Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be limited theatre news for the foreseeable future. I will continue to search for anything meaningful and/or fun to report. Stay safe and healthy.
Today’s Highlights:
* Midnight Your Time, special FREE online production, by Adam Brace, starring Diana Quick, premieres at 7;30 P M BST/2:30 PM ET/11:30 AM PT at London’s Donmar Warehouse.
* The Actors Fund‘s “Viral Vignettes” TV clips, at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT.
* The Actors Fund’s “Humpday with Hampshire” weekly live-streamed talk show with Emily Hampshire, at 5 PM here.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “There were many times my pants were so thin I could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.” ~ Spencer Tracy
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Nick Cordero is awake after being unconscious (medically induced) and on a ventilator since Mar, 31 due to COVID-19 complications.
If you’d like to help with some of Nick’s medical bills, click here.
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Video: “Trivia Tuesday Happy Hour” game show, with Caitlin Kinnunen, here.
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The Broadway League has confirmed that productions will now offer refunds and exchanges for performances through Sept. 6 as Broadway remains dark over the summer. An exact return date has yet to be determined.
Ticketholders for performances through Sept. 6 will be contacted via email by their point of purchase with information regarding refund and exchange options.
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A number of key players in the NYC theatre industry are on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s newly formed Arts, Culture, and Tourism Sector Advisory Council, which will provide guidance and re-opening insight as the city responds to the coronavirus pandemic.
Among those on the council
* Charlotte St. Martin, Broadway League President
* Leah Johnson, Lincoln Center Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
* Julia Levy, Roundabout Theatare Company Executive Director
* Seth Pinsky, 92nd Street Y Chief Executive
* Jonelle Procope, Apollo Theater President and CEO
De Blasio also appointed committees for:
* Labor and Workforce
* Large Business
*Small Business
* Non-Profit and Social Services
* Public Health and Healthcare
* Faith-based
* Construction and Real Estate
* Education
* Surface Transportation sectors.
In addition, the Broadway League is working closely with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s similar New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board, despite earlier reports that no Broadway representatives were included in the roster featuring over 100 businesses.
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Video: “Stars in the House,” a “Caroline in the City” cast reunion, with Malcolm Gets, Cathy Ladman, Tom La Grua, Andy Lauer, Eric Lutes, John Mariano, Amy Pietz, and Lea Thompson. (1:14:05)
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Off-Broadway’s LABryrinth Theater Company will reunite much of the original cast of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Our Lady of 121st Street for a reading on Sat. May 23 at 8 PM ET, directed by Elizabeth Rodriguez. The reading will be available to stream for 24 hours.
(original cast members) Elizabeth Canavan, Liza Colón-Zayas, Scott Hudson, Russell G. Jones, Portia, Al Roffe, Felix Solis, and David Zayas, along with Bobby Cannavale, John Doman, Laurence Fishburne, and Dierdre Friel.
A group of former students return to their Harlem neighborhood to pay respects to the late Sister Rose. Once there, they discover that her body has been stolen.
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Music on the Rocks will take place Sun. May 17 at 1 PM PT/ 4 PM ET here, featuring a talk on the arts, coping and striving in the time of covid, music, Broadway, and more.
Peter Hodgson, Caitlin Gallogly, Matt Kunkel, John Bell, Lindsay Brooks, and Josh Clayton.
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Plaza Suite will now run Mar. 19, 2021 – July 18 (opening date TBA) at the Hudson Theatre, directed by John Benjamin Hickey, with original music by Marc Shaiman.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, with Danny Bolero, Molly Ranson, and Eric Wiegand.
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Video: Jill O’Hara performs “Whoever You Are, I Love You,” from Promises Promises
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Sofia Coppola is developing a series adaptation of Edith Wharton’s “The Custom of the Country” for Apple TV.
Casting, timeline, and additional information TBA.
Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl, attempts to ascend in New York City society.
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Bombshell in Concert, in support of The Actors Fund, will be livestreamed on Wed. May 20 at 8 PM ET, featuring a reunion of NBC’s “Smash” series, exclusively on PEOPLE.com, PeopleTV, and PEOPLE social platforms (Facebook and Twitter), hosted by Renee Zellweger and Julie Klausner.
