The producers of the Broadway revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf announced today that the production will not open when Broadway resumes performances, due to ensuing cast scheduling conflicts amid the shutdown.
Mark DiConzo, an cast member ofAladdin on Broadway, has found a truly adorable way to pass the time throughout the Covid-10 crisis.
Hands on a Hardbody Tony nominee Keala Settle, also seen on stage in Waitress and on screen in The Greatest Showman, is the latest artist to take part in Stars in the House, the new daily live streamed concert series created by Playbill correspondent and SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and producer James Wesley.
The series—which launched March 16 with Tony winner Kelli O’Hara—promotes support for The Actors Fund and its services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Previous guests have also included four-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn, Tony winner Lindsay Mendez, Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles, Tony-winning composer-lyricist Marc Shaiman, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester, Tony nominee Anika Larsen, and Tony-winning composer Tom Kitt.
New shows air daily at 2 PM ET and 8 PM ET, featuring performances by stars of stage and screen and conversations with Rudetsky between each tune. Rudetsky will encourage live viewers to donate, and Wesley will give updates from The Fund as well as shout-outs to people donating in real time. Dr. Jonathan LaPook, chief medical correspondent for CBS News, will also make frequent appearances to answer questions and offer best practices.
Watch previous Stars in the House concerts here.
“Our main concern is raising spirits and helping The Fund help those who are suffering,” Rudetsky said. “We’re hoping that everyone watching will not only enjoy the amazing singing and the inside Broadway stories, but also donate to the Actors Fund. And, because social distancing is so important right now, every star will be singing from his or her own home!”
READ: How to Help Unemployed Theatre Industry Professionals During the Coronavirus Shutdown
Additional stars who have already confirmed appearances as part of the initiative: Iain Armitage, Shoshana Bean, Laura Benanti, Sierra Boggess, Wayne Brady, Betty Buckley, Laura Bell Bundy, Andréa Burns, Kerry Butler, Norbert Leo Butz, Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Carolee Carmello, Kristin Chenoweth, Gavin Creel, Melissa Errico, Raul Esparza, Christopher Fitzgerald, Ana Gasteyer, Mandy Gonzalez, Justin Guarini, Debbie Gravitte, James Monroe Iglehart, Jeremy Jordan, Marc Kudish, Linda Lavin, Beth Leavel, Telly Leung, Beth Malone, Idina Menzel, Jessie Mueller, Rosie O’Donnell, Alice Ripley, Adam Pascal, Faith Prince, Kate Shindle, Jennifer Simard, Elizabeth Stanley, Patrick Wilson, Marissa Jaret Winokur with more to be announced.
As is the case for husband-and-husband duo Rudetsky and Wesley, many stars live together. Stars in the House has confirmed celebrity couples Sebastian Arcelus and Stephanie J. Block, Will Chase and Ingrid Michaelson, Jen Cody and Hunter Foster, Jenn Colella and Chilina Kennedy, Colin Donnell and Patti Murrin, Santino and Jessica Fontana, Andy Karl and Orfeh, Liz Larsen and Sal Viviano, Audra McDonald and Will Swenson, and Steven Pasquale and Phillipa Soo.
“Now more than ever, people in our community are depending on The Fund’s vital services,” said Fund Chairman Brian Stokes Mitchell. “It’s critical that we be there for those in need, in particular our seniors and the immuno-compromised individuals who need our help, as well as those in financial distress.”
Stars in the House will stream daily until Broadway re-opens.
As the situation surrounding the coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve, The Actors Fund will provide services online and via phone. These services include Artists Health Insurance Resource Center, The Career Center, Housing Resources, Addiction & Recovery, HIV/AIDS and Senior Services, Counseling and Emergency Financial Assistance, as well as The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
To make a tax-deductible donation to The Actors Fund visit ActorsFund.org/Donate.
What are some of Judy Kuhn’s fondest memories from show’s past She discussed many of her career-defining roles on yesterday’s matinee edition of Stars in The House- a new concert series from SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, benefitting the Actors Fund.
Tony winner Lea Salonga, who was scheduled to launch a North American concert tour in Honolulu April 3, has postponed the start of her tour until the fall.
The stage and screen star, a Tony and Olivier winner for her performance as Kim in the original Broadway and London productions of Miss Saigon, will now launch her series of concerts October 23 in Hawaii.
“While I’m incredibly disappointed to postpone my spring North American tour, we have the safety and well-being of loyal fans and concert-going audiences in mind, at a time when our health services are strained and large gatherings risk accelerating the spread of coronavirus,” Salonga said in a statement. “Please be safe and stay healthy. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, and check in with friends and loved ones who may need some extra support in the weeks ahead. I look forward to seeing you all this fall.”
Ticket holders should consult the venue websites or their point of purchase for details on exchanging tickets for new dates (in some cases this will happen automatically) or refunds if not available for the rescheduled dates.
