Tony Award-nominated writer of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife and the long-running hit Off-Broadway play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and a Sundance Festival award winner, Charles Busch has created a unique place in the entertainment world as a playwright, LGBT icon, drag actor, director, and cabaret performer, with his extraordinary gift for both connecting with and channeling the leading ladies of show business.

In wonderfully readable chapters, by turns comic and moving, Charles writes how ever since his mother’s death when he was seven, he has sought out surrogate mothers in his life. In his teens, Charles moved to Park Avenue in Manhattan to live with his Auntie Mame-like Aunt Lil, who encouraged and nourished Charles’ talents and dreams, and eventually he discovered his gifts for writing plays and performing as a male actress.

Busch also shares his colorful and sometimes outlandish interactions with film and theatrical luminaries including the hilarious comedian Joan Rivers (who became a mother figure to Charles after Aunt Lil’s death), Angela Lansbury (who attended her first Passover seder with Charles), Rosie O’Donnell, Claudette Colbert, Valerie Harper, Kim Novak, and many others.

Full of both humor and heart and featuring rare photos, Leading Lady is for readers of entertainment books as well as anyone who enjoys real-life stories of artists who break the mold, ditch the boundaries, and find their own unique way to sparkle.

T2c is saddened by the passing away of Tony Award winning Michael McGrath. He was 65. McGrath was best known for his starring roles in over 14 Broadway shows including Plaza Suite, Tootsie, Spamalot (Tony nominated), Memphis, My Favorite Year, Swinging on a Star, Little Me and Nice Work if You Can Get It, which earned him a Tony award. He was a twice nominated for a Tony award, three-time Drama Desk Award nominee, Outer Critics Circle nominee and Theatre World Award winner. McGrath also the sidekick-announcer to Martin Short on “The Martin Short Show.” His roles on the big screen included “Changing Lanes,” and “The Interpreter.” He also was a voice in multiple animated features including “The Secret of Kells” and “Wolfwalkers.”

McGrath is survived by his wife of 30 years, actress Toni Di Buono and daughter, actress Katie Claire McGrath. He and Di Buono are reputed to have met on the set of the Boston production of “Forbidden Broadway.”

Ringing in the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah on Thursday, September 14th at 1:30 pm cast members, playwright and lyricist, Bruce Sussman and Rabbi Jill Hausman from The Actor’s Temple gave a blessing and a traditional nosh of apples, honey and rugelach. Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman’s musical Harmony with direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle will begin previews on Wednesday, October 18, ahead of a Monday, November 13 official opening night.8

For the second consecutive year, NY Forever, in partnership with City National Bank and the New York City Department of Transportation will present Broadway Forever, a series of free, star-studded, pop-up concerts and community service activations, empowering New Yorkers across the city to build a better city for all.

At both event dates, fans will have the opportunity to sign up for future community service opportunities in these neighborhoods, which will be coordinated by New York Cares and their partner organizations.

NY Forever is a non-profit organization working to recapture faith and pride in New York by organizing and motivating New Yorkers from every borough and generation to participate in the city’s civic rebirth. It aims to support the well-being of our city by encouraging and facilitating New Yorkers to participate in gestures big and small. NY Forever is calling all New Yorkers to take the pledge and commit to New York’s future.

Performing are Broadway Forever creators Erich Bergen and Richard Mumby, Amber Ardolino (Broadway: Back To The Future), Casey Cott (Broadway: Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Charity Angél Dawson (Broadway: Waitress), Olivia Holt (Broadway: Chicago), Cheyenne Jackson   (Broadway: Into The Woods), Christopher Jackson (Broadway: Hamilton), Alexis Michelle (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Jelani Remy (Broadway: Back To The Future), as well as current cast members from Moulin Rouge! The Musical(Jacqueline B. Arnold, Heather Makalani, David Merino and Kelsey Orem), and Some Like It Hot! (Kayla Pecchioni).

Andrew Burnap

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Lisa Lawer Post, Interim Executive Director) today announced complete casting for Spainby Jen Silverman anddirected by Tyne Rafaeli. Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap (Camelot, The Inheritance) and Danny Wolohan (Camelot, Macbeth)join the previously announced Tony Award nominee Marin Ireland, Zachary James, and Erik Lochtefeld.

