Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano will play rival brothers in a Broadway revival of Sam Shepard’s 1980 family drama “True West,” which will be produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company next season at the American Airlines Theatre beginning in December. It will be directed by James Macdonald (“The Children”). In the 2000 Broadway revival of “True West,” Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly alternated playing each brother.
Christian Borle set for ‘Me and My Girl’
Two-time Tony winner Christian Borle (who gave an acclaimed performance last season in “Falsettos,” followed by a less-than-acclaimed performance in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) will star in the upcoming Encores! concert revival of the 1930s English musical comedy “Me and My Girl,” which runs May 9 to 13 at City Center. Borle will play Bill Snibson, a working-class Cockney fellow who turns out to be a long-lost earl. Robert Lindsay played the role in the hit 1986 Broadway revival. Borle will be joined by Laura Michelle Kelly (“Mary Poppins”), Edward Hibbert and Harriet Harris.
Joel Grey will direct Yiddish ‘Fiddler’
Joel Grey (who made a cameo appearance as George M. Cohan in the recent Encores! production of “Hey, Look Me Over!”) has signed on to direct the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s (NYTF) upcoming Yiddish-language production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” which will play the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan this summer. “For me, it feels like ‘Fiddler’ is coming home,” Grey said in a statement, adding that the production will be “a bold and rich reimagination.” In 2011, Grey codirected a Broadway revival of Larry Kramer’s AIDS drama “The Normal Heart.” This version of “Fiddler” was last performed half a century ago in Israel.
‘Spring Awakening’ team to tackle ‘Alice in Wonderland’
“Alice by Heart,” a new “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired musical by the “Spring Awakening” team of composer Duncan Sheik and lyricist-playwright Steven Sater, will be produced next winter Off-Broadway by MCC Theater during its inaugural season at its new theater complex in midtown. Last month, Sheik wrote on social media that singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Waitress”) will also be involved in the musical.
Critics unite to form new online publication
In “The Critics Say,” a book of theater critic interviews that I wrote that was published two years ago, 67 critics (including Elysa Gardner, Jesse Oxfeld, David Finkle, Michael Sommers and Steven Suskin) spoke of the serious challenges that threaten the future of professional theater criticism. These five critics (who have previously written for publications such as USA Today, Variety, The Star-Ledger and The Observer) have now banded together to form New York Stage Review, an online publication that will provide reviews and multiple critical perspectives on new shows.
‘Chorus Line’ Tony winner Sammy J. Williams dies
Sammy J. Williams, who won a Tony Award for his performance as the gay dancer Paul in the original Broadway production of “A Chorus Line,” died last weekend at the age of 69. Following “A Chorus Line,” Williams became a florist in California. He also performed a one-man show about his experience in “A Chorus Line.”
Spotted…
Naomi Watts and Edie Falco at “Harry Clarke”…Marla Maples and Al Roker at “Escape to Margaritaville”…Zachary Levi at “Come from Away.”
