Today’s Highlights:
Roundabout Theatre‘s The Refuge Plays, world premiere by Nathan Alan Davis, directed by Patricia mcGregor, featuring Ngozi Jane Anyanwu, Jerome Preston Bates, Jessica Frances Dukes, Jon Michael Hill, Mallori Taylor Johnson, Lizan Mitchell, Nicole Ari Parker, Daniel J. Watts, Lance Coadie Williams, and JJ Wynderas, opens at Off Broadway’s Laura Pels Theatre.
Blue Mist, by Mohamed-Zain Dada, directed by Milli Bhatia, featuring Salman Akhtar, Omar Bynon, and Arian Nik, opens at London’s Royal Court Theatre.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, adapted by Joel Horwood, directed by Katy, featuring Keir Ogilvy, Daniel Cornish, Laurie Odgen, Trevor Fox, Charlie Brooks, Millie Hikasa, Kemi-Bo Jacobs, and Finty Williams, with Paolo Guidi, Ronnie Lee, Aimee McGoldrick, and Domonic Ramsden. Emma-Jane Goodwin, Lewis Howard, Jasmeen James, Joe Rawlinson-Hunt, and Risha Silvera, re-opens at London’s Noël Coward Theatre.
Merry Me, by Hansol Jung, directed by Leigh Silverman, featuring Marinda Anderson, Cindy Cheung, Esco Jouléy, David Ryan Smith, Ryan Spahn, Nicole Villamil, and Shaunette Renée Wilson, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop.
Chasing Happy, by Michel Wallerstein, directed by Alex Kelly, featuring Spencer Aste Jenny Bennett, Schyler Conaway, Christopher James Murray, and Elizabeth Shepherd, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row.
Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, world premiere by Rob Zellers & Kent Gash, directed by Gash, featuring Darius de Haas (Strayhorn), J.D. Mollison (Duke Ellington), Charl Brown (Aaron Bridgers), Keziah John-Paul (Lillian Strayhorn / Ivie Anderson), Arielle Roberts (Lena Horne / Billie Holiday, Richard McBride (Mercer Ellington), and Joseph McGranaghan (Lennie Hayton), with Saige Smith, Joseph Fedore, Tracy Dunbar and Taylor Collier, closes at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Oct. 8. Click here for the complete analysis
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The Winter’s Tale will run Nov. 4 – Dec. 17 (opening Nov. 11) at DC’s Folger Theatre, directed by Tamilla Woodard.
Cody Nickell (Camillo), Kate Eastwood Norris (Paulina), Reza Salazar, Kayleandra White (Perdita), Antoinette Crow-Legacy (Hermione), Jonathan Del Plamer (Florizell), Kate Eastwood Norris (Paulina), Nicholas Gerwitz (Shepherd’s Son), Reza Salazar (Autolycus), Cody Nickell (Damillo), Drew Kopas (Polixenes), Stephen Patrick Martin (Antigonus/Shepherd), Sabrina Lynne Sawyer, Richard Bradford (Mammillius/Time), Hadi Tabbal (Leontes), and Clarence Payne (Mamillius).
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Steve Ross: Fall Collection will take place Mon. Oct. 30 at 7 PM at NYC’s Birdland.
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RIP: Steven Lutvak, the musical mind behind A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, died October 9 at the age of 64. Information on a public memorial is forthcoming.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Mr. Lutvak was a talented multi-hyphenate, working at various times as a cabaret performer, music arranger, director, and as a performance coach in addition to his songwriting and compositional work.
As a singer-songwriter, Mr. Lutvak performed across the country, including successful New York engagements at Carnegie Hall. From this solo material, Mr. Lutvak released two albums, “The Time It Takes” and “Ahead of My Heart,” all the while continuing to pursue his collaborative musical theatre dreams.
Steven made his Broadway debut with A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in 2014, for which he supplied the music, and co-wrote the lyrics with Robert L. Freedman.
Mr. Lutvak was a highly awarded composer, receiving the Kleban Award for Lyric Writing for the Theater, the Fred Ebb Award for Songwriting for the Theater alongside Freedman, the American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grant, the Johnny Mercer Foundation’s Emerging American Songwriter Award, two Bistro Awards, three MAC Awards, and multiple ASCAP Awards.
In his later years, Steven worked as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the New York University Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.
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Gingold Theatrical Group will present Shaw’s Arms and the Man Oct. 17 – Nov. 18 (opening Oct. 26) at Theatre Row, directed by David Staller.
