Today’s Highlights:
Wuthering Heights, world premiere adapted & directed by Emma Rice, featuring Lucy McCormick (Cathy) Sam Archer (Lockwood/Edgar Linton), Nandi Bhebhe (The Moor), TJ Holmes (Robert), Ash Hunter (Heathcliff), Craig Johnson (Mr. Earnshaw/Dr. Kenneth), Jordan Laviniere (John), Kandaka Moore (Zillah), Katy Owen (Isabella Linton/Linton Heathcliff), Tama Phethean (Hindley Earnshaw/Hareton Earnshaw), and Witney White (Frances Earnshaw/Young Cathy), with Mirabelle Gremaud, opens at the UK’s Bristol Old Vic.
Mornings at Seven, by Paul Osborn, directed by Dan Wackerman, featuring Lindsay Crouse, Alma Cuervo, Judith Ivey, Dan Lauria, Patty McCormack, Tony Roberts, John Rubenstein, Keri Safran, and Jonathan Spivey, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Theatre at St. Clements.
International City Theatre‘s Blues in the Night, by Sheldon Epps, directed by Wren T. Brown, featuring Jenna Gillespie Byrd (The Girl with a Date), Karole Foreman (The Woman of the World), Vivian Reed (Lady from the Road), and Clinton Derricks-Carroll (The Man in the Saloon), begins previews at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.
Chicago’s Porchlight Music Theatre‘s ICON Gala, honoring Chita Rivera and the Bayless Family Foundation, directed by Michael Weber, featuring Ariel Dorsey, Alejandro Fonseca, Michelle Lauto, Mia Navarez, Laura Savage, Kyra Source, and Keely Vasquez, at 5:30 PM CT.
F.I.R.E., world premiere by Julia Blauvelt, directed by Heather Arnson, featuring Jeffrey Bean, Kierra Bunch, Nathaniel P. Claridad, Ella Dershowitz, Aarom Matteson, Nygel D. Robinson, and Carol Todd, concludes streaming at New Normal Rep.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: I know very little about acting. I’m just an incredibly gifted faker. ~ Robert Downey, Jr.
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Complete casting has been announced for James Lapine, Tom Kitt & Michael Korie’s Flying Over Sunset, which will s Nov. 11 – Feb. 6, 2022 (open Dec. 13) at Lincoln Center‘s Vivian Beaumont Theatre, directed by James Lapine, with music direction by Kimberly Grigsby, and choreography by Michelle Dorrance.
Carmen Cusack (Claire Boothe Luce), Harry Hadden-Paton (Aldous Huxley), Tony Yazbeck (Cary Grant), Emily Pynenburg, Michele Ragusa, Robert Sella, Laura Shoop, and Atticus Ware, with Aria Braswell, Danny Gardner, Kate Marilley, Patrick Scott McDermott, Tony Roach, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Nehal Joshi, and Michael Winther.
Set in the 1950s, the musical is a work of fiction inspired by the lives of three extraordinary and accomplished people — writer Aldous Huxley; playwright, diplomat, and Congresswoman Claire Boothe Luce, and film legend Cary Grant — each of whom in real life experimented with LSD. At a crossroads in their lives, the three come together and, under the influence of the drug, take a trip and confront the mysteries of their lives and their world.
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Video: New rehearsal clips from James Lapine, Tom Kitt & Michael Korie’s Flying Over Sunset, which will begin previews Nov. 11 and open Dec. 13 at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre, directed by Lapine, with choreography by Michelle Dorrance, and music direction by
Carmen Cusack, Kanisha Marie Feliciano, Harry Hadden-Paton, Nehal Joshi, Emily Pynenburg, Michele Ragusa, Robert Sella, Laura Shoop, Atticus Ware, and Tony Yazbeck, with Aria Braswell, Danny Gardner, Kate Marilley, Patrick Scott McDermott, Tony Roach, and Michael Winther.
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RIP: Leslie Bricusse has died at the age of 90. He passed away in his sleep Oct. 19.
Born January 29, 1931, in a suburb of London, Mr. Bricusse began his theatrical career collaborating with Anthony Newley. The pair would be credited with writing book, music, and lyrics of their stage musicals, but Mr. Bricusse reportedly contributed primarily lyrics to the collaboration. Their Stop the World – I Want to Get Off premiered in Manchester before making its West End debut in 1961; Newley directed and starred. The production was brought to Broadway by producer David Merrick, one of the then-rare, pre-“British Invasion” West End productions to make the jump across the pond. The work came to the big screen in 1966 and enjoyed a Broadway revival in 1978 starring Sammy Davis Jr. (which was filmed for television broadcast as Sammy Stops the World) and a 1989 London revival again starring Newley. Peter Scolari starred in a 1996 made-for-TV movie production for the A&E Network.
