Ariana Grande’s brother joining ‘Rock of Ages’
Frankie J. Grande, brother of Ariana Grande and a former contestant on TV’s “Big Brother,” will join the Broadway cast of “Rock of Ages” next month as Franz, the German real estate developer who sings “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” in a wrestling uniform. He has actually already appeared in multiple Broadway productions ranging from “Mamma Mia!” to “Hamlet.”
Sadoski, Maslany set for new LaBute play
Thomas Sadoski, who appeared on Broadway in “Reasons to be Pretty” and “Other Desert Cities” before joining the cast of HBO’s “The Newsroom,” will appear Off-Broadway in Neil LaBute’s newest piece “The Way We Get By,” which will play Second Stage starting in May. He will be joined by Tatiana Maslany, lead actress of the BBC series “Orphan Black.” They will play two people who awkwardly wake up after a drunken one-night stand.
‘Hand to God’ coming to Broadway with downtown cast
“Hand to God,” Robert Askins’ dark and offbeat comedy about a teenage boy whose hand becomes mysteriously possessed by a maniacal puppet, will transfer to Broadway’s Booth Theatre this spring following an Off-Broadway run last season in the West Village. The entire Off-Broadway cast will come along for the ride including Marc Kudisch, Sarah Stiles and Steven Boyer.
‘Next to Normal’ team to tackle ‘The Visitor’
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, the Pulitzer-winning team behind “Next to Normal” and “If/Then,” are now at work on a musical based on the 2007 indie film “The Visitor,” about a widower who bonds with an undocumented immigrant over their love of music. It is already set to receive an industry reading in December.
Knightley making her Broadway debut in ‘Thérèse Raquin’
Film actress Keira Knightley will make her Broadway debut next season in a new version of Émile Zola’s rarely seen but historically significant drama “Thérèse Raquin” about a woman who enters into an affair. It will be produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company. Evan Cabnet will direct.
Victoria Clark joins ‘Gigi’ cast
Tony winner Victoria Clark has joined the cast of the upcoming revival of the musical “Gigi,” which will play the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in January before coming to New York. Vanessa Hudgens (“High School Musical”) will play the title role of a young French girl in turn of the century Paris.
‘Riverside and Crazy’ to get encore run
Stephen Adly Guirgis’ comedic drama “Between Riverside and Crazy,” which received strong reviews over the summer when it premiered at Atlantic Theater Company, will receive an encore run at another Off-Broadway theater, Second Stage, over the winter. It takes the slot that was intended for the new musical “American Psycho,” which has opted to head straight to Broadway.
Spotted …
?Stephen Sondheim, Rosie O’Donnell and Cuba Gooding, Jr. at “Love Letters” ? Bette Midler at “Billy & Ray” ? Brooke Shields at “On the Town” ? Jane Krakowski at “Here Lies Love.”
