Entertainment
What To Watch July 16th To Take Away The Blues

1pm: Irish Repertory Theatre: Meet the Makers John Douglas Thompson and Obi Abili on Breaking Barriers in Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones

Eugene O’Neill evolved as the first major American playwright to address the problem of racism in the United States. He despised the discrepancies between the image America projected – a democracy based on equality and justice for all – and what he really saw as a racially divided land of gross inequality. At Irish Repertory Theatre, John Douglas Thompson and Obi Abili both memorably played the title role in O’Neill’s provocative and controversial play The Emperor Jones in separate productions. With director Ciarán O’Reilly, they discuss the complexities of exploring this 1920 play that exposed the painful truths that America is still grappling with 100 years later.
2pm: Amadeus National Theatre Lucian Msamati portrays the envious court composer Antonio Salieri who is envious of the obnoxious genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In this popular play by Peter Shaffer that was turned into an Oscar-winning film.
2pm: Bravehound Theater of War Dramatic reading of scenes of Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes to catalyze guided discussions about the visible and invisible wounds of war. All events by Theater of War Productions (best known for Antigone in Ferguson) follow the same format: The actors will read the play. Four community panelists will kick off the discussion with their gut responses to what resonated with them across time
The discussion is opened to the audience, facilitated by artistic director Bryan Doerries.

3:30pm: Moment Matinee Presents Songs of the Decade: The Roaring Twenties Michael Lavine is presenting a special Webinar Zoominar benefit series: Moment Matinee Presents Songs of the Decade. The first of the three decades will be The Roaring Twenties, with live performances from Broadway and cabaret acclaimed artists as well as some premiere recordings.

This unique musical and informative program will feature Steven Brinberg, who will discuss the history of the song “My Man” and Fanny Brice and eventually Barbra Streisand’s performance of the song in the film Funny Girl; Jay Aubrey Jones will sing a little-known Gershwin song; Brian Gari will talk about his grandfather, Eddie Cantor, and his performance of the song “Makin’ Whoopee” and the show Whoopee.
Lavine will also be presenting the world premiere of two Broadway songs, sung by two Tony nominees, Rebecca Luker and Laura Osnes. Becca is singing “Dancing Honeymoon” from the 1923 Broadway musical Battling Butler, which played in 1922 on the West End before making it to Broadway. Laura is singing “In the Meantime,” which was written in 1927 for the musical Good News. Tickets are $25 – $60.
4pm–9:30pm: Marie’s Crisis Virtual Piano Bar Tonight’s scheduled pianists are Alex Barylski (@Alexander-Barylski) and Adam Michael Tilford (@Adam-Tilford-1).

6pm: Classic Conversations: George Takei Classic Stage Company continues its free, online version of their discussion series Classic Conversations, hosted by Artistic Director John Doyle. The series continues with George Takei (Allegiance, Star Trek), who starred in Doyle’s CSC 2017 production of Pacific Overtures.
6pm: The Living Room Plays Workshop By The Old Globe tune in to learn how to write, develop, design, direct, and present your own “living room”–inspired short plays in a final live-streamed, site-specific presentation.

6:30pm: BPN Town Hall: My Broadway Memory with guests Lauren Molina & Nick Cearley My Broadway Memory, a new live, visual podcast — a celebration of memorable experiences at the theatre with Broadway’s biggest names. During each episode, a guest will choose a Playbill from their collection at random and take a trip down memory lane. In addition to discussing the actual show, Michael, Brian, and guests will discuss the headshots, ads, and other traits that make a Playbill a time capsule of Broadway history. Michael and Brian are calling out to theatre fans everywhere to join in on the fun by creating their own My Broadway Memory videos and sharing them to Instagram or Facebook. Be sure to tag @MyBroadwayMemory and use use the hashtag #MyBroadwayMemory to have a chance at being featured on the Broadway Podcast Network site. For more information please visit http://bpn.fm/mbm #BroadwayPodcastNetwork #Broadway #MyBroadwayMemory

7pm: Quarantine Cabaret and Cocktails is produced and hosted by entertainer and LML Music founder, Lee Lessack, and actor and frequent SNL regular, Robert Bannon. The duo hosts a star-studded group of performers every week with laughs, music, and stories.

