Theatre News Roundup: 7/7-7/8

Yes! Very late! I'm sorry, my dears. I had a recap to write last night and tonight I was out seeing The Peony Pavilion performed by the National Ballet of China at Lincoln Center. It was beautifully done if a bit beyond my interpretive powers.

Remember to click Read More and check out all the stories from the past two days.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN DEVELOPMENT)

• Sundance Institute has announced the acting company and creative advisors that are participating in its 2015 Theatre Lab, which kicked off July 6 and runs through July 26 at the Sundance Resort in Utah.
• Readings of the new musical Bollywood and Vine, based on Edward Jordon’s film of the same title, will be presented July 9 at 2 PM and 6 PM at The Lion Theatre at Theatre Row in New York. Heather Mac Rae will star in the reading of the musical, which was penned by Jordon, June Rachelson-Ospa and Daniel Neiden.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

• The Playwrights Realm has announced casting for the New York premiere of Anna Ziegler's A Delicate Ship, which will begin previews Aug. 18 prior to an official opening Aug. 27 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 W. 42nd Street).
• Ryan Andes has replaced John Ellison Conlee in the July 15-18 Encores! Off-Center staging of Andrew Lippa's Wild Party.
• Casting has been announced for the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 2016 production of Sarah Ruhl's For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday, which will receive its world premiere during the 40th Humana Festival of New American Plays.

A Musical (MUSICALS)

• The Spring Awakening revival has booked Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Ken Davenport, Cody Lassen, Hunter Arnold and Deaf West Theatre will produce the revival as a limited engageent, which will begin performances Sept. 8, open Sept. 27 and continue through Jan. 9, 2016. 
• Happy 50ish!, a "mid-life crisis musical comedy" is set to bow Off-Broadway starting July 15 at The Beckett Theatre. Written by Lynn Shore, Mark Vogel and David Burnham the show is scheduled to open July 26 and run through Aug. 30. 
• A.C.T.'s Geary Theater presents the American premiere of Call Me Miss Birds Eye: A Celebration of Ethel Merman, a musical revue that chronicles and celebrates the life of stage legend Ethel Merman, who came to be known as the First Lady of Musical Theatre. Performances begin July 8.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

• Brooklyn's Theatre for a New Audience has announced its 2015-16 season, which will include four plays, including works by William Shakespeare and major American and European authors. Performances will be held at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place.
• The New York premiere of playwright Matthew Lopez's The Legend of Georgia McBride, about an Elvis impersonator turned drag queen, has chosen Dave Thomas Brown as its leading man. It will be the opening production of the MCC Theater's 2015-16 season.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

• Tracie Bennett is to replace Janie Dee in the world stage premiere of the musical Mrs. Henderson Presents. Based on the 2005 film of the same name performances begin at Bath's Theatre Royal Aug. 15 prior to an official opening Aug. 26, for a run through Sept. 5.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

• An Australian production of Driving Miss Daisy, starring multiple Tony Award winners Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones, was taped for TV and will be broadcast in the U.S. July 17 by PBS.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

• Front-row seats, priced $10, will be available for all performances of the new Broadway musical Hamilton beginning with the first preview July 13. The lottery begins two-and-half hours prior to each performance when patrons may enter their name at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 W. 46th St.) for a chance to buy up to two front row tickets for $10 each. The winner's names will be drawn two hours before show time. Entrants must present photo ID, and the winners must pay with cash at the box office.
• Six of the more than two dozen musicals being presented at the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival's have reported ticket sales strong enough that they will extend their planned limited engagements.
• The New Victory Theater's 2015-16 season of family programming in New York will include the Off-Broadway premiere of Fly, about the Tuskeegee Airmen, and Caps for Sale The Musical, based on the children's book by Esphyr Slobodkina.