Today’s Highlights:
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Monique Touko, featuring Tara Tijani (Paulina Sarpong), Anna Shaffer (Ericka Boafo), Heather Agyepong (Ama), Bola Akeju (Mercy), Deborah Alli (Eloise Amponsah), Francesca Amewudah-Rivers (Gifty), Jadesola Odunjo (Nana), and Alison A Addo (Headmistress Francis), opens at London’s Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.
A Simulacrum, written & directed by Lucas Hnath, starring Steve Cuiffo, opens at Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theatre Company.
The Gospel According to Heather, by Paul Gordon, directed & choreographed by Rachel Klein, featuring Katey Sagal, Lauren Elder, Badia Farha, Maria Habeeb, Darron Hayes, Jeremy Kushnier, Maya Lagerstam, Wayne Wilson, and Brittany Nicole Williams, with Armando Gutierrez, Georgia Kate Haege, Sarita Amani Nash, and Zach Rand, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Amas Musical Theatre.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending June 11.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Jeanine Tsori & Brian Crawley’s Violet continues through July 2 at Fayettville’s Theatre Squared.
Brian Lee Huynh (Kemp/Eiji), Rebecca Hirota (Molly/Moto), and Ryan George (Cabe), with Bruce Warren, Bryce Kemph, Cary Hite, Faith Sandberg, Garrett Houston, Hugh Kenedy, Jason Shipman, Marc Carver, Nathaniel Stahike, and Patrick Halley.
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Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre will present its annual summer gala, Where Did We Go Right?, a celebration of Songs and Scenes from The Producers, How to Succeed…, Victor/Victoria, Plaza Suite, and many more, on Sat. July 8 at 6:30 PM, directed by Will Pomerantz,
Julie Andrews (via video), Sarah Jessica Parker, and Matthew Broderick, and Bay Street board member Carol Konner.
Derrick Davis and Isaac Mizrahi
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Audible will present a live performance of Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For – One Night Stand, adapted by Madeleine George, will take pace Fri. June 23 at 7 PM at the Minetta Lane Theatre, directed by Leigh Silverman.
Jenn Colella, Lauren Patten, and Roberta Colindrez.
The play chronicles the lives, loves, and politics of a fairly diverse group of characters (most of them lesbians) living in a medium-sized city in the United States, featuring both humorous soap opera storylines and biting topical commentary.
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Laguna Playhouse has announced 6 upcoming special events (scroll down):
Listen to the Seventies concert (Aug. 4-6), a tribute to Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Don Mclean, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Paul Simon, Elton John, Cat Stevens, and Carly Simon.
Carney Magic (Aug. 10-11). A live show that blends mind-blowing sleigh of hand intelligence, take, and wit.
Jay Johnson – The Two and Only (Aug. 12-13). Jay is a top practitioner in the art of ventriloquism.
I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce (Aug. 17-19), starring Ronnie Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna. The show chronicles the life and death of Lenny Bruce.
Folk Legacy Trio concert (Aug. 20), featuring George Grove, Rick Dougherty, and Jerry Siggins.
A Tribute to “The Rat Pack” concert (Aug. 24-27), featuring Sebastian Anzaldo, Andy DiMino, and Lambus Dean.
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“Just For Us: Alex Edelman in Conversation with Josh Groban” will take place Sun. June 25 at 7 PM at NYC’s 92NY.
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The world premiere of John J. Caswell, Jr.’s Wet Brain has been extended through July 2 at Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons, directed by Dustin Wills.
Frankie J. Alverez (Ron), Ceci Fernández (Angelina), Florencia Lozano (Mona), Julio Monge (Joe), and Arturo Luis Soria (Ricky).
Deep in the suburbs of Arizona, three trainwreck siblings are charged with the care of their trainwreck father, who may or may not live a secret alien life. John J. Caswell, Jr.’s brutally funny new play pierces one family’s emotional void as they search the cosmos to find a common language.
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NY City Center Encores will present Light in the Piazza June 21-25, directed by Chay Yew, with music direction by Rob Berman.