Shanel Bailey, Delphi borich, Ben Davis, Keshay Moodliar, Thomas Jay Ryan, Evan Zes, and Karen Ziemba, with René Thornton Jr, and Matthew Zimmerman
A hunted soldier who, seeking refuge in a young lady’s boudoir, starts in motion a series of highly engaging and unlikely comedic events. His unusual philosophies about life in general open up a world of thought she’d never previously entertained–certainly not with her dashing war-hero fiancée who also arrives unexpectedly. A sparkling examination of romance, sex, love, negotiated relationships, political maneuverings, war, and hope.
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Industry presentations of Graham & Kristina Fuller’s In The Trences: A Parenting Musical will take place Fr. Oct. 13 at 11 AM & 3 PM at NYC’s Pearl Studios, directed by choreographed by Jen Wineman, with music direction by Rebekah Bruce. 
contact@visceral-
Kara Lindsay, Max Crumm, Christine Dwyer, Arbener Robinson, JJ Caruncho, and Vidushi Goyal.
Join two bleary-eyed young parents as they trudge through the trenches and discover their new post-baby identities. In an evening of new-parent greatest hits, a foul-mouthed toddler zeroes in on “the most dangerous thing in the room”, tap dancing towards bleach, knives, and tide pods; a chronically-overlooked younger sibling sings the “second child blues”; a mom trio celebrates yoga pants in an R&B love song to the “official mom uniform”; dad discovers he’s not the “ice-cream and movie-night cool parent” but rather the “do your homework real parent” amid a kiddo sugar-crash; and mom retrieves a sticky, hair-covered pacifier from the floor of a LaGuardia bathroom while her baby screams bloody murder and her flight boards without her.
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Manhattan Theatre Club‘s Poor Yella Rednecks, by Qui Nguyen, currently in previews, opening Nov. 1 at Off-Broadway’s New York City Center, is now offering $39 tickets!
Jon Hoche, Ben Levin, Samantha Quan, Jon Norman Schneider, Maureen Sebastian, and Paco Tolson.
A young Vietnamese family attempts to put down roots in Arkansas, a place as different from home as it gets. A mom and dad balance big hopes and low-wage jobs, as old flings threaten to pull them apart. It all makes for a bumpy road to the American dream.
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Jay Armstrong Johnson has announced a new cast for this year’s Halloween concert-meets-dance I Put a Spell on You: The Witches ERA, to take place Mon. Oct. 23 at 8 PM at NYC’s Sony Hall, in support of the Ali Forney Center.
Justine Cooley, Robyn Hurder, Mila Jam, Taylor Iman Jones, Tomás Matos, Talia Suskauer, and more TBA.
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Robert Horn, Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally’s Shucked will launch its national tour in Fall 2024 (dates TBA), directed by Jack O’Brien, with choreography by Sarah O’Gleby, and music direction by Jason Howland.
Casting TBA.
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National Theatre Live will present a screening of Fleabag, written & performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, on Sun. Oct. 29 at 3 PM at UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre, directed by Vicky Jones.
A rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.
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The Norm Lewis Christmas Show will run Dec. 12-13 at 8:30 PM at Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club, directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, with music direction by Kenneth Crouch.
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Broadway Forever, a series of free star-studded pop-up concerts and community service activations, empowering New Yorkers across to build a better city for all, will take place Sun. Oct. 15, hosted by Leslie Odom Jr. Volunteers will gather at 9 AM to revitalize Joyce Kilmer Park and Franz Siegel Park in the South Bronx. Click here for more information.
Alex Newell, Adam Pascal, Shoshana Bean, Jessica Vosk, Colin Donnell, Andrew Durand, Lili Thomas, Ian Shaw, Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, Steven Telsey), Aaron Alcaraz, Jaygee Macapugay, and more.
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Amas Musical Theatre will present The Post-Roe Monologues, a play with music by Mimi Zieman on Mon. Nov. 6 at 7 PM at NYC’s Merkin Concert Hall, directed by Maira Torres, The concert is in support of The National Abortion Hotline and Choice Matters
Amir Arison, Lilla Crawford, Badia Farha, Judy Gold and Mary Beth Peil.
The piece explores the real-world consequences of the overturning of Roe v. Wade based on interviews and the experience of the author as an OB/GYN. The play is an intimate, character-driven evening that will compel conversation and compassion.
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Rogue Machine‘s Baby Foot, written & directed by Tim Venable, will run Oct. 14 – Nov. 20 at the Matrix Theatre.
Daniel Dorr, French Stewart, Hope Lauren, and Paul DeBoy.
Two seemingly mismatched souls find themselves on the cusp of a life-changing connection. Blackie’s first night in rehab intersects with Alexis’s 90-day release. A long night’s journey into day drives their sensation seeking impulsivities full throttle into the same lane where hearts and minds are torn between the seductive allure of the drug and the elusive promise of a brighter, sober future.