On Broadway and beyond, a curtain can rise as quickly as it can fall; a star can be swapped as easily as Bernie Telsey can say, “That’s enough.” Theater is the beating heart of New York show business and, if you want to make it here, it’s crucial you’re up to date on incoming projects, latest castings, and other industry news. Don’t worry, Broadway baby, Backstage has your back. Every week, we’re rounding up the can’t-miss stories no thespian should live without, so you can focus on important matters like hitting your high F. Curtain up and light those lights!
“Mrs. Doubtfire” is Broadway-bound.
The new “Mrs. Doubtfire” musical is officially en route to Broadway and has assembled an A-list creative team to prove it. Directing the adaptation—based on the Robin Williams-starring film—will be four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks (“Hello, Dolly!”), while the Tony-nominated creative team behind “Something Rotten!” will handle the book (John O’Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick) and score (Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick). Casting, additional creative team members, and a production timeline are to-be-announced.
Get ready, Broadway.
“Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations” will set up Broadway shop in spring 2019. The tuner, a jukebox musical about, well, the life and times of the R&B group, features a book by Dominique Morisseau and direction from Sergio Trujillo. Though exact dates are unknown, performances will begin at the Imperial Theatre, following the closing of current resident “Carousel.” The show is currently in the midst of an out-of-town tryout at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre.
12 not-so-angry women.
Following the previously-announced all-female Broadway revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” another male-centric classic is getting a female gaze. A Sept. 16 reading of the Reginald Rose classic “12 Angry Men” will be held to raise voter awareness, and it will star a number of top-tier Broadway leading ladies. The presentation at Theatre Row’s Acorn Theatre will feature, in alphabetical order: Geneva Carr, Lynn Cohen, Jenn Colella, Ariana DeBose, Cady Huffman, Amber Iman, Chilina Kennedy, Caitlin Kinnunen, Jill Paice, and Dale Soules.
Jonah Platt is going country.
Jonah Platt will take on legendary country music star Dean Dillon in the Broadway-aimed “Tennessee Whiskey: The Musical.” Many details are being kept under wraps, including additional casting as well as much of the creative team, however, the autobiographical piece will be a collaboration between Dillon and Dewey Moss, the latter of whom will pen the book and direct.
MTC announces two new productions.
Manhattan Theatre Club will mount two new productions Off-Broadway this fall. First up will be “India Pale Ale,” a world premiere by Jaclyn Backhaus, that will be directed by Will Davis. Previews begin at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I Oct. 2. Additionally, beginning Oct. 12 at the Studio at Stage II – Harold and MiMi Steinberg New Play Series will be “The Niceties,” the New York premiere by Eleanor Burgess, with direction by Kimberly Senior.
The life and times of Dickinson come to the stage.
Angelica Page will take on the title role in Ensemble for the Romantic Century’s upcoming production “Because I Could Not Stop: An Encounter With Emily Dickinson.” The “play with chamber music” will use the poet’s actual words, while exploring her inner life. Performances, directed by Donald T. Sanders, begin Sept. 14 at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center.
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