CASTING UPDATE! An A.R.T.-sy, Star-Studded Menagerie

The American Repertory Theatre, under Diane Paulus' artistic direction, will present a new production of Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE directed by Tony-winner John Tiffany (Once).

Cherry Jones, Emmy Award winner, will play Amanda. Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) will play Tom. And Celia Keenan-Bolger (Peter and the Starcatcher) will play Laura.

The production will open in February and run through mid-March.

If I were a betting man, there will be a new revival of the Glass Menagerie on Broadway in the next year...

SHOCKER! CHAPLIN Lives to See More Time on the Rialto?

CHAPLIN, the new musical starring Rob McClure, Jenn Colella, and Christiane Noll, just released a new block of tickets through June 2nd, 2013. I would say this is more shocking to me than REBECCA never making it to Broadway.

CHAPLIN received negative overall reviews, with the exception of McClure who got raves, and was not expected to do very well. Regardless, a new block of tickets for almost 8 months have been released.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a little strange?

While releasing more tickets doesn't guarantee it won't close, it makes its tenure on Broadway a lot more likely.

I wish the show the best, but am thoroughly surprised by this news.

CASTING UPDATE: Readings & Picnics

It's been a quiet few weeks on the Great White Way for all things not REBECCA, but here are some of the recent casting updates of note!!

- PICNIC, opening in January at the American Airlines Theatre, will star Reed Birney as Howard Bevans, Maggie Grace as Madge Owens, Elizabeth Marvel as Rosemary Sydney, Sebastian Stan as Hal Carter, Mare Winningham as Flo Owens, Ellen Burstyn as Helen Potts, Madeleine Martin as Millie Owens, Ben Rappaport as Alan Seymour, Cassie Beck as Christine Schoenwalde, Maddie Corman as Irma Kronkite and Chris Perfetti as Bomber.

- A reading of the new musical SOAP DISH, will star Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Krakowski, Cristin Milioti, John Stamos, Anne L. Nathan, Michael Park, Miriam Shor and Daniel Torres. The musical has no timetable for any future productions.

- The PRINCE OF BROADWAY, based on the career of Hal Prince, held a presentation in NYC starring Sierra Boggess, LaChanze, Josh Girsetti, Emily Skinner, and more. I hope this does well and gets a production in NY soon!

LuPone, McArdle, Butz to Recieve 54 Below Live Albums

Broadway Records will release a series of live albums of concerts from the new Broadway nightclub, 54 Below, over the next few months. The releases include:

Patti LuPone - Far Away Places - Live at 54 BELOW (from her summer 2012 shows) - to be released on December 11, 2012
Andrea McArdle - 70s and Sunny - Live at 54 BELOW (from her summer 2012 show) - to be released on December 11, 2012
Norbert Leo Butz - Live at 54 BELOW (from his summer 2012 show) - to be released on January 15, 2012

I am so glad that these albums are being released, and will definitely be giving them a listen.

REVIEW: BRING IT ON Original Broadway Cast Recording

I was really excited for this recording (and the show, which I hope to see in December). I downloaded it as soon as it was available, and had listened to it in its entirety shortly thereafter. Overall, I agree with reviews of the shows: Its better than expected, good, but not great.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt, two of Broadway's biggest modern composers, teamed up for this fun, new musical. Unfortunately, this show's score doesn't come close to matching either of their prior successes (In the Heights and Next to Normal respectively). Their music is fun, which when push comes to shove is what this show needs, but it lacks the depth that truly fantastic Broadway scores. I see why this succeeded on the road and totally understand why its struggling on Broadway.

The vocals, for a cast that is almost across the board making their Broadway debuts, are outstanding. Even when they are belting some corny lyrics (i.e. "a castrating biotch"), their chops shine through on this extremely well produced recording.

Is it worth a listen? Yes. Is it worth $12? Yes. Did I run (or jump) to buy tickets to the show? Not so much.

LOVE Really NEVER DIES

Andrew Lloyd Webber said in a recent interview that the Australian production of LOVE NEVER DIES will tour the UK starting in Fall 2013.

The Australian production was significantly more successful than the London production, and I am glad to see that is the production that will continue its life.

This is exciting because I have been a fan of this show (I know, I'm one of the few) since its inception and am glad to see it still has a life. I will not give up hope to see a live production here in the U.S. I will be certain to keep updating this blog with all LND news!

Another Star-Studded Trek INTO THE WOODS

The Broadway-verse was a flutter today when word hit about an industry reading of INTO THE WOODS that starred some of Broadway's biggest stars. The reading, which took place yesterday (Oct. 1st), was not your typical INTO THE WOODS, but rather a reading of the screenplay of the upcoming Disney movie adaptation by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine).

The cast was as starry as it gets around the Great White Way. But the sad part is that chances are few, if any, of these actors will actually make it to the actual film. Because it is mostly big names for Broadway people, not so much Hollywood, they may choose to bring some bigger names in for the leads. BroadwayWorld is reporting that Meryl Streep is likely to be the Witch (Shocker of the century). But if this were to be the cast, I would be happy as Milky White being saved from being sold.

The cast featured:

Baker’s Wife: Nina Arianda
Stepmother: Christine Baranski
Florinda: Tammy Blanchard
Cinderella’s Mother/Granny/Giant: Victoria Clark
Baker: James Corden
Wolf: Ivan Hernandez
Lucinda: Megan Hilty
Rapunzel’s Prince: Cheyenne Jackson
Jack’s Mother: Allison Janney
Cinderella: Anna Kendrick
Steward/Baker’s Father: Michael McGrath
Witch: Donna Murphy
Rapunzel: Laura Osnes
Jack: Taylor Trensch
Little Red Riding Hood: Casey Whyland
Cinderella’s Prince: Patrick Wilson
Screenplay Narrator: David Garrison

It seems like we are getting closer to a true cast and more info about the film and I can't wait. What I wouldn't have paid to be at this reading with this KILLER cast!!!