Theatre News Roundup: 8/5-8/6

Hello my loves,

Very sorry for the delay. I was out late at #tbtLIVE at 54 Below and the subway took it's sweet time getting me home (and switched lines right before my stop). The concert was great. I'll post the link if they put it on youtube.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

• The New Group launches its 2015-16 season Aug. 5 with the Off-Broadway premiere of Philip Ridley’s dystopian British drama, Mercury Fur. 

The Party’s Over (CLOSINGS)

• The Broadway revival of On the Town has posted its closing notice. The big dance musical will end its run at the Lyric Theatre Sept. 6 after 28 previews and 368 regular performances. Original lead Megan Fairchild will be succeeded by New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, who will step into the role of Ivy Smith Aug. 11-23. Beginning Aug. 25, Misty Copeland will make her Broadway debut as Ivy for 12 performances only through the show's final performance, Sept. 6. 

TKTS (TICKETS/RUSH/ETC)

• The Off-Broadway run of Ruthless! The Musical has been extended through Jan. 2, 2016. 

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN DEVELOPMENT)

• Readings of the new musical Lyra: A Dark Fairy Tale — billed as an "adaptation of the original 'Little Mermaid' story, set against the backdrop of a Faustian Dust Bowl era circus" — will be presented Sept. 17 at 7 PM and Sept. 20 at 5 PM at The Triad Theatre to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. 
• Initial casting has been announced for The Pasadena Playhouse's upcoming production of the new musical Breaking Through, which will begin previews Oct. 27 prior to an official opening Nov. 1. Directed by artistic director Sheldon Epps, the cast will be led by Alison Luff and Constantine Maroulis. The musical has a book by Kirsten Guenther and music and lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz. The production is choreographed by Tyce Diorio. Breaking Through, according to press notes, "is told through the eyes of a young, talented singer/songwriter, as she tries to navigate the treacherous shark-filled waters of the music business." 
• Adam McKay and the website Funny Or Die have joined forces with Archie Comics to create an original Broadway musical based on the comic book. McKay is writing the libretto, with a creative team and dates for a New York run to be announced later. 

Everyone’s a Critic (REVIEWS)

• The many, many reviews for Hamilton

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

• Shanice Williams has been announced to step into Dorothy's silver slippers in the upcoming NBC broadcast of The Wiz. Uzo Aduba will play Glinda, with Amber Riley slated to play Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North. They join original Broadway star Stephanie Mills, Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier and Mary J. Blige.
• The Public Theater has announced complete casting for the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's First Daughter Suite, a follow-up to the composer's 1993 musical First Lady Suite. 
• Casting has been announced for the planned 2016 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, with a score by Philip Glass. The New York Times reported that Ben Whishaw will play John Proctor; Saoirse Ronan will be Abigail Williams; and Ciaran Hinds  will be Deputy Governor Danforth. As previously announced, Tony-winner Sophie Okonedo will play Elizabeth Proctor. 
• Melanie Moore, currently playing Peter Pan in Finding Neverland, will join the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof as Chava. Also announced are Nick Rehberger (Fyedka), Adam Dannheisser (Lazar Wolf) and Karl Kenzler (The Constable).
• Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles has announces the cast of the the West Coast premiere of These Paper Bullets! A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing", which will begin previews Sept. 8 prior to an official opening Sept. 16 in the Geffen's Gil Cates Theater. 
• Casting has been announced for the LCT3 world premiere of Abe Koogler's Kill Floor, which will begin performances Oct. 3 prior to an official opening Oct. 19. Performances will continue through Nov. 15. The cast will include Nicholas L. Ashe, Jeremy Bobb, Natalie Gold, Marin Ireland and Samuel H. Levine.

A Musical (MUSICALS)

• Twenty-two composers and lyricists will come together to create a new musical Identity Crisis, which will be presented Aug. 15 at 7 PM at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York. Presented by The Composers Collective, the A (written in) 48-Hour Musical event asks the writers to come up with the score for the new musical, which features a book by Allen Mogol, in 48 hours.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

• Brooklyn's Theatre For a New Audience will stage Richard Maxwell and New York City Players' Isolde this fall, which had a brief but acclaimed, sold-out run downtown in 2014. 

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

• Liaisons Re-Imagining Sondheim from The Piano," pianist Anthony de Mare's new three-CD set of 36 Stephen Sondheim songs, arranged and reimagined by a host of contemporary composers, will be released Sept. 25 by ECM.

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

• A non-Equity tour of the Woody Allen musical Bullets Over Broadway will launch in Cleveland, OH, at Playhouse Square with performances beginning Oct. 6.

They Mean Chicago, Illinois (CHICAGO NEWS)

• Chicago's acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre Company will kick off its 40th anniversary season with the world-premiere adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, beginning previews Sept. 17.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

• Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet begins performances at the Barbican Theatre Aug. 5, prior to an official opening Aug. 25, for a run through Oct. 31. 

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

• John Legend will join J.K. Simmons, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the cast of "La La Land," a musical to be directed by Damien Chazelle, according to a report on Showbiz411. 
• To celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," a sing-along version of the film will be released in the U.K. in October and subsequently in the U.S., according to Variety.
• Several princesses who come to the realization they are all engaged to the same prince is the basis for the upcoming new animated musical "Charming" from 3QU Media. Deadline.com reports that Avril Lavigne, Ashley Tisdale and G.E.M. (a pop star in China) have landed the roles of, respectively, Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. They join the previously announced Demi Lovato, who is playing the role of Lenore and also overseeing the score for the musical comedy.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

• Empire Travel Agency, a new immersive theatre experience presented by Woodshed Collective, will have audiences crisscrossing Manhattan's financial district Aug. 19 through Sept. 27. The production will feature a cast of more than 20 performers and musicians. 
• Julie Andrews will direct a production of My Fair Lady at Australia's Joan Sutherland Theatre in the Sydney Opera House in 2016, to celebrate the show's 60th anniversary. 
• Macy's has announced the return of Yes, Virginia The Musical, which will be offered royalty free, as part of the fourth year of its annual holiday "Believe" campaign. The famed department store will also offer $1,000 grants to the first 100 eligible schools and organizations that apply, now through Sept. 18.
• Otello will no longer be performed with its leading character in blackface at the Metropolitan Opera, according to the website Hyperallergic.com and NPR.com.
• Sante Fe Opera is set to stage the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an original opera based on the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. A dual collaboration between composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell, the new work will premiere in 2017.