Part Goosebumps part E.T. - sign us up! Last week it was announced that the new musical Watcher In The Woods will have a fully staged showcase production as part of their development process starring the hilarious Jackie Hoffman. Directed by Chase Kniffen, the new musical based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall features music & orchestrations by Johanna Telander, book & lyrics by Douglas Thompson, and music direction by Brian Walters. The production showcase will perform Wednesday, September 11 - Sunday, September 15 at UrbanStages on West 30th Street. 

Today it was announced that Savannah Hankinson’s The 2 Queers a Lesbian Meets at The Home Depot will make its New York premiere at the Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres from September 20, 2024 through October 6, 2024. 

Center Theatre Group in Los Angels is joining forces with Deaf West Theatre to bring a new production of Green Day’s iconic rock opera American Idiot to the stage. As previous reported, The production will run October 2, 2024 through November 10, 2024, with an official opening night set for Wednesday, October 9 at the Mark Taper Forum. Daniel Durant returns to the stage after his star turn in the Academy-Award winning film CODA, which is also being adapted for the stage. The company also includes Milo Mannheim and Mason Alexander Park, the recent Emcee in the West End production of Cabaret. 

This year, the USTA and ESPN are partnering with Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen to showcase the music of the show across three weeks of the US Open. Tony nominee Shoshana Bean will sing the national anthem on the tournament’s opening day on August 26, and a video narrated by Tony winner Kecia Lewis was just released celebrating the partnership.

Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart will reprise his role as Louis Armstrong on Broadway in A Wonderful World this fall following its out of town production in New Orleans and Chicago. He will be joined by Darlesia Cearcy as Lucille Wilson, Dionne Figgins as Daisy Parker, Kim Exum as Alpha Smith, and Jennie Harney-Fleming as Lil Hardin; the four wives of Armstrong. Rounding out the company is Trista Dollison, DeWitt Fleming, Jr., Jason Forbach, Gavin Gregory, Jimmy Smagula, James T. Lane, Brandon L. Armstrong, Wesley Barnes, Willie Clyde Beaton II, Ronnie S. Bowman, Jr., Eean S. Cochran, Kate Louissaint, Matt Magnusson, Jodeci Milhouse, Alysha Morgan, Khadijah Rolle, Tally Sessions, Brett Sturgis, Renell Taylor, Meridien Terrell, and Dori Waymer. 

Tony Award-winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s new play, Purpose, is coming to Broadway this season. Directed by Two-time Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad in her directing debut, the production will begin previews at the Helen Hayes Theater on Tuesday February 25, 2025, with an official opening night set for mid-March.

Today it was announced that Caroline Bowman will standby for the role of Norma Desmond in the much anticipated revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Blvd. directed by Jamie Lloyd. The production is headed to Broadway’s St. James Theatre with previews beginning Saturday, September 28, ahead of an official opening night on Sunday, October 20. 

Ghostlight Records will release a new remix and remastered 15th Anniversary Edition of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Next To Normal. It will be released in streaming and digital formats tomorrow, August 9 and will be issued on CD and its first-ever vinyl pressing later this year. Theatrely has an exclusive first listen to one of the tracks. 

Tony Winner Patrick Marber will direct David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross in a brand new production this spring on Broadway. An all star cast including Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, and Bill Burr lead the production at a Broadway theatre that will be announced at a later date.

Today it was announced that Rachel Zegler, global touring artist Lizzy McAlpine, Jordan Fisher, Darren Criss, Tony Award-winner John Gallagher Jr., Will Butler, Joy Woods, and Alaska Thunderf*ck are set to perform at this year’s Elsie Fest on September 8 at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in NY. 

Joining Marla Mindelle in The Big Gay Jamboree Off-Broadway is Alex Moffat (Keith), Paris Nix (Clarence), Constantine Rousouli (Bert), Natalie Walker (Flora), with Jaden Dominique, Brad Greer, Jeremiah Ginn, Amanda Lee, Jillian Mueller, Olivia Puckett, Melvin Tunstall, Clyde Voce, Cortney Wolfson, and John Yi rounding out the ensemble.

Today, producers announced that director Jamie Lloyd will bring a new production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter to Broadway. The production will open at an ATG theater to be announced soon in Fall of 2025. Reeves will play Estragon and Winter will play Vladimir. 

