Week in Review 6.9.17

Casting News
  • Following last week's announcement of the ART production of Jagged Little Pill, inspired by the Alanis Morissette album, this week we learned Tony winner Idina Menzel (Rent, Wicked, If/Then) will lead an upcoming industry reading of the musical. As noted in the Broadway.com report, though, Menzel is not likely to appear in the ART production since she is already slated to star in Joshua Harmon's Skintight, which runs at the same time as the ART Jagged Little Pill production.

  • Joe Tippett (Familiar) will join the company of Waitress beginning with the June 13 performance. He'll take on the role of Earl, the titular waitress's abusive husband. (Will Swenson plays the role through June 11.) Tippett's first performance will also mark the first performance of Betsy Wolfe in the title role. Playbill has more.

  • Additional casting has been announced for Steven Speilberg's The Papers, a telling of the Pentagon Papers. Sarah Paulson (Collected Stories, American Horror Story), Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Boeing Boeing), Carrie Coon (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Leftovers), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, The Master), Alison Brie (Community), Tracy Letts (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Man from Nebraska), Michael Stuhlbarg (Steve Jobs), and Zach Woods (Silicon Valley) are joining the previously announced Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The film is set for release on December 22. Variety has more.

  • Tony winner Jason Alexander (Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Seinfeld) will lead the company of The Portuguese Kid, a new John Patrick Shanley play. The MTC off-Broadway production will begin previews September 19, with opening night scheduled for October 24. Broadway.com has more.

  • Karen Ziemba will join the company of the upcoming Hal Prince tribute musical, Prince of Broadway. Ziemba assumes the role that was to be played by Nancy Opel, who has withdrawn from the production to star in the new musical, The Curvy Widow. Previews of Prince of Broadway begin August 3, with opening night scheduled for August 24. Broadway.com has more. 
It's an Honor
Tony Awards—Broadway's biggest night is this Sunday, June 11! Here are some things to know:
  • Here is the full list of nominees.

  • We'll be treated to performances from the casts of: Dear Evan Hansen; Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812; Come From Away; Groundhog Day; Miss Saigon; Hello, Dolly!; Falsettos; Bandstand; and War Paint. Last year's lead actor/actress in a musical winners Cynthia Erivo and Leslie Odom, Jr. will perform, as will Radio City Music Hall's regular tenants, the Rockettes. 

  • Presenters will include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian d'Arcy James, Allison Janney, David Oyelowo, Sutton Foster, and Oh Hello's Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. Broadway.com has more.

  • If you can't stand the suspense, head to The New York Times for a report of how Tony voters are voting. Speaking to Tony voters on the condition of anonymity, they're able to make informed predictions regarding winners in several categories. 

  • One winner that's already been announced is the recipient of the Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award. This year, that honor goes to Rachel Harry, who is a high school drama teacher in Hood River, Oregon. Read more in the press release.
Drama Desk Awards—Winners of the 62nd annual Drama Desk Awards, which honor excellence in Broadway and off-Broadway, were announced and feted on Sunday, June 4. Oslo took home the Outstanding Play award, while Come From Away won the Outstanding Musical award. Kevin Kline rightly won Outstanding Actor in a Play for his performance in Present Laughter, and Rachel Chavkin was awarded the Outstanding Director of a Musical honor for her vision for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. That musical netted three other awards: Outstanding Set Design for a Musical, Mimi Lien; Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical, Nicholas Pope; and Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical, Bradley King. Visit Broadway.com for the full list of winners.

Coming to the Boards
  • It's possible a Broadway revival of Crazy for You, a trunk musical featuring an assembled Gershwin score, could bow within the next season or two. After a successful concert at Lincoln Center, the show's original director/choreographer, Susan Stroamn (Big Fish, For the Love of Duke), will stage a production for Los Angeles Center Theatre Group February 7-18, 2018. Broadway.com has more.

  • SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical will bow on Broadway this fall. Previews at the Palace Theatre will begin November 6, with opening night scheduled for December 4. Playbill has more.

  • Escape to Margaritaville, the musical featuring Jimmy Buffett's songs, will begin Broadway previews at the Marquis Theatre on February 16, 2018, with opening night scheduled for March 15. Theater Mania has more.
In Other News
  • Good news: A Doll's House, Part 2, the fantastic, Tony-nominated play by Lucas Hnath and directed by Sam Gold, will stick around a little longer. Originally scheduled as a 16-week run, the play will now remain on Broadway through January 7, 2018. Playbill has more.

  • John Stamos will host A Capitol Fourth, the Fourth of July special that can be seen each year on PBS. Hamilton's Phillipa Soo is slated to perform, as are the Beach Boys. Playbill has more.

  • Wendy Whelan talks to ABC News about transitioning from NYCB principal to...whatever the incredible dancer finds interesting! This interview is in support of the documentary Restless Creature, which chronicle's Whelan's surgery, comeback, and final year at NYCB. (I saw it, and LOVED it.) Restless Creature is on the film festival circuit. Visit restlesscreaturefilm.com to find out when and where it's playing near you.

  • Entertainment Weekly has your first look at Mary Poppins Returns, the Poppins sequel featuring Emily Blunt (Into the Woods) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton). The film is slated for a Christmas 2018 release. (Here's the accompanying article.) 

  • Broadway Barks, the annual pet adoption event, will take place July 8, and be hosted by Bernadette Peters and Malcolm McDowell, who co-star on Mozart in the Jungle. (Peters founded the event with the late Mary Tyler Moore.) Head to Theater Mania to find out which stars will be on hand to show off the pets that are up for adoption.

  • The filmed version of Oh, Hello, starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, will debut on Netflix June 13, and there's a new trailer to get you extra excited about the hilarity:

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