Additional works written with Newley include The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, which toured the U.K. in 1964 before coming to Broadway the following year, and the work that Mr. Bricusse may be best remembered for: the 1971 film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” The latter earned Mr. Bricusse and Newley an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song Score. The songs from Willy Wonka eventually found their way into two different stage adaptations of the Roald Dahl novel. Willy Wonka, which includes the film’s songs alongside new tunes penned by Bricusse and Newley, was created for youth and regional theatres in 2004.
Mr. Bricusse penned the book and co-wrote the lyrics for 1997’s Jekyll & Hyde, collaborating with composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Steve Cuden on what would be his greatest Broadway success; the original production ran for just over four years and 1,543 performances, earning Mr. Bricusse a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The work was revived on Broadway in 2013 and has had many productions around the world. Mr. Bricusse would go on to collaborate with Wildhorn again on the stage adaptation of Victor/Victoria and Cyrano de Bergerac.
He also won two Oscars for his work: “Talk to the Animals” (from “Doctor Doolittle”) and “Victor/Victoria.”
Mr. Bricusse’s other collaborators included Cyril Ornadel (pickwick), Henry Mancini (Victor/Victoria), and John Williams (Hook). He contributed both music and lyrics to 1960s movie musicals Doctor Dolittle and Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Doctor Dolittle‘s “Talk to the Animals” won Mr. Bricusse his first of two Academy Awards and became an American standard. Mr. Bricusse would win an Oscar again in 1982 for his work on Victor/Victoria, and a Song of the Year Grammy in 1963 for “What Kind of Fool Am I?,” written for Stop the World – I Want to Get Off and recorded by Sammy Davis Jr.
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“Being the Ricardos,” written & directed by Aaron Sorkin, will be released Dec. 21 on Amazon Prime.
Nicole Kidman (Lucille Ball), Javier Bardem (Desi Arnaz), Nina Arianda (Vivan Vance), and J.K. Simmons (William Frawley), with Tony Hale, Linda Lavin, John Rubinstein, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and more.
Video: The first trailer of the film, which is a look inside a week in production of the iconic sitcom “I Love Lucy.”
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Complete casting has been announced for Jack Thorne’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol, to run Nov. 26 – Dec. 26 at San Fransico’s Golden Gate Theatre, directed by Jamie Manton.
Francois Battiste (Ebenezer Scrooge), Nancy Opel (Ghost of Christmas Past), Amber Iman (Ghost of Christmas Present/Mrs. Fezziwig), Ben Beckley (Father/Marley), (Charlie Berghoffer IV and Gabriel Kong (alternating as Tiny Tim), Samuel Faustine (Ferdy/Nicholas), LeRoy S. Graham III (Fred), Monica Ho (Little Fan), Ramzi Khalaf (Bob Cratchit), Stephanie Lambourn (Mrs. Cratchit), Ash Malloy (Belle), Kris Saint-Louis (Young Ebenezer), Annie Sherman (Jess), Wiley Naman Strasser (George), and Colin Thomson (Fezziwig), with Rodney Earl Jackson Jr, and Helen Siveter.
Another touring production, also conceived & directed by Matthew Warchus, will run at LA’s Ahmanson Theatre Nov. 30 – Jan. 1, 2022.
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Showtime’s “Super Pumped” is currently in development. Additional casting, timeline, and more information TBA.
Uma Thurman (Arianna Huffington). Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Travis Kalanick), Kyle Chandler (Bill Gurley), and more TBA.
Planned as an anthology, Season 1 is based on Mike Isaac’s book of the same name. Pivoting on Uber CEO and co-founder Travis and his sometime tumultuous relationship with his mentor Bill Gurley, the series will depict the roller-coaster ride of the upstart transportation company, embodying the highs and lows of Silicon Valley. The series will focus on a different major business world story each season.
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Bay Street Theater‘s production of Mark St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth will run Dec. 4 – Jan. 2, 2022 (opening Dec. 16) at NYC’s Museum of Jewish Heritage (Edmund J. Safra Hall), directed by Scott Schwartz.
Tovah Feldshuh
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Playwrights’ Arena and Skylight Theatre Company will present the world premiere of Inda Craig-Galván’s A Hit Dog Will Holler, to run Nov. 6 – Dec. 12 at the Skylight Theatre, directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera.
Donna Simone Johnson, Kacie Rogers, and Cheri Vandenheuvel.
The play explores the effects of a never-ending barrage of trauma on the women who are continually looked at to lead a movement of resistance and change. A social media influencer and a boots-on-the-ground activist form a complex bond of friendship to help each other survive as American racism manifests into physical form.
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Apple TV+ will stream “Extrapolations.” The 8-episode series will be released on a date TBA, directed by Scott Z. Burns.
Daveed Diggs, Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, Tahar Rahim, Matthew Rhys, Gemma Chan, David Schwimmer, and Adarsh Gourav.
The anthology series explores climate change and it’s impact on day-to-day lives, and will examine how impending changes to the planet will affect love, faith, work and family in people’s lives over eight interconnected episodes.