Today’s Highlights:
The Glitch, by Kipp Koenig, directed by Mark Koenig, featuring Danielle Augustine, Jacquie Bonner, Hannah Rose Doherty, Sunny Makawana, and Amila Shaw, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s Jerry Orbach Theatre.
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Sept. 21.
Click here for the complete analysis.
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Cal Silberstein & Paul Hodge’s The Great Emu War will run Oct. 3-26 (opening Oct. 22) at CT’s Goodspeed, directed & choreographed by Amy Anders Corcoran, with music direction by Angie Benson.
LaRaisha DiEvelyn Dionne (Bard), Claire Saunders (Edith), Ethan Peterson (Ethan), Taylor Matthew (Meredith), Jeremy Davis (Enoch), and Morgan Cowling (McMurray).
The quirky musical is inspired by a strange-but-true story that saw the Australian government waging war on emus. Remember that one time that the Australian government sent their army with machine guns to wage war on emus in Western Australia? Neither do most people…but when Edith, the headstrong warbler, and her flock begin to feed on the wheat of local farmers–the humans take up arms against Australia’s favorite feathered friends. Think of it as Cats, but with emus. It’s the most emusing 90 minutes you’ll have in any theatre–don’t miss it!
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Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater has announced its’ remaining 2025-26 season:
Cold War Choir Practice (Feb. 21 – Mar. 29,), by Ro Reddick, directed by Knud Adams.
A Play with Music (Feb. 21 – Mar. 29, opening Mar. 10), by Ro Reddick
Birthright (June 4 – July 12, opening June 24), by Jonathan Spector, directed by Teddy Bergman
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Thomasina E. Gross’s An Evening with Eartha Kitt: Live Tribute will run Oct. 7-9 (all at 8 PM) at Studio City’s Upstairs at Vitello’s, directed by Nohely Quiroz, and featuring Thomasina E. Gross.
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Boston’s Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has announced its 2025-26 season:
A Christmas Carol (Dec. 6-23), directed by Steven Maler, featuring Will Lyman (and more TBA)
Romeo and Juliet (May 21-30 (2026), directed by Bryn Boice.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (July 22 – Aug 9, 2026), directed by Steven Maler.
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Alan Edmunds &Richard Winzeler’s Perfect World, A New Musical will run Nov. 1-9 at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, directed & choreographed by Kay Cole.
Gabbie Adner, Darcy Rose Byrnes, Dia Day, Michael Deni, Adam Hollick, Catherine Last, Elizabeth Last, Sammy Linkowski, Charley Rowan McCain, Guy Noland, Brent Schindele, Erika Schindele, and Michael Wells.
The true life story of Barbara Follett. In the 20s, at age 14, Barbara Follett was a best-selling Knopf author creating Farksolia, her own spiritual utopia. At age 25, life had taken its turns and she chose to disappear and was never found. From the age of four, she wrote prolifically, mostly about the fictional Farksolia, her own utopia complete with its own language – the Perfect World where happiness reigns and people live in harmony with nature. Wanting nothing more than for people to read her books, Knopf published two full-length acclaimed novels by Follett by age 14 – but life and love conspired against her as she struggled to continue to write, be published, and find an audience. At age 25, she succumbed to life’s many pressures and simply disappeared – leaving her brilliance unfulfilled. Her vanishing has never been solved to this day.
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Linda Purl: Tunes & Tales: Adventures in Survival will take place Mon. Nov. 10 at 7 PM at NYC’s Green Room 42, with music direction by Tedd Firth.
Tunes and Tales celebrates great jazz and pop standards with Purl’s storyteller’s passion and humor, asking the question, “How can our adventures help us survive?”
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Michael J. Harney’s Danny Boy has been extended through Oct. 25 at LA’s Actors Company (link NA), directed by Michael J. Harney
Kevin Kelly, Marie Broderick, Lisa Richards, Robert Kerbeck , Ralph Guzzo, Craig Barnett, Carla Barnett, Oscar Best, and Daniel V. Graulau.
Danny showed promise as a talented writer. Crushed by publishing house rejections and a troubled past, he now ekes out a living as a street clown, entertaining children in the park. At least he gets to make them smile.
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The Verdi Chorus Sings Faust will run Nov. 15-16 at Santa Monica’s First Presbyterian Church. with music direction by Anne Marie Ketchum.
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Complete casting has been announced for 10th anniversary celebration of Jay Armstrong Johnson, Andy Jones, Joe Hornberger, and Shannon Molly Flynn’s I Put a Spell on You, a fundraiser for NYC’s Ali forney Center, on Mon. Oct. 20 at 8 PM at NYCs’ Webster Hall (125 E. 11th St), directed by Heath Saunders a& Mack Brown.
Robyn Hurder, Krysta Rodriguez, Sean McManus, Taylor Iman Jones, Jake Pedersen, Julia Mattison, Karma Jenkins, Tim Murray, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Allison Godleski, Natalie Hinds, Maddos Martin, Kathryn Priest, and more TBA.
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Off-Broadway’s York Theatre will present the 33rd Annual Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala! on Nov. 10 at NYC’s Edison Ballroom.
Jerry Zaks and Joan Ross Sorkin.
Appearances by: Rob McClure, Marilu Henner, Christopher Sieber, and more TBA.
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Joanna Gleason’s film, “The Grotto,” is now available for streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and YouTube.
Betsy Brandt, Jonathan De Arco, Dan bucatinsky, Steve Cazee, Lindsay Mendez, Kevin Chamberlin, Caroline Aaron, Michael Houri, Susan Sullivan, Miguel Sandoval, and Amy Quino.
A coming-of-middle-age story follows 40-something music manager Alice Kenndall inherits half ownership of a struggling desert nightclub called The Grotto, after her fiancé’s unexpected death and loss of her job. While in Joshua Tree, Alice uncovers her late fiancé’s secret life, meets a colorful cast of characters, including the club’s owner and a new love interest, and finds a place of healing and self-discovery amidst the quirky performers and a heartwarming setting. The film explores themes of grief, betrayal, and recovery, showcasing a story where loss, laughter, and music help bring about small miracles.
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Video: Bobby Cannavale recalls having to call “line” in the Broadway revival of ART.