Marin Ireland

This limited engagement will begin previews on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 and will officially open Thursday, November 30, 2023 at the Tony Kiser Theater (305 West 43^rd Street).

Step into a sophisticated, slippery world where the line between truth and fiction is all in the packaging. It’s 1936, and a pair of passionate filmmakers have landed their next big project: a sweeping Spanish Civil War film with the potential to change American hearts and minds. It just happens to be bankrolled by the KGB. This seductive and funny new play about the art of propaganda and the dangerous ongoing Disinformation Age explores how art can change the world—for better and worse.

Food For Thought Productions, now in its 22^nd year, continues celebrating the oft-neglected one-act play and theatre at its best with Award-winning actors, writers and directors, with a unique series set for its 2023 Season. Zach Grenier, Larry Pine, Penny Fuller, Bob Dishy, Michael Citriniti and special guest Martin Garbus

The People Versus Lenny Bruce is the third segment of “All The Court’s A Stage,” a series of one-act plays that are based on seven of Martin Garbus‘ cases and directed by Antony Marsellis. Martin Garbus, who has been called “One of the world’s finest trial lawyers”, has represented: Lenny Bruce, Philip Roth, Samuel Beckett, Igor Stravinsky, John Cheever, Daniel Ellsberg, Al Pacino, and Susan Sontag, to name a few! He also smuggled letters from Andrei Sakharov to Jimmy Carter.

In April 1964, Lenny Bruce appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with club owners Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance. On both occasions, Bruce was arrested after leaving the stage. A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and Howard Solomon were found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon, the owner of the club where Lenny was arrested, later saw Bruce’s conviction overturned

The October 3rd, 2:00pm performance (Preceded by luncheon), directed by Antony Marsellis, will be available live via Streaming as well as in-theatre audience. A Q&A will follow the performance with the cast, Playwright/FFTP Founder Susan Charlotte, Directror Antony Marsellis and Martin Garbus himself! The FFT series is presented at 3 West Club. Tickets for the ‘live’ performance are $65, and with discounted code ‘FFTP’ tickets are $45. For additional information and zoom tickets please contact FFTP at: 646-366-9340 or email:  info@foodforthoughtproductions.com

The York Theatre Company, announced today the cast and creative team for its production of Golden Rainbow, with book by Ernest Kinoy and music and lyrics by Walter Marks, the third offering of the Fall 2023 “Musicals in Mufti” series.

The cast features Felipe Barbosa Bombonato (Les Misérables), Jonathan Brody (The Sorceress), Nick Cearley (The Skivvies), Robert Cuccioli (York’s Rothschild & Sons), Mara Davi (Dames at Sea), Max Von Essen (York’s Tenderloin), Danielle Lee Greaves (Parade), Jillian Louis (York’s The Game of Love), Gina Milo (York’s Subways Are for Sleeping), Benjamin Pajak (The Music Man), and Maria Wirries (York’s Penelope: or How The Odyssey Was Really Written).

Golden Rainbow is directed by Stuart Ross (York’s Enter Laughing), with music direction by David Hancock Turner (York’s Cheek to Cheek and Desperate Measures).

Golden Rainbow (based on Arnold Schulman’s play A Hole in the Head) is the jazzy, heartfelt story of a single dad trying to achieve success in Las Vegas while raising his extremely bright and savvy son. His late wife’s sister arrives and tries to bring stability to the boy’s life, but unintentionally falls in love with her brother-in-law. The musical originally opened on Broadway on February 4, 1968 and ran nearly a year. It starred the married couple of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, major stars from their extensive work in the recording, television, and concert industries. The musical introduced the enduring standard “I’ve Gotta Be Me,” recorded by Sammy Davis, Tony Bennett, Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Klea Blackhurst, and many others.

Golden Rainbow will play the following 11-performance schedule— First Week: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 & 7:00 p.m. Second Week: Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. (Opening Night), Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Talkbacks follow all matinee performances.

As rehearsals are under way for Harmony, the new, original musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman with direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle, I thought to honor the legendary showman.

