Kerry Washington — along with Steven Pasquale — will return to Broadway in the fall in “American Son,” a new drama by Miami attorney-turned-playwright Christopher Demos-Brown, which is set at a Florida police station where a mother has come in search of her missing teenage son. Kenny Leon (“A Raisin in the Sun”) will direct. In a statement, Washington said that the play “dives deep into the big questions of who we are as a nation, by exploring the intimate relationships within a family caught at the crossroads of love, loss, identity and community.”
Sasson Gabay to join cast of ‘The Band’s Visit’
Immediately after Tony Shalhoub won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Tewfiq (conductor of the all-male Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band) in “The Band’s Visit,” the show’s producers announced that Israeli actor Sasson Gabay (who created the role in the 2007 film upon which the musical is based) will play Tewfiq on Broadway beginning June 26. Shalhoub exited “The Band’s Visit” earlier this year in order to shoot the second season of the Amazon series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” but returned for several performances in May that were intended for Tony voters.
‘Runaways’ includes cameos by Parkland students and original cast
The Public Theater’s two-night staging of the 1978 teen musical “Runaways,” which took place on Monday and Tuesday at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, included a surprise appearance by 18 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who performed “We Have to Find the Wizards in Ourselves,” a song written for a film version of “Runaways” that never came to fruition. Cast members from the original production of “Runaways” (which transferred from the Public Theater to Broadway) also took part in the event.
New Group to produce premiere of ‘Clueless’ Off-Broadway
The long-in-development musical adaptation of the 1990s teen film comedy “Clueless” will receive its world premiere Off-Broadway next season in a production by the New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Kristin Hanggi (“Rock of Ages”) will direct. Amy Heckerling (who directed the film) has written the book for the musical, which will be constructed jukebox-style around ‘90s pop hits. The New Group’s upcoming season with also include Sharr White’s “The True” (with Edie Falco and Michael McKean), Jeremy O. Harris’ “Daddy” (with Alan Cumming) and Jesse Eisenberg’s “Yea, Sister!”
Spotted …
Barry Manilow at “Waitress” … Billy Joel at “Frozen” … Whoopi Goldberg at “Escape to Margaritaville.”
