VIDEO: On This Day, March 20- PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT Opens On Broadway
On this day in 2011, the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert celebrated its opening night on Broadway
Stars in the House Reunites Thirtysomething’s Patricia Wettig, Ken Olin, Melanie Mayron, More March 20
Stars in the House, the daily live streamed concert series created by Playbill correspondent and SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and producer James Wesley, continues its anniversary week of programming March 20 at 8 PM ET with an evening celebrating the classic 1987–1991 TV show Thirtysomething.
Guests include Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Melanie Mayron, Timothy Busfield, Patricia Wettig, Peter Horton, and Polly Draper.
READ: 365 Streaming Moments That Got Us Through 365 Days of the Broadway Shutdown
Stars in the House launched March 16 last year to promote support for The Actors Fund and its services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It has also raised funds for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
“We can’t believe it has been a year! We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of our viewers, who send in donations from all over the world,” said Rudetsky and Wesley in a recent statement. “We thought that after the first few weeks, contributions would dwindle and the show would be more about bringing some joy and positivity during these dark times. But the fact that we have been able to do both—deliver fun and financial support—is beyond our wildest dreams. We are so grateful to our team behind the scenes, Dr. Jon LaPook, the thousands of guests, and millions of viewers, who have made Stars in the House the success that it is. We are looking forward to the day that Broadway reopens, but in the meantime, we will be here!”
New shows—streaming Tuesday through Saturday at 8 PM ET—feature performances by stars of stage and screen, in conversation and song with Rudetsky and Wesley. Peter Flynn serves as streaming director.
Click here to watch previous episodes.
To make a tax-deductible donation to The Actors Fund visit StarsintheHouse.com/Donate.
LISTEN: Carolee Carmello and Christine Dwyer Join Latest Episodes of TAKE A BOW Podcast
Eli Tokash andBroadway Podcast Network, haveannounced this months guest on TAKE A BOW.In her legendary career, 3x Tony Nominee, Carolee Carmello recalls her favorite memories of her impressive 14 Broadway Show resume.
In the News: LCT Will Present Anna Deavere Smith Series, Resounding Announces A Triassic Parq: The Musical Reunion Concert
Read on for some more theatre news you may have missed in today’s headlines.
Lincoln Center Activate Presents Three-Part Anna Deavere Smith Series
Lincoln Center Activate, which gears programming for arts professionals in the education and community engagement fields, will present a three-part series with Tony-nominated performer and playwright Anna Deavere Smith. First up, Smith joins scholar and educator Dr. Christopher Emdin of Columbia University April 6 for In Conversation: Anna Deavere Smith and Dr. Christopher Emdin to discuss “reimagining education and the role of the arts in opening possibilities and shaping futures.” Then, Smith will give a keynote talk April 8 with a live Q and A, on the broad scope of education in America. The series concludes April 10 with a staged reading of By One Route, and By Another, a curated piece by Smith featuring portraits of real-life figures Margaret Mead, Kiersta Kurtz-Burke, Ntozake Shange, Trudy Howell, and Matthieu Ricard. For more information or to register, visit LincolnCenter.org.
Resounding Announces Reunion of Original Off-Broadway Company of Triassic Parq: The Musical
The immersive-audio entertainment company Resounding will present a reunion concert of Triassic Parq: The Musical as part of its month-long residency at Radial Park at Halletts Point Play. The musical, with music by Marshall Pailet, and a book and lyrics by Pailet, Bryce Norbitz, and Steve Wargo, will play three performances at the theatrical drive-in for both in-person and remote audiences May 21-23. Original Off-Broadway cast members Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Brandon Espinoza, Wade McCollum, Claire Neumann, Shelley Thomas-Harts, and Alex Wyse reprise their roles in a revised version of the musical, under the direction of Wargo and musical direction of Andy Roninson. The comedy musical “not parody,” which looks at a famous dinosaur theme park story from a dinosaur’s point of view, premiered at the 2010 NY International Fringe Festival, and ran at the SoHo Playhouse in 2012. For more information or ticketing, visit Resounding.live.
