Today’s Highlights:
The Remarkable Mister Holmes, by Omri Schein, David Ellenstein & Daniel Lincoln, directed by David Ellenstein, featuring Darcy Rose Byrnes (Rosa and others), Susan Denaker (Mrs. Hudson and others), Jason Graae (Artemis and others (Mar. 5 – 23), Michael Scott Harris (Gustav Von Schwanz and others), Katie Karel (Gerda von Schwanz, and others), Martin Kildare (Inspector Lestrade and others), Shannon O’Boyle (Sheila Watson), Paul Slade Smith Sherlock Holmes), and Pat Towne (Corpse, and oethers), Justin Michael Wilcox, and (Artemis and others – Mar. 24-30), begins previews at Laguna Playhouse.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Mar. 2, 2025:
Cick here for the complete analysis.
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According to Ray: Ray Charles’ Message to America continues through Mar. 23 at the Mark Taper Forum.
Brandon Victor Dixon and DC6 Singers Collective.
The piece explores how Ray Charles’s diverse musical genres, influences, and collaborations all culminated in his landmark recording of “America the Beautiful.For the first few decades of his career, Ray Charles electrified with his genius knack for blending gospel, blues, jazz, rock and soul. Then, in 1972, the ultimate musical trailblazer did something even he’d never done before: he infused his work with an anthemic message of empathy at a time when we really needed it. With his album “A Message from the People,” and its cornerstone reinterpretation of “America The Beautiful.”
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RIP: Frank Hartenstein, stage manager for 50 years, died Feb. 21 of pneumonia,
Mr. Hartenstein was the stage manager for a wide range of landmark original Broadway productions, including A Chorus Line, Platinum, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Starlight Express, Into the Woods, and Minnelli on Minnelli, as well as acclaimed revivals of Othello in 1982, The King and I in 1990, 42nd Street in 2001, and La Bohème in 2002.
Away from New York, Mr. Hartenstein worked often at the La Jolla Playhouse, and in London. On New Year’s Eve 1999 as the new millenium dawned, Mr. Hartenstein called the cues in Times Square, dropping the famous ball at midnight. He was on the Council of Actors’ Equity Association for 10 years, during which time he was a Tony Award voter, and over the years served as a guest instructor in stage management at Rutgers University, the Yale School of Drama, and the University of California at San Diego. Both in the classroom and out, formally and informally, Mr. Hartenstein instructed, counseled, and inspired several generations of aspiring stage managers.
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DC’s Signature Theatre will present the 2025 Sondheim Award Gala on Mon. Apr. 14 at 8 {M at DC’s The Wharf.
Mandy Patinkin
Ben Platt, Nathan Gunn, Ángel Lozada, Tracy Lynn Olivera, and Awa Sal Secka.
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SkyPilot Theatre (link TBA) will present the world premiere of Ben Abbott’s Buddies Apr. 4 – May 4 at 905 Cole Theatre, directed by Morris Schorr.
Morgan Benson, Jon Paul Burkhart, Vincent Doud, Sean Dube, Alyssa Klein, John Klenk, Piper Major, Jason Owsley, Tim Trobec, and Melanie Uba.
Is it possible for two adult males to form a meaningful platonic relationship? David doesn’t have friends so much as he has an obligation to hang out with his wife’s friends’ husbands. When his sister-in-law brings over her new boyfriend Adam, the two men realize they’re friendship soul mates. As they try to figure out how to make a new friend at this stage of life, they realize they have no idea what they’re doing. They must embark of a journey of self -discovery just to try to figure out what grown men even do with each other.
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National Theatre Live will present screenings of “Dr. Strangelove” on Sun. Mar. 30 & Sat. Apr. 19 (both at 3:30 PM ) at LA’s James Bridges Theatre, directed by directed by Sean Foley.
Steve Coogan (playing 4 roles)
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Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Dakar 2000, by Rajiv Joseph, continues though Mar. 23 at New York City Center, directed by May Adrales.
Abubakr Ali and Mia Barron.
In Senegal on the eve of Y2K, an idealistic Peace Corps volunteer survives a mysterious car accident. An imposing State Department operative immediately takes command of the situation and his safety. Though they couldn’t be more different, they form an unlikely relationship. But when it becomes clear that they both have secrets, the volunteer is roped into a darker side of public service – one he can’t come back from. Unpredictable at every turn.
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The world premiere of Jay Martel’s Parents in Chains will run Mar 12 – 30 at Santa Barbara’s Ensemble Theatre Company, directed by Andy Fickman.
(rotating):
Mar. 12-16: Jorja Fox, Pete Gardner, Melora Hardin, Sharon Lawrence
Mar. 18-23: Joshua Malina, Gina Torres, James Urbaniak.
Mar. 25-30: John Ross Bowie, Rob Huebel, Sharon Lawrence, Loni Love, Jane Lynch and James Urbaniak.
Six L.A. parents exchange texts as their 17-year-old daughters drive home from a weekend in San Francisco during the approach of a hurricane. The trip and the
inclement weather bring out both the best and the worst in the parents as they confront, as a group, as couples, and as individuals, what it means to let go of their kids. By turns viciously comic and poignant, Parents in Chains is a valentine to the most difficult, most failure-prone job in the world…parenting.
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Tom Diriwachter’s Fog and Filthy Air Mar. 6 – 23 at Theater for the New City, directed by Jonathan Weber.
Robert Homeyer, Kate A. McGrath, and Steve Gamble.
A new drama inspired by real life events, about family, fog and a road trip gone horribly wrong.