'Magic Mike' Strips for B'way; Alec Baldwin Returns

"Magic Mike," the hot film about male strippers, just opened today and already there are definite plans to bring it to Broadway. According to Deadline.com, Steven Soderbergh and Channing Tatum, the movie's director and star respectively, will produce the show, which is scheduled to open on Broadway in summer 2013. Reid Carolin, author of the screenplay, will write the book and also produce along with Soderbergh, Tatum and partners Gregory Jacobs and Nick Wechsler. Carolin told USA Today that the plot for the musical would be different than of the movie and be "more of a fun night out at a club with a story." No definite announcement has been made on the show nor has a casting director been assigned, but male musical theater performers should start practicing their pole dancing.

Alec Baldwin will return to Broadway in a revival of Lyle Kessler's "Orphans" which played Off-Broadway in 1985. The "30 Rock" star, who last appeared on the Main Stem in "Twentieth Century," will play Harold, a rich older man kidnapped by two brothers. Daniel Sullivan, Tony winner for "Proof" and most recently represented by the Central Park "As You Like It" and "The Columnist," directs. He will also be staging the revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross" to star Al Pacino and Bobby Cannavale. The roles of the two brothers in "Orphans" have not been cast and Equity principal auditions have not yet been announced for understudies. David Caparelliotis of Cap Casting is the CD.

An additional workshop will be held for the stage transfer of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella," based on the legendary duo's 1957 TV version of the fairy tale. Douglas Carter Beane ("Xanadu," "Lysistrata Jones") writes the new book and the score will take numbers from the original TV productions as well as tunes from the R&H canon. The previous workshop was held in April and the new one will take place Aug. 2-3 in NYC. The cast includes Laura Osnes ("Bonnie and Clyde"), Santino Fontana ("Sons of the Prophet"), Victoria Clark ("Sister Act," "The Light in the Piazza"), Harriet Harris ("Thoroughly Modern Millie"), Peter Bartlett ("The Illusion"), and Ann Harada ("Avenue Q," "Smash"). Plans are for a Broadway production in 2013. The casting directors are Cindi Tolan and Adam Caldwell.

"Motown," another musical that has gone through the development process, has announced that it will open at a Nederlander theater in spring 2013. The musical is based on the life of R&B mogul Berry Gordy, who authors the book, and the score will consists of hits from the Motown catalog recorded by such iconic artists as Smokey Robinson, the Jackson Five, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and Stevie Wonder. Charles Randolph-Wright directs. A developmental laboratory production was held in Manhattan March 12–April 10 with Bethany Knox of Telsey + Company as casting director.

"Memphis," the Tony-winning show that used R&B of roughly the same era for its inspiration, will be ending its Broadway run Aug. 5 after 1,166 performances. The touring company will continue and is now in its second year and plays Kansas City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Portland, Ore., in the coming months. Telsey + Company is the casting director.

"War Horse" continues at the Vivian Beaumont and launches its national tour in Los Angeles today. Additional stops on the 30-city tour include San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Durham, N.C., and Boston. Daniel Swee is casting director.

David Sheward is Special Sections Editor for Back Stage. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSheward2.