Today’s Highlights:
Jews. In Their Own Words, by Jonathan Freedland, directed by Vicky Featherstone & Audrey Sheffield, featuring Debbie Chazen, Louisa Clein, Steve Furst, Rachel-Leah Hosker, Alex Waldmann, and Hemi Yeroham, opens at London’s Royal Court Theatre.
The Crucible, directed by Lyndsey Turner, featuring Brendan Cowell (John Proctor) Erin Doherty (Abigail Williams), Eileen Walsh (Elizabeth Proctor), Fisayo Akinade (Reverend Hale), Karl Johnson ( Giles Corey), and Matthew Marsh (Danforth), with David Ahmad, Nathan Amzi, Zoë Aldrich, Stephanie Beattie, Raphael Bushay, Sophia Brown, Halle Brown, Anushka Chakravarti, Grace Cooper Milton, Rachelle Diedericks, Hero Douglas, Henry Everett, Nick Fletcher, Jersey Blu Georgia, Colin Haigh, Una Herrmann, Martin Johnston, Evie Marner, Gracie McGonigal, Alastair Parker, Joy Tan, Ami Tredrea, Tilly Tremayne, and Cadence Williams, opens at London’s Olivier Theatre.
I’m Revolting, world premiere by Gracie Gardner, directed by Knud Adams, featuring Gabby Beans (Anna), Bartley Booz (Jonathan), Laura Esterman (Paula), Glen Fitzgerald (Jordan), Peter Gerety (Clyde), Emily Cass McDonall (Liane), Alicia Pilgrim (Reggie), Portia (Denise), and Patrick Vaill (Toby), opens at Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theatre Company.
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, by Jane Wagner, directed by Leigh Silverman, starring Cecily Strong, opens at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.
Everything’s Fine, world premiere solo show, written by & starring Doug McGrath, directed by John Lithgow, begins previews at Off-Broadway’s DR2 Theatre.
Only an Octave Apart, by Justin Vivian Bond, Zack Winokur & Anthony Roth Costanzo, directed by Zack Winokur, featuring Anthony Roth Costanza and Justin Vivian Bond, begins previews at London’s Wilton’s Music Hall.
The Violet Hour benefit concert, featuring Jelani Remy and Teal Wicks, at 9:30 PM ET at NYC’s Chelsea Table and Stage.
Linda Lavin: Love Notes concert at 7 PM at London’s Crazy Coqs (also Sept. 30).
“Hirschfeld’s Broadway,” a world premiere multi-media presentation, hosted by David Leopold, at 7:30 PM ET at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse.
Birthday Brunch FREE reading, written & directed by Jen Olivares, featuring Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, Eric Stanton Betts, Brían Pagaq Wescot, Jehnean Washington, and Mikki Hernandez, at 7:30 PM PT at Hollywood’s LGBT Center (also tomorrow). Reservations not needed.
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Reviews for The Griswold’s Broadway Vacation at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre:
Seattle Times (Jerald Pierce): The first act…is shot out of a cannon. The show starts huge, bold and in your face, and for five straight songs, energy pours off the stage. Donna Feore’s direction and choreography are crisp, the jokes are impeccably timed and the cast is hitting all the right notes. And then things start to shift, like the Griswold family station wagon all of a sudden buckled, weighed down in the second act as it tries to regain its early-show magic… At its heart, Broadway Vacation…is a musical about a family trying to not lose each other… Ellen (spectacularly played by Megan Reinking) is the heart of this show… hunky Todd and “doofus” husband Clark (played with perfect comedic timing by Hunter Foster)…
Variety (Misha Berson): After a bunch of peppy up-tempo numbers, you just know there is going to be at least one ballad somewhere in The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation… It arrives in the second act: “Doofus,” a tender ode from a much put-upon wife to her eternal screw-up of a husband… The song encapsulates some of what is amiss with this oddly retro, very busy and fitfully amusing show… But how does the slapstick, sometimes raunchy, gleefully dark humor of the films lend itself to today’s Broadway? Is there a winning storyline and more current gags to be wrenched from the movie’s formula of stock comic characters and catastrophe-laden skits? Not so far, as treated in the book and score by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen that attempts to blend a more sentimental approach with broad clowning. On the plus side, there’s a lot of talent involved…
The Stranger (Matt Baum): Early in act 2 of The Griswolds’ Broadway Vacation,…I found myself wondering, “Who is this show for?” Then, one of the characters made a crack about millennials being entitled and expecting participation trophies and the audience laughed in boomer and my question was answered… The show seems to have been created in a laboratory to be as relatable as possible to real-life tourists from the sticks. Like many laboratory creations, it runs the risk of sterile blandness, but fortunately, this musical has two things working in its favor: A talented, funny ensemble that is able to create comedy far surpassing the material on the page, and a handful of moments that are utterly and enjoyably deranged…
Video: Teaser
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Sept. 25: Click here for the complete analysis.