Streaming Date Change for Wilma Theater’s Fat Ham
The previously announced world premiere of the digital production of Fat Ham by James Ijames from Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater will now stream April 29-May 23. The play, a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is being filmed on location in Virginia, and shot as a one-take film to retain the real-time storytelling of a play. It is directed by Morgan Green and stars Brennen S. Malone, Taysha Marie Canales, Kimberly S. Fairbanks, Jennifer Kidwell, Anthony Martinez-Briggs, Brandon J. Pierce, and Lindsay Smiling. For ticketing, visit WilmaTheater.org.
Immersive Production of Schubert-Inspired The Wandering Set for April
The new four-part interactive, immersive theatre experience The Wandering premieres online April 15-May 15. The production, inspired by the music of Franz Schubert, is presented both online through a narrative drama featuring the music of Schubert, and through physical tasks and ephemera shipped to ticket holders. Each of the four episodes contains a short film, an interactive object, an online experience, and an opportunity to connect with other audience members. The Wandering is created by Calista Small and Jeremy Weiss in collaboration with filmmaker Lara Panah-Izadi, designer Charlotte McCurdy, animator Zach Bell, theater artist Christine Shaw, graphic and print designer Irina Wang, web designer TanTan Wang, and executive producer Max Sauberman. The development of The Wandering has been supported by The Schwarzman Center at Yale University and the Innovation in Art Song Summit at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. For more information or ticketing, visit ExperienceTheWandering.com.
Triassic Parq The Musical, With Alex Wyse and Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Opens Off-Broadway
VIDEO: Over 75 Performers and Creatives Release ‘Still Standing’ in Honor of One Year Since the Broadway Shutdown
‘Still Standing’is a video celebrating the amazing professional artists, on and off stage, who are anxiously awaiting the day when the lights of Broadway will once again be lit and audiences around the world can come back to the theatre.
Checking In With… Hadestown Tony Nominee Patrick Page
As the temporary shutdown of Broadway and theatres around the world continues, Playbill is reaching out to artists to see how they are physically and creatively responding to a changed world.
The series continues with Tony nominee Patrick Page, who was starring in the Tony-winning Hadestown when the pandemic closed theatres around the world. The actor has also been seen on Broadway in Saint Joan, Casa Valentina, A Time to Kill, Spring Awakening, Cyrano de Bergerac, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, A Man for All Seasons, Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, The Lion King, Julius Caesar, The Kentucky Cycle, and Beauty and the Beast. For over 25 years, he has been an associate artist of The Old Globe, where he has played Cyrano, Malvolio, Richard III, Hamlet, Henry V, Autolycus, Antony, Brutus, Benedick, and Mercutio. Page created the roles of Dom Claude Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame at La Jolla Playhouse and Paper Mill Playhouse and Captain Dragutin Dimitrijevic in Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke at the Mark Taper Forum. His screen credits include Elementary, Madam Secretary, Flesh and Bone, Evil, NCIS: New Orleans, The Good Wife, The Blacklist, Chicago P.D., Law & Order: SVU, One Life to Live, and All My Children.
A recipient of the Helen Hayes, Emery Battis, Joseph Jefferson, Matador, and Princess Grace Statue awards as well as the Utah Governor’s Medal for the Arts, Page’s recent projects include the upcoming first season of Julian Fellowes’ The Gilded Age for HBO plus the streams of his solo show, All The Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Inspired the Villain, and the title role in Shakespeare@ Home’s radio play version of Julius Caesar, which is available free of charge by clicking here.
Checking In With… 2020 Slave Play Tony Nominee Chalia La Tour
What is your typical day like now?
I usually wake around seven, answer emails and messages on social media, read the news (The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, in addition to whatever else catches my eye, trying to get a balance of left and right editorializing). I usually watch a documentary from the PBS streaming channel, which is wonderful. I will often write a bit on one of the projects I’m working on. Most days I have Zoom meetings, interviews, podcasts, or rehearsals for various projects. Then I catch up on my Cameos, which is a great way to connect with fans. I can’t work out now because I recently had shoulder surgery, but my physical therapy routine takes some time. In the evening, after dinner, Paige [Davis] and I watch TV. We’ve been tearing through all the best streaming shows—we’ve done GOT, Sopranos, Better Call Saul, Schitt’s Creek, etc. etc.—right now we’re watching Call My Agent on Netflix, which is great fun.
What podcast/book/TV show/film should everyone take the time to consume during this period?
