MUSICALS:

AMERICAN PROPHET – Arena Stage – Washington, D.C. – July 15^th – August 28^th

The writings and speeches of abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass serve as the inspiration for this new musical from composer/lyricist Marcus Hummon and director/creator Charles Randolph-Wright.

This show was a recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards prior to this world premiere.  Cornelius Smith Jr. stars as Frederick Douglass with Kristolyn Lloyd (original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen) as his wife, Anna.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

BETWEEN THE LINES – 2ndStage – New York – June 14^th – October 2^nd

This musical is based on the young adult novel by  Jodi Picoult (Wish You Were Here) and her daughter, Samantha van Leer, from 2013. The story surrounds, Delilah, a young girl infatuated with Prince Oliver in a book she loves. Her world and his in the novel come together when he starts speaking to her.

Timothy Allen McDonald collaborated with Picoult and van Leer to write the book. Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel wrote the the music and lyrics. Jeff Calhoun (Newsies) directs with choreography by Paul McGill (Hedwig and the Angry Inch).

For tickets and more information, please go here.

FUNNY GIRL – August Wilson Theatre, New York – Open-ended run

When this musical opened this spring on Broadway it was the fact that it had been 58 years since the musical Funny Girl opened on Broadway and turned Barbra Streisand into one of the world’s greatest stars. Then came the whirlwind of controversy about whether Beanie Feldstein was miscast in the role.

She is no longer in the musical. Her understudy, Julie Benko, will be taking over the role until Lea Michele (Glee) assumes the role of Fanny Brice on September 6^th. 

Enter Beanie Feldstein who is tackling the role of Fanny Brice. Like Streisand, Feldstein has only played a supporting role in one musical before this one (Hello, Dolly!). Joining her are Ramin Karimloo as love-interest Nick Arnstein and Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice (through September 4^th). Tovah Feldshuh will assume the role on September 6^th.  Jared Grimes, the sol recipient of a Tony nomination for this production, dazzles in the role of Eddie Ryan.Michael Mayer directs the show which has a revised script by Harvey Fierstein.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

INTO THE WOODS – St. James Theatre – New York – Now – October 16th

This often-produced musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine was such a hit at New York City Center’s Encores series that it was inevitable the show would transfer to Broadway…and it has and the reviews and ticket sales are proof that was a great idea.

If you don’t know the musical, multiple fairytales are all taking place in the same forest at the same time. We’re big fans of Act II where not everything is as happy as it first seems. (Our favorite act is the second act.)

Lear deBessonet directs an all-star cast including Sara Bareilles as the Baker’s Wife, Gavin Creel as Cinderella’s Price and the Wolf, Joshua Henry as Rapunzel’s Prince , Brian D’Arcy James as the Baker, Patina Miller as the Witch and Phillipa Soo as Cinderella.

The recent announcement of an extension means there will be some cast changes that have yet to be announced.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

MJ THE MUSICAL – Neil Simon Theatre, New York – Open-ended run

It was, of course, inevitable that there would be a jukebox musical showcasing the countless hit songs by Michael Jackson. What may set this musical apart from failed attempts to use songs by The Beach Boys, Cher John Lennon and more is that the book is by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage and the show is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon.

Myles Frost makes his Broadway debut as MJ and was the recipient of a Tony Award for his performance. The show also won Tony Awards for Lighting and Sound Design. The other Tony Award recipient was Wheeldon for his choreography. (Kudos to the outstanding company of dancers that perform this show.) 

We’ve seen the show and while it does gloss over much of the controversy that surrounded Jackson, it is wildly entertaining. Based on the audience response, this show is likely to run for a very long time.

For tickets and more details, please go here.

MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL – Al Hirschfeld Theatre, New York/Touring Company: Currently at The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood – STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

Why turn Baz Luhrmann’s ground-breaking film into a musical? Because you can can can. It might seem impossible to out-Baz Baz, but director Alex Timbres has done exactly that. This is bigger, louder, more song-filled than Luhrmann’s film. Surprisingly it loses nothing in translation.

The musical won 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The Broadway production currently stars Ashley Loren as Satine and Derek Klena as Christian. The touring company stars Courtney Reed and Conor Ryan (with Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer as an alternate in the role of Satine).

For tickets and more information on Broadway, please go here. For touring dates, tickets and more information, please go here.