7pm: Reunion Reading: The True by Sharr White stars Edie Falco as Dorothea “Polly” Noonan, the blunt, profane, decades-long defender of Albany’s Democratic Party machine. When it comes to Polly, politics is only personal, especially now that her hero, “mayor for life” Erastus Corning II (Michael McKean), is battling for party control while at the same time fighting the fiercest primary challenge of his life. The True is an intimate portrait of the bounds of love, loyalty, and female power in the male-dominated world of 1977 patronage politics. Written by Sharr White, directed by Scott Elliott and featuring the original 2018 cast including Austin Cauldwell (Intimacy), Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”), Glenn Fitzgerald (Othello), Michael McKean (The Little Foxes), John Pankow (Kiss Me Kate), Peter Scolari (Hairspray), Tracy Shayne (Chicago). The True enjoyed a critically acclaimed world premiere as part of The New Group’s 2018-2019 Season.
$10 for the first 100 tickets
$25 for all other tickets

7pm: We’re Still Here: A Virtual Cabaret by Alliance Theater a free variety show featuring Broadway stars Terry Burrell (Ethel) and Courtenay Collins (The Prom).Burrell and Collins will alternate as hostess, as they entertain audiences from home with songs, stories, special cocktails, and maybe a surprise guest or two.

7pm: Good As New MCC Theater Julianne Moore and Kaitlyn Dever star in this benefit rating of Peter Hedges’ about a young woman learning to drive who comes face-to-face with the mother she thinks has let her down. Tickets start at $5

7pm: LAO at Home: Living Room Recital One of the world’s foremost tenors, Lawrence Brownlee, made his company debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute in 2013. He partners with pianist Myra Huang for a special online recital featuring bel canto arias and songs from Schubert to the present day, including one written for him: Tyshawn Sorey’s “Inhale, Exhale.”
7pm: Humanities Symposium Series: From Page to Stage From Paper Mill Playhouse on the set of the 1997 production of Man of La Mancha where we take a look at classic novels turned into musicals. See performances by Cheryl Allison, Michelle Dawson, Veryl Jones, James A. Rocco, Susie Speidel, and John Stewart.

7pm: Ailey All Access: City of Rain Camille A. Brown’s City of Rain – a quietly lyrical ballet honoring a close friend that passed away due to an illness that paralyzed him from the waist down.

7:30: Berg’s Wozzeck A brutal yet captivating piece of music and theater, Wozzeck is based on Georg Büchner’s groundbreaking play Woyzeck, a searing, shockingly modern drama that was written in the 1830s but first saw the stage some 80 years later as the First World War inexorably approached. It is the harrowing tale of a hapless soldier driven by humiliation and jealousy to murder his lover, and Berg only amplifies the suffering and horror with his brilliantly thorny, overwhelmingly powerful score—the ultimate musical depiction of a mind’s descent into madness.

7:30: The 22nd installment of Broadway Barks, the annual dog and cat adoption event co-founded by Bernadette Peters and the late Mary Tyler Moore, will be held virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Participating celebrities include Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Betty Buckley, Danny Burstein, Kristin Chenoweth, Victoria Clark, Alan Cumming, Ted Danson, Ariana DeBose, Raúl Esparza, Gloria Estefan, Sutton Foster, Victor Garber, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Goldblum, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Joel Grey, Josh Groban, Jake Gyllenhaal, Julie Halston, Jon Hamm, Emmylou Harris, Sean Hayes, Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane, Laura Linney, Rebecca Luker, Audra McDonald, Malcolm McDowell, Laurie Metcalf, Bette Midler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Bebe Neuwirth, Alex Newell, Mandy Patinkin, Randy Rainbow, Andrew Rannells, John Stamos, Mary Steenburgen, Will Swenson, Michael Urie, Nia Vardalos, Adrienne Warren, and Vanessa Williams.
Participating shelters include 1 Love For Animals, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Adopt–A–Boxer, Adopt–A-Dog, Animal Care Centers Of NYC, Animal Haven, Anjellicle Cats, ARF (Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons), ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society of Los Angeles, Best Friends NYC, Bide-A-Wee, Bobbi and the Strays, Bonapartes Retreat Dog Rescue, City Critters, Dawgs N Texas, Francis’ Friends, Humane Society of New York, Husky House, Little Shelter Animal, Rescue and Adoption Center, Long Island Bulldog, Manhattan Valley Cat Rescue, Metropolitan Maltese Rescue, Mid-Atlantic Great Danes, Pet-I-Care, Pet-Res-Q, Sean Casey Animal Rescue, SPARC (Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center), SPCA of Westchester, Tetan Valley Community Animal Shelter, and Urban Cat League.

