It took a while, but it has finally been confirmed that Lindsay Mendez (“Significant Other,” “Godspell”) will play the spunky Carrie Pipperidge in the new Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel” (which began rehearsals this week). Whereas Mendez is known for having a big pop-style voice, Carrie is a traditional soprano role. Betsy Wolfe (“Bullets Over Broadway,” “Falsettos”) was originally slated to play Carrie but departed the production due to unspecified “scheduling conflicts.” The 39-member cast of “Carousel” also includes Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller and Renée Fleming.
New block of ‘Hamilton’ tickets to be released
Still waiting for your shot to score non-premium price tickets to “Hamilton”? On Monday, those who have been preapproved by Ticketmaster as part of its Verified Fan system will be able to purchase newly available tickets for performances through January 2019. Verified Fan registration is available through Friday at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, the tickets will go on sale to the general public.
Paper Mill enlists NJ Governors for ‘The Outsider’
Who is Ned Newley — and why