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Patti LuPone is singing at Auburn’s Gogue Performing Arts Center on Thursday, and she’s bringing music director Joseph Thalken with her. He’s played for some of Broadway’s best, and he has a couple of strong Alabama ties.

More about Joseph Thalken

University of Montevallo theater professor David Callaghan is directing a reading of Aaron Posner’s “Vanya”-inspired “Life Sucks” on Sunday night at Montevallo. It’s free, and it boasts a strong cast.

More about 'Life Sucks'

Theatre UAB has announced its upcoming season, which includes the acclaimed musical “Fun Home,” as well as “The 39 Steps” and a “Sister Act” collaboration with Red Mountain Theatre. Get the scoop on the whole 2023-2024 season.

More about UAB's season

From the Vault: Like mother, like son

So this isn’t much of a throwback – only to last week, as a matter of fact – but it’s a fun photo of Dana Porter and her son, Doc. Both are in shows at the Virginia Samford Theatre. She’s in “A Grand Night for Singing” and he’s rehearsing “The Addams Family” for the VST STARS Series. Doc is an 8^th grader at Homewood Middle School, and his mom has done a lot of theater (and TV commercials) around here. A fun family photo! (Have a photo you want to share, or do you just have something to say about this one? Write me at alec@byalecharvey.com)

Quick Takes …

Birmingham’s Nicole Lamb is in a three-week run in the off-Broadway production of “Relapse: A New Musical.” … More than 100 people who worked with Rebecca Luker on Broadway were interviewed for an oral history project. A handful of them will join coordinator Sarah Rebell for an event Wednesday at noon at New York’s Museum of Broadway. It’s called “Rebecca Luker’s Legacy: Mentorship in Musical Theatre.” … The Alabama Shakespeare Festival opened its 2023-2024 season Thursday with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It runs through Oct. 1.

Upcoming Auditions …

Auditions for Red Mountain Theatre ‘s 2023-2024 season are Oct. 7-8. More info here.

What to see this week

There are a few choices as summer comes to an end and the fall seasons begin to open in earnest.

Closing this weekend (Sunday) are “Waiting for Godot” at Birmingham Festival Theatre and “The Play That Goes Wrong” at Community Arts Council of Blount County. Also this weekend, the University of Montevallo hosts a reading of “Life Sucks” on Sunday with a stellar cast.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” opens tonight and runs through Sept. 24 at ACTA Theatre, and “A Grand Night for Singing,” which opened Thursday night at the Virginia Samford Theatre, runs through Sept. 24.

Alec’s pick: Opening night of “A Grand Night for Singing” was all you’d expect it to be, with some of Birmingham’s best singers singing songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Jan Hunter, a wonderful singer in her own right, directs, and the show lives up to its title.

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Full theater calendar

Where they are now: Alabamians on stage, screen