A STRANGE LOOP – Lyceum Theatre, New York – Open-ended run STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

The 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for drama went to Michael R. Jackson’s musical A Strange Loop. It’s an aptly named meta-musical about a gay Black man who’s writing a musical about a gay Black man who is writing a musical about…You get the picture.  

Stephen Brackett directs A Strange Loop. The ensemble features Antwayn Hopper, L Morgan Lee, John-Mihael Lyles, James Jackson, Jr., John-Andrew Morrison, Jaquel Spivey and Jason Veasey.

This is a wholly original musical that challenges everything we imagine a Broadway musical to be. Jackson does it in all the best possible ways.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

OPERA:

SANTA FE OPERA – Now – August 27^th

Isabel Leonard as Carmen; Mitchell Harper choreographing The Barber of Seville; Quinn Kelsey as Falstaff; the first-ever Santa Fe Opera production of Tristan Und Isolde and the world premiere on Saturday of M. Butterfly by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang are all good reasons to attend this year’s season at Santa Fe Opera.

If you’ve never been, you owe it to yourself to experience this amazing venue. And be prepared to tailgate!

For tickets and more information, please go here.

PLAYS:

HERE THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES – La Jolla Playhouse – La Jolla, CA – July 26^th – August 21^st

Anytime Moisés Kaufmann and Tectonic Theater Project have a world premiere, it’s a reason to go to the theatre. They’re the team behind The Laramie Project Cycle, The Tallest Tree in The Forest, I Am My Own Wife and more.

This new play is an investigation into the Hoecker Album of photographs from Germany during World War II.  They are named after Karl-Friedrich Hoecker who was an SS officer for the Nazis. Most of the photographs were taken in the summer and fall of 1944.

As the webpage for this production asks, “What hidden secrets can a photograph reveal?” Kaufmann (who co-directs with Amanda Gronich) and Tectonic Theater Project will make it mesmerizing.

For tickets and more information, please go here.

ORESTEIA and HAMLET – Park Avenue Armory – New York – Now – August 13^th

Director Robert Icke received an Olivier Award as Best Director for Oresteia, an adaptation of the three Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus. The show was a critical and commercial success in London.

Equally acclaimed was his production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at The Almeida Theatre in London. Alex Lawther stars as the conflicted prince. 

Both shows appear in repertory. For tickets and more information for Orestia, please go here. For tickets and more information for Hamlet, please go here.

PRIMA FACIE – National Theatre Live – Beginning July 21^st (check local listings)

Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) stars in this play by Suzie Miller as a young lawyer whose main clients have been men accused of sexual assault. Her perspective on what she’s doing gets challenged when she gets assaulted herself.

It’s a powerful role for Comer and she is considered a front-runner for the Olivier Award next year. She’ll also potentially be up for a Tony nomination as the play is scheduled to open in New York in the 2022-2023 season. So, too, might director Justin Martin.

But you can watch the play in a theater near you as it is part of National Theatre Live’s programming. To locate a theater near you and to get tickets, please go here.

For our weekly Best Bets, please check every Monday for that week’s selections.

Main Photo: Conor Ryan and Courtney Reed in Moulin Rouge The Musical Touring Production (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy Broadway in Hollywood)

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BREAKING NEWS: Disney’s musical Frozen has closed on Broadway.

American Ballet Theatre has canceled their 2020 Season at the Metropolitan Opera. The shows included are ABT Then and Now, the New York premiere of Of Love and Rage, as well as productions of La Bayadère, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Jane Eyre and Swan Lake.

Antaeus Theatre Company has canceled all remaining performances of Measure for Measure and their Classic Sundays reading of The Roaring Girl. 

Bob Baker Marionette Theatre has announced postponement of all scheduled performances and events. No tentative re-opening date has been provided.

Boston Court Pasadena has postponed all performances through May 27th.

Their production of Assassins been rescheduled for September 10th – October 18th

The Broad Stage has announced the suspension of all remaining performances in their 2019-2020 season.

Mnozil Brass on March 26th.

Hiromi: Solo on March 28th

Red Hen Press: New Traditions on March 29th

National Geographic Live: Hidden Wild: Secrets of the Everglades on April 9th and 10th

Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap on April 11th.

Dance for All on April 13th

USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance April 17th – April 19th

Beethoven, Bagels & Banter on April 19th

Angel’s Bone (co-presented with LA Opera Off Grand) May 1st – May 3rd

Diana Damrau & Nicolas Testé on May 16th

Lynn Harrell, cellist on May 17th

*Broadway in Hollywood has announced the cancellation of SpongeBob Musical at The Dolby Theatre.

