Debra Messing will return to Broadway next season in “Birthday Candles,” a new play by Noah Haidle, which will be produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre in the spring. She will play a woman who is depicted on birthdays throughout her life, from age 17 to 101.
McKellen to talk Tolkien and more at one-man Broadway show
Ian McKellen will bring his one-man show — “Ian McKellen Onstage: with Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others…and You!” — to Broadway’s Hudson Theatre on Nov. 5. All proceeds from the performance will benefit the nonprofit group Only Make Believe. In celebration of his 80th birthday, McKellen has already performed the show at over 80 theaters in the U.K.
‘Into the Woods’ to receive one-night benefit concert
“Into the Woods,” Stephen Sondheim’s fairy tale mash-up musical, will receive a one-night-only concert performance at Town Hall on July 8. The event will serve as a benefit for Cleveland Musical Theatre. The cast (made up of Broadway actors who have ties to Ohio) includes Tony winner Alice Ripley, Tony Yazbeck, Betsy Wolfe and Kate Shindle.
‘Hillary and Clinton’ is the latest play to cut short a limited run
Hillary Clinton, an avid theatergoer, will need to hurry if she still wants to catch Lucas Hnath’s “Hillary and Clinton.” Producer Scott Rudin announced on Monday that the play (which depicts Bill and Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential primaries) will close on Sunday, June 23. It was previously scheduled to run through July 21. In recent weeks, Rudin (who has become the most prolific producer on Broadway) has also pulled the plug on “King Lear’ with Glenda Jackson and “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus” with Nathan Lane.
Ed Harris to play Atticus Finch in ‘Mockingbird’
Ed Harris will take over as Atticus Finch in the hit Broadway production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” beginning Nov. 5, just two days after Jeff Daniels gives his last performance in the role. It was recently announced that Richard Thomas will play Finch in the play’s upcoming national tour.
Spotted …
Nicole Kidman and Marion Cotillard at “Burn This” … Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at “What the Constitution Means to Me” … Tina Fey at “Beetlejuice” … George Takei at “Oklahoma!”
