'Priscilla' Closing; 'Newsies' Extends; 'Ever After' Announces Run

As Mitt Romney pointed out this week in the wake of the J.P. Morgan shortfall, someone’s huge loss is a big gain for someone else. "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" is closing at the Palace Theatre June 24 after 526 performances. But that means the theater is free and, according to reports in the New York Times and elsewhere, the next likely occupant will be the revival of "Annie." Scheduled to open this fall, the title role has been cast (Lilla Crawford) and so have the other orphans, but if the show is a hit, they'll need plenty of additional little girls and adults. The casting director for "Annie" is Pat Goodwin of Telsey + Company. In addition, "Priscilla" is planning a national tour, so there are more potential jobs there, too. Craig Burns, also of Telsey + Company, is the casting director for "Priscilla."

UPDATE: On May 21, it was announced "Annie" will begin previews at the Palace on Oct. 3 with an opening of Nov. 8.

In the wake of its eight Tony nominations, "Newsies" has announced it's going from a limited to an open run at the Nederlander. The show is all cast, but given its strong box office appeal, they'll eventually be holding replacement auditions. Telsey is also casting that show and Justin Huff is the CD.

The first new musical of the 2012-13 Broadway season will be "Bring It On," set for a limited run at the St. James, now available after "Leap of Faith" closed. This stage version of the 2000 film about a cheerleading competition will open on Broadway Aug. 1 direct from a 13-city national tour. The entire company of singer-dancers and cheerleaders for the tour will repeat their roles, but there might be a need for understudies. You guessed it. Telsey is the casting company, and Rachel Hoffman is the CD on this project. 

Looking even further ahead, a musical based on the 1998 film "Ever After" has been announced for 2013-14. No specific dates have been announced. Music will be by Zina Goldrich, with book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler. This Cinderella variation will be directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, currently represented on Broadway by "Anything Goes" and "Nice Work If You Can Get." No casting director has been announced, but Marshall has worked with Jim Carnahan on "Anything" and with Jay Binder on "Nice Work." So it's likely to be one of those two CDs. Sierra Boggess and Marin Mazzie are participating in a reading of the show, according to Boggess' Twitter.

Off-Broadway will see the return of "Forbidden Broadway," the zany musical revue satirizing whatever shows are currently playing on the Main Stem. Creator-lyricist Gerard Alessandrini is preparing a brand-new edition and casting director Michael Cassara will hold Equity principal auditions May 29 for singer-dancers who can potentially do impersonations of such figures as Ricky Martin, Judy Garland, Audra McDonald, Neil Patrick Harris, Bernadette Peters, and various others. Here is a link to the casting notice on Backstage.com. 

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