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GRACE NOTES Quote of the Week: “I think on-stage nudity is disgusting, shameful and damaging to all things American. But if I were 22 with a great body, it would be artistic, tasteful, patriotic, and a progressive religious experience.” ~ Shelley Winters
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Curtain Up, in support of ECF (Entertainment Community Fund), will take place Sat. Oct. 1 at 5 PM ET in Times Square, directed by Bryan Campione & Corey Mach, with music direction by Joshua Stephen Kartes, and hosted by Natalie Joy Johnson.
Ann Harada, Antwayn Hopper, Bobby Conte, Carolee Carmello, Christine Dwyer, Christopher Sieber, Corey Mach, Ginna Claire Mason, Jarrod Spector, Javier Igacio, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Jelani Remy, Jessica Hendy, Kelli Barrett, Santino Fontana, Jim Hogan, Liam Fennecken, and Brendan Jacob Smith.
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Video: Wilson Jermaine Heredia and cast in the world premiere of Jacob Yandua & Rebekah Greer Melocik’s How to Dance in Ohio at Syracuse Stage.
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A workshop of Douglas Lyons, Ethan Pakchar & Harrison David Rivers’ FivePoints will take place Oct. 9-14 at Indiana’s 5th annual Writer’s Retreat (link TBA).
Casting and additional information not published.
Set in 1863 New York City, the musical follows two performers: young African American Willie Lane, who takes the stage at Almack’s Dance Hall, and Irish immigrant and jig champion John Diamond. Through their stories, the musical explores the birth of American tap dance and becoming a part of the American Dream.
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Jennifer Lawrence, Laura Benanti, and Andrew Barth Feldman will star ing Sony’s new film, “No Hard Feelings,” which will be released June 16, 2023, directed by Gene Stupnitsky.
The film follows a woman who is hired by a wealthy couple to socialize with their introverted son.
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John Caird & Stephen Schwartz’ Children of Eden in Concert will take place Sat. Oct. 15 at 2 & 8 PM CT at Chicago’s Cadillac Theatre, directed by Derek Van Barham, with choreography by Nicholas Ranauro.
Casting TBA.
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Casting has been announced for the new Broadway company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, who begin their runs Nov. 15 at the Lyric Theatre.
Steve Haggard (Harry Potter), Angela Reed (Ginny Potter), Joel Meyers (Albus Potter), Jenny Jules (Hermione Granger), Rachel Leslie (Hermione Granger Nov. 15 – Jan. 15), David Abeles (Ron Weasley), Maya Thomas (Ron/Rose Granger), Aaron Bartz (Draco Malfoy), Erik C. Peterson (Scorpius Malfoy), and Imanai Jade Powers (Delphi Diggory), with Chadd Alexander, Kevin Rico Angulo, Chelsey Arce, Quinn Blades, Ebony Blake, Darby Breedlove, Ted Deasy, Irving Dyson Jr., Kira Fath, Gary-Kayi Fletcher, Eleasha Gamble, Logan James Hall, Abbi Hawk, Chance Marshaun Hill, Edward James Hyland, Nick Hyland, Jax Jackson, Jack Koenig, Spencer LaRue, Samaria Nixon-Fleming, Eric Evan Olson, Alexander Peter, Dan Piering, William Rhem Jr., Kiaya Scott, Stephen Spinella, Tom Stephens, Karen Janes Woditsch, and Brittany Zeinstra.