The Illusionists, scheduled to play April 14th – April 19th at the Dolby Theatre has been rescheduled for January 12th – January 17th.

The tour of Mean Girls, scheduled to play the Dolby Theatre April 28th – June 7th, 2020 will be rescheduled.

The tour of My Fair Lady, scheduled to play the Dolby Theatre June 12th – July 5th will be rescheduled.

The tour of The Band’s Visit, scheduled to play at the Dolby Theatre July 7th – July 26th, has been suspended.

*The Cher Show is postponing its tour until 2021. Not official announcement yet, but this may impact the Spring 2021 booking at the Dolby Theatre.

*All Broadway Shows in New York have been suspended through September 6th.

Hangmen, which had gone into previews, will not re-open. A revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf will not re-open.

Beetlejuice, which was set to close at the Winter Garden on June 6th, is now officially closed. Though a 2021 tour is planned, there are still discussions of moving the show to another theatre.

*Disney’s musical Frozen has officially closed. It is the first long-running show to close as a result of the pandemic. The official closing day is March 11th, the last day of performances before Broadway suspended all performances. The show had 26 previews and 825 performances.

CAP UCLA has announced the suspension of the remainder of the 2019-2020 season.

Center Theatre Group has announced that all remaining shows in the 2019-2020 season have been postponed. This includes 1776 scheduled at the Ahmanson Theatre, King James at the Mark Taper Forum and Sakina’s Restaurant at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

They join the previously announced postponements of Once on This Island, The Antipodes and the annual Block party.

As it relates to Once on This Island, CTG is working on rescheduling the show. Producers have canceled this show’s tour, but the possibility of a reduced tour post-Coronavirus is being explored.

Cirque du Soleil has announced the cancellation of all performances of Volta scheduled at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa.

Colburn School has canceled all performances and events through April 12.

East West Players has announced a postponement of the entire run of Assassins. They have also announced postponement of the 54th Anniversary Visionary Awards Gala.

The Echo Theater Company is canceling performances of Poor Clare, scheduled to open March 14, through the end of March. Performances resume April 3. 

*The Ford Theatres summer 2020 season has been canceled.

The Fountain Theatre has suspended the world premiere of Human Interest Story. The April 25 Los Angeles premiere of If I Forget has been postponed to later date yet to be determined. 

Geffen Playhouse has announced the following:

Bernhardt/Hamlet, scheduled to begin previews on April 7th, has been canceled.

Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center has announced the cancellation of the Pina Bausch’s Palermo Palermo as Tantztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch canceled their tour.

Malpaso Dance Company has canceled its spring tour of the United States. Therefore the engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre on May 15th – May 17th has been canceled.

Goodspeed Musicals has postponed their April production of South Pacific. Their fall production of Candide has been canceled.

*The Hollywood Bowl 2020 season has been canceled.

The Industry’s Sweet Land has canceled all remaining performances. They will be offering a filmed version being streamed starting March 23rd.

Laguna Playhouse has made the following announcements:

Hershey Felder’s Monsieur Chopin, originally scheduled for April, has been moved to October of this year.

Rocky Mountain High, a Tribute to John Denver has been rescheduled to January 7th – January 10th of 2021.

They are trying to reschedule Ann sometime in the coming year.

The world premiere of To Sir, With Love, has been canceled.

The La Jolla Playhouse has announced that all performances by or at La Jolla Music Society, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Symphony will be canceled and/or postponed through the end of March 2020

La Mirada Theatre has announced postponement of all shows through May 10th.

The following shows have been rescheduled:

The Sound of Music will play May 15th to June 7th.

Mamma Mia will play June 12th to July 5th.

They will be rescheduling the following shows:

Bossa Nova Wave (originally scheduled for April 3)

Classic Albums Live – Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (originally scheduled for April 4)

Circus Science Spectacular (originally scheduled for April 5)

The Center of the Universe (originally scheduled for April 9)

The Brubeck Brothers (originally scheduled for May 12)

La Mirada Symphony (originally scheduled for May 17)

Dance, Dance, Dance! (originally scheduled for May 22)

Sol de Mexico (originally scheduled for June 27)

*LA Opera has canceled the final performance of Roberto Devereux scheduled for March 14th.

