Week in Review 12.16.16

Sunday in the Park with Jake and Annaleigh on Broadway
Following an acclaimed, four-performance run at City Center, the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical, Sunday in the Park with George, will bow on Broadway this season for a limited run, with stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford in tow. You might recall that Gyllenhaal had been slated to return to Broadway this spring in a revival of Burn This, and that the production would open the new Hudson Theatre. The production was cancelled, in all likelihood, to make room for this production, which will, in fact, play the Hudson Theatre. Previews begin February 11, 2017, with opening night set for February 23. The limited engagement is scheduled to conclude April 23. No official word yet regarding whether or not the rest of the starry cast will join Gyllenhaal and Tony winner Ashford for the Broadway run. Broadway.com has more, and you can see the key art below. (One more thought: This means we might cast a cast recording featuring Jake Gyllenhaal!!!!!!!!!)


It's an Honor
Critics' Choice Awards—Winners of the 22nd Critics' Choice Awards were announced and feted over the weekend. La La Land was the big winner, taking home the Best Picture award (as well as seven others, including Best Song, which went to La La Land writer and director, Damien Chazelle, and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul). Viola Davis won Best Supporting Actress for Fences; Davis won a Tony for the same role in 2010. Playwright Kenneth Lonergan (Hold On To Me Darling) tied with Chazelle for Best Original Screenplay (Lonergan wrote (and directed) Manchester by the Sea) while Eric Heisserer won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Arrival. On the TV side, Silicon Valley, Kate McKinnon, and Sarah Paulson all went home winners. Visit critcschoice.com for the full list of winners.

Golden Globe Nominations—Nominees for the 74th Golden Globe Awards were announced this week. Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (think People and National Enquirer in Europe), the Golden Globes honor excellence in TV and film. Several theatre folks were nominated, including Kenneth Lonergan (Best Director and Best Screenplay, Manchester by the Sea) and Dear Evan Hansen songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Best Original Song, La La Land). See my post from Monday for the full list of nominees, and tune into the Golden Globes on Sunday, January 8, 2017.

SAG Award Nominations—Nominees for the 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced this week. Some stage and screen favorites were nominated, including several stage stars nominated for roles that, when they performed the same roles on Broadway, netted them a Tony: Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in Fences; Audra McDonald in Lady Day; and Bryan Cranston in All the Way. Other nominees include Amy Adams (Arrival); Mahershala Ali (Moonlight); Rami Malek (Mr. Robot); and funny ladies Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie). View my post from Wednesday for the full list of nominees. Winners of the SAG awards—for actors by actors—will be revealed and feted at the January 29, 2017, ceremony, which will air on TNT and TBS.

Other Honors—Writer and director John Waters will receive the WGA's Ian McLellan Hunter Award, a lifetime achievement award. Broadway World has more. ... Corey Stoll is the winner of Actors' Equity's Joe A. Callaway Award, bestowed for work in classical theatre. In this case, the award honors Stoll's work in this summer's Shakespeare in the Park production of Troilus and Cressida. Playbill has more. ... 25 films have been added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. Among those added this year are The Princess Bride; The Breakfast Club; Funny Girl; Who Framed Roger Rabbit?; East of Eden; and The Lion King. Visit loc.gov for the full list.

Casting News
  • Hamilton will welcome several new cast members in featured roles. Alysha Deslorieux begins performances as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds today (Dec. 16); on January 6, 2017, Quinton Johnson will take on Hercules Mulligan/James Madison (current Mulligan/Madison Okieriete Onaodowan will play his final performance December 24); beginning January 10, Bryan Terrell Clark will play George Washington; Taran Killam (SNL, Little Shop) will join the cast as King George III on January 17 (current KG3 Rory O'Malley will play his final performance January 15); and in March, Anthony Lee Medina will begin performances as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton (current Laurens/Hamilton Jordan Fisher will conclude his run March 5). Playbill has more.

  • Tony nominees Tony Yazbeck (On the Town) and Laura Osnes (Cinderella) will lead the company of the Crazy for You concert on February 19, 2017. The performers will be backed by the New York City Chamber Orchestra and a chorus of over 200 singers. Tickets are on sale. Playbill has more.

  • Full casting for Groundhog Day, which begins Broadway previews March 16, 2017, has been announced. Joining the previously announced Andy Karl are Andrew Call (American Idiot, Brooklynite), Raymond J. Lee (Honeymoon in Vegas), Gerard Canonico (American Idiot, Brooklynite), Josh Lamon (Hair, Finding Neverland), and more. Visit Playbill for the full cast list.

  • Casting for the Encores! production of Big River has been announced. Among the cast are Kyle Scatliffe (Les Mis, The Color Purple), Tony Sheldon (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Laruen Worsham (Gentleman's Guide..., Sunday in the Park...), Annie Golden (original Hair), and Mike Evariste (South Pacific). The concert runs February 8-12, 2017. Theater Mania has more.
In Other News
  • NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns talks to Allure about hair tips, especially during the busy Nutcracker season.

  • Denzel Washington revealed that Ma Rainey's Black Bottom will be the next August Wilson play he adapts for the screen. Washington has committed to bringing all 10 of Wilson's "cycle" plays to the screen. Fences is in theaters now. The Stage has details.

  • The New York Times delves into Josh Groban's preparation process for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, which marks Groban's Broadway debut.

  • Deadline reports that Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and his In the Heights book writer and fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegria Hudes (Water by the Spoonful) are collaborating on a Disney animated musical, Vivo, which is slated to hit theaters December 18, 2020. Hudes is writing the script, and Miranda is writing the score.

  • A concert celebrating legendary singer Tony Bennett's 90th birthday will air on NBC on December 20. The concert (filmed in September), features tribute performances and presentations from Leslie Odom, Jr., Billy Joel, Queen Latifah and Wynton Marsalis, among others. Playbill has details.

  • Tony winner Jessie Mueller will play her final performance with Waitress on Sunday, March 26, 2017. The news was announced via a tweet from the show's official account. Tickets are available through June 11.

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