Theatre News Roundup: 12/4-12/8

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

• MotherStruck! debuts Dec. 4 at Off-Broadway's Lynn Redgrave Theater
• School of Rock officially opens Dec. 6 at the Winter Garden Theatre
• Lazarus officially opens Off-Broadway Dec. 7.

TKTS (TICKETS/RUSH/ETC)

• The Broadway revival of Dames at Sea has announced that an online lottery, giving fans a chance at $32 tickets, will begin with the Dec. 8 evening performance.
• New York Theatre Workshop has announced three additional performances of Lazarus
• Joe DiPietro's new comedy, Clever Little Lies has been extended to March 20, 2016 at the Westside Theatre Upstairs.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN DEVELOPMENT)

• OkayBetterBest, a new musical written by Rhonda Kess and Michael Weems and directed by Hunter Foster, receives its second of two industry readings.
• "Right now the plan is to have The Wiz on Broadway a year from now in partnership with Cirque. The entire cast of The Wiz Live knows about the Broadway plans but we didn't make it a prerequisite when casting them."

Everyone’s a Critic (REVIEWS)

• China Doll 
• The Wiz Live!
• School of Rock 
• Lazarus

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

• "Chuck Cooper, LaChanze and Norm Lewis will star in the City Center Encores! staging of the 1940 Vernon Duke-John Latouche musical Cabin in the Sky. Creative duties have also been announced for Encores! productions of 1776 and Do I Hear a Waltz?"
• "Matthew Morrison, who stars as J.M. Barrie in the new Broadway musical Finding Neverland, will exit the production Jan. 24, 2016. His replacement has not been named."
• "Mario Cantone and Ralph Macchio, are tapped to headline the world premiere of A Room of My Own, written and directed by Charles Messina."

I Heard It Through the Grapevine (RUMORS)

• Whorl Inside a Loop may move to Broadway

Brush Up Your Shakespeare (SHAKESPEARE)

• Michael Fassbender/Marion Cotillard Macbeth released in select US cinemas 12/4

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

• Pure Motion, a collection of seven contemporary dance pieces created by Ray Mercer, will be staged Feb. 29, 2016, at 7 PM and 8:30 PM at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
• Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas In Concert will be held Dec. 15 at Feinstein's/54 Below

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

• Every Good Girl Deserves Fun — And Other Misremembered Things, a new dark comedy written by Heidi Armbruster, performs through Dec. 20 at Walkerspace. GA tickets $25.
• "The Storm Theatre Company will present the North American premiere of John Hodge's Collaborators, the 2012 Olivier Award-winning play about a writer who is asked to pen Joseph Stalin's biographical play. Previews are set to begin Jan. 8, 2016, with an official opening night scheduled for Jan. 14. Performances will continue through Feb. 13 at Grand Hall."
• "The Offending Gesture, a comedic drama that draws from the true story of Hitler and his dog, Blondi, will begin previews Jan. 6, 2016, prior to an official opening Jan 9. Performances are scheduled to run through Jan. 23."

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

• School of Rock released its original Broadway cast album 12/4
• Best Musical Theater Album Grammy Award

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

• If/Then tour casting 
• Wicked tour casting

They Mean Chicago, Illinois (CHICAGO NEWS)

• Chicago production of Hamilton
• Performances begin Dec. 7 for Lyric Opera of Chicago's world premiere production of Bel Canto

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

• Matthew Perry will return to London to star in the world premiere of The End of Longing, which also marks his own playwriting debut.

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

• Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Twentieth Century Fox will present the special, two-day event, re-airing The King and I in movie theaters, which is set for Aug. 28 and 30, 2016.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

• NBC is developing an original TV musical, "Voice of the City" with a script by Claudia Shear and a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
• "Queen Latifah will star in a new musical television series written and directed by Lee Daniels for Fox. According to Fox, "the new drama pilot follows three young women, who form a girl group with hopes of making it big in the music industry, and the choices with which they’re faced along the way." Latifah will play Carlotta, "the owner of an Atlanta beauty salon, with an amazing voice, who will become a surrogate mother to the three girls – even though she doesn’t approve of their musical dreams." Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O’Grady will star as the young girl group members."