It’s The Sky’s the Limit on Stars in the House August 14
SITH Production Supervisor David Katz guest hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley's daily series benefiting The Actors Fund.
Playbill Vault’s Today in Theatre History: August 14
1888 Comedian DeWolf Hopper debuts his dramatic recitation of the poem Casey at the Bat at Wallack’s Theatre. It becomes a cornerstone of his act for the next 40 years.
1922 Lights Out opens on Broadway. The play written by Paul Dickey and Mann Page marked Page’s Broadway debut.
1928 Opening night for one of the great comedy classics of Broadway history. The Front Page, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur‘s story of hard-bitten reporters covering the story of a lifetime, bows at the Times Square Theatre, with Osgood Perkins and Lee Tracy.
1990 The Off-Off-Broadway gospel musical Smoke on the Mountain transfers to the Lamb’s Theatre Off-Broadway. The comedy, conceived and directed by Alan Bailey and written by Connie Ray, contains religion-oriented music by various composers. The show stars Kevin Chamberlin, who goes on to be featured in Broadway shows such as Dirty Blonde, Seussical, and The Addams Family.
1996 When Pigs Fly opens Off-Broadway, but Howard Crabtree (who conceived the revue) does not get to see it as he died of AIDS complications less than two months earlier. The musical revue with wild costumes, co-concieved by Mark Waldrop with music by Dick Gallagher, plays 334 performances at Off-Broadway’s Douglas Fairbanks Theatre.
1998 A new production of Ernest Thompson’s On Golden Pond opens at the Theatre at the Center in Indiana. Starring as the older couple who try to come to terms with their children and their lives, are Nanette Fabray and Art Kassul. The production runs through September 6.
2003 Broadway, Off-Broadway, and many regional shows are canceled when a power blackout deprives most of the Northeast U.S. of electric power.
2005 The life story of John Lennon comes to Broadway in a biographical revue, Lennon, directed by Don Scardino, with Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, acting as consultant. The production, in which multiple actors play the title character, confuses some critics and audiences, leading to a brief five-week run at the Broadhurst Theatre. The cast includes Will Chase, Chuck Cooper, Mandy Gonzalez, Terrence Mann, and Julia Murney.
2012 Harrison, TX: Three Plays by Horton Foote, late playwright Foote’s three-play collection about the intimate daily encounters in small-town America, opens Off-Broadway as part of Primary Stages‘ season at 59E59. Comprised of the short plays Blind Date, The One-Armed Man, and The Midnight Caller, the cast includes Hallie Foote, Jayne Houdyshell, Devon Abner, and Jeremy Bobb.
Today’s Birthdays: Lee Adams (b. 1924) Alice Ghostley (1924–2007), Thomas Meehan (1929–2017), Tom Eyen (1940–1991), Steve Martin (b. 1945), Marcia Gay Harden (b. 1959), Sarah Brightman (b. 1960), Jamie Parker (b. 1979). Blake Daniel (b. 1989).
See Steve Martin and Edie Brickell at the Bright Star Reunion Concert
VIDEO: Next on Stage: Dance Edition College Top 3 Announced – Live at 8pm ET!
Tune in tonight at 8pm ET for the latest episode of Next on Stage Dance Edition, our online musical theatre dance competition for student performers sponsored by LaDuca Shoes Find out which college contestants are moving on to the next round.
Winners Announced for 2021 Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival
Samuel French has announced the winners of the 2021 Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival.
This year’s winners, chosen from 750 submissions worldwide, are: All Things Considered, It Was Probably the Most Productive Meeting The Escondido Unified School District PTA Ever Had by A.J. Ditty, DOGS OF SOCIETY by Julia Grogan, By Grace, Pt. 2 by Agyeiwaa Asante, Grieved by Jahquale Mazyck, pearl apple penguin by Aisling Towl, and Kitchen Design by Suzanne Willett.
The six plays will be published and available for licensing by Samuel French in the 46th edition of its Off Off Broadway collection.
The judges, who chose the six winners after submissions had been whittled down to 30, included playwrights Dennis A. Allen II, Miranda Rose Hall, Trish Harnetiaux, 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist Zora Howard, and Harrison David Rivers, along with dramaturg Jeremy Stoller, National New Play Network Executive Director Nan Barnett, City Theatre Miami Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford, and City Theatre Miami Co-Founder and Literary Director Susan Westfall.
“This year’s Top 30 plays were full of amazing stories and unique voices,” said OOB Festival Artistic Director Casey McLain. “While we missed seeing these pieces on the stage, we were more than excited to share them with the OOB audience and judges through our second virtual festival. The six plays chosen for the 46th OOB Festival publication are a great sample of the amazing work we saw this year.”
Originating in 1975, the OOB Festival is one of Samuel French’s primary initiatives to introduce the next wave of emerging playwrights. The festival has served as a doorway to future success for many, including Audrey Cefaly, whose full-length version of her 40th OOB Festival-winning play The Gulf won 2018’s Lambda Literary Award in the category of LGBTQ Drama, and Martyna Majok, whose play The Cost of Living (originally produced as part of 39th OOB Festival as John, Who’s Here from Cambridge) won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Other notable past participants include Bekah Brunstetter, Eleanor Burgess, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Sheila Callaghan, khat knotahaiku, Gracie Gardner, Jeremy O. Harris, Shirley Lauro, Theresa Rebeck, Jen Silverman, Lauren Yee, and Steve Yockey.
