Today’s Highlights:
Black Matter, written & performed by Giles Terera (Best Actor Olivier Award for Aaron Burr in Hamilton), begins streaming here.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “If you give an audience a chance, they will do half your acting for you.” ~Katherine Hepburn
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Apparently some of you did not receive Monday’s GRACE NOTES. Please remember that you can always access past issues on the website (for the last 3 years) at GraceNotesStage.com in the Archives, with the Username & Password you created when you subscribed.
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Video: Stars in the House, with guest host Krysta Rodriguez, and special guests Kathryn Gallagher, Mandy Gonzalez, and Nina Lafarga. (1:23:06)
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Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death will return to Broadway for the first time since its 1971 premiere production, to open in 2022 (dates TBA), directed by Kenny Leon. Dates, casting, and additional information TBA.
The musical blends early hip hop and spoken word, jazz and blues, humor and pain to offer a raucous celebration of – and a clear-eyed look at – America.
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Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater presents “Exploring Falstaff with Jay O. Sanders,” to stream Mon. Apr. 5 at 7:30 PM ET, hosted by Nathan Winkelstein.
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The world premiere of Someone Else’s House, a live, virtual, and interactive theatrical experience written by & starring Jared Mezzocchi, will stream Apr. 23 – June 5 (opening Apr. 30) at LA’s Geffen Playhouse, directed by Margot Bordelon.
Someone Else’s House will take place on Zoom, with each performance limited to a maximum of 40 households. Each household will receive a haunting kit in advance, not to be opened before showtime, which includes materials to help set the scene for the story, as well as important artifacts to be used to interact during the performance. Due to mature content, children 12 and under are strictly prohibited.
A true-life haunting story based on the Mezzocchi family’s terrifying experiences in New England.
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Pretty Woman: The Musical will now re-open July 8 at the Savoy Theatre, directed & choreographed by Jerry Mitchell.
Aimie Atkinson (Vivian Ward) and Danny Mac (Edward Lewis), with Rachel Wooding (Kit DeLuca), Bob Harms (Happy Man/Mr. Thompson), Neil McDermott (Philip Stuckey), Mark Holden (James Morse), and more TBA.
The reopening is subject to the U.K. government allowing indoor performances to begin with sufficient notice, understanding what restrictions on social distancing and audience number caps are imposed, the public health status, and the availability of insurance cover.
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“Broadway Profiles with Tamsen Fadal” spotlights Mean Girls here.
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Dan Clancy’s Middletown continues to stream through Apr. 4 here.
Didi Conn, Sandy Duncan, Donny Most, and Adrian Zmed.
The story of two couples, Peg and Tom, and Dotty and Don, as they endure the rollercoaster life together in this universal depiction of love, life, and friendship.
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Spotlight on Plays has announced upcoming readings, all in support of The Actors Fund, and streamed on Stellar.
The Thanksgiving Play (Mar. 25), by Larissa Fasthorse, directed by Leigh Silverman, featuring Bobby Cannavale, Keanu Reeves, Heidi Schreck, and Alia Shawkat.
Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous (Apr. 8), by Pearl Cleage, directed by Camille A. Brown, featuring Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Heather Alicia Simms, and Alicia Stith.
Dear Elizabeth (date TBA), by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Kate Whoriskey, starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, and more TBA.
The Baltimore Waltz (date TBA), by Paula Vogel, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, starring Mary-Louise Parker, and more TBA.
Watch on the Rhine (date TBA), by Lillian Hellman, directed by Sarna Lapine, starring Carla Gugino and Ellen Burstyn, and more TBA.
Ohio State Murders (date TBA), by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Kenny Leon, starring Audra McDonald, and more TBA.
The Sisters Rosensweig (date TBA), by Wendy Wasserstein, directed by Anna D. Shapiro, starring Kathryn Hahn, and more TBA.
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Dr. Fauci recently commented on the re-opening of Broadway and theatres across the country.
