A look at what’s coming up for some of Boston’s favorite stage talents as summer wanes.

Fred Sullivan, Jr. is devoting several weeks this summer to “Tootsie: The Musical.”  Based on the Dustin Hoffman film of the same name, the stage musical focuses on Michael, an actor known to be difficult, who dresses as a woman whom he names Dorothy in order to get a part in a musical.  The production opened at Theater by The Sea in Rhode Island last month and will soon transfer to North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly for a two week run in August.  Fred, who plays Michael’s agent (played by Sydney Pollack in the film) will talk to us about the show and more, next month here at Boston Irish.

Nora Sullivan (no relation to Fred, above) rocked audiences as Lizzie Borden’s Irish maid in “Lizzie: The Musical” last fall at the Umbrella Arts Center. Since then, she’s been busy with Sullivan Rep, the theater company she and her brother, Daniel Forest Sullivan, founded.  At the moment (and coincidental to Kamala Harris’ latest career move), Nora is working with Ilyse Robbins, serving as assistant director of “46 Plays for America's First Ladies” at Hub Theatre Company.  Audiences can expect a whirlwind ride through American history as seen through the eyes of the women of the White House. From Martha to Melania, this wise and witty political farce cracks the musty mold of two-party politics. You’ll learn everything your history teacher never told you about the evolving role of women in our country.   Performances run through August 3 at Club Cafe.

And speaking of Club Café, actress-singer-cabaret artist extraordinaire Mary Callanan is a mainstay on the club’s entertainment calendar with her musical partner and pianist Brian Patton.  Next date for the dynamic musical duo at the South End venue is Aug. 25.   In the meantime, Mary and Fred Boyle can be found in Provincetown at Tin Pan Alley on Commercial Street performing Aug. 3, 4, 10 and 12.

The actor-dancer Jack Mullen graduated from Boston Conservatory this past spring.  Less than two weeks later, he walked away with The Elliot Norton Award as Best Supporting Actor for his work in last summer’s “Oklahoma” at Reagle Music Theatre.  Jack returns to Reagle Aug. 9-18 to play the Gene Kelly role in the musical “An American in Paris.” Inspired by the classic MGM film and filled with glorious music and dramatic dance sequences. “An American in Paris” is set in that city at the end of WWII.  The production tells the romantic story of a young American soldier, a beautiful French girl, and their journey exploring the joys and hardships of creating art and falling in love.  The timeless score by George and Ira Gershwin features "I Got Rhythm," "S' Wonderful," "They Can't Take That Away from Me," “I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise,” and more. 

Courtney O’Connor, Producing Artistic Director at Lyric Stage, is working on a very special project of her own this summer.  Plays in Place, in collaboration with the National Parks of Boston, is presenting a three-play, site-specific series exploring the intersection of race and citizenship throughout the abolitionist and suffrage movements in Boston.  Courtney is set to direct the first play in the series, “A Light Under the Dome.”  Performances will take place at the Massachusetts State House Senate Chamber from Aug. 12-15, at 3 and 6:30p.m. daily.  Free admission. 

Written by Patrick Gabridge, the play dramatizes the pivotal moment on Feb. 21, 1838, when Angelina Grimké, an exiled Southerner, became the first American woman to address a legislative body.  Her stirring speech on abolition also boldly affirmed the full citizenship of American women. Courtney has previously collaborated with Gabridge on site-specific historical plays at Boston’s Old State House in 2016 and 2017 and at Mount Auburn Cemetery in 2019.  

Lyric Stage is providing critical in-kind support and fiscal sponsorship for the project. This unique collaboration marks the first time the National Parks of Boston has invested in such an ambitious theatrical endeavor, using the performing arts to activate spaces in ways that enable the public to connect the past to contemporary issues. 

Dublin-born Ciarán Sheehan has become a favorite of Boston audiences for his local concerts as well as playing lead roles in Reagle productions of “Show Boat” and “Carousel.” Among his extensive stage credits, Ciarán has an impressive history playing the title role in “The Phantom of the Opera” to critical acclaim both on Broadway and in Toronto. He and fellow former “Phantoms,” Brent Barrett, John Cudia, and Franc D’Ambrosio, have been touring concert venues across the country in an evening titled, appropriately enough, “The Four Phantoms.”  (Cumulatively, the four gentlemen have performed the iconic title role more than 6,000 times.)  Their special evening celebrating the extraordinary music of Broadway and beyond was recently filmed for broadcast.  Look for “The Four Phantoms in Concert” to air later this summer on PBS.

Stoneham’s own Kathy St. George, having recently finished a run in “Fiddler” at North Shore Music Theatre, is currently employing her green thumb in the beautiful gardens at her home.  This fall she’ll be seen in the satirical musical comedy “Urinetown” at Lyric Stage.  Farther down the road, watch for Kathy after the first of the year at SpeakEasy Stage Company in the touching Irish musical by Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens and Terrence McNally, “A Man of No Importance.”  

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