In the News: Ali Stroker Joins Netflix Thriller Echoes, American Utopia Heads to Movie Theatres, More
Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today’s headlines.
Ali Stroker Will Appear in Netflix Thriller Echoes
Tony winner Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!), along with Karen Robinson (Schitt’s Creek) and Rosanny Zayas (The L Word: Generation Q), will appear as series regulars in the upcoming psychological thriller Echoes on Netflix, Deadline reports. As previously announced, the show is being developed by Pulitzer and Tony-winning writer Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal) as part of a multi-year partnership with the streamer. Broadway vets Matt Bomer and Daniel Sunjata also star in the series about identical twins (played by Michelle Monaghan) with secret lives. The series is created and written by Vanessa Gazy.
Nick Adams, Bradley Gibson, Conrad Ricamora Join Ensemble of Fire Island-set Rom Com
Deadline also reports that Broadway alums Nick Adams (La Cage aux Folles, A Chorus Line) Bradley Gibson (The Lion King), and Conrad Ricamora (The King and I) have joined the cast of the film Fire Island, alongside an ensemble that also includes Tomas Matos, Torian Miller, Matt Rogers, James Scully, Zane Phillips, Michael Graceffa, Aidan Wharton, and Peter Smith. Comedians Margaret Cho, Bowen Yang, and Joel Kim Booster lead the Fire Island-set modern romantic comedy inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Andrew Ahn directs the film, penned by Booster, who also executive produces. The film, already in production, will stream on Disney’s DTC Platforms as a Hulu Original in 2022.
David Byrne’s American Utopia Film Will Screen Nationwide One-Night-Only
The Emmy-nominated feature David Byrne’s American Utopia, filmed by Spike Lee, will hit movie theatres nationwide in a one-night-only screening event September 15, two days ahead of the Tony-honored show’s return to Broadway. The film made its premiere 2020 at the Toronto Film Festival and released on HBO and its streaming service in October. The upcoming theatrical event will include an introduction by David Byrne, as well as a never-before-seen conversation with Byrne and director Lee. Watch the trailer here. To find a movie theatre near you screening the feature, check here.
On Broadway Performing Arts Training Program Launches Fundraising Campaign
The non-profit conservatory style arts school On Broadway Performing Arts Training Program has launched a 40K in 40 Days fundraising campaign to fund the next 10 years of arts training for underserved students. Founded by Broadway veteran Rema Webb (The Color Purple, The Lion King), On Broadway PATP provides classes and workshops taught by Broadway, film, and television stars, helping to develop not only performing arts skills but also healthy self-esteem in young students of all backgrounds. To learn more about the work of On Broadway PATP or to contribute to the campaign, click here.
VIDEO: See Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky in the Official Trailer for AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT!
The cast also includes Sarah Paulson, Clive Owen, Edie Falco, Taran Killam, George Salazar, Billy Eichner, and Margo Martindale.
What Will Be Your First Broadway Show Back?
The return of Broadway is approaching quickly All of us at BroadwayWorld want to know do you have tickets to a Broadway show Which show will you be giving a standing ovation when the curtain rise again Fill out our poll here
Beanie Feldstein-Led Funny Girl Revival Confirmed for Spring 2022 Bow
After a week of buzz and speculation (and a casting call notice), producers Sonia Friedman and Scott Landis have confirmed that they will bring a Funny Girl revival to Broadway, with Beanie Feldstein taking on the role of Fanny Brice. Performances will begin in spring 2022, with a theatre, exact dates, and further casting to come.
Tony winner Michael Mayer will direct the production, having helmed a London revival that began at the Menier Chocolate Factory and later transferred to the West End. While Menier is a producer of the Broadway bow—and while the New York revival will feature a revised book by Harvey Fierstein following his work in London—the production itself will not be a transfer of that staging. Joining the creative team are set designer David Zinn, choreographer Ellenore Scott, and tap choreographer Ayodele Casel.
Feldstein made her Broadway debut in the recent revival of Hello, Dolly!. On screen, she’s had standout roles in Booksmart and Lady Bird, and will soon be seen as Monica Lewinsky in the Ryan Murphy limited series Impeachment: American Crime Story. Some of her upcoming film roles speak to her theatre ties: the movie adaptations of The Humans and Merrily We Roll Along (which is to be filmed over a two-decade period).
The stage and screen favorite says she’s played the famed comedian before, albeit on a smaller scale: “The first time I played Fanny Brice was at my third birthday party, in a head-to-toe leopard print outfit my mom made for me. So, it’s safe to say that stepping into this iconic role, on Broadway and not in my family’s backyard, is truly my lifelong dream come true.”
READ: Movie Adaptation of The Humans Will Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival
This will mark the first Broadway revival of Funny Girl since the original 1964 production catapulted Barbra Streisand to stardom. The musical, featuring a score by composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill and an original book by Isobel Lennart, was slated to be revived in 2012 in a production directed by Bartlett Sher, though the plans fell through as investors backed out.