COVID-19 is still lurking around Broadway and causing major absences.
The world may want to be finished with COVID-19, but COVID-19 is not finished with the theater industry. Last week, Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, the stars of the hit Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd,” were both out of the show due to testing positive for COVID-19.
In their absences, the roles of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett were performed by Nicholas Christopher (who normally plays the ostentatious barber Pirelli) and Jeanna de Waal (Princess Diana in “Diana, the Musical””), respectively. In a sign of caution, the Broadway company of “Shucked” announced that it will temporarily halt all post-show stage door activities (such as autographs and photographs). Notwithstanding, COVID-19 has not caused widespread performance cancellations due to cast absences, which was the case in December 2021.
Constance Wu and Corbin Bleu will enter ‘Little Shop’
Constance Wu, star of the films “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Hustlers,” will take over the role as Audrey in the open-ended Off-Broadway production of “Little Shp of Horrors” beginning Sept. 26. Wu will be joined by Corbin Bleu (Chad in the “High School Musical” franchise, who has since appeared on Broadway and in regional theater) as Seymour. Audrey and Seymour are currently being played by Joy Woods and Jeremy Jordan, respectively.
‘The Outsiders’ set for Broadway
A musical adaptation of “The Outsiders,” based on the novel by S.E. Hinton and the 1983 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola about rival teen gangs in 1967 Tulsa, will come to Broadway in the spring, with previews beginning on March 16 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. In 1957, a different musical about rival teen gangs premiered on Broadway and did pretty well.
Free Curtain Up! Broadway Festival returning to Times Square
The third-annual three-day Curtain Up! Broadway Festival, which debuted in the fall of 2021 to celebrate the reopening of Broadway following the pandemic shutdown, will return to Times Square on Sept. 8-10. Free events will include sing-alongs, workshops, concerts, a dance session, and a celebration of Chita Rivera. A finale concert on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. will air live on WABC.
Shia LaBeouf will lead new David Mamet drama in CA
Ten years ago, Shia LaBeouf was fired from the Broadway production of Lyle Kessler’s drama “Orphans” due to his allegedly erratic behavior during rehearsals. LaBeouf went on to post on Twitter private emails between him and his co-stars and director concerning his departure.
Last week, Variety reported that LaBeouf will lead the world premiere of “Henry Johnson,” a new play by David Mamet about “the plight of a man after an action of compassion upends his life” in Venice, CA. Last year’s Broadway revival of Mamet’s “American Buffalo” was upended by a television interview in which Mamet, who has taken on increasingly divisive political views since 2008, claimed that “teachers are inclined, particularly men, because men are predators, to pedophilia.”