Tomorrow Nick Cartell, the current Jean Valjean on the national tour of Les Misérables, is set to release his upcoming album A Thousand Spotlights and Theatrely has an exclusive first listen to one of the tracks. 

It was announced that Grammy nominee Adam Lambert and Auli’i Cravalho will be their Broadway debuts as the Emcee and Sally Bowles this fall in the Tony-winning Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre. 

The hilarious Hannah Gadsby is set to return to New York City this fall with their latest stand-up show, Woof!, directed by Jenney Shamash. After sold-out engagements in Australia and across the US, Woof! will play a limited four-week engagement at the Abrons Art Center on the Lower East Side starting Friday, September 27 before an official opening night on Sunday, October 6, 2024. 

Multimedia theatre collective The Fricks have announced that they will present Tomorrow People at the recently opened East Village Basement next month. 

A slew of Broadway favorites will join Sutton Foster and Michael Urie in Once Upon A Mattress when the musical revival heads to the Hudson Theatre beginning Wednesday July 31, 2024. Foster as Winnifred and Urie as Prince Dauntless will be joined by Brooks Ashmanskas as The Wizard, Daniel Breaker as The Jester, Will Chase as Sir Harry, Nikki Renée Daniels returns as Lady Larken, David Patrick Kelly returns as King Sextimus, and Ana Gasteyer as Queen Aggravain.

Theatrely's Los Angeles review of POTUS by Selina Fillinger.

Theatrely's review of The Engagement party, currently playing at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles until November 5, 2023.

Theatrely's Los Angeles Review of Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan with Johnny Donahoe and starring Daniel K. Isaac at the Geffen Playhouse.

Theatrely's Los Angeles review of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord by Alexis Scheer now in performance at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre

Theatrely's Los Angeles review of Ava: The Secret Conversations written by Elizabeth McGovern and Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel at the Geffen Playhouse.

Theatrely's Los Angeles review of The Lonely Few at the Geffen Playhouse starring Damon Daunno, Ciara Renée and Lauren Patten.

Theatrely's review of Mindplay at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, starring Vinny DePonto.

Theatrely's review of Lindsay Joelle's Trayf currently in production at the Geffen playhouse's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater in Los Angeles, California. Directed by Maggie Burrows, the performances include Ben Hirschhorn, Ilan Eskenazi, Garret Young, and Louisa Jacobson.

Theatrely's review of Power of Sail by Paul Grellong now at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, California. Bryan Cranston stars in the new drama alongside Amy Brenneman, Hugo Armstrong, Donna Simone Johnson, Tedra Millan, Seth Numrich, and Brandon Scott. The production is directed by Weyni Mengesha.

Walking into the atrium for The Geffen Playhouse’s The Enigmatist, you are greeted by clumps of audience members peering at clues around the room, trying to solve puzzles before entering the auditorium. These are merely an amuse-bouche for David Kwong’s feast of puzzle, wit, and illusion that will commence shortly. There are ushers at hand to help out with hints, but almost everyone seemed game to get to the solutions on their own. Upon entering the Geffen’s intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, one notices that the room has been transformed from a traditional theater space to a paneled room that is reminiscent of an old pub, or a vintage study. The walls are lined with knickknacks that appear random, but on closer inspection make up a series of secret codes that exist solely for the audience’s decoding pleasure. 

The Getty Villa, a Los Angeles museum of Greek and Roman antiquities, is not the first location one might think of when mounting a musical tribute to Liza Minnelli. When that musical, however, is based on Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and set in an amphitheater against the backdrop of an ancient Roman villa, everything falls into place. 

The Barn Theatre, based in Cirencester, is breaking the mold for virtual theatre yet again with their production of The Secret Society of Leading Ladies. Part concert, part choose-your-own-adventure, this short performance packs a punch that will undoubtedly leave audiences satisfied.

After revealing her ALS diagnosis this past February, Luker tirelessly advocated for the over 30,000 Americans living with ALS, taking part in fundraisers benefiting new drug treatments, and urging fans and followers to write their legislators to increase funding for these therapies.

Filmed each night with a four-camera setup, the show feels just as intimate, regardless of viewing location. The theatre has even been expanding its geographical footprint, with online audience members tuning in from far and wide.

The First Deep Breath is playing at the Geffen Playhouse through March 5.