8pm: The Fosters Cast Reunion reuniting the cast of Freeform’s hit television show The Fosters will air on PEOPLE.com and EW.com. The event benefits The Actors Fund.
The reunion will feature original cast members, Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Hayden Byerly, David Lambert, Maia Mitchell, Cierra Ramirez, Danny Nucci, and Noah Centineo. The livestream will also feature special guests Jay Ali, Alexandra Barreto, Madisen Beaty, Daffany Mcgaray Clark, Colby French, April Parker Jones, Adam Kang, and David Sullivan, with special appearances by Annie Potts, Lorraine Toussaint, Bailee Madison, Alex Saxon, Amanda Leighton, Tom Williamson, Rosie O’Donnell, and Ashley Argota.
The cast, directed by Michael Medico, will share a recorded Zoom table reading of the pilot episode of the drama that charts the ups and downs of an interracial lesbian couple and their multiethnic brood of biological, adopted and foster children.
Reading the stage directions is co-creator and executive producer Peter Paige, with an introduction by co-creator and executive producer Bradley Bredeweg and executive producer and co-creator of Good Trouble Joanna Johnson. Theme song sung live by composer Kari Kimmel.

8pm: BPN Town Hall: Rebuilding Broadway, a special 100th Episode for The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales (http://bpn.fm/ttp).
In a special LIVE panel discussion, moderator Erika Alexander (Living Single, The Cosby Show, Get out, John Lewis: Good Trouble) will be guest hosting the 100th episode of The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales. This panel, composed of prominent black actors from Broadway, will discuss how to educate and build up the theatre and Broadway community, as opposed to tearing it down. If the industry is torn down, there will be nowhere left to work. We must help create the world we want to live in. Erika Alexander is Color Farm Media Founder and ‘John Lewis: Good Trouble’ producer. Panelists: – Tony-winner Karen Olivo (Moulin Rouge, West Side Story) – Tony-winner James Monroe Iglehart (Freestyle Love Supreme, Aladdin, Hamilton) – Nik Walker (Ain’t Too Proud, Motown, Hamilton) – Adrianna Hicks (The Color Purple, SIX) – Brittney Mack (SIX). What is The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales? This is a podcast for theatre people by theater people. With over 2 decades of experience in film and theatre both as cast and creative, host Alan Seales speaks with Broadway and beyond’s biggest talents to learn more about not only how the world of theatre and performing operate, but also what makes it so real and human. In-depth, intimate, behind-the-scenes conversations will highlight special details of the industry that most people may not know exist, and will always find out what makes the guests love their craft, what makes them tick, and what truly inspires them. #BlackLivesMatter #Broadway

8pm: LAO at Home: The Ghosts of Versailles LA Opera’s 2015 “Figaro Trilogy” concludes with an audio stream of John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, conducted by Music Director James Conlon and featuring Lucas Meachem as Figaro, Patricia Racette as Marie Antoinette, Christopher Maltman as Beaumarchais, and Patti LuPone as Samira.

8pm: The Producer’s Perspective LIVE! Sammi Cannold
8pm: Shakespeare on the Radio: Richard II Saheem Ali directs this radio adaptation of Richard II, the Bard’s take on how the title monarch lost his crown. licia Rashad as the Duchess of Gloucester.
9pm: Pass the Mic Festival a live-streamed event to amplify Black voices and raise funds for BLD PWR and Color of Change. The festival will be hosted by IAMA and AMMO company members Courtney Sauls (Dear White People) and Brandon Scott (13 Reasons Why, Dead to Me).
It will include five new plays written and directed by Black artists, including playwrights Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Malika Oyetimein, Larry Powell, Carolyn Ratteray and Daryl Watson and directors Cheyenne Barboza, Valerie Curtis-Newton, Keith Powell, Larry Powell and Keiana Richárd.
All of the plays were inspired by the current iteration of the movement for racial justice and equity. There will be a moderated post-show discussion with the artists.
Entertainment
A Happy Dance for a Happy Hour You Will Love on Icon of the Seas