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Hello, Dolly! will open in Summer 2024 at a theatre TBA, directed by Dominic Cook, with choreography by Bill Deamer.
Imelda Staunton (Dolly) and more TBA.
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Manhattan Theatre Club will present Anthony McCarten’s The Collaboration, with previews beginning Nov. 29 and an opening set for Dec. 20 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah.
Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope.
Warhol. Basquiat. Electric, eccentric, polar opposites… together for the first time in the most unlikely partnership the art world has ever seen. In the summer of 1984, longtime international superstar Andy Warhol and the art scene’s newest wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat, agree to work together on what may be the most talked about exhibition in the history of modern art. But can these two creative giants co-exist, or even thrive? The stage is their canvas.
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The world premiere of Richard Hellesen’s Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground will run Oct. 28 – Nov. 20 at Theatre West, directed by Peter Ellenstein.
John Rubinstein
A candid and fascinating fictional eavesdropping on President Dwight D. Eisenhower at his Gettysburg far on the morning of the publication of the very first New York Magazine Presidential list, ranking the American Presidents in order of greatness. Eisenhower in the midst of writing his second book, the subject of which was his presidency and, now furious at being ranked at No. 22, he examines his life, from his Kansas upbringing to be a young West Point Cadet to his decorated Army career, victories in World War II, and his two terms as President.
The play is fiction, but is adapted from a vast array of General Eisenhower’s memoirs, speeches, and letters. With permission from David and Susan Eisenhower and the Eisenhower family.
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A concert performance of Keith Harrison Dworkin & Laura Schein’s Emojoland will take place Mon. Oct. 31 at London’s Garrick Theatre.
Blake Patrick Anderson, Laura Baldwin, Louise Dearman, Olly Dobson, Hiba Elchikhe, Renee Lamb, Hannah Lowther, Tim Mahendran, Natalie Paris, Oliver Saville, Jonny Weldon, and Dean John Wilson.
The musical comedy follows a community of emoji archetypes—a smiling face dealing with depression, a princess who doesn’t want a prince, and a skull dying for deletion, just to name a few.
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Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men will run Oct. 28 – Nov. 20 (opening Oct. 29) at CA’s La Mirada Theatre, directed by Casey Stangl.
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In November, The Lion King will become the 3rd production in Broadway history to celebrate its 25th anniversary on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre.
Celebration details TBA.
Stephen Carlile (Scar), L. Stephen Taylor (Mufasa), Tshidi Manye (Rafiki), Cameron Pow (Zazu), Ben Jeffrey (Pumba) Fred Berman (Timon), Brandon A. McCall (Simba), and Pearl Khwezi (Nala).
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Off-Broadway’s Theatre for a New Audience has extended Clark Young & Derek Goldman’s solo show, Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski, through Oct. 16 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, directed by Goldman.
David Strathairn
Karski, a Polish resistance fighter, World War II hero, and Holocaust witness, has volunteered to witness the Warsaw ghetto and a Nazi concentration camp in occupied Poland in order to bring news of it to British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and the Allied Nations in London as well as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States. His reports, however, were received with skepticism and denial.
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Driver’s Seat, written & performed by Ellie Brelis, will run Oct. 21 – Nov. 13 (opening Oct. 22) at North Hollywood’s Theatre 68, directed by Emily Mikolitch.
Based on true events, this one-woman show tells the story of living with OCD, a once-in-a-lifetime heartbreak, a mental health hospitalization, coming out as queer, and, just possibly, learning how to drive.