Many of the members of the company are making their Broadway debuts, including 5 of the 6 actors playing the Harmonists.

Ghostlight Records released the full digital cast recording of the upcoming Broadway production on Thursday, August 31. The album is produced by Barry Manilow, with Lawrence Manchester serving as co-producer.

Principal cast members include Chip Zien; Sierra Boggess; Julie Benko; the Comedian Harmonists Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, and Steven Telsey; Allison Semmes and Andrew O’Shanick. The complete cast includes Zak Edwards, Dan Hoy, Bruce Landry, RhonniRose Mantilla, Daniel Z. Miller, Benjamin H. Moore, Matthew Mucha, Constantine Pappas, Kayleen Seidl, Kyla Stone, Bronwyn Tarboton, Kate Wesler, Stuart Zagnit, and Lee Zarrett.

The creative team for Harmony includes Beowulf Boritt (scenic design), Linda Cho & Ricky Lurie (costume design), Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer (lighting design), Dan Moses Schreier (sound design), batwin + robin productions (media design), Tom Watson (wig & hair design), Jamibeth Margolis, CSA (casting), Sara Edwards (associate director/choreographer), John O’Neill (music director), Michael Aarons (music coordinator), Doug Walter (orchestrations) and Scott Taylor Rollison (production stage manager).

Based on an unbelievable true story, Harmony tells the tale of the most successful entertainers you’ve never heard of. . . until now. In the 1920s and 30s, The Comedian Harmonists sold millions of records, made dozens of films, and sold-out the biggest theaters around the world.  Their heavenly harmonies and musical comedy antics catapulted these six talented young men from singing in the subway tunnels of Berlin to international superstardom.

Harmony begins preview Wednesday, October 18, ahead of a Monday, November 13 official opening night.

This is one show I can not wait to see.

Paula Vogel by Ken Fallin

Paula Vogel’s new play Mother Play, will star Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons and Celia Keenan-Bolger. The show, begins outside Washington in 1962, and is about a strong-willed mother raising two children as the family relocates.

Jessica Lange

Lange, 74,  is a two-time Oscar winner (for “Tootsie” and “Blue Sky”) and won a Tony Award in 2016 for playing Mary Tyrone in a revival of Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

Celia Keenan-Bolger

Keenan-Bolger, 45, is a four-time Tony nominee who won in 2019 for To Kill a Mockingbird.

Parsons, 50, last appeared on Broadway in a 2018 production of The Boys in the Band.

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman. Photo by Paul Aphisit

Rehearsals have begun for Harmony – the new, original musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman with direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle. Harmony previews begin Wednesday, October 18, ahead of a Monday, November 13 official opening night.

Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, along with Warren Carlyle, welcomed the cast and creatives and acknowledged the many members of the company who are making their Broadway debuts with Harmony, including 5 of the 6 actors playing the Harmonists. The Harmonists, along with Chip Zien finished out the morning with a performance of the song “Stars in the Night.”

Ghostlight Records released the full digital cast recording of the upcoming Broadway production on Thursday, August 31. The album is produced by Barry Manilow, with Lawrence Manchester serving as co-producer.

Principal cast members include Chip Zien; Sierra Boggess; Julie Benko; the Comedian Harmonists Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman, and Steven Telsey; Allison Semmes and Andrew O’Shanick. The complete cast includes Zak Edwards, Dan Hoy, Bruce Landry, RhonniRose Mantilla, Daniel Z. Miller, Benjamin H. Moore, Matthew Mucha, Constantine Pappas, Kayleen Seidl, Kyla Stone, Bronwyn Tarboton, Kate Wesler, Stuart Zagnit, and Lee Zarrett.

The creative team for Harmony includes Beowulf Boritt (scenic design), Linda Cho & Ricky Lurie (costume design), Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer (lighting design), Dan Moses Schreier (sound design), batwin + robin productions (media design), Tom Watson (wig & hair design), Jamibeth Margolis, CSA (casting), Sara Edwards (associate director/choreographer), John O’Neill (music director), Michael Aarons (music coordinator), Doug Walter (orchestrations) and Scott Taylor Rollison (production stage manager).