Get ready to do your happy dance!
Making every hour the happiest of hours on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International has unveiled more than 15 of the bars and nightlife experiences that will light up the world’s best vacation when the sun sets. Icon will debut an unrivaled lineup when it sets sail in January 2024 and there are some phenomenal ways to get your song on with three cheers in the air.
Across the newly revealed venues, which are among 40-plus ways to dine, drink and be entertained, grownups are in for all-new experiences and favorites from end to end and even day to night. Serving up brand firsts are venues all about the tunes, like Lou’s Jazz ‘n Blues in Central Park and Dueling Pianos in Royal Promenade, and spots to grab a drink and mingle before a show like the Rye & Bean coffee bar in AquaDome and the Bubbles champagne bar in Central Park. When it comes to favorites, from Trellis Bar and its first menu of bites to more ways to play in Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade, every place has a sense of new – whether it’s a new look and location or signature cocktails exclusive to Icon.
“We’ve set out to introduce a new kind of vacation in every sense and taken a blank slate to create an unparalleled blend of ways vacationers can celebrate and make memories whatever their mood, vibe and style,” said Linken D’Souza, vice president, food and beverage, Royal Caribbean International. “From all-new venues and bolder favorites to new iconic drinks on every menu, zero-proof cocktails and twists to classics, there’s something for everyone to make the most of their nights out on Icon of the Seas.”
Here are a few of the amazing highlights:
Dueling Pianos – In Royal Caribbean’s first dueling pianos bar, it’s the battle of the baby grands at the hands of two talented pianists who take song requests to bring high-energy performances of crowd-favorite hits to the Royal Promenade – the heart of Icon.
The Overlook and Overlook Pods – The elevated lounge and first-of-their-kind nooks at sea take nights out and hangouts to another level. The wraparound windows in the AquaDome bring the ocean center stage during the day, and at night, the cruise line’s marquee aqua shows are just a few steps away. The next-level pods are where friends can lounge with a drink, play classic boardgames and kick back to live music, too.
Returning favorites include The Attic, inspired by Manhattan’s dark and intimate comedy clubs with adults-only live shows, and Music Hall, to rock out to the house tribute band.
Point & Feather – The neighborhood English pub on Royal Promenade has a new open layout, games – and tournaments – of darts and sips joining the signature lineup of pints and the live guitarist at the center of it all.
Spotlight Karaoke – Aspiring singers take the stage in front of the crowd or in a private room with their friends and family at this fan-favorite karaoke spot on Royal Promenade.
Icon will sail 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean vacations from Miami year-round. Every cruise will visit Royal Caribbean’s award-winning private island destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, The Bahamas, where adventurers can create their perfect vacation day at Thrill Waterpark’s 13 waterslides, the first overwater cabanas in The Bahamas at Coco Beach Club and more. Vacationers will also visit idyllic Caribbean destinations like Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Roatan, Honduras.
More details about the first Icon Class ship will be revealed in the coming months. Travelers can dive into the all-new vacation on www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Icon.
Broadway
Ken Fallin’s Broadway: Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim birthday was March 22nd and somehow I missed it. His masterpiece Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway originally March 1, 1979, at the Uris Theatre (now the Gershwin). His newest revival opened Sunday, March 26th at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. So here’s to you Steve.
Celebrity
The Glorious Corner

