Theatre News Roundup: 8/19-8/20

Be sure to read to the end for the Kinky Boots contest! :)

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

• Previews begin Aug. 20 for the New York premiere of Matthew Lopez's The Legend of Georgia McBride, about an Elvis impersonator turned drag queen. 

TKTS (TICKETS/RUSH/ETC)

• Broadway Week returns Sept. 7-20. The biannual promotion offers theatregoers the chance to purchase two-for-one tickets to a range of Broadway shows. Tickets are on sale as of Aug. 19.
• Changes in the ticket lottery system have been announced for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. According to a tweet from the official Hedwig Twitter account, "New lottery timing--you may now enter 2 hours before each performance; winners drawn 90 minutes prior to show time."
• IRT Theater proudly presents Troy Deutsch’s In a Tilted Place, a kaleidoscopic play directed by Ashley Brooke Monroe and Courtney Ulrich. Tickets are $18 and are available online at BrownPaperTickets.com or by phone. Tickets are also available to purchase a half hour before each performance.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

• Alix Korey will play Yente in the forthcoming revival of Fiddler on the Roof, which will begin previews Nov. 12 prior to an official opening Dec. 17 at The Broadway Theatre.
• Casting has been announced for the Cleveland Play House's world premiere of Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors. The cast will include Ron Orbach (Saunders), Antoinette Lavecchia (Maria), Bradley Dean (Tito/Beppo), Kristen Martin (Mimi), Bobby Conte Thornton (Carlo Nucci), Rob McClure (Max) and Lisa Brescia (Tatiana Racón). 
• Christopher Denham will join Al Pacino in the Broadway debut of David Mamet's China Doll, which will begin previews Oct. 21. Denham replaces Fran Kranz, who had to withdraw from the production due to scheduling issues. It has also been announced that the limited engagement, originally scheduled for 87 performances, will now play 97 shows.
• casting for Carrie the Musical, which will play the historic Los Angeles Theatre, the first theatrical musical at that venue.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

• Brian Stokes Mitchell will play Café Carlyle Sept. 15-26. Mitchell's new show, entitled Plays With Music, will feature Broadway favorites, standards and jazz. The acclaimed singing actor will be accompanied by a trio led by his long-time pianist and collaborator, Tedd Firth, with Gary Haase on bass and Mark McLean on drums.
• Amanda McBroom will return to 54 Below this fall over two nights with her new solo show, Up Close and Personal. McBroom is a Golden Globe winner for Best Original Song for "The Rose," the Oscar-winning 1979 film starring Bette Midler. McBroom will hit the stage at 54 Below on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in a show that will feature previously unheard songs from her personal songwriter’s trunk, plus music by some of her favorite writers. McBroom's song "Errol Flynn," which she wrote about her father, was recently featured on NPR’s "Songs We Love." 

A Musical (MUSICALS)

• Cirque du Soleil will take over Broadway’s Lyric Theatre next spring for its first-ever made-for-Broadway musical, Paramour, the story of a young poet in Hollywood. The songs are credited to Cirque songwriting team "Bob & Bill" (creative aliases for Guy Dubuc and Marc Lessard) but no librettist is listed. 
• Who's Your Baghdaddy? Or How I Started The Iraq War, the new musical by Marshall Pailet and A.D. Penedo, will begin performances Off-Broadway Sept. 26. The musical comedy follows members of a support group for those who started the Iraq War. With an official opening night slated for Oct. 17, performances will run through Nov. 22 at the Actors Temple Theater.
• Welcome to My World, a new "one-girl musical" written for and about a 14-year-old, will make its world premiere Sept. 10-27 at the Grove Theatre in Burbank, CA. Sami Staitman will star in the limited engagement, which will officially open Sept. 12 at 8 PM.
• Theater for the New City will stage Bike Shop, The Musical next month, helmed by Gretchen Cryer. Bike Shop, The Musical features a libretto by Elizabeth Barkan, who also stars, lyrics by Caroline Murphy and music by Youn-Young Park. Performances will run Sept. 11-27 at TNC's Cino Theater. Told through narrative and song, the musical follows three generations of a bike-obsessed Jewish-American family.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

• Telly Leung will release his second solo recording this fall on the Yellow Sound Label. Titled "Songs for You," the recording will be available Nov. 20.

We Open in Venice, We Next Play Verona (TOURS)

• On Aug. 19 Christopher Tierney steps into the dancing shoes of Johnny Castle for the national tour of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage. The opening, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, marks the launch of the North American tour's second year. 

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

• Jennifer Hudson is currently in talks to play the Grammy winning "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic, according to TheWrap.com 
• Matilda The Musical director Matthew Warchus told the Sydney Morning Herald Aug. 18 that the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway and London musical Matilda is now in pre-production and is likely to start filming in late 2016.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

• Paul Rudnick's new TV Land pilot "I Shudder," which will star Hamish Linklater has added Megan Hilty, John Behlmann, Geneva Carr and Brooklyn Shuck to its cast. Hilty and Behlmann will play Sara and Drake Morelle, the demanding parents of 11-year-old Stella, played by Shuck. The Morelles are neighbors to Elyot Vionnet, played by Linklater. Carr has been tapped to play their other neighbor, Susan Marie, who is described as "unpleasant and self-righteous." The pilot will be shot in New York in October. "I Shudder" is a "comedy revolving around Elyot Vionnet, an advocate of manners, style and most importantly, common decency. Observing people committing heinous crimes of etiquette, he tries to counsel them from afar, inserting himself into their lives most unwelcomely. When the individuals he deems classless choose not to take his advice, they are met with terrible consequences. Elyot joins forces with his young neighbor Stella to try to make the world better, one tactless person at a time," according to production notes. The project is based on Rudnick's book "I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey." 
• The holiday film "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" will be broadcast on NBC Dec. 10 beginning at 9 PM ET. The cast will include Jennifer Nettles as Parton’s mother, Avie Lee Parton; Gerald McRaney as Grandpa Jake Owens; Ricky Schroder as Dolly’s father, Lee Parton; and Alyvia Alyn as nine-year-old Dolly Parton. 

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

• Kinky Boots will celebrate its 1,000th performance on Broadway Aug. 26 with a ticket giveaway and "fabulous footwear" contest for fans. To pay homage to the show's red boots, the first 50 people in line at the Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th St.) wearing red shoes when the box office opens at 10 AM will receive a free pair of tickets to that evening’s performance. Billy Porter, who stars in the role of Lola, will be on hand to pick the three most fabulous pairs of footwear. Winners will get to join the cast backstage after the evening performance for a celebratory toast and custom Kinky Boots cupcakes. 
• Off-Broadway's 59E59 Theatres has announced the complete line-up of shows for fall 2015 and into early 2016. 
• Harlem Stage Company announced its fall 2015 season Aug. 18. The season will include live music, documentary screenings, staged readings and more.