells the epic story of a man wrongfully imprisoned who returns richer, wiser, and bent on vengeance. But as his carefully orchestrated plan unfolds, he must face the ultimate question: is justice enough without love? Developed in The York’s New2NY series, this production reunites the writer of Desperate Measures (Drama Desk winner for best music and lyrics) and the team that brought you Penelope for a thrilling tale of revenge, redemption, and enduring romance.
The Oscar Hammerstein Awards (Nov. 10), honoring Jerry Zaks & Joan Ross Sorkin, at 6 PM at NYC’s Edison Ballroom.
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Art Shulman’s Behind the Curtain will run July 25 – Aug. 17 at North Hollywood’s Two Roads Theatre, directed by Stan Mazan.
Patric Anthony, Leah Bass, Brad Carter, Lana Ford, Robert MichalGrant, Joan Lubicek, Levin McKim, Lauren Simon, Nacy Van Iderstine, and Jerry Weil.
A delightful guide whisks audiences through the world of a theater company. Along the way, they’re treated to a kaleidoscope of stories, each offering a glimpse (however exaggerated, delightfully twisted, or unexpectedly heartfelt) into the happy, sad, comedic, and dramatic, at the theater.
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Michael Griffo’s Pen Pals has announced new additions to the rotating cast:
(NEW): Sharna Burgess, Paige Davis, Catherine Curtin, and Marcia Cross, Emily Skinner, and Donna Lynne Champlin.
Inspired by a true story, Pen Pals invites audiences into the lives of Bernie and Mags—two women whose bond, forged in adolescence, endures for decades without them ever meeting in person. A story of connection, resilience, and the unbreakable bond between friends, Pen Pals is as poignant as it is powerful.
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National Theatre Live will present a screening of Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession on Sat. Nov. 1 at 3 PM at UCLA’s James Bridge’s Theatre, directed by Dominic Cooke.
Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter.
Vivie Warren is a woman ahead of her time. Her mother, however, is a product of that old patriarchal order. Exploiting it has earned Mrs. Warren a fortune – but at what cost?
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Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight will run July 26 – Aug. 10 at LA’s Pacific Resident Theatre, directed by Michael Rothhaar.
Jaxon Duff GWillim (Mr. Manningham). Tanya Getty (Mrs. Manningham), Stuart W. Howard (Rough), Rita Obermeyer (Elizabeth), Miranda Wynne (Nancy), Harold Newman (Detective Sergeant Tarrant).
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Evita, directed & choreographed by Josh Rhodes, continues through July 24 at the St. Louis Muny.
Katerina McCrimmon (Eva Perón), Omar Lopez-Cepero (Che), Paulo Szot (Perón), Omar Lopez-Cepero (Che), Daniel Torres (Magaldi), and Sabrina Santana (Perón’s Mistress) with Andrés Acosta, Leyla Ali, Marissa Barragán, Leah Berry, Patrick Blindauer, Jordan Casanova, Marilyn Caserta, Junior Cervila, Devin Cortez, Nicholas Cunha, Kyle de la Cruz Laing, Daniel Alan DiPinto, Kylie Edwards, Noelia Guerrero, Natalia Nieves-Melchor, Zibby Nolting, Arnie Rodriguez, Leann Schuering, Trevor Michael Schmidt, Sharrod Williams, and Noah Van Ess.
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The final week of The Blank Theatre‘s 33rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival will run July 31 – Aug. 3 at the Skylight Theatre (in Los Feliz).
Click the link above for all the details.
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Broadway Babes Singalong will take place Sun. Aug. 10 at 4 PM at West Hollywood’s Beaches Tropicana. hosted by Chris Renfro.
Click here for additional information.