“Gloria: A Life,” a new play about the feminist icon Gloria Steinem and written by Emily Mann and directed by Diane Paulus (“Waitress,” “Hair”), will play Off-Broadway’s Daryl Roth Theatre beginning in October.
While Act 1 of the play will explore Steinem’s career, Act 2 will invite the audience to discuss the play’s themes.
In a statement, Steinem expressed her enthusiasm for the “talking circle” concept. “I’ve come to have great faith in the magic of people talking together after a shared experience,” Steinem said.
‘Angels Fund’ established
The producers of the Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” have established the “Angels Fund,” which will provide $5 tickets to attend the two-part AIDS drama to LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS service organizations such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA), the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) and the LGBTQ Center. “We wanted to make sure that individuals who are most directly connected with the content of the show, but who couldn’t afford full-priced tickets, had the opportunity to see it at an affordable price,” producer Tim Levy said in a statement.
City Center announces next season’s musicals
The 2019 Encores! series at City Center will consist of concert-style, full-orchestra productions of three rarely-seen musical comedies: Irving Berlin’s “Call Me Madam,” Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s “I Married An Angel” and Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn’s “High Button Shoes.” The City Center season will also include a short run of “A Chorus Line” in November and a concert adaptation of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s musical “Lady in the Dark,” produced by the choral group MasterVoices.
‘Merrily We Roll Along’ revival
The Roundabout Theatre Company will tackle the 1981 flop “Merrily We Roll Along,” which will be performed Off-Broadway in a production by the Fiasco Theater, the young collaborative ensemble best known for its productions of Shakespeare plays. In 2015, Roundabout presented Fiasco’s acclaimed, scaled-down production of Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.”
Cast announced for Yiddish ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Actress Jackie Hoffman (“On the Town,” “Xanadu”) will play Yente the Matchmaker in this summer’s Yiddish-language production of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City. The cast will also include Steven Skybell and Jill Abramovitz (who both appeared in the recent Broadway revival of “Fiddler”) as Tevye and Golde respectively. Joel Grey is directing the production, which will have English and Russian translation supertitles.
‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ to close
The English backstage farce “The Play That Goes Wrong,” which became an unlikely hit after opening on Broadway a year ago, will finally close at the end of August. A national tour will follow beginning in September. It has become unusual for any nonmusical to run on Broadway beyond just a few months.
Spotted . . .
Eric McCormack at “The Band’s Visit” . . . Bill Irwin at “Paradise Blue.”