Angel’s Bone, scheduled to be performed May 1st – May 3rd, has been canceled as The Broad Stage canceled their remaining events for the 2019-2020 season.

Pelléas and Mélisande, scheduled for May 2nd – May 23rd, has been canceled.

Rodelinda, scheduled for May 8th, has been canceled.

*The Marriage of Figaro, scheduled for May 6th – May 28th, has been canceled.

*Saturday Mornings at the Opera, scheduled for June 6th, has been canceled.

*Great Opera Choruses, scheduled for June 7th at The Soraya, has been canceled.

Lincoln Center in New York has announced that the musical Flying Over Sunset has been moved to the fall as has the opera Intimate Apparel. Both were previously scheduled to open this spring.

Long Beach Opera has postponed until next season its production of The Lighthouse.

*Their planned productions of Billy the Kid (scheduled for May 3rd – May 10th) and Frida (scheduled for June 20th – June 28th) have been canceled.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra has announced postponement of this weekend’s concert, Border Crossings, scheduled for March 12th at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica and on March 13th at The Huntington.

They have also announced cancellation of the Ravel, Strauss + Contreras concerts on March 28th and 29th.

Beethoven + Mendelssohn scheduled for April 30th and May 1st has been canceled.

Sheku plus Eroica scheduled at multiple venues for May 15th – May 18th, has been canceled.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is postponing its production of Hair that was scheduled to open on March 27th.

Los Angeles Master Chorale has announced the following cancellations:

The Fauré Requiem performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall on March 28th and 29th have been canceled.

The performance of Lagrime di San Pietro at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University on March 19th has been canceled.

Come Away to the Skies: A Celebration of Alice Parker, scheduled for May 17th, has been canceled.

Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced the cancellation of all performances for the rest of the season at Walt Disney Concert Hall. (All concerts through June 6th.)

Manhattan Theatre Club has postponed their planned revival of How I Learned to Drive until next season.

MCC Theatre in New York has announced the All The Natalie Portmans played its final performance yesterday. Hollywood Dreams, which was to have begun previews next week, will be rescheduled.

They also announced that their Miscast 20 gala has been rescheduled from April 6th to June 15th

The Metropolitan Opera has canceled all performances for the rest of this season. This includes all scheduled Live in HD presentations

The McKittrick Hotel in New York, home to Sleep No More, The Woman in Black and Speakeasy Magick, has suspended all performances through April 12th.

Musco Center for the Arts has canceled all performances through early May.

The Music Center has announced that all venues (The Ahmanson Theatre, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and Walt Disney Concert Hall) will be closed until further notice. This impacts the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, Center Theatre Group, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.

A Noise Within has announced the following cancellations:

The remaining performances of The Winter’s Tale, Alice in Wonderland, and all other public events have been canceled through the end of April.

Alice in Wonderland will now open their 2020-2021 season August 22nd – September 13th.

Sweeney Todd, has been rescheduled for September 27th – November 15th.

The Odyssey Theatre is canceling performances of The Serpent through March 29 with performances resuming April 3.

The Old Globe has announced that their productions of Little Women and Faceless will be postponed.

The Open Fist, currently in residence at the Atwater Village Theatre, has suspended all performances of Rorschach Fest.

The Outer Critics Circle Awards, scheduled for May 21st, have been postponed.

The Pacific Symphony has announced the following in relation to their schedule:

Pink Martini on March 13th and 14th has been postponed. They have been rescheduled for June 17th and 18th.

Nowruz on March 28th has been postponed.

The Texas Tenors on April 3rd and 4th has been cancelled.

Verdi’s Otello on April 23rd, 25th and 28th has been cancelled.

Windborne’s the Music of the Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards 1969, originally scheduled for May 1sts and 2nd, has been rescheduled to June 19th and 20th.

Yang Plays Rachmaninoff, scheduled for May 7th – May 9th has been canceled.

Beethoven’s Razumovsky Quartet, scheduled for May 10th has been canceled.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame with live accompaniment by organist Dennis James, scheduled for May 10th, has been canceled.

Pacific Symphony Youth Ensemble concerts scheduled for May 9th, 11th and 12th has all been canceled.

*The Pantages Theatre has announced suspension of performances of Hamilton through September 6th.

The Pasadena Playhouse has announced that all performances through May 31st.

Ann, scheduled for May 27th – July 28th has been postponed.

Their production of Annie Get Your Gun, scheduled for July 28th – August 23rd has been canceled.

