Today’s Highlights:
Roundabout Theatre Company‘s Home, by Samm-Art Williams, directed by Kenny Leon, featuring Tory Kittles, Brittany Inge, and Stori Ayers, opens at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre.
Gatsby, world permiere by Florence Welch, Thomas Bartlett & Martyna Majok, directed by Rachel Chavkin, featuring Isaac Powell (Gatsby), Charlotte MacInnes (Daisy), Ben Levi Ross (Nick), Cory Jeacoma (Tom), Eleri Ward (Jordan), Solea Pfeiffer (Myrtle), Matthew Amira (Wilson), Adam Grupper (Wolfsheim), and Sam Simahk (standby for Gatsby), with Nick Bailey, Kailey Boyle, Runako Campbell, Jada Clark, Joshua Grosso, Alex Haquia, Gabriel Hyman, Matt Kizer, Lorenzo Pagano, Chris Ralph, Christopher M. Ramirez, Shea Renne, Aliza Russell, Shota Sekiguchi, Maya Sistruck, Cameron Burke, Jacob Burns, Mia DeWeese, Paige Krumbach, and Justin Gregory Lopez, opens at Cambridge’s A.R.T.
A Strange Loop, by Michael R. Jackson, directed by Stephen Brackett, featuring Jordan Barbour (Thought 5), J. Cameron Barnett (Thought 2), Avionce Hoyles (Thought 3), Tarra Conner Jones (Thought 1), Malachi McCaskill (Usher), Jamari Johnson Williams (Thought 6), and John-Andrew Morrison (Thought 4), with Alvis Green Jr. (Usher Alternate), Dave J. Abrams (Understudy, Thought 2 & 3), Angela Alisa (Understudy, Thought 1), Carlis Shane Clark (Understudy, Thought 5 & 6), Albert Hodge (Understudy, Thought 4), opens at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre.
Being Mr. Wickham, written & performed by Adrian Lukis, directed by Guy Unsworth, begins previews at London’s Jermyn Street Theatre.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, directed by Casey Hushion, featuring Kyra Kennedy (Carole King), Marrick Smith (Gerry Goffin), Samantha Massell (Cynthia Weil), Jacob Ben-Shmuel (Barry Mann), Brian Fenkart (Don Kirshner), and Suzanne Grodner (Genie Klein), with Tavis Cunningham, Seth Eliser, Kevin Hack, Jana Djenne Jackson, Andrea Levinsky, Prentiss E. Mouton, Jay Owens, Olivia Palmer, Thomas Ed Purvis, Isaiah Reynolds, Tavia Riveé, Aaron Robinson, Danielle Summons, Bronwyn Tarboton, Giselle Amarisa Watts, and Mikayla White, begins previews at NJ’s Paper Mill Playhouse.
Being Alive: A Sondheim Celebration, conceived by Robert Kelley & William Liberatore, directed by Kelley, featuring Anne Tolpegin, Nick Nakashima, Melissa WolfKlain, Noel Anthony Escobar, Solona Husband, and Sleiman Alahmadieh, begins previews at CA’s TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending June 2, 2024.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Reviews for Alexis Scheer’s Breaking the Story at Off-Broadway’s Tony Kiser Theatre:
New York Times (Jesse Green): …If you start your action with a bang, a gun had better follow… Arresting and alarming though that is, it sets up an impossible comparison with the rest of the play, which, despite the director Jo Bonney’s efforts, is woefully light on dramatic ammunition. A rom-com is no match for a war… That’s not just the play’s problem, but also Marina’s… Thrill-seeking disguised as high-mindedness might be an interesting idea to explore…But Scheer’s framing, in which a flock of comic and undermining kibitzers descends for the wedding on Marina’s new estate in Wellesley, Mass., is too lightweight to support much content… Except for Halston, who is incapable of not grabbing an audience, there’s little the cast can do to make this material feel full or fresh….
Theatermania (David Gordon): …I found myself of two minds about Alexis Scheer’s Breaking the Story, receiving its world premiere off-Broadway at Second Stage. On one hand, it’s a well-intentioned ode to war correspondents who risk their lives to tell the general public about the horrors in conflict zones. On the other hand, the critic in me understands that good goals don’t always make great plays. I really appreciate what Scheer is doing (or at least is trying to do), but I don’t think she’s figured it out, and neither has director Jo Bonney… Breaking the Story has a lot of interesting things on its mind, mostly about mothers who are single-minded in their ambition and their children who are left abandoned in their absence…
New York Stage (Frank Scheck): Admirable intentions are well on display in Alexis Scheer’s play… Unfortunately, despite the fine performances and staging, Breaking the Story doesn’t live up to its ambitious goals, suffering from muddled, overly stylized storytelling that fails to enhance its themes. The end result is that you walk away thinking more about the playwright than the main character… t’s too bad, since the main character, Marina, is played so arrestingly by Maggie Siff… There’s also Marina’s wisecracking mom (played by the ever-reliable Julie Halston), who seems to have wandered in from a Neil Simon comedy… Which is one of the problems with the play, which never seems to find a consistent tone or narrative coherence…
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The national tour of Mrs. Doubtfire will run June 10 – 26 (opening June 11) at the Pantages Theatre, directed by Jerry Zaks.