Ruthie Ann Miles (Margaret), Anna Zayelson (Clara), Shereen Ahmed (Franca Naccarelli), Andrea Burns (Signora Naccarelli), and Rodd Cyrus (Signor Naccarelli), with Nick Alvino, Daniel Assetta, Jhailyn Farcon, Alex Humphreys, Mary Illes, Jolina Javier, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Matt Leisy, Katerina McCrimmon, Eliseo Roman, Vishal Vidaya, Kathy Voytko, and J.D. Webster.
Video: Ruthie Ann Miles and Anna Zayelson perform two songs in rehearsal.
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RIP: Treat Williams died on June 12 in a motorcycle accident at the age of 71. He was best known for his starring role in the 1979 film adaptation of “Hair.”
Born and raised in Connecticut, Treat committed himself to the theatre while a student at Franklin and Marshall College, specializing in Shakespeare and Ibsen, with the occasional contemporary play and musical mixed in. While a student, Mr. Williams performed with the Actors’ Company of Pennsylvania and the Fulton Opera House. He remained connected to the latter for the rest of his life, and in 1991, Mr. Williams was named an honorary chair of the fundraising campaign to renovate the venue, now called the Fulton Theatre.
In the mid 1970s, Mr. Williams made his Broadway debut as a replacement Danny Zuko in the original run of Grease, which was shortly followed by his film debut in the thriller “Deadly Hero” opposite James Earl Jones. In between filming for “Deadly Hero” and his next film project, Mr. Williams returned to Broadway in the musical revue Over Here!, playing the World War II soldier Utah. From this point on, Mr. Williams would maintain careers both on screen and the stage, with a particular prevalence in screen adaptations of stage productions.
In 1976, Mr. Williams played Michael Brick in the film adaptation of Terrence McNally’s “The Ritz” opposite Rita Moreno, as well as the Broadway revival of Kaufman and Hart’s Once in a Lifetime opposite George S. Irving and John Lithgow. Treat came to international prominence in 1979 as Berger in the film adaptation of the culture-defining musical “Hair.” For his efforts, Mr. Williams received a Golden Globe nomination, and became a Playgirl pinup.
In 1981, Mr. Williams replaced Kevin Kline as The Pirate King in Joe Papp’s immensely popular revival of The Pirates of Penzance, the very same year Mr. Williams would net his second Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Sidney Lumet’s “Prince of the City.” His third Globe nomination would come shortly after in a television adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” where Mr. Williams played Stanley Kowalski opposite Ann-Margret as Blanche, Beverly D’Angelo as Stella, and Randy Quaid as Mitch. A new musical score for the adaptation was composed by PEGOT winner Marvin Hamlisch. Mr. Williams was also heavily associated with the play Love Letters.
In all, Mr. Williams appeared in more than 75 films and countless television series.
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The Skivvies (Nick Cearley and Lauren Molina) will return to NYC’s Joe’s Pub on Wed. July 5 at 9:30 PM.
Laura Benanti, Talia Saskauer, Tamika Sonja Lawrence, J Savage, Marty Thomas, and Ryann Redmond.
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Pygmalion will run Sept. 6 – Oct. 28 (opening Sept. 19) at The Old Vic, directed by Richard Jones.
Bertie Carvel (Professor Henry Higgins), Patsy Ferran (Eliza Doolittle), Lizzy Connolly (Clara Eynsford Hill), Grace Cookey-Gam (Mrs. Eynsford Hill), Penny Layden (Mrs. Pearce), Sylvestra Le Touzel (Mrs. Higgins), Michael Gould (Colonel Pickering), John Marquez (Alfred Doolittle), Taheen Modak (Freddy Eynsford Hill), and Kieran Smith (Aristid Karpathey), with Steven Dykes, Liz Jadav, Caroline Moroney, and Rohan Rakhit.
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Celebration Theatre will present Jude Batterman’s Tales of the Transcestors June 16-26 at the Greenway Court Theatre, directed by Shaan Dasani.
Amir Levi (Claude Cahun), Nicole Delsack (Marcel Moor), B Alexander (Pauli Murray), Mallery Jenna Robinson (Mary Jones), Felix Garcia (Jose Manuel Pachini), and Alexia Jasmene (Dawn Langley Simmons).
Based on true accounts, the play is an interpretive live telling of transgender stories across history. A multi-genre experience inclusive of music, poetry, and one-acts, 6 artists of intersectional transgender experience bring their interpretation of these stories to the stage.