Jaclyn Backhaus’ new play India Pale Ale begins performances October 2 in a world-premiere production from Manhattan Theatre Club, directed and choreographed by Will Davis. Amid a flurry of wedding celebrations, the story follows the clashing ideals of different generations within a family and a tight-knit Punjabi community in Wisconsin.
India Pale Ale is playing Off-Broadway at MTC’s New York City Center – Stage I, where the production will officially open October 23.
The world premiere stars Purva Bedi (Dance Nation), Angel Desai (An Ordinary Muslim), Sophia Mahmud (The Blacklist), Nate Miller (Ripcord), Shazi Raja (High Maintenance), Nik Sadhnani (The Invisible Hand), Lipica Shah (Bunty Berman Presents… ), Sathya Sridharan (An Ordinary Muslim), and Alok Tewari (The Band’s Visit).
The design team includes Neil Patel (scenic design), Arnulfo Maldonado (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Elisheba Ittoop (original music and sound design), and Dave Bova (hair and makeup design).
India Pale Ale is the 2018 winner of the Horton Foote Prize for Promising New American Play.
Additional talent has been announced for the November 3 concert 54 Sings The High School Musical Trilogy at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Showtime is 11:30 PM.
New additions to the lineup include Mallory Bechtel (Dear Evan Hansen), Catlin Houlahan (The Girl From The North Country, Waitress), Michael Lee Brown (Dear Evan Hansen), Jelani Remy (Smokey Joe’s Café, The Lion King), Phoenix Best (Dear Evan Hansen), Amber Ardolino (Head Over Heels, Hamilton), Chris Rice (Book of Mormon), Robby Clater (Pretty Woman), Dan Macke (Dear Evan Hansen), Diamond Essence White (Dear Evan Hansen), and Gabriel Sidney Brown (Les Miserables).
They join the previously announced Damon J. Gillespie (Rise), Celia Gooding (Jagged Little Pill), Taylor Iman Jones (Head Over Heels, Groundhog Day), Krystina Alabado (This Ain’t No Disco, American Psycho), Antonio Cipriano (Jagged Little Pill), Catherine Ricafort (Spongebob Squarepants), Anthony Sagaria (Wicked),Samantha Pollino (Head Over Heels), Natalie Walker (Puffs), Cameron Anika Hill, Jacob Haren (Book of Mormon), and Tyler Conroy.
The concert is produced and directed by Aviva Sokolow, with assistance from Spencer Gualdoni. Music direction by Jacob Fjeldheim.
There is a $25 cover charge and a two drink minimum. Tickets and information are available at 54Below.com.
Caissie Levy, who originated the role of Queen Elsa in Disney’s Frozen, takes us inside her pre-show routine as she prepares to step into world of Arendelle on the St. James Theatre stage.
Flip through photos of the pre-show process below:
Getting into Character with Frozen’s Caissie Levy
Based on Disney’s 2013 Oscar-winning film, Frozen opened on Broadway March 22. Directed by Michael Grandage, the musical features music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, a book by Jennifer Lee, and choreography by Rob Ashford.
Before the West End revival of The King and I arrives in movie theatres around the world, take a look at the trailer for the cinema release above.
The London production, a transfer of Bartlett Sher’s Tony-winning 2015 Lincoln Center Theater staging, concludes its run at the London Palladium September 29. As previously announced, the filmed presentation will premiere in movie theatres globally via Trafalgar Releasing November 29, with an encore presentation exclusively in the U.S. December 4.
The production stars Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe as Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam, respectively, with Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang; the three reprise their roles after appearing in the Broadway production. The London cast of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical also includes Dean John-Wilson as Lun Tha, Na-Young Jeon as Tuptim, and Takao Osawa as Kralahome.
“The response from the theatre audiences on Broadway, throughout America on tour and now in London at the Palladium has been phenomenal,” Sher said in an earlier statement. “They have really taken this show into their hearts. I’m delighted that the worldwide cinema release will now give a greater number of people the opportunity to enjoy this production of which we are all so proud.”
The live film of the Tony-nominated 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos will return to the big screen for one-night-only October 28 at 6 PM at The Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY.
The Actors Fund and The Jacob Burns Film Center are partnering on the special event that features a post-screening Q&A with Falsettos star Christian Borle and the show’s Tony-winning librettist and director James Lapine. Tony Award-winning producer and documentary filmmaker Dori Berinstein will moderate the talkback.
Composer-lyricist William Finn and Lapine’s Tony-winning musical about a “tight-knit” New York City family who redefine what family means at the dawn of the AIDS epidemic, returned to Broadway for a limited engagement in late 2016 with original director Lapine at the helm.
The production starred two-time Tony Award winner Borle as Marvin, Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block as Trina, Tony nominee Andrew Rannells, as Whizzer, Tony nominee Brandon Uranowitz as Mendel, Tracie Thoms as Dr. Charlotte, Betsy Wolfe as Cordelia, and Anthony Rosenthal as Jason.
Filmed ahead of its final performance in January 2017, Falsettos was broadcast in cinemas nationwide and on PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center.
Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members and can be purchased by visiting burnsfilmcenter.org.
Performances began September 14 for Bedlam’s Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet, a mash-up of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet and Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. The play, directed by Bedlam Artistic Director Eric Tucker, features a cast of five actors in numerous roles.
Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet is playing a seven-week run in the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres Off-Broadway, where it officially opens September 25. Tucker, who also performs, directs a cast completed by Edmund Lewis, Susannah Millonzi, Randolph Curtis Rand, and Zuzanna Szadkowski.
The play features an adaptation of Uncle Vanya by Kimberly Pau. The show pairs Shakespeare’s well-known tragedy about two star-crossed lovers with Anton Chekhov’s celebrated play about a retired professor’s return to his estate with his new, young wife. Bedlam’s acclaimed adaptations include last season’s Peter Pan, Sense and Sensibility, Saint Joan, and, most recently, Pygmalion. Visit Bedlam.org for more information.
Flip through photos of the production below:
Take a Look at Bedlam’s Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet Off-Broadway
