Week in Review 4.18.14

Annie Baker's The Flick Wins Pulitzer Prize
Everyone rejoice: Ms. Baker's latest masterpiece, The Flick, won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama! Baker is known for her deliberately-paced plays that seem to be about the mundane but actually turn into something more profound and complex and interesting. The play had a somewhat controversial run at Playwrights Horizons last spring (many subscribers complained about the pace and length—I thought those complaining were CRAZY!). Since winning the Pulitzer, it was announced that The Flick will return to New York, playing at the Barrow Street Theatre. In addition, the terrific The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence, the Madeleine George play that also ran at Playwrights Horizons, was a Pulitzer finalist, as was the Jeanine Tesori-Lisa Kron musical, Fun Home. Bravo to all the talented (female) artists!

Foo Fighters Recording New Album
Despite taking a temporary hiatus a few years ago, Foo Fighters are in the recording studio working on their new album. As previously reported, frontman Dave Grohl says they're recording "in a way that no one's done before and we're writing the album in a way that I don't think has been done before." Producer Butch Vig recently confirmed this, with Rolling Stone reporting that Vig says the album is "almost halfway done." Vig continues: "It sounds different—we've thrown a few things into the mix, in the recording process, that are going to give the record a different sound and a different feel. It's been a challenge, but it's also been exciting." Vig produced Foo Fighters' last record, the incredible Wasting Light.

Cast Album Updates

  • The OBCR for The Bridges of Madison County, featuring Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale singing Jason Robert Brown's (The Last Five Years) beautiful score, is now available through digital outlets. Physical copies will ship in early May, and you can (and should) pre-order your copy through sh-k-boom.com.

  • The track listing for the If/Then OBCR has been released, and the album will include, among many others, "Here I Go," "You Don't Need to Love Me" and "Always Starting Over." If/Then is written by Tom Kitt (a genius) and Brian Yorkey, and stars Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, LaChanze and James Snyder. The album will be released on June 3. Broadwayworld.com has more.

  • You might have been listening to Jessie Mueller sing on the Beautiful OBCR for a couple of weeks, but my copy just arrived this week—and I'm so glad I have the hard copy and can look through the album notes, which are filled with terrific archival photos and a track listing presented like the Billboard charts they topped. Head to sh-k-boom.com to grab your copy today! (And head to Playbill, where Mueller talks about meeting Carole King and possibly recording a solo album!)
Anthony Rapp on Show People
Watch below as the Rent and If/Then star talks about his days as a child actor (hello, Adventures in Babysitting) and bringing this original musical to life.


Awards, Honors and More!
  • Angela Lansbury (A Little Night Music) is now Dame Angela Lansbury, after receiving the honor from Queen Elizabeth II in an April 15th ceremony. Theater Mania has more about the honor, and Broadwayworld.com has photos!

  • Two-time Tony Award winner Judith Light (Other Desert Cities, The Assembled Parties) and Tony nominee Chris Sieber (Shrek) will announce the 2014 Drama League nominations on April 23. Broadway.com has details.

  • The 2014 Tony Awards poster has been revealed (there it is on the right), and aside from a few changed details, it's exactly the same as last year's poster. Oh well. It's Tony season—hooray! (Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, April 29, and the big day is Sunday, June 8.)

  • Dates for the 2015 Oscar season have been announced! The 87th annual Academy Awards will be February 22, 2015, with the ceremony beginning at 8:30, and the ABC pre-show starting at 7. Nominations will be announced on January 15, 2015, following a nominating period of December 29 - January 8. Nominees will be feted at a luncheon on February 2, and voting will take place between February 6 and February 17. Variety has more. 
New The Normal Heart Trailer
Get your tissues ready. The small screen adaptation of Larry Kramer's Tony-winning and utterly moving play is coming to HBO on May 25, and the network has just released another trailer.


Casting Updates
Off-Broadway—Jerry O'Connell (Seminar) and Ari Graynor (Trust, The Performers) are set to star in Second Stage's production of American Hero, a new Bess Wohl play. Leigh Silverman (Detroit) directs the play, which begins previews on May 12. Opening night is scheduled for May 22, and the limited engagement will conclude on June 8. This is the first show in Second Stage's 2014 summer season, which runs at its uptown home. Broadway.com has the full cast list.

Film—Tony and Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King, The King's Speech) is set to portray Lionel Bart in an upcoming biopic. Bart is the Tony-winning composer who wrote Oliver!, and the film will feature Bart's songs. Playbill, quoting a report from The Daily Mail, has the director, Vadim Jean, as saying, "It's a full-blown musical, and we're using versions of his songs in ways that you've never heard before." The as-yet-untitled film is scheduled to commence shooting this fall.
Dig This

Comments

Post a Comment