GRACE NOTES: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

 

Today’s Highlights:

 

  Hollywood Fringe Festival 2026 opens at various LA locations.

 

  Label less, by Lea Lachey & Drew Lachey, directed by Drew Lachey, featuring Justin Daxt Bobbs, Nasir Butler, Antonio Davis, Micah Day, Abby Docherty, Diana Hutchinson, Iz Lachey, Kendall Maley, Colton Smith, and Kiwi Villalobos, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s The Duke on 42nd Street & New 43nd Studios (229 W. 42nd St.).

 

  Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous, by Pearl Cleage, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, featuring Michele Shay (Betty Samson), Olivia Washington ( Precious “Pete”Watson),  Watson; Deborah Joy Winans (Greenleaf, Whitney) as Kate Hughes; and Charlayne Woodard (Anna Campbell), previews at LA’s Geffin Playhouse.

 

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   Broadway Grosses for the week ending June 7.

 

Click here for the complete analysis.

 

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  Ragtime, directed by Lear deBessonet, has been extended again, now through Aug. 16 at Broadway’s Lincoln Center Theatre.

 

  Current cast, (with a variety of changes soon), Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, Colin Donnell, Nichelle Lewis, Ben Levi Ross, Shaina Taub, Anna Grace Barlow,  John Clay III, Rodd CyrusNick Barrington, Ellie May Sennett, Nicholas Barrón, Lauren Blackman, Allison Blackwell, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Ben Cherry, Jordan Chin, Eean Sherrod Cochran, Billy Cohen, Kerry Conte, Rheaume Crenshaw, Aerina DeBoer, Ellie Fishman, Jason Forbach, Ta’Nika Gibson, Jackson Parker Gill, David Jennings, Alijah Joseph, Marina Kondo, Brandon LaVar, Morgan Marcell, Jenny Mollet, Tom Nelis, Kent Overshown, Kayla Pecchioni, John Rapson, Matthew Scott, Deandre Sevon, Alyssa Shorte, Caleb Stallings, Jacob Keith Watson, and Alan Wiggins and Destinee Rea.

 

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  LA Opera will present The Magic Flute May 30 – June 21 at LA’s Dorothy Chandler  Pavilion, conducted by James Conlon, and directed by Suzanne Andrade.

 

Sydney Manascola (Pamina), Mile Mykkanen (Tamino), Kyle Miller (Papageno), Aigul Khismatullina (Queen of the Night), Kwangchul Youn (Sarastro), Zhengyi Bai (Monostatos), and Emily Damasco (Papagena).

 

  Prince Tamino and the loveable sidekick Papageno are on a quest to save a princess, in a fan-favorite production featuring a cast interacting with dazzling projected animations inspired by silent cinema and vintage cartoons.

 

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  Justin Huertas’ Lizard Boy will run Mar. 1-29 at Portland Center Stage (link TBA), directed by Chip Miller.

 

   Milo Marami, Lo Steele, and Benjamin  Tissel.

 

When Trevor was a child, a strange encounter with a dragon left his skin green and scaly. Now, he only leaves his house on MonsterFest, the one day a year he feels safe to share his skin with the world. And this year, Trevor has a date! When another dragon survivor warns him that the dragons may be returning, Trevor must decide if he has the courage to save the world…and his new crush. Part concert, part hero’s journey, this indie-rock musical proves you don’t need a cape to be a superhero—just the nerve to show up.

 

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   Underdogs: A Musical, a new Audible Original, starring Alan Cumming, Gaten Matarazzo, and Bebe Neuwirth, is now available here.

 

   Set at the most prestigious performing arts high school in the world – Newark Airport High – the comedy follows four determined first-year students as they fight for a coveted spot in the mainstage production of Les Disposablés. Standing between them and the spotlight is the formidable director Mr. Jeremy (Cumming), forcing the aspiring stars into an unfamiliar role for the first time: underdogs.

 

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   DC’s Folger Theatre has announced its 2026-27 season: 

 

Casting TBA.

 

  How Shakespeare Saved My Life (June 9 – July 5)), by Jacob Ming-Trent.

 

   Measure for Measure (Sept. 22 – Nov.1), directed by Psalmayene 24.

 

  Hamlet (Mar. 22 – Apr. 11, 2027), directed by Kate Whoriskey.

 

   The The Comedy of Errors (May 18 – June 27), directed by Holly Twyford

 

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  National Theatre Live will present a filmed version of London’s The Misanthrope beginning Sept. 22 at U.S. theaters TBA, adapted by Martin Crimp.

 

   Sandra Oh, Paul Chahidi, Abigail Cruttenden, Imogen Elliott, Rina Fatania, Freddie MacBruce, Tom Mison and Jemima Rooper.

 

  Written in contemporary verse, The Misanthrope interrogates 21st-century private relationships and public debate, with Molière’s infamous misanthrope Alceste reimagined as Alice.

 

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   Mister Halston, by Raffaele Pacitti, continues through June 21 at Long Island’s Bay Street Theatre, directed by Michael Wilson.

 

 Michael BcGrath (Mister Halston).

 

  Set against the glamorous and volatile world of 70s & 80s New York, Mister Halston explores the Meteoric rise, stunning Fame, and ultimate fall of iconic Ameriican fashion designer Halston.

 

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  Red Bull Theater‘s Short New Play Festival 2026: Refiinished will  take place Mon, June 22 at 7:30 PM at Off Broadway’s Symphony Space.

 

  Ken  Ludwig, Betty Shaniec, Sabrina Caruso, Nate Currier, Nadel Henfille, Nick Martorelli, Justin Muschong, Karon Ogle, and Chris PBrowne Valenzuela.

 

  TBA.

 

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   The world premiere of Tommy Vines’s How to Put Down the Weight of your Past will run July 23 – Aug. 9 (opening July 35,) at the American Mime Theatre (137 West 25th Street, Ground Floor), directed by Madeline Riddick-Seals.

 

  Kirsten Kilburn and Tommy Vines.

 

  Tommy Vines doesn’t just make theater. She is a must-see artist who makes experiences that live in your body long after you’ve left the building. Her work is visceral, formally daring, and emotionally devastating in the best way. She is exactly the kind of artist this city needs right now. Hers is a voice that deserves a bigger stage

 

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   The world premiere of Tommy Vines’ How to Put Down the Weight of Your Past will run July 23 – Aug. 9 (opening July 25) at the American Mime Theatre (137 W. 25th St., directed by Madeline Riddick-Seals.

 

  Tommy Vines and Kirsten Kilburn.

 

   This show is for those who seek out the hard questions – eager to respond, and ready to release. Tommy Vines doesn’t just make theater. She is a must-see artist who makes experiences that live in your body long after you’ve left the building. Her work is visceral, formally daring, and emotionally devastating in the best way. She is exactly the kind of artist this city needs right now. Hers is a voice that deserves a bigger stage. The play picks at life’s absurdities to reach the raw center of our collective past.

 

 

 

 


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