*The Pasadena Pops has canceled their 2020 summer season and will reschedule the following concerts for their 2021 summer season:

Sway with Me: Latin Rhythm and Swing scheduled for June 19
Road to Motown scheduled for July 10
Fleetwood Mac: A Tribute scheduled for July 24
Michael Feinstein Sings Sinatra’s Songbook scheduled for August 14
100 Years of Broadway scheduled for August 28 

The Pasadena Symphony has rescheduled their March 21st Mozart & McGegan concert to May 23rd.

The Public Theatre in New York (and the adjoining Joe’s Pub) has canceled all performances through April 12th.

*Chicago’s Ravinia Festival has canceled their 2020 season.

Roundabout Theatre in New York announced that their productions of Birthday Candles with Debra Messing and Caroline, Or Change will open in the fall. Both shows were on the cusp of starting previews when Broadway theatres shut down.

San Francisco Opera has canceled their summer season scheduled to run June 7th to July 3rd.

*The Segerstrom Center has announced the following postponements, rescheduling and cancellations:

Orange County Millennial Choirs and Orchestras on April 1st has been rescheduled to June 2nd

Shen Yun from April 3rd – April 12th has been postponed

Ailey II on April 11th has been postponed

Chicago from April 14th – April 19th has been canceled

Sibelius Piano Trio on April 17th has been canceled

Clayton Brothers Quintet on April 18th has been canceled

Earth Day Celebration on April 18th has been canceled

Distinguished Speakers Series: President George W. Bush on April 20th has been postponed

Tuesday Night Dance Lessons on April 21st and 28th has been canceled

Laura Benanti from April 23rd – April 25th has been postponed

Best of Dance on April 25th has been canceled

Beckman Arts and Science Family Festival on May 2nd has been postponed.

Paper Planet on May 2nd and 3rd has been canceled.

Celtic Woman on May 2nd has been canceled.

*Les Misérables, scheduled for May 5th – May 17th and rescheduled for October 6th – October 18th has been canceled.

Emerson String Quartet on May 7th has been postponed.

Silent Disco on May 8th has been postponed.

Rock, Paper, Scissors: CUMBIA! on May 15th has been postponed.

Swing Under the Stars on May 29th has been canceled.

*Mean Girls, scheduled for June 16th – June 28th, has been postponed. The venue is hoping to reschedule.

*The Band’s Visit, originally scheduled for August 12th – August 23rd has been rescheduled for April 13th – April 25th, 2021.

*The Lion King, originally scheduled for September 2nd – September 27th, has been canceled.

*Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Life and Times of The Temptations, scheduled for November 17th – 29th has been rescheduled for September 14th – 26th, 2021.

*The Donna Summer Musical, originally scheduled for January 12th – 17th, has been cancelled due to a rescheduling of the show’s tour.

*The Cher Show, originally scheduled for April 13th – April 25th has been canceled due to a rescheduling of the show’s tour.

Shakespeare in the Park in New York has canceled this summer’s season.

Soka Performing Arts Center has announced the postponement of the remainder of its 2019-2020 season.

The Soraya has announced the following cancellations and postponements:

The Jerusalem Quartet on April 5th has been canceled.

The Count Basie Orchestra on April 9th has been postponed.

Amir El Saffar on April 16th has been canceled.

Bollywood Boulevard on April 19th has been canceled.

Randy Newman’s Faust on May 9th has been canceled.

Violins of Hope, which was postponed, will have an opening night concert by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony on January 14th.

South Coast Rep has announced the cancellation of all performances of Outside Mullingar beginning March 13th. (They are “working to make the performance available online. More details will be announced in the coming days.”)

*San Francisco’s Stern Grove Festival has canceled their 2020 season.

Tonality has postponed their A Call to Restore concert that was set to take place on March 15th. Another date will be announced shortly.

The Tony Awards, scheduled for June 7th, have been postponed.

The Verdi Chorus has canceled their Opera Gets Real performances scheduled for April 18th and 19th.

*The Wallis has announced the cancellation of all performances through June 30th.

If you have an event that has been postponed or canceled and would like it included in this list, please send the details to contact@Culturalattache.co

Photo “Comedy/Tragedy on Keys” by Craig L. Byrd

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Another jukebox musical, this one uses the party-friendly music of Buffett as a reason to put on the island t-shirts, the flip flops and dance to steel drum beats.

