Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be limited theatre news for the foreseeable future. I will continue to search for anything meaningful and/or fun to report. Stay safe and healthy.
In addition, with national protests in full swing, and many events being postponed or cancelled, I don’t know when more theatre news will be available, so newsletters may be even shorter for awhile…
Today’s Highlights:
* Fun Home reunion benefit Q&A, in support of The Actors Fund, featuring Alessandra Bladacchino, Henry Boshart, Abby Corrigan, Kally Duling, Anthony Fortino, Carly Gold, Cole Grey, Kaisa Hammerlund, Nate Hammond, Noah Hinsdale, Noelle Hogan, Victoria Janicki, Eleanor Kane, Sydney Lucas, Zell Steele Morrow, Joél Pérez, Pierson Salvador, Jadyn Schwartz, Luké Barbato Smith, Sofia Trimarchi, Nicole Van Giesen, and Oscar Williams, at 6:30 PM ET on Facebook.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “An actor who knows his business ought to be able to make the London telephone directory sound enthralling.”
~ Donald Sinden
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Broadway Black, the multimedia organization highlighting the achievements of Black theatre artists, will present the Antonyo Awards on Fri. June 19 at 7 PM ET. Included will be a pre-show red carpet, original musical numbers, presenters and performers.
Click here for the complete list of nominees
here. In the Broadway Black spirit of community, winners will be chosen by the public; online voting will continue through June 12 at Midnight.
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Audra McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Jordan E. Cooper, Teyonah Parris, Ephraim Sykes, LaChanze, Derrick Baskin, Nicolette Robinson, Jelani Alladin, Christiani Pitts, James Monroe Iglehart, Amber Iman, Kalen Allen, Nzinga Williams, Jackson Alexander, Cody Renard Richard, Ashton Muñiz, Shereen Pimentel, Kirsten Childs, Aisha Jackson, Antoine L. Smith, Griffin Matthews, Michael McElroy, Jocelyn Bioh, and L Morgan Lee.
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Video: “Stars in the House,” with special guests Bill Berloni, Joe Church, Ashley Horne, and Beverly Jenkins. (1:09:26)
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Video: “Stars in the House,” spotlighting Syracuse’s Redhouse Arts Center, with Artistic Director Hunter Foster, Jennifer Cody, Mike DiSalvo, Robert Denzel Edwards, Yarissa Millan, Marc Palmieri, and Temar Underwood. (57:05)
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BC/EFA has donated $125,000 total to anti-racism organizations, distributed across the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, the Bail Project, Color of Change, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
As first reported by Broadway News, $50,000 will be donated to the Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Broadway for Black Lives Matter Again forum. $25,000 will go to each of the other four organizations.
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Video: Mandy Patinkin performs “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”/”Children Will Listen” medley
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BroadwayHD has made available Lincoln Center Theatre’s production of Dominique Morisseay’s Pipeline available with or without a subscription here. (1:26:30). There is no information about how long this offer will last.
Nya, an inner-city public high school teacher, is committed to her students, but desperate to give her only son Omari opportunities they’ll never have. When a controversial incident at his upstate private school threatens to get him expelled, Nya must confront his rage and her own choices as a parent. But will she be able to reach him before a world beyond her control pulls him away?
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Jeremy Jordan in concert will take place Sun. June 14 at 8 PM ET and Mon. June 15 at 4 PM ET. 
here.
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Video: Ann Hampton Callaway‘s new single, “Carry On.”
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LA’s Matrix Theatre Company‘s production of Geraldine Inoa’s Scraps, is now available to watch for free here, directed by Stevie Walker-Webb.
Stan Mayer, Tyrin Niles, Ashlee Olivia, Damon Rutledge, Ahkei Togun, and Denise Yolén.
A provocative mash-up of poetry, realism, and expressionism, the play boldly chronicles how the family and friends of a black teenager shot by white police officer struggle to cope in the aftermath.
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Disney Studios is developing a jukebox-style movie musical featuring the music of Lionel Richie, written by Peter Chirarelli, and with a tentative title as “All Night Long.”
Timeline, casting, and additional details TBA.
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Syracuse Stage has launched a silent virtual auction in support of “Together for Stage.”
The auction is now open to the public for bidding, and includes a wide variety of unique items and priceless experiences, including special virtual classes, rare wines and whiskeys, MacKenzie-Childs pieces, a pair of costume sketches from the recent Amadeus, travel opportunities to Paris, Colorado, Maine, and New York City (all with flexible time frames), and much more.
Auction registration is available at tfs2020.givesmart.com or by texting TFS2020 to 7678. Bidding closes Fri. June 12 at 11:59 PM ET.
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Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater presents a FREE online reading of The Government Inspector on Mon. June 15 at 7:30 PM, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Jesse Berger.
Arnie Burton, Stephen DeRosa, Michael McGrath, Mary Testa, and Michael Urie.
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Anna Deavere Smith in conversation will take place Mon. June 15 at 7 PM ET at NYC’s 92Y.
This timely discussion coincides with two of her most lauded works becoming available to stream: Twilight: Los Angeles, the filmed version of her 1994 one-woman play on the 1992 Los Angeles riots, will be aired on PBS’s Great Performances. Notes from the Field, a 2018 film based on her play by the same name which explores racial inequality in the justice system, is currently available via HBO’s online platforms.
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Video: Josh Groban, “Your Face”
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New York Theatre Barn will present An All-Female Tribute to Edna Ferber on Mon. June 15 at 7 PM ET, directed by Laura Brandel, and hosted by Jen Sandler & Joe Barros. 50% of the donations will support The Black Women’s Playwrights Group.
The event will introduce new musicals works based on Ferber short stories, as well as a conversation with Ferber’s grand-niece Julie Gilbert, and excerpts from two one-act musical adaptations by Debra Barsha and Sheilah Rae.
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A performance of Wendy Graf’s Unemployed Elephants — A Love Story will take place Sat. June 20 at 6 PM PT here, directed by John Lacey.
Kerry Knuppe and Marshall McCabe
A chance meeting in an airport lounge leads to a Burmese odyssey and a search for a missing monk… and maybe love.*