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Lisa Edelstein, Kathryn Hahn, and Tracee Chimo Pallero Are The Sisters Rosensweig for Spotlight on Plays May 20

by | May 19, 2021 | New Musical News Feed

Broadway’s Best Shows continues its Spotlight On Plays series with Wendy Wasserstein’s comedy about sisterhood, The Sisters Rosensweig. The live stream reading premieres 8 PM ET May 20 on Stellar and will be available on demand through May 24.

The production stars Lisa Edelstein (House, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce) as Sara, Kathryn Hahn (Boeing-Boeing, Wandavision) as Gorgeous, and Tracee Chimo Pallero (Noises Off, The Heidi Chronicles) as Pfeni—the titular Rosensweig sisters—with Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), John Behlmann (Tootsie), Chris Perfetti (Picnic), Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies), and James Urbaniak (Difficult People) rounding out the cast. Anna D. Shapiro directs.

The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1992 at Lincoln Center Theater, starring Madeline Kahn as Gorgeous Teitelbaum, Jane Alexander as Sara Goode, and Frances McDormand as Pfeni Rosensweig. It transferred to Broadway the following year, earning Kahn a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and a Best Play nomination for Wasserstein.

READ: Kathryn Hahn Really Wants Theatres to Reopen—So She Did The Sisters Rosensweig From Her Garage

The spring series from Broadway’s Best Shows, highlighting female playwrights, continues June 3 with Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy and Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl June 17. The series also recently announced a star-studded benefit concert Show of Titles, featuring 20 title tunes from Broadway musicals, streaming June 8.

Proceeds benefiting The Actors Fund, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and the TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project.

Click here for tickets.

In the News: The Good Fight Sets Season 5 Release Date, Club Cumming Moves to Maine

by | May 18, 2021 | New Musical News Feed

Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today’s headlines.

The Good Fight Returns June 24
Legal drama The Good Fight dropped a teaser video announcing the release date for Season 5 of the series. The season premieres June 24, streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes available weekly. As previously announced, Mandy Patinkin joins as season regular this year alongside its Tony Award-winning stars Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald.

Club Cumming Goes Coastal
Performer Alan Cumming will take his branded nightlife venture Club Cumming to Maine this summer for a 15-week residency in partnership with Kennebunkport Resort Collection. The Tony winner will curate Club Cumming on the Coast, featuring a rotating lineup of entertainment, from theatre stars to piano bar show tunes, drag performances to jazz acts, and more. Performances will run Memorial Day through Labor Day on the outdoor sun deck of Kennebunkport Inn, reinvented as a New England version of Cumming’s intimate cabaret. RuPaul’s Drag Race star Alexis Michelle is scheduled to headline CAMP Cumming June 4 and 5, a special Pride weekend retreat. In addition, proceeds from Club Cumming on the Coast will be donated to The Actors Fund. For scheduling and reservations, click here.

Submissions Open for Playwriting Fellowship Curated by Donja R. Love
The Gatekeepers Collective, a Harlem-based nonprofit focused on supporting the advancement of LGBTQIA+ men in the larger Black community, has partnered with playwright Donja R. Love for Learning to Love, an intergenerational one-act play development initiative. Love will curate the project, wherein four young, queer, Black playwrights will each be paired with playwrights of an older generation to create narrative works of self acceptance. The four new works will receive stage readings in the fall under the direction of John-Martin Green, director of The Gatekeepers Collective. For more information or to apply for the fellowship, click here.

Larry Powell Receives Playwriting Award
Playwright-actor-director Larry Powell has been selected to receive the third annual Cornelia Street American Playwriting Award. Indie and Off-Broadway theatre company Rising Phoenix Repertory, under the artistic direction of Daniel Talbott, awards the prize to an emerging playwright of exceptional work ethic, character, and talent. Powell’s works include the play The Gaze, which he has also adapted into a digital series, and the feature film Mother’s Milk: A Film Quilt. Powell will receive a cash prize and publication of one of the his works in Rising Phoenix Rep’s theatre arts magazine, Caffe Cino. Previous recipients are Ren Dara Santiago (The Siblings Play, The MTA Radio Plays) and Ryan Haddad (Hi, Are You Single? ).

Plus: Broadway’s Nick Rashad Burroughs (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Kinky Boots) wants to know “How Does It Feel.” The recording artist follows up his February release of “Tonight” with another shirtless single. (We’re not complaining.) Check out the video below.

Full Casting Announced for Romeo and Juliet at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

by | May 17, 2021 | New Musical News Feed

The full cast and creative team have been announced for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre this summer. Joining the previously announced Isabel Adomakoh Young and Joel MacCormack as the star-crossed lovers June 17-July 24 are Cavan Clarke as Mercutio, Emma Cunniffe as Nurse, Peter Hamilton Dyer as Friar Lawrence, and Michelle Fox as Tybalt.

Rounding out the cast are Aretha Ayeh as Benvolia, Ellie Beavan as Lady Capulet, Tom Claxton as Peter, Ryan Ellsworth as Lord Montague, Andrew French as Lord Capulet, Sarah Hoare as Gregora/Apothacary, Irvine Iqbal as Prince Escalus, Richard Leeming as Paris, Priyank Morjaria as Sampson, Louise Mai Newberry as Lady Montague, Shadee Yaghoubi as Abraham, and Marc Zayat as Balthasar.

Romeo_and_Juliet_Full_Cast_Regent's_Park_HR
Courtesy of Jo Allan PR

Romeo and Juliet is directed by Kimberley Sykes. The production’s creative team features lighting designer Ciaran Bagnall, casting directors Stuart Burt and Annelie Powell, set and costumer designer Naomi Dawson, movement director Ingrid Mackinnon, fight director Kev McCurdy, and associate director Jon Pashley with sound design and an original score by Giles Thomas. Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Associate Season Director Barbara Houseman is the voice and text director.

The London institution will also launch its Creative Team Associates program this summer, providing opportunities for artists early in their career to broaden their experience making large-scale work and be supported and mentored by the season’s lead creatives. The inaugural participants are Christian Bravo (sound), Catja Hamilton (lighting), Fiona Kennedy (voice), and Darcel Osei (movement).

Following Romeo and Juliet, Regent’s Park will present Carousel July 31-September 25, starring Carly Bawden, Declan Bennett, John Pfumojena, and more. The 2021 season—which will follow COVID-19 secure procedures for as long as necessary, including an initial 50% reduction to seating capacity—also includes Anansi the Spider and Dragons and Mythical Beasts.

Celebrate Andrew Keenan-Bolger With a Look Back at His Stage Highlights

by | May 15, 2021 | New Musical News Feed

Andrew Keenan-Bolger celebrates his birthday May 16.

The actor made his Broadway debut in the original Broadway production of Beauty in the Beast, assuming the role of Chip in the Disney musical. Throughout his career on Broadway and beyond, Keenan-Bolger has starred in Seussical as Jojo, Mary Poppins as Robertson Ay, Newsies on Broadway as Crutchie, and more. He was last seen on the Main Stem in the stage adaption as of Tuck Everlasting in 2016, originating the role of Jesse Tuck.

In addition to his work onstage, Keenan-Bolger has also appeared on screen in shows including HBO’s Looking, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Submission’s Only, the hit web series he created fellow performer Kate Wetherhead about the highs and lows of being an actor in New York.

Celebrate Andrew Keenan-Bolger With a Look Back at His Stage Highlights