Harmony features an original new score by legendary Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award^® winner Barry Manilow with lyrics and book by Drama Desk Award Winner, Bruce Sussman. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle (The Music Man, Hello Dolly!), this timely and captivating rags-to-riches story lost to history comes to dazzling life with a sensational cast of Broadway favorites.

Based on an unbelievable true story, Harmony tells the tale of the most successful entertainers you’ve never heard of. . . until now. In the 1920s and 30s, The Comedian Harmonists sold millions of records, made dozens of films, and sold-out the biggest theaters around the world.  Their heavenly harmonies and musical comedy antics catapulted these six talented young men from singing in the subway tunnels of Berlin to international superstardom.

Betty Who
Photo Credit: Andy Henderson

Philip Boykin
Photo Credit: Andy Henderson

International pop music sensation Betty Who and Tony® and Grammy Award® nominee Phillip Boykin took their first bow in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Hadestown as ‘Persephone’ and ‘Hades,’ respectively. Best known for her chart-topping singles such as “I Love You Always Forever” and “Somebody Loves You,” Hadestown marks Betty Who’s stage debut.

Hadestown currently stars Solea Pfeiffer as Eurydice, Grammy Award winner Reeve Carney as Orpheus and Tony Award winner Lillias White as Hermes. They are joined by Amelia Cormack, Lindsey Hailes, and Brit West as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Alex Lugo, Sayo Oni, and Alex Puette. The cast includes swings Brandon Cameron, Yael “YaYa” Reich, Eddie Noel Rodríguez, and Allysa Shorte.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Producer, Marie Grace LaFerrara, Managing Director) “Where Musicals Come to Life” will present two (2) exclusive industry readings of On the Flip Side by comedy writer Gary Apple on Monday, September 11 and Tuesday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. Rather than focus on the songs of just one recording artist or group, this innovative jukebox musical cleverly integrates 14 famous one-hit wonders from 1960 to 2010, complemented with two original songs by Paul Libman and Gary Apple. The one-hit-wonders include Spirit In The Sky, Venus, Afternoon Delight, Macarena, The Windmills Of Your Mind, and many more favorites from 1960-2010.

On The Flip Side tells the story of Elijah, a self-centered singer who finds himself cursed with only one hit song. He’s compelled to sing it for thirty years at oldies festivals and shopping malls until a chance encounter with a quirky fortune teller sets him out on a quest of redemption to undo the curse.

The show reunites performers Christopher Sutton, Lyn Philistine, and Zak Risinger, who last starred together in the 2022 Las Vegas run of Gary Apple’s irreverent holiday musical Christmas in Hell—which premiered at The York in 2018. The line-up also features Lance Roberts (The Music Man, Sunset Boulevard), Honey Davenport (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Joel Blum (2x Tony Award nominee for Steel Pier, Show Boat), Iris Beaumier (The Little Prince), Kara Arena (Man of La Mancha), Jack Herholdt (The 39 Steps) and Shadia Fairuz (On Your Feet).

Christopher Scott is the director, who earlier this year directed Hip Hop Cinderella at The New Victory Theater. Musical Direction is by Logan Medland. Michael Vezo of “Mostly Musicals” is the producer.

For more information or any questions regarding attending these private industry presentations, please email boxoffice@yorktheatre.org.

The IGNITE Series Concert, will present in a renewed partnership with Prospect Theatre and National Asian Artists Project (NAAP). On Monday night, October 2, at 7:30pm Baked! The Musical – In Concert.

Baked! The Musical is a new musical about family, failure, and weed. Book, music and lyrics are by Jord Liu and Deepak Kumar. Featuring an all Asian American cast and a contemporary pop-rock score, this hilarious and heartwarming show reflects on self-worth and the question of what we owe the people we love. Here’s the gist:

Overachiever Jane Huang doesn’t get the scholarship that would send her to her dream college – but that doesn’t stop her! With the help of her best friend, Jane joins forces with the class degenerate to build the greatest cannabis edible empire ever run by high-schoolers. Kept in the dark are Jane’s parents, who struggle to maintain a profit at their Chinese bakery while coping with their only daughter leaving home.

