THIS WEEKS 10 THEATRE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW
What Tom Hank movie is finally being transformed into a stage musical? Which Grey’s Anatomy star is returning to the Great White Way? And where can you see the brand new Frozen song? Find out all this and more in Stagelight’s Top 10 Theater Stories of the Week!
10. King and I cast album coming this summer
Producers announced this week that a King and I cast album will be released this June. The revival starring Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe is already creating quite a bit of Tony buzz, particularly surrounding O’Hara’s performance.
9. Constellations comes to a close
Broadway’s Constellations starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson played its final performance this past Sunday after a highly successful limited run. Gyllenhaal and Wilson will likely be in consideration for Tony’s, making it a big year for both of them, with Gyllenhaal nominated for an Oscar and Wilson winning a Golden Globe.
8. A League of Their Own comes to Broadway
Rumors are flying this week that Jason Robert Brown (currently represented on Broadway by Honeymoon in Vegas and in theaters by “The Last Five Years”) is working on a new musical version of the hit film A League of Their Own. Details have yet to be released, but no doubt League will have audiences lining up around the block.
7. T.R. Knight joins It’s Only A Play
Grey’s Anatomy star T.R. Knight returns to the Great White Way starting March 31 in the smash hit It’s Only A Play. This is not Knight’s first foray into the Broadway scene, having played opposite Patrick Stewart in A Life in the Theatre.
6. Keen Company’s one-night-only event features Lippa
Music man Andrew Lippa will appear in a one-night-only concert event on March 23 called We’re Keen On Andrew Lippa. Lippa joins Broadway stars Christina DeCicco (Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, Evita), Adam Kantor (The Last Five Years, Rent, Avenue Q), and Christiane Noll (Ragtime, Jekyll & Hyde).
5. On The Twentieth Century opens
Despite illnesses and understudies during previews, the Roundabout musical On The Twentieth Century officially opened this past Sunday at the American Airlines Theatre. The musical stars Broadway vet Kristen Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher.
4. Hunchback officially opens
Disney’s latest stage musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame officially opened this past Sunday at Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse. The show is rumored to be the next Disney film-turned-stage musical to arrive on Broadway.
3. Finding Neverland starts previews
Broadway performances began this past Sunday for the new smash musical Finding Neverland starring Kelsey Grammer and Matthew Morrison. The musical arrives amidst a plethora of new musicals, but with Diane Paulus at the helm, audiences are surely in for a treat.
2. Book of Mormon star to join Beauty and the Beast live
Producers announced this week that Book of Mormon and Frozen star Josh Gad will likely join the cast of Disney’s upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. Gad is in talks to play the role of Le Fou, Gaston’s comedic sidekick.
1. And finally… a new Frozen song!
Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell are back with a brand new Frozen song. The song is called “Making Today a Perfect Day” and will play as part of the new short Frozen Fever alongside Disney’s new live-action Cinderella film.