Rob McClure (Daniel Hillard/Eupheginia Doubtfire), Maggie Lakis (Miranda Hillard), Giselle Gutierrez (Lydia Hillard), Aaron Kaburick (Frank Hillard), Nik Alexander (Andre Mayem), Leo Roberts (Stuart Dunmire), Romelda Teron Benjamin (Wanda Sellner), Cody Sawyer Braverman & Axel Bernard Rimmele (alternating as Christopher Hillard), and Emerson Mae & Chan Kennedy Alexandra Pitney (alternating as Natalie Hillard), with David Hibbard, Alex Branton, Jonathan Hoover, Sheila Jones, Julie Kavanagh, Jodi Kimura, Marquez Linder, Alex Ringler, Bianca Rivera-Irions, Lannie Rubio, Neil Starkenberg, Joey Stone, Gina Ward, Lauryn Withnell, and Julia Yameen.
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The national tour of Hamilton will run Oct. 16 – Nov. 24 at the Denver Center.
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Leslie Odom, Jr. will perform a free concert on Mon. June 17 at 8 PM at NYC’s Great Hall of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (7 East 7th St.).
This free event is first-come, first-served, and registration is required here, but an RSVP does not guarantee admission.
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David M. Lutken & Nick Corley’s Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie will tun July 13-28 at Theaterworks Hartford, directed by Corley, with music direction by David M. Lutken.
David Finch, Megan Loomis, Sam Sherwood (Woody Guthrie), and Helen J. Russell (Actor).
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Lucie Arnaz “I got the job”: Songs From My Musical Past will run Oct. 22-23 at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club, with music direction by Ron Abel.
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This Bright Wilderness: Celebrating the Legacy of Black Theatre at the Mark Taper Forum will offer scenes and songs from exceptional plays originally presented over the past 57 years, will take place Sat. June 15 at 8 PM at the Mark Taper Forum.
At this event, CTG continues to dig into its archives, this time uncovering the legacy of Black Theatre at the Mark Taper Forum over the past 57 years. That history intersects with the vibrant Black history of the entire city of Los Angeles. Pulled from texts produced through readings, workshops, and full productions, This Bright Wilderness is a ride through exuberant performance styles, virtuosic writing, award-winning music, and the triumph of the Black storytelling tradition in Los Angeles, throughout the country, and around the world. The event will conclude with a post-show conversation about the legacy of these playwrights in Los Angeles.
The evening of readings will include scenes from The Celebration by Bill Gunn … Lackawanna Blues by Ruben Santiago-Hudson … House Arrest and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith … Dream on Monkey Mountain by Derek Walcott … Neat by Charlayne Woodard … and Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson, which is part of The American Century Cycle. The program also includes songs from the musical Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope by Micki Grant.
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My First Ex-Husband, a series of monologues by Joy Behar, will take place Sat. June 22 at 8 PM at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre.
Susie Essman, Tovah Feldshuh, Sherri Shepherd, and more TBA.
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The world premiere of Hershey Felder: Rachmaninoff and The Tsar will run Aug. 7-25 at Santa Monica’s Broad Stage.
Having safely left Russia during the 1917 revolution, legendary pianist-composer Sergei Rachmaninoff made his home in the United States. In 1942, at the age of 68, he received American citizenship and bought a home in Beverly Hills, but his soul never left Russia. Six months thereafter, a terminal illness brought forth the memory of an encounter with Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Tsar’s daughter, the Grand Duchess Anastasia. This memory would haunt him until the end.
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The newest round of The 24 Hour Musicals will take place Mon. June 10 at 7:30 PM at Off-Broadway’s Classic Stage Company. Writers and directors not reported.
Carolyn Cantor, Jesse Eisenberg, Kathryn Gallagher, Josh Koenigsberg, Gabrielle Ruiz, George Abud, Sherz Aletaha, John Carrafa, Kayla Davion, Olli Haaskivi, Emily Xu Hall, Andrew Leeds, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Will Swenson,and Natalie Walker.
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SpeakEasy Stage will present staged readings of David H. Bell & Daniel Green’s The Museum of Broken Relationships on June 22 (7 PM) & June 23 (3 PM) at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, directed by Bell.
Although the readings are free, reservations are required on the link above.
Nik Walker, Carly Kincannon, Amy Barker, Susana Cordón, Jesse Garlick and Ned Riseley, with Ethan DePuy, De’Lon Grant, Sarah Linnell, Ryan Mardesich, Will McGarrahan, Mairéad O’Neill, Jenna Sage, and Helena Tafuri.
The story of gallerist Kirsten who, one week before the grand opening of her new art gallery, is confronted by a man in a tux, soaking wet, and desperately looking for his mother’s wedding ring. Their encounter sparks a discovery of family secrets and unresolved conflict in both their lives. What unfolds is the story of relationships—both lost and found—inspired by a curious and surprisingly impactful real museum in Croatia that celebrates the remarkable stories revealed by everyday objects.
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Musical Theatre Guild will present Broadway Time Capsule: 1996 — Broadway Hits From The Year It all Began on Tues. June 25 at 7 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club, directed by Will Collyer & Susan Edwards Martin, with music direction by Jeff Hoeppner.
Eileen Barnett, Roger Befeler, Jennifer Bennett, Teri Bibb, Bryan Chesters, Will Collyer, Joshua Finkel, Tal Fox, Julie Garnye, Kim Huber, Maura Knowles, Ashley Linton, Susan Edwards Martin, Kevin Matsumoto, Tonoccus McClain, Dana Meller, Barbara Minkus, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Gabriel Navarro, Trance Thompson, Diane Vincent, Paul Wong, Robert Yacko, and David Zack.