The evening will star Claire Kwon (Almost Famous) as ‘Jane Huang’, with Lianah Sta. Ana (Miss Saigon) and Jason Ma (Pacific Overtures at Signature Theatre, author of Gold Mountain), and feature Prospect alumni artists, performer and writer Timothy Huang (American Morning) and MinJi Kim (Rule of Three), and Sushma Saha (1776), with additional cast members to be announced. The concert will be directed by Miranda Cornell, with music direction by Alexander Tom.

Click here for more info and to reserve tickets.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announced today the full cast and creative team for Swept Away. Featuring a book by Tony Award® winner John Logan (Red), with music and lyrics by “America’s Biggest Roots Band” (Rolling Stone) The Avett Brothers, this soul-stirring new musical will run November 25 – December 30, 2023, in Arena Stage’s Kreeger Theater. Press Night will be held on Wednesday, December 6 at 8 p.m.For information and tickets, please visit arenastage.org/sweptaway.

The Arena Stage production will reunite much of the team from the show’s Berkeley Repertory Theatre world premiere, which enjoyed a thrice-extended run in early 2022. It will be directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening)and star Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening), Tony Award nominee Stark Sands (Kinky Boots), Adrian Blake Enscoe (Apple TV+’s Dickinson), and Wayne Duvall (1984).

“The true genius of Swept Away lies in how The Avett Brothers peel back the layers of uncertainty, vulnerability, hope, and self-discovery to reveal our fundamental humanity in this exquisite musical,” said Arena Stage Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif.

Set in 1888, Swept Away follows four survivors—a young man in search of adventure (Enscoe), his big brother who has sworn to protect him (Sands), a captain at the end of a long career at sea (Duvall), and a worldly first mate who has fallen from grace (Gallagher)—after a violent storm sinks their whaling ship off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts. How far will they go to stay alive? And can they live with the consequences? Described as “reverberating all the way into your core” (San Francisco Chronicle), this electrifying, soul-stirring musical explores how facing tragedy can open the door to forgiveness, if only we’ll let it.

Joining Duvall, Enscoe, Gallagher, and Sands onstage is a talented ensemble comprised of Hunter Brown (The Sound of Music National Tour), Matt DeAngelis (Broadway’s Waitress), Taurean Everett (Broadway’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Cameron Johnson (Broadway’s Into the Woods), Brandon Kalm (Broadway’s Waitress), Michael Mainwaring (Arena’s Smokey Joe’s Café), Orville Mendoza (Broadway’s Peter and the Starcatcher), Tyrone L. Robinson (Broadway’s Frozen), John Sygar (Kennedy Center’s Look Both Ways), and Jamari Johnson Williams (Broadway’s Ain’t Too Proud).

In addition to Mayer, the Swept Away creative team includes Tony Award-nominated Choreographer David Neumann, Music Arranger & Orchestrator Chris Miller, Music Arranger & Orchestrator / Music Supervisor Brian Usifer, Music Director Will Van Dyke, Tony Award-winning Set Designer Rachel Hauck, Tony Award-winning Costume Designer Susan Hilferty, four-time Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kevin Adams, Tony Award-winning Sound Designer John Shivers, New York Casting Director Jim Carnahan, Jillian Cimini, and Alexandre Bleau, CSA, DC Casting Director Joseph Pinzon, Stage Manager Matthew Leiner, and Assistant Stage Managers Alice M. Pollitt, Marne Anderson, and Jalon Payton.

Where does a bullied 12-year-old who’s all of 4’6” and 70 lbs go to find a place where he can feel strong, powerful, respected? On the back of a thoroughbred racehorse, where being small is of the highest value. But when that Small kid begins to grow, what lengths will he go to stay on the track?

Penguin Rep Theatre and Chita Rivera, in association with Ted Snowdon, Anthony Melfi & The Flying Carpet Theatre Company are presenting the one man show Small, at 59E59.

Written and performed by Robert Montano, Small, shares a roller-coaster autobiographical story of his transformation from a tiny bullied Puerto Rican/Italian boy who just wanted to dance, to an apprentice jockey learning the culture of the racetrack, to a professional rider, to self-destructive addict trying to maintain the rigorous demands of jockey-life, and finally to Broadway and beyond…

The show plays until September 2nd.