Blanchett to make Broadway debut in Chekhov rarity
Cate Blanchett, who has played City Center and Brooklyn Academy of Music in tours of productions that originated in Australia (including “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “The Maids”), will finally make her Broadway debut this year in “The Present,” a play based on Chekhov’s very first work. She will be joined by Richard Roxburgh, who appeared in “Uncle Vanya” with Blanchett.
From ‘Game of Thrones’ to Elizabethan England
Kit Harington, best known as Jon Snow on “Game of Thrones,” will star in a new production of Christopher Marlowe’s Elizabethan drama “Doctor Faustus” in London in April in the title role. In a recent notable production, Classic Stage Company presented a heavily revised version of the play with Chris Noth as Faustus last year.
Armstrong comments on HS cancellation of ‘American Idiot’
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is up in arms over the cancellation of a Connecticut high school production of the band’s pop opera “American Idiot” due to its racy content, as first reported by blogger Howard Sherman. On Instagram, Armstrong said that the cancellation amounted to “censorship” and that “the kids should be heard.”
‘Hamilton’ sets plans in motion for national tour
The national tour of “Hamilton” will launch next year in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Before then, a separate production will open in Chicago. In New York, tickets for performances through Jan. 2017 will go on sale on Feb. 2 but are already available to American Express members through a presale. At this point, it is unclear whether or when author-lead actor Lin-Manuel Miranda will exit the Broadway production to join the tour or Chicago production.
BroadwayCon carries on through Jonas
Every Broadway show was forced to cancel its matinee and evening performances last Saturday due to winter storm Jonas, but the show went on at the first-ever BroadwayCon, a three-day event for musical theater geeks at the Midtown Hilton that featured panel discussions, workshops and live performances. Nearly 6,000 people attended, making it all but certain that the event will return next year. Highlights included a panel with the “Hamilton” cast and a 20th anniversary retrospective on “Rent.”
‘China Doll,’ about to close, makes a mint
In spite of uniformly terrible reviews, David Mamet’s new drama, “China Doll” (which stars Al Pacino as a corrupt businessman), has recouped its investment costs ahead of its final performance on Sunday. According to its producers, the play will be presented next year at several regional theaters and throughout Europe — minus its star. It will be interesting to see how audiences react to the piece without Pacino’s overwhelming presence.
Spotted…
Kenneth Branagh and Daniel Radcliffe at “Hamilton” … 6 at “Our Mother’s Brief Affair” … Tommy Tune attending BroadwayCon.