I don’t know what people should consume—that’s so individual. I’ve had the urge to read some things I should know better but don’t—i.e. Crime and Punishment and the King James Bible. But I also love biographies (reading the new Mike Nichols now) and usually have research for projects I’m working on.
During this time of reflection and re-education regarding BIPOC artists and artistry, particularly in the theatre, what do you want people (those in power, fellow actors, audiences) to be aware of? What do you want them to consider further?
I’m certainly not the one to give anyone advice on this subject. It’s more a case of the things I am trying to become more aware of myself. I’ve been trying to ask more questions and to be aware of the ways in which unconscious bias and institutionalized racism has benefited me and held back so many others.
What advice would you give to someone who may be struggling with the isolation and/or the current unrest?
Loneliness and sadness are natural responses to enforced isolation. One shouldn’t judge these emotions too harshly. There is much beauty in solitude, and one can learn a great deal about oneself by accepting, sitting with, and observing uncomfortable feelings.
How, if at all, are you keeping your creative juices flowing? Has that been helpful to you?
When the pandemic began, we started The Patrick Page Podcast, which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc., and I began teaching an online Shakespeare series, which has over 100 students. We began with Learning Lear; the current sessions are Learning Hamlet, and starting in April we will do Learning Twelfth Night. I filmed my one-man show All the Devils Are Here for The Shakespeare Theatre Company, which is available to stream online, and have participated in numerous Zoom performances, including a fully realized Macbeth opposite Hannah Yelland I was especially pleased with.
Are you working on any theatrical projects during this time?
Yes. I’m shooting The Gilded Age for HBO, working on my next solo show with Des McAnuff, and the stage version of Devils with Darko Tresnjak. I’m also enjoying directing a Zoom presentation of A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters with my wife, Paige Davis playing Melissa.
What organization would you recommend people learn more about or donate to during this time of change?
The two organizations most dear to me are Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Volunteers of America.
Checking In With… Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Tony Nominee Daniel J. Watts
Celebrating the Stage Work of Patrick Page
VIDEO: Laura Benanti and Christopher Jackson Salute The Actors Fund on THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
Tony-winner Laura Benanti and Tony-nominee Christopher Jackson stop by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to celebrate The Actors Fund for their tireless support ofactors put out of work bythe Covid-19 pandemic.
See the Men of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Reunite With These Striking Photos
Nearly a year after the curtain came down on Tina: The Tina Turner Musical due to COVID-19, the male cast of the hit musical reunited for a photo shoot with Andrew Werner. The shoot, led by company member Sheldon Henry, commemorated the show and the Broadway community.
Check out photos from the reunion below.
See the Men of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Reunite With These Striking Photos
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, the musical charts the life of Turner from her hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee (where she was born Anna-Mae Bullock), to her initial rise to stardom, her abuse at the hands of Ike Turner, and her eventual reclamation of her name and image. Incorporated into her story are several of her hits, including “River Deep Mountain High,” “Private Dancer,” and “(Simply) The Best.”
At the time of the Broadway shutdown, the musical starred Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner, Daniel J. Watts as Ike Turner, Dawnn Lewis as Zelma, and Myra Lucretia Taylor as Gran Georgeanna alongside Steven Booth, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Gerald Caesar, Holli’ Conway, Kayla Davion, Charlie Franklin, Judith Franklin, Matthew Griffin, David Jennings, Ross Lekites, Robert Lenzi, Gloria Manning, Jhardon DiShon Milton, Destinee Rea, Jessica Rush, Carla Stewart, Jayden Theophile, Skye Turner, Antonio J. Watson, Katie Webber, and Ari Groover with Nkeki Obi-Melekwe as Tina Turner at select performances. Rounding out the company were Leandra Ellis-Gatson, Sheldon Henry, Rob Marnell, Justin Schuman, Allysa Shorte, NaTonia Monét, and Julius Chase as swings.
The production features sets and costumes by Mark Thompson, musical supervision, additional music, and arrangements by Nicholas Skilbeck, lighting by Bruno Poet, sound by Nevin Steinberg, projection design by Jeff Sugg, and orchestrations by Ethan Popp. Casting is by Telsey + Company. Visit the Playbill Vault for the complete cast and creative team.