A love story is the center of the musical. An island hotel’s main entertainer, Tully (Chris Clark) is quite the ladies man. He’s not the settling down type. Not until a tourist named Rachel (Sarah Hinrichsen) enters the pictures and seems to disappear. It seems perhaps he might just have a soft spot in his heart after all.

Escape to Margaritaville began its life in 2017 at the La Jolla Playhouse directed by its Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. The show went to Broadway in 2018 where it ran for 124 performances.

The book was written by Mike O’Malley (Shameless) and Greg Garcia (Raising Hope.) Kelly Devine, who choreographed Come From Away, created the choreography for this show. Amy Anders Corcoran, who was associate and resident director of Escape to Margaritaville for Ashley, assumes the directing responsibilities for the tour.

For tickets at the Dolby Theatre go here.

Photo: The touring company of Escape to Margaritaville (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

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We’ve covered this play before, so it begs the question what prompts us to offer up details about this production, too. Simply put, Lauren Yee is a graduate of UC San Diego and this marks a homecoming for her in addition to a local premiere.

In Yee’s play a young woman tries to wrap her head around her family and its history three decades after her father left Cambodia. The way into this story is through the rock ‘n’ roll music of Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s.

The play features music by Los Angeles band Dengue Fever who celebrate precisely the kind of music depicted in Cambodian Rock Band. They wrote the songs for the play.

Yee has received great reviews for this play across the country and it is one of the most produced plays regionally this year.

The cast in this production includes Brooke Ishibashi, Abraham Kim, Jane Lui, Joe Ngo, James Ryen, Daisuke Tsuji and Moses Villaram. Chay Yew directs.

For tickets go here.

Photo from Cambodian Rock Band by Jim Carmody/Courtesy of the La Jolla Playhouse

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Diana officially opened last week after several weeks of previews. Jeanna de Waal (Kinky Boots) plays Diana. Prince Charles is played by Roe Hartrampf (Off-Broadway’s The Bad Guys). Camilla Parker Bowles is played by Erin Davie (Side Show) and Queen Elizabeth is played by Judy Kaye (Souvenir, Anastasia).

As befitting a musical about the world’s fairytale princess, the show opens with a song called Once Upon a Time. Of course we know it won’t end with a song entitled Happily Ever After. But it doesn’t end with Paparazzi either. (Actually the last song is called If.)

Christopher Ashley, the Artistic Director of the La Jolla Playhouse and also the director of Memphis, helms Diana. The choreography is by Kelly Devine (Come From Away). David Zinn (SpongeBob SquarePants) is the production designer and six-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long (Hairspray) created the costumes.

It is probably a huge task to play someone as beloved as Princess Diana was. We all have our own ideas of who she was and how she acted. Queen Elizabeth, however, has been played memorably by multiple actresses. In the hands of the sublimely talented Judy Kaye, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her steal the show.

The La Jolla Playhouse has regularly seen its productions move to Broadway. There are very good odds Diana finds itself a home on the Great White Way next season.

Production Photos by Little Fang/Courtesy of La Jolla Playhouse

The post Diana appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Majok, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama this year for her play Cost of Living, saw the world premiere of Queens at Lincoln Center earlier this year. In Queens Majok depicts the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of Reina. She, like the women she meets when she moves into that burrough in New York, has immigrated to the United States in pursuit of a better future. She becomes landlord at the building and is faced with a woman who challenges her choice to relocate and abandon her home.

Carey Perloff directs this production. The cast includes Brenda Meaney as “Reina,” Jolly Abraham as “Aamani/Yara”, Leslie Fray as “Pelagiya/Dragana,” Rae Gray as “Inna/Tanya”, Melisa Miller as “Agata” and Xochiti Romero as “Isabela/Glenys.”

The post Queens appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Christopher Ashley, won won the Tony Award for his direction of the musical Come From Away, helms this production. The show stars Terence Archie, Candy Buckley, Sidney Hill, Lakisha May, Brad Oscar, Max Singer, Marcus Terrell Smith, Summer Spiro and Danielle E.B. Wineman.

The post The Squirrels appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The show’s conceit is to have three different women play Donna Summer at different parts of her life. There is “Duckling Donna” played by Storm Lever. “Disco Donna” played by Ariana DeBose. And finally “Diva Donna” played by LaChanze.

I don’t think Donna Summer ever recorded “On Broadway,” but I’ll bet that’s the goal for this production.

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