Lineup of Tony presenters announced
Although this year’s Tony hosts (Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming) are unlikely to attract much of a mainstream television audience, the lineup of award presenters is pretty starry, including Bradley Cooper (a Tony nominee for “The Elephant Man”), former host Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Parsons (currently on Broadway in “An Act of God”), Sting (nominated for his score of “The Last Ship”), Larry David (currently on Broadway in “Fish in the Dark”), Amanda Seyfried (now Off-Broadway in “The Way We Get By”) and Bryan Cranston (who won a Tony last year for playing LBJ in “All the Way”).
Lange to do O’Neill’s ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’
Two-time Academy Award winner Jessica Lange, who has not appeared on Broadway since a lambasted 2005 revival of “The Glass Menagerie,” will return in a Roundabout Theatre Company production of Eugene O’Neill’s tragic family drama “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” She will be joined by Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects”) and John Gallagher Jr. (“Spring Awakening”).
‘Into the Woods’ cast to reunite at BAM
The original cast of “Into the Woods” (including Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien and Robert Westenberg) will reunite at the BAM opera house on June 21 along with songwriter Stephen Sondheim and playwright-director James Lapine for a discussion/concert. Mo Rocca will moderate the event.
‘The Crucible’ to be revived next season
Scott Rudin will produce Arthur Miller’s witch hunt drama “The Crucible” on Broadway next season, as per a casting notice released last week. According to the London newspaper the Daily Mail, it will be led by Sophie Okonedo (“A Raisin in the Sun”) and staged by the experimental Belgian director Ivo van Hove.
‘Orange’ actress finds ‘The Color Purple’
Danielle Brooks is trading orange for purple. Best known as “Taystee” on the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black,” she will play Sofia in the upcoming Broadway revival of the musical “The Color Purple,” which begins performances in November at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. She joins Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery and Cynthia Erivo (who won acclaim when the revival premiered in London) as Celie.
More ‘Cymbeline’ cast announced for Shakespeare in the Park
Kate Burton (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Raul Esparza (“Company”) and Patrick Page (“Spider-Man”) have joined the cast of the upcoming Shakespeare in the Park production of the wild romance “Cymbeline,” which will be led by park regulars Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater. It will be this summer’s second free Shakespeare offering, following “The Tempest” with Sam Waterston and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
‘Doctor Zhivago’ to get cast album
The musical “Doctor Zhivago,” which closed up shop on Broadway right after opening to bad reviews and no Tony nominations, will nevertheless put out a cast album. Its producers are hoping that in spite of failing on Broadway, the musical will be a hit internationally.
Spotted …
Michelle Pfeiffer and Gina Gershon at “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” … Anna Kendrick at “The Visit” … Sally Field, Arianna Huffington and Michael Bloomberg at “It Shoulda Been You.”
