‘Sing Street’ will transfer to Broadway
“Sing Street,” the new stage musical adaptation of John Carney’s 2016 film about a teenage boy who starts a band in 1980s Dublin, will transfer to Broadway following the conclusion of its current Off-Broadway run at New York Theatre Workshop. It will open at the Lyceum Theatre on April 19, just in time to be considered for this year’s Tony Awards. Back in 2011, New York Theatre Workshop presented the pre-Broadway premiere of the Tony-winning musical “Once,” which was also based on a Carney film.
GLAAD to recognize Broadway in its media awards
The LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD has brought back the category of Outstanding Broadway Production for the 2020 GLAAD Media Awards, recognizing “a recent surge of powerful LGBTQ-inclusive shows on Broadway that featured diverse LGBTQ characters and illuminated LGBTQ issues.” Nominated shows include “Choir Boy,” “The Inheritance,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “Slave Play” and “What the Constitution Means to Me.” The awards are meant to recognize LGBTQ media depictions that are “fair, accurate and inclusive.”
NYMF shuts down after 15 years
The New York Musical Theatre Festival, also known as NYMF, has suddenly announced that it is shutting down due to a lack of funding after 15 years of producing new musicals. A statement from the NYMF board lacked specifics, blaming the festival’s demise on “the arts funding crisis in the United States.” During its first three years, NYMF presented early versions of “Next to Normal,” “[title of show],” “Chaplin,” “In Transit,” “Yank!” and “Altar Boyz.” “Emojiland,” which played NYMF in 2018, just transferred Off-Broadway.
Michael Jackson musical to hold open call auditions
The upcoming Michael Jackson bio-jukebox musical “MJ” will hold open call auditions in multiple cities for singers and dancers who can play Jackson at different ages, including at age 10. Ephraim Sykes (“Ain’t Too Proud”) has already been cast as the King of Pop. The New York audition will be held on Jan. 25. For more info visit mjthemusical.com.
Taylor Mac’s new play is set in a ball pit
I don’t know about you, but I always feel a bit sad whenever I see a sign next to a ball pit at a children’s play place warning that no adults are allowed inside. So, you can only imagine my excitement to learn that “The Fre,” a new play by the gender-bending performance artist Taylor Mac (“Gary,” “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music”), will take place in a giant ball pit, with audience members seated inside and around it. “The Fre,” which is described as a “queer love story” about “a rambunctious group of fun-loving anti-intellectuals (who) spend their days cavorting in the mud,” begins previews at The Flea on Feb. 28.
Spotted…
Ron Howard, Philip Glass, Greta Gerwig, Marisa Tomei and Maggie Gyllenhaal at “American Utopia”…Sarah Paulson at “Slave Play”…Lin-Manuel Miranda at “Aladdin”…Ethan Hawke at “Oklahoma!”
