Willy Wonka is shutting down the factory again. It was announced Wednesday that “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will end its Broadway run on Jan. 14, after 305 regular performances. The Broadway production was widely panned despite substantial revisions following an earlier London production.
‘Come From Away’ to be developed for film
The box office success of the heartwarming musical “Come From Away” has been a surprise, but even more unlikely is the news that it will be made into a film, to be produced by the Mark Gordon Company. “A film adaptation gives us the chance to share this celebration of the best of humanity with audiences everywhere,” Irene Sankoff and David Hein, who wrote the musical and will now prepare the screenplay, said in a statement.
‘Long Day’s Journey’ with Jeremy Irons set for BAM
Just two years after Eugene O’Neill’s seminal family drama “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” received a Broadway revival led by Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne, a London production starring Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville and directed by Sir Richard Eyre will play BAM in May. The spring theater season at BAM will also include “King Lear” (presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company and starring Antony Sher) and the 1784 German tragedy “Love and Intrigue” (presented by Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg).
R.I.P. Lincoln Center Festival
The summer theater season in New York City just became a lot less exciting. Lincoln Center revealed Wednesday that it is discontinuing its annual Lincoln Center Festival, which brought theater, music and dance productions from around the world to Upper West Side venues each summer.
Nigel Redden, who was the festival’s director for two decades, stepped down from his position at the end of the summer. Festival highlights under his watch included the Royal Shakespeare Company’s residency at the Park Avenue Armory and Cate Blanchett in “Uncle Vanya.”
Spotted…
Hillary Clinton at “Dear Evan Hansen” … RuPaul at “Once On This Island” … Elvis Costello at “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” … Josh Groban at “The Band’s Visit” … William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman at “Come From Away.”
