Theatre News Roundup: 7/15-7/16

Hi guys,

Sorry for the delay. Yesterday was a little weird for me. I think the heat at the concert and the heat yesterday just got to me. There was a lot of angry cleaning going on. Are you guys watching UnReal? You totally should be.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

• The new Broadway musical Amazing Grace, which played a sold-out world premiere in Chicago, officially opens July 16 at the Nederlander Theatre. 

Everyone’s a Critic (REVIEWS)

• Reviews for Encores' The Wild Party

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

• The Public Theater has announced casting for its musical adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet, with music, lyrics and book by Todd Almond (Iowa, Stage Kiss), which will run for four nights only in September (Sept 4-7). The cast will include Brandon Victor Dixon as Odysseus, Karen Olivo as Penelope, Taran Killam as the Cyclops; and Lucas Caleb Rooney is Antinous. The show will also feature cameo group performances by The Bobby Lewis Ensemble; The D.R.E.A.M. Ring; Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana II; The Marching Cobras; The New York Youth Symphony; and TADA! Youth Theater. Free tickets to The Odyssey will be distributed, two per person, at noon on the day of the show at the Delacorte Theater and via the Virtual Ticketing lottery at PublicTheater.
• Rumer Willis, will make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the current revival of Chicago. She will begin her eight-week engagement on Aug. 18, and continue through Oct. 11 at the Ambassador Theatre.
• The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, IL, and Universal Stage Productions have announced the cast of the world premiere of October Sky, a musical adaptation of the 1999 film.
• Dylan McDermott will play a vengeance-seeking cotton gin owner in a new stage adaptation of Tennessee Williams' controversial film "Baby Doll," according to The New York Times.
• Casting developments for The Unauthorized O.C. Musical: Ryan will be Tilky Jones (the Tim Tebow stand in on season 1 of Nashville); Molly McCook will play Marissa Cooper; Brendan Robinson will be Seth Cohen (Lucas on Pretty Little Liars) and Greer Grammer (Lissa on Awkward) will play Summer.
• Stephen Bogardus and Lauren Molina have joined the Huntington Theatre Company production of Stephen Sondheim's and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music. Performances begin Sept. 11 in Boston.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

• The Broadway play An Act of God has recouped its entire $2.9 million capitalization in just 10 weeks of performances–very prompt by Broadway standards.
• Off-Broadway's Signature Theatre is partnering with Connecticut's venerable Westport Country Playhouse to co-produce the world premiere of A.R. Gurney’s Love and Money this summer. It starts performances July 21 in Westport.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

• The new season at London's Royal Court will include the world premiere ofHangmen, Martin McDonagh's first new play in London for more than a decade.
• Michael John LaChiusa's musical See What I Wanna See , is to receive its London premiere. It will begin performances Sept. 8 at Jermyn Street Theatre, prior to an official opening Sept. 11, for a run through Oct. 3.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

• Nathan Lane has been signed to play celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey in Ryan Murphy's "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson," according to Deadline.com. Steven Pasquale has been cast as detective Mark Fuhrman in the FX miniseries.
• Nominations for the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring excellence in television, have been announced. The annual awards ceremony will be broadcast live on Fox-TV Sept. 20 from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.  Andy Samberg will host.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

• The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced July 15 the selection of individuals who will receive the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. Recipients to be honored at the 38th annual national celebration of the arts are singer-songwriter Carole King, actresses Cicely Tyson and Rita Moreno, filmmaker George Lucas, conductor Seiji Ozawa and rock group the Eagles.