Current rescheduled dates follow:
Honolulu, Hawaii: October 23-24
Funner, California: October 17
Cerritos, California: October 16
Vancouver, British Columbia: October 14
North Bethesda, Maryland: October 30
Cincinnati, Ohio: November 1
Indianapolis Symphony in Indianapolis, Indiana: April 29-30
Malibu, California: October 27-28
Lancaster, California: October 21
Livermore, California: November 4 and 6
Modesto, California: November 8
See What Your Favorite Stars Are Up to Away From Broadway With Playbill Universe
High School Musical star, Ashley Tisdale, took to social media today to cheer up her fans from self quarantine
1924 Doris Keane and Jacob Ben-Ami are Welded. Eugene O’Neill‘s drama outlines a marriage that is stronger than the couple realizes. It lasts three weeks at the 39th Street Theatre.
1926 The songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart highlight The Girl Friend at the Vanderbilt Theatre in New York. Herbert Fields pens the story of a man who trains for a bicycle race using a butter churn.
1943 Would you Kiss and Tell? Hugh Herbert‘s play about the lives of teenagers runs 956 performances at the Biltmore Theatre in New York.
1960 Dear Liar exposes the relationship between George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. Using their correspondence as a starting point, Jerome Kilty shapes the play, which he also stages. Brian Aherne and Katharine Cornell star.
1992 Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss, and Gene Hackman headline Ariel Dorfman‘s Death and the Maiden which opens at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. The plays sees plenty of holiday-appropriate green in advance sales, but the show receives mixed reviews and closes August 2.
1993 Theatre legend Helen Hayes dies at the age of 92. Known as the First Lady of the American Theatre, the awards and honors she received during her lifetime (including the first Tony for Best Actress) filled an entire room in her home. As if that wasn’t enough, in 1955, the 50th anniversary of her professional stage debut, a Broadway theatre was named for her and in 1993, the Helen Hayes Awards were established in her name to honor achievement in theatre in her hometown Washington, DC.
1996 Stephen Sondheim and George Furth team up for a non-musical murder mystery, Getting Away With Murder, with a top-notch cast including Terrence Mann, Christine Ebersole, John Rubinstein, Josh Mostel, and Jodi Long. It runs just 17 performances, but is memorable for its macabre ad. The logo, which showed a pistol-toting gargoyle, was changed after the closing notice to show the gargoyle with the gun pointed at its own head.
2005 A banner day for musical theatre as Monty Python’s Spamalot opens on Broadway, starring Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, and David Hyde-Pierce, and The Light in the Piazza begins previews. The two shows dominate the 2005 Tony Awards with Piazza winning the most (six) and Spamalot coming away as Best Musical.
2011 A revival of Tom Stoppard‘s Arcadia opens on Broadway at the Barrymore Theatre. Billy Crudup, who made his Broadway debut as Septimus Hodge in the original New York production, takes on the role of Bernard Nightingale. Based on the 2009 London revival directed by David Leveaux, the cast also includes Raúl Esparza and Margaret Colin.
2014 Gene Feist, who in 1965 founded the theatre troupe that would grow into the multi-theatre Broadway behemoth, the Roundabout Theatre Company, dies at age 91.
2016 The Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of She Loves Me opens at Studio 54. Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Gavin Creel, and Jane Krakowski star.
Today’s Birthdays: Shemp Howard 1895. Tamara Geva 1907. Mercedes McCambridge 1918. Gary Sinise 1955. Vicki Lewis 1960.
Watch highlights from the 2016 Broadway revival of She Loves Me:
Broadway fans are celebrating 50 years of a particularly memorable, toe-tapping musical theatre song March 15, the anniversary of Purlie opening at the Broadway Theatre in 1970.
Melba Moore stopped the show (and even the cast album) with her full-throated, no-holds-barred performance of “I Got Love,” earning a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical at the end of the season, while Cleavon Little won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical as the title character. (Smash fans may recognize the song from Jennifer Hudson’s performance of it in Season 2.)
Based on Ossie Davis’ play Purlie Victorious, Purlie is about a traveling preacher who returns home to save the community church. He’s aided in his quest by Lutibelle (Moore). Directed by Philip Rose and choreographed by Louis Johnson, the show earned five Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. The show ultimately ran for 688 performances at three theatres. The cast included The cast included C. David Colson, John Heffernan, Sherman Hemsley, Linda Hopkins, Helen Martin, and Novella Nelson.
A 1972 revival lasted just 14 performances; Encores! included the show in its 2005 season, starring Blair Underwood and Anika Noni Rose.
Moore recreated her performance in a 1981 Showtime adaptation with fellow original Broadway cast members Hemsley and Hopkins, with Robert Guillame as Purlie, Brandon Maggart as Cotchipee, Clarice Taylor as Idilla, and Don Scardino as Charlie. Watch her performance of “I Got Love” in that adaptation above.
