by Mike Haber | Oct 4, 2021 | Blog, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows
FETCH NEWS!!! THE PLASTICS are back and ready to take REVENGE after 18 1/2 months isolated from all those at NORTHSHORE HIGH. Full casting has been announced for the return of the National Tour of the smash hit
Mean Girls this Fall. This high energetic company will feature an unbelievable lineup of returning cast members, newbies, and even alumni from the Broadway company now coming to the road.
Under the direction and choreography by Tony winner
Casey Nicholaw, the cast will be led by its returning cast members….
Megan Masako Haley (National Tour of
WICKED and Off Broadway’s Pacific Overtures) as THE PLASTICS head gossip Queen herself “Gretchen Wieners”,
Mary Kate Morrisey (National Tour of WICKED) as the rebellious and creative “Janis Sarkisian”,
Eric Huffman as the showstopping TOO GAY TO FUNCTION “Damian Hubbard”,
Adante Carter (Off Broadway’s Sweetee) as the heartthrob and love interest “Aaron Samuels”,
Kabir Bery as everyone’s favorite high energetic, rapping, and funky MATHLETE himself “Kevin Gnapor”,
Laurence E. Street as the caring, appreciative, and offish “Principal Duvall”,
New to MEAN GIRLS National Tour will include….
newcomer Nadina Hassan who replaces
Mariah Rose Faith as THE PLASTICS head leader and QUEEN BEE herself “Regina George”,
April Josephine who replaces Gaelen Gilliland as “The Adult Women” track in the show consisting of….. “Mrs. Heron”, “Mrs. George”, and of course “Ms. Norbury”.
If you missed
Mean Girls during its successful FEARLESS run on Broadway, no worries. Here is your chance to see it in a city near you. It will re-kick off in Tempe, AZ beginning November 2nd, 2021 before traveling to the following cities across North America….
Portland, OR,
Seattle, WA,
Salt Lake City, UT,
Albuquerque, NM,
Oklahoma City, OK,
Milwaukee, WI,
Nashville, TN,
St. Louis, MI,
Omaha, NE,
Indianapolis, IN,
Washington D.C, (where the show had its pre-Broadway tryout),
Memphis, TN,
New Orleans, LA,
Schenectady, NY,
Baltimore, MD,
Atlanta, GA,
Houston, TX,
Hartford, CT
San Diego, CA,
and more.
Check the site to see when MEAN GIRLS is coming to your town.
by Mike Haber | Sep 29, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows
SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR NEWS! The newly Tony Award winning musical adaptation of the Oscar winning film
Moulin Rouge is making its way to a city near you next year. We are happy to announce that the tour’s 2 leads have been revealed.
Under the Tony winning direction of Alex Timbers, this new National Tour of
Moulin Rouge will be led by…..
Courtney Reed (Broadway’s
Mamma Mia!,
In The Heights, and notably the original “Jasmine” in
Aladdin) taking on the role of the beautiful SPARKLING DIAMOND herself “Satine”.
Additional casting will be revealed later on.
For those who can’t get to NYC to see this hot ticket right now at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, the National Tour of MOULIN ROUGE is set to CAN-CAN its way to various cities across North America. It will start in Chicago, IL beginning February 26th, 2021 for a 3 month run before traveling to…..
Minneapolis, MN,
Denver, CO,
Los Angeles, CA,
and
San Francisco, CA.
Additional cities and dates will be announced soon.
Congrats Conor and Courtney!!
by Mike Haber | Sep 28, 2021 | Blog, Casting, News, Shows
Since the groundbreaking smash hit
Jagged Little Pill recently won its 2 Tony Awards this past Sunday for BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL (for
Diablo Cody) and BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for
Lauren Patten), Theater fans are saying NO to all of this. All of this has to do with some the show’s recent controversial backlash its dealing with. Now, angry Broadway fans are letting their voices be heard as they plan to protest the show’s Re-Opening Night next month.
In case anyone may not know, JAGGED LITTLE PILL has been the target for 2 recent controversial stories consisting of….
1. A dramatic storyline change of Lauren Patten’s character “Jo” being changed from its World Premiere Cambridge tryout to Broadway, Originally, the character was initially supposed to be transgender. Later on as it was preparing to hit Broadway, the creative team changed “Jo” to being cisgender.
2. The show’s original standout Ensemble member Nora Schell dealing with hell from the stage management. While still in previews, Schell (who goes by They/Them pronouns) was FORCED to postpone a surgery to receive treatment for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Each extended rescheduling made them feel worse.
This recent news also caused several of its original cast members to depart the show including Tony nominee Celia Gooding (who plays “Frankie”) and
Antonio Cipriano (who plays “Phoenix”).