(original): Christian Borle, Jaime Cepero, Will Chase, Brian d’Arcy James, Jack Davenport, Ann Harada, Megan Hilty, Jeremy Jordan, Katharine McPhee, Andy Mientus, Debra Messing, Leslie Odom Jr., Krysta Rodriguez, and Wesley Taylor.
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Reading: NYC’s 92Y will present the 2014 reading of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood on Thurs. May 14 at 8 PM ET, directed by Michael Sheen. The video will be available through June 18.
Michael Sheen, Kate Burton, Karl Johnson, Mark Lewis Jones, Francine Morgan, and Matthew Aubrey.
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LA’s Fountain Theatre will present a reading of France-Luce Benson’s Detained on Wed. May 20 at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. The event is available on the Fountain Theatre’s platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Zoom.
Kathleen Chalfant, and more TBA.
The play is ans anew documentary theater piece based on interviews with individuals who are facing deportation, as well as the judges, lawyers, and activists who are involved in these cases.
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Video: Trailer for “Douglas,” a solo show starring Hannah Gadsby, which will premiere May 26 on Netflix.
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Milwaukee Rep has rescheduled its 2020-21 season:
* Dad’s Season Tickets (Oct. 30 – Jan. 3, 2021), by Matt Zembrowski, directed by Ryan Quinn. Who will inherit Frank’s treasured season tickets?
* Murder on the Orient Express (Nov. 10 – Dec. 13), adapted by Ken Ludwig, directed by Marti Lyons.
* A Christmas Carol (Nov. 24 – Dec. 24), adapted & directed by Mark Clements.
* Toni Stone (Jan. 5-31, 2021), by Lydia R. Diamond. directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden. A high intensity glimpse into the world of the first woman to go pro in baseball’s Negro Leagues.
* My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra (Jan. 8 – Mar. 7), by David Grapes & Todd Olson, directed by Kelley Faulkner.
* The Tasters (Feb. 2 – Mar 14), by Meghan Brown, directed by Laura Braza. Three women have a very important job — to protect high-ranking government leaders from assassination attempts by serving as food tasters.
* Titanic (Feb. 3 – Apr. 4), directed by Mark Clements.
* Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland (Mar. 11 – May 9).
* Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son (Mar. 24 – May 2), world premiere by Dael Orlandersmigh & Antonio Edwards Suarez, directed by Mark Clements. A poetic journey of a dancer/artist/father questioning the balance of his passions — art, culture, family.
* As You Like It (Apr.20 – May 23), adapted and directed by Daryl Cloran. The Beatles meet the Bard in this rollicking adaptation.
* Piano Men: From Bach to Broadway (Mar. 14 – June 27), world premiere featuring Steve Watts
* Steel Magnolias (June 1-27), directed by May Adrales.
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Off-Broadway’s Public Theater presents We Are One Public on Mon. June 1 at 8 PM ET, directed by Kenny Leon, with music direction by Ted Sperling, and hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson,
Sam Waterson and Audrey & Zygi Wilf.
Antonio Banderas, Laura Benanti, Kim Blanck, Ally Bonino, Danielle Brooks, Glenn Close, Jenn Colella, Elvis Costello, Claire Danes, Holly Gould, Danai Gurira, Anne Hathaway, Stephanie Hsu, Oscar Isaac, Nikki M. James, John Leguizamo, Audra McDonlad, Grace McLean, Sandra Oh, Mia Pak, David Hyde Pierce, Phillipa Soo, Trudie Styler & Sting, Will Swenson, Shaina Taub, Kuhoo Verma, Ada Westfall, Kate Wetherhead, and more TBA.
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London’s Lyric Hammersmith Theatre presents a virtual screening of A Doll’s House (2019), adapted by Tanika Gupta, and directed by Rachel O’Riordan, on Wed. May 20 at 2:30 PM UK time/9:30 AM ET/6:30 AM PT. The film well be available for 24 hours.
(original 2019 cast): Anjana Vasan (Niru), Elliot Cowan (Tom Helmer), Arun Ghosh (Masterji), Arinder Sadhra (Uma), Colin Tierney (Dr. Rank), Tripti Tripuraneni (Mrs. Lahiri), and Assad Zaman (Kaushik Das).
This new take explores gender politics, ownership, and race in 1879 Calcutta.