HERE’S BEKKA — (from Rolling Stone) Bekka Bramlett grew up around John Lennon and George Harrison, but nothing could prepare her for joining Fleetwood Mac in 1994, during one of the rockiest periods in the band’s history.
The Bekka Bramlett incarnation of Fleetwood Mac released a single album, 1995’s Time, before dissolving the next year to make way for a lucrative Hells Freezes Over-style reunion album and tour by the classic Rumours lineup. This period of the band may seem like little more than a footnote to some rock fans, but it was a pivotal time for Bramlett, and she looks back on it without any regrets.
“I knew my job was to get Stevie back,” she tells Rolling Stone from her home in Nashville. “I wasn’t a moron. I also knew this was a dangerous job when I took it. I knew I was facing tomatoes. But I didn’t want to wear a top hat. I didn’t want to twirl around. I wanted to be me. I even dyed my hair brown just so people in the cheap seats would know that Stevie wasn’t going to be here. I didn’t want anyone to be discouraged or let down.”
Joining Fleetwood Mac at 26 would have been a shock to the system of most singers, but Bramlett had been living in close proximity to rock stars her entire life. When she was very young, her parents toured and recorded with George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and many other A-list rock stars, winning renown as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. Those artists also spent a lot of time at her mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
Bramlett didn’t realize any of this was unusual until she boarded the school bus one morning gripping her Disney Princess lunchbox. “This other little girl had a Beatles lunchbox,” she says. “I said to her, ‘I know him. He’s on our couch right now.’ I pointed to George Harrison. ‘I know him too.’ I pointed to John. She started hitting me since she thought I was lying. I was petrified and confused. I thought they were just Daddy’s friends that had accents.”
When she was just four years old, her father recruited Bekka and her sister Suzanne to sing background vocals on his song “California Rain.” “My mom had to get some gaffer tape to keep the headphones on my head since I was so little,” she says. “I used to hate the way it sounds, and now I love it so much. It’s so endearing.”
Right around this time, her parents split up, and she went to live with her father and grandmother. “It was weird, since mostly the moms got the babies back then,” she says. “But my parents were alcoholics. My grandmother never even smoked cigarettes or said cuss words. She brought us to church every Sunday, Wednesday, and Monday. We were in safe hands with our grandmother. I think both of my parents trusted that.”
Delaney and Bonnie both struggled to find solo success in the Seventies, and they dealt with significant substance abuse issues, but Bekka inherited their talents, and she knew from a young age that she’d devote her life to music. “I briefly thought I’d be a lawyer, but I thought I’d be a singing lawyer,” she says. “Then I wanted to be a jockey since I love horses, but I thought I’d be a singing jockey. Music is just what I’m good at.”
As a teenager with a fake ID in the early Eighties, Bramlett spent many nights checking out bands on the Sunset Strip. “I remember standing on the side of the stage as Guns N’ Roses played,” she says. “Seeing it up close, I was like, ‘This is why you never try heroin.’ But then I’d go into the audience and be like, ‘This is why you join a rock & roll band!’”
SUCCESSION — (via Deadline) The Roys are back with a vengeance. The Season 4 premiere of Succession drew an audience of 2.3M on Sunday across HBO Max and linear telecasts, which is a series high for same-day viewers. Total viewing for Sunday night was up 62% compared to Season 3’s premiere viewership of 1.4M in October 2021. At the time, that marked the best premiere night performance of any HBO original series since HBO Max launched in May 2020. Sunday’s viewership is also up about 33% from the Season 3 finale’s 1.7M. Season 3 averaged about 7.2M viewers per episode, according to HBO.HBO also says that all previous seasons of succession saw a 4x increase in viewership in the week leading up to the Season 4 premiere, compared to the week prior.
The Roy family saga picks up as the sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech visionary Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) looms. The prospect of the seismic sale provokes existential angst and familial division among the Roys: patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) and his four grown children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Connor (Alan Ruck). A hopefully Roy-esque power struggle will ensue as the family weighs up a future where their cultural and political weight is threatened.
Succession has 13 Emmys including Best Drama Series wins for its Season 2 and Season 3, the latter of which premiered in 2021.
We had mentioned earlier that most of the advance reviews said the writing was the star of the premiere episode and I definitely agree. Creator Jesse Armstrong wrote it and delivered just a stellar job. The episode began with a grumpy-Brian Cox at his birthday and took a few moments to develop into the powerhouse it has become, but it was very, very enjoyable.
Sure some of the dialogue and plot harked back to earlier episodes, but it’s so good, you hardly noticed. And the ending with Shiv and Tom, alone at at home and contemplating their futures, was just splendid and reeked of the amazing emotion the show almost always conjures up. A class act all around.
Variety confirmed this week, that the locale of the next White Lotus, from Mike White, will be Thailand. Now, if we could only get Jennifer Coolidge back … Congrats to New York Independenteditor Keith F. Girard on his second novel –
just out: The Curse of Northam Bay …PR-pasha David Salidor was interviewed by Charles Rosenay for Monkee Mania Radio … Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer open July 21 and it is indeed 3 hours.
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