JAGGED LITTLE PILL is set to reopen at Broadhurst Theatre starting October 21st, 2021.
by Mike Haber | Sep 28, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows
SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR NEWS: Last week, casting has officially been announced for the upcoming London company of the now Tony Award winning
Moulin Rouge in the West End. Under the direction of Tony winner Alex Timbers and choreography by Tony winner
Sonya Tayeh, this new cast will be led by….
Newcomer Jamie Bogyo in his West End debut as struggling and aspiring writer “Christian”,
Olivier Award nominee Jason Pennycooke (London’s
Memphis and
Hamilton) as head performer “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec”,
West End favorite Simon Bailey (
Jersey Boys and
Heathers) as the rich, vain, and abusive psychopathic “Duke of Monroth”
Elia Lo Tauro as the sexiest tango dancer all of Paris himself, “Santiago” aka “The Narcoleptic Argentinean”,
Sophie Carmen Jones (
Chicago and Jersey Boys) as the jealous “Nini Legs-in-the-Air”,
Moulin Rouge will CAN-CAN its way overseas to London’s West End at the Piccadilly Theatre beginning November 12th, 2021.
Along with its London company, this Award winning production continues to play to packed houses every night here in NYC at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. Other upcoming productions will include its long awaited North American National Tour and sit-down Australian companies.
by Mike Haber | Sep 28, 2021 | Blog, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows
BREAKING NEWS: Full casting has been revealed for
Roundabout Theatre Company‘s upcoming Broadway production of TROUBLE IN MIND this Fall. Under the direction of Charles Randolph-Wright, the cast will include….
Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper (Broadway’s The Life and Prince of Broadway) as “Sheldon Forrester”,
Alex Mickiewicz (Broadway’s Long Days Journey Into Night and True West) as “Eddie Fenton”
Don Stephenson (Broadway’s The Producers and A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder) as “Bill O’Wray”.
This all-star lineup joins the previously announced Tony and Emmy Award winner
LaChanze as the lead role of “Wiletta Mayer”.
TROUBLE IN MIND is set to begin previews on October 29th, 2021 and officially open on November 18th, 2021 at the American Airlines Theatre. It will run for a strictly limited engagement through January 9th, 2022.
by Mike Haber | Sep 27, 2021 | Antoinette (Tony) Awards, Blog, Broadway, Casting, News, Shows
BREAKING NEWS: Despite not having taken home any
Tony Awards last night, Jeremy O. Harris’ powerful 12 time nominated
Slave Play has gotten an unforgettable overwhelming response from our Theater community. It has just been announced that the play itself will be returning to Broadway this Fall for a limited 8 WEEK ENGAGEMENT!!!!
Under the direction of Tony Award nominee Robert O’Hara, SLAVE PLAY will return for a strictly limited engagement at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre (following the 52nd street house current hit
Pass Over). Previews will begin on November 23rd, 2021, the official Opening Night is set for December 2nd, 2021, and will through January 23rd, 2022.
Majority of the play’s casting is still expecting to be the same as it was consisting of its original stars….
Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood as “Gary”,
Tony nominee Chalia La Tour as “Teá”,
Irene Sofia Lucio as “Patricia”,
Tony nominee Annie McNamara as “Alana”
and
Paul Alexander Nolan as “Jim”.
No word has been said though if either Tony nominee Joaquina Kalukango or
Teyonah Parris will be continuing with the play as “Kaneisha”.
For those who may not know, SLAVE PLAY tells the story of 3 interracial couples undergoing ASPT (Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy) due to their black partners no longer feel sexual attraction to their white partners. The title refers both to the history of slavery in the United States and to sexual slavery role-play. Told in 3 acts, it deals with the themes of race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships.
SLAVE PLAY was first concieved by Jeremy O. Harris while studying at the
Yale School of Drama. He wrote it during his freshmen year of studies back in 2016. It would be performed at the school part of the campus’ Langston Hughes Festival in the Fall of 2017.
With the unforgettable response, the play itself would get noticed and get an Off-Broadway run. The show continued to get developed, expanded, and be performed at the
New York Theatre Workshop in the Fall of 2018. The critics praised the production, it was extended for an additional month and a half.
The Off Broadway run was nominated for various Awards including
The Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Award. However, it lost all its categories. It did however win a Drama Desk Award for OUTSTANDING FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY.
With the incredible response of the Off Broadway run, SLAVE PLAY would make its way to midtown and ON Broadway. It transferred to the Golden Theatre the following Fall of 2019 where it ran for a limited engagement of 29 previews and 121 regular performances.
It was nominated for various Awards… of course 12
Tony Awards including BEST PLAY but lost all the categories. The news of the play loosing within the last few hours caused a lot of anger and frustration within the Theater community….. especially how powerful it is.
After the show’s Broadway return, SLAVE PLAY will make its over to the West Coast debuting in LA at the Mark Taper Forum.