“If enough people get vaccinated and if we are careful in reopening and resuming activities, based on current projections, I believe we likely could see a return to more fully reopened movie and Broadway theatres sometime in the Fall. This is no guarantee. And at least initially, we may still need to wear masks.”
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LA Opera continues to stream Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves through Apr. 12, conducted by Steven Osgood.
Kiera Duffy (Bess) and John Moore (Jan), with Patricia Schuman, Eve Gigliotti, David Portillo, Zachary James, Marcus DeLoach.
After a near-fatal accident, Bess’s new husband is paralyzed. In his anguish, he implores her to take other lovers. Torn between her husband’s wishes and the traditional values of her small community, she determinedly follows her faith to a tragic end.
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Joshua Henry and his wife Cathryn Stringer welcomed twins Max and Leo, who were born on Mar. 21. College sweethearts Henry and Stringer were married Oct. 20, 2012.
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Judy Collins re-creates her legendary 1964 concert hall debut at NYC’s Town Hall, to stream Fri. Apr. 16 at 8 PM ET (and available for 72 hours).
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Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies, written by & starring Jessica Sherr, will begin streaming Mar. 26 at 8 PM ET here, directed by Karen Carpenter.
Sherr channels 31-year-old Bette Davis’ fight against the male-dominated studio system. On the night of the 1939 Oscars, Bette Davis returns home knowing she’s to lose Best Actress to Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara, because the press has leaked the winners. Miss Davis takes us on the bumpy ride of her tumultuous rise, as the tenacious actress fights her way through the studio system to the top. Witness Bette triumph over misogyny to win roles and compensation on par with her male counterparts. See what happens when someone who always wins…loses. Through conversations with her mother Ruthie, her friendship with Olivia De Havilland, stories about her love affair with William Wyler, her four failed marriages, her unpleasant relationship with her daughter, ageism in Hollywood, and her feelings of regret about her groundbreaking court case with Warner Brothers (which she lost), we experience Bette’s most defining moments and her at her most vulnerable.
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The West End revival of Sunday in the Park With George, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford, has been delayed indefinitely due to the current government restrictions on travel and theatre capacities.
While the show will not take place this year, a tweet from the show states “Everyone in the production remains 100 percent committed to making the show work when conditions and schedules align to make it possible.”
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David Thompson’s John Cullum: An Accidental Star will stream Apr. 8-22 at Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre, directed by Julie McBride, with music supervision by Georgia Stitt.
The show features songs and stories from Cullum’s 6-decade career. He will discuss his Tony-winning performances in Shenandoah and On the Twentieth Century, his working relationships with the likes of Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Goulet, and Julie Andrews, with music from the Golden Age of American theater.
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Chad Hodge’s “Single All The Way” will premiere on Netflix this holiday season (date TBA), directed by Michael Mayer.
Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, and Luke MacFarlane, with Jennifer Coolidge, Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Robertson and Kathy Najimy.
Peter convinces his best friend Nick to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her handsome trainer James, the plan goes awry.
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Camelot will stream Apr. 5-11 at FL’s Asolo Rep, directed by Celine Rosenthal, with orchestrations by Steve Orich, and adapted text by David Lee.
Britney Coleman (Guenevere), Nick Duckart (Arthur), Alex Joseph Grayson (Lancelot), John Rapson (Mordred/Sagramore), Joseph Torello (Dinadin), and Levin Valayil (Lionel/Dap/Tom), and more TBA.
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Caissie Levy and David Reiser welcomed baby girl Talulah Ruby in March (date not reported).
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Ryan Murphy’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is currently in development as a 10-episode limited series on Netflix (released date TBA).
Evan Peters (Jeffrey Dahmer), Niecy Nash (Glenda Cleveland), Penelope Ann Miller (Dahmer’s mother, Joyce), Richard Jenkins (Dahmer’s father, Lionel). Shaun Brown (Tracy), and Colin ford (Chazz).
The story of Dahmer through the eyes of his victims, which examines Dahmer’s white privilege and the law enforcement involved with a radical lens, depicting at least 10 times that Dahmer was apprehended by the police, but not prosecuted.