‘Harry Potter’ to undergo cast makeover
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which will likely become the most lucrative nonmusical in Broadway history, will undergo a major overhaul in March, with the replacement of virtually the entire current cast (many of whom originated their roles in London).
New cast members will include James Snyder (Harry Potter), Diane Davis (Ginny Potter), Nicholas Podany (Albus Potter), Jenny Jules (Hermione Granger) and Jonno Roberts (Draco Malfoy).
‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ will reopen Off-Broadway
Earlier this year, the producers of “The Play That Goes Wrong” announced that the slapstick backstage comedy would end its Broadway run in August but quickly relented and pushed the closing date back to early January. While the play will indeed play its final performance at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre on Jan. 6, it will then transfer to Off-Broadway’s multi-venue New World Stages for an open-ended run, beginning performances on Feb. 11. “Avenue Q” made the same move from Broadway to New World Stages in 2009 and will play its final performance there on April 28.
‘Hamilton’ changes venue of Puerto Rico run due to security concerns
The upcoming limited run of “Hamilton” in Puerto Rico (for which Lin-Manuel Miranda will return to the role of Alexander Hamilton) has switched venues at the last minute — from the historic Teatro UPR at the Rio Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico to the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan — due to security concerns arising from student protests. “While we believed in the safety of the campus, some have expressed the possibility of holding rallies outside the theater to draw attention to their causes,” Luis A. Miranda Jr., Lin-Manuel’s father (who attended UPR and is involved in the run), said in a statement. “We believe in the right to peacefully assemble and we believe in freedom of speech. But in the case of an unforeseen emergency, our ‘Hamilton’ production security alone would not be able to provide security to cast, crew, patrons and the UPR community.” The producers of “Hamilton” had already spent over $1 million to restore the Teatro UPR.
Colin Quinn returns Off-Broadway with latest comic monologue
Writer and performer Colin Quinn, who has deconstructed world history (“Long Story Short”), the Constitution (“Unconstitutional”) and the New York City melting pot (“The New York Story”) in his most recent comic monologues, will return to Off-Broadway with “Red State Blue State,” a meditation on the current national political divide. It will be produced by Audible at the Minetta Lane Theatre from Jan. 5 to March 3. "We all know I don’t owe this country anything. In fact it probably owes me," Quinn said in a statement. "You, however, owe the country a visit to my show to give it a proper send off before it implodes."
Joey McIntyre to join ‘Waitress’
Joey McIntyre (best known as a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block) will join the cast of the Broadway musical “Waitress,” playing the heartthrob Dr. Pomatter from Feb. 5 to April 7. McIntyre previously played Fiyero in “Wicked.” Sara Bareilles (who wrote the score of “Waitress”) will return to the role of Jenna alongside Tony winner Gavin Creel as Dr. Pomatter from Jan. 7 to Feb. 3.
Spotted …
Adam Sandler at “Waitress”…Joe Biden at “To Kill a Mockingbird”…Hugh Jackman at “Pretty Woman”…Natalie Portman at “American Son.”
