Week in Review 5.29.15

Long Day's Journey to Broadway
Added to Roundabout's 2015-2016 season is a revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, and a fantastic cast is in tow. The revival, set to begin previews March 31, 2016, with opening night scheduled for April 19, will be led by Jessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne and—wait for it—Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr., who'll be returning to the stage for the first time since 2011's Jerusalem. Directed by Jonathan Kent, the play, Broadway.com reports, is being "mounted in association with...Ryan Murphy." Other cast and creative team members will be announced later. (Young adult theatergoers: this is a Roundabout production so if you're between the ages of 18 and 35, you can purchase Hiptix for just $25.)

Annaleigh Ashford and Julie White Team Up for Sylvia
A revival of A. R. Gurney's Sylvia will bow on Broadway this fall, and it boasts two fantastic ladies as the stars. Tony nominee Annaleigh Ashford (Kinky Boots, You Can't Take It With You) and Tony winner Julie White (who's nominated this year for her performance in Airline Highway) will lead the cast, which also includes Robert Sella. Directed by Daniel Sullivan (The Country House), the production will begin previews on September 25. An opening night and theatre have yet to be determined/announced. Gurney was represented on the boards this season with Love Letters. Broadway.com has more.

Fiddler Officially Finds His Roof
The much-talked-about revival of Fiddler on the Roof, the fifth revival of the musical, will play at the cavernous Broadway Theatre, with opening night set for December 17, almost a month earlier than first speculated. As previously reported, previews will begin November 17, and Tony nominee Danny Burstein (Cabaret, Follies) will star as Tevye. Tony nominee Bartlett Sher (The King and I, The Bridges of Madison County) will direct. Broadway.com reports that Hofesh Shechter will choreograph the production, basing his work on the original production's choreography by none other than Jerome Robbins. See the same Broadway.com report for more about the creative team.

'S Wonderful: Backstage at An American in Paris
Tony nominee Max von Essen takes us backstage at An American in Paris in the fifth episode of his Broadway.com vlog, 'S Wonderful. Other An American in Paris goings on:

Casting News
  • Raul Esparza (Company, Leap of Faith) is heading back to Shakespeare in the Park. He, along with Kate Burton (Spring Awakening) and Patrick Page (Casa Valentina) have joined the cast of Cymbeline, the second Shakespeare in the Park production, which begins July 23. Broadway.com has more.

  • Additional casting has been announced for the Broadway bow of Mike Bartlett (Cock)'s future history play, King Charles III, which imagines what happens when Queen Elizabeth II dies and Charles ascends the throne. Oliver Chris will portray Prince William and Richard Goulding will appear as Prince Harry. Broadway.com has details.

  • Keke Palmer (Masters of Sex), who recently made her Broadway debut in the closing company of Cinderella, will appear in the upcoming Fox live telecast of Grease; she'll play Pink Lady Marty. The telecast is scheduled for January 31, 2016. Broadway.com has more.

  • Tony winner Joanna Gleason (Into the Woods, The West Wing) has joined the cast of The Affair for its second season, currently in production. Variety reports that Gleason plays an editor-in-chief at a publishing label and is therefore connected to The Affair's male lead, Noah (Dominic West).

  • Complete casting has been announced for Allegiance, which begins previews October 6. (Opening night is set for November 8.) Belinda Allyn, Greg Watanabe, Christopheren Nomura and others will join the previously announced George Takei, Telly Leung and Lea Salonga. Broadway.com has the full cast list. 
The Color Purple Updates
The revival of The Color Purple will celebrate its official opening night about a week later than first planned. Opening night will now be December 10; previews still begin November 9, and the production will still run at the Jacobs Theatre. In addition, Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black) has joined the cast as Sofia. This will mark Brooks's Broadway debut. Brooks joins the previously announced Cynthia Erivo and Jennifer Hudson. John Doyle (The Visit) will direct. Broadway.com has more.

Tony Awards News
Lots of Tony tidbits:
  • It was announced this week that Jessie Mueller (Beautiful) and James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin), who both won Tonys last year, will host the Creative Arts Awards portion of the Tonys, taking place from 7-8pm. This portion of the ceremony is not broadcast on CBS. Playbill has more.

  • Before and during the Creative Arts Awards there's the red carpet. From 5:30-8pm, Darren Criss, currently appearing in Hedwig, Tony nominee Laura Osnes (Cinderella) and George Takei will host a red carpet special that will be live streamed on TonyAwards.com. (The timing of this, of course, means that the Creative Arts Awards will not be live streamed. For shame.) Playbill has more about the red carpet coverage.

  • During the CBS broadcast, you'll see plenty of stars, including those recently announced as presenters, like Bobby Cannavale, Rita Wilson, ABT dancer Misty Copeland, Corey Stoll, Sutton Foster and others. (Check out the Tony website for the full list.)

  • Watch below for a Tony moment with hosts Alan Cumming and Kristin Chenoweth.

  • As for next year's Tony Awards: I always have an opinion about Tony nominees (and I'm sure you do, too), so here's the list of people serving on the 2015-2016 Nominating Committee, including the genius, Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, If/Then), a new member.


Dig This
  • The delightful Amanda Seyfried talks to Broadway.com about making her stage debut in Neil LaBute's terrific new play, The Way We Get By, which was just extended. The play now runs through June 21.

  • A Doctor Zhivago cast album will be released on July 31. If you can't look at star Tam Mutu, I suppose the next best thing is listening to him sing. Broadway.com has more about the OBCR.

  • Head to Broadway.com watch Total Package, the backstage vlog hosted by Rebecca Naomi Jones, who's playing Yithak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

  • Lucy Liu directed an episode of the upcoming third season of Graceland. Liu's episode will air August 27. The series, which stars Daniel Sunjata and Aaron Tveit, returns on June 25. The Hollywood Reporter has more.

  • The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (or whatever that iteration will be called) will premiere on September 28. Jon Stewart's final broadcast is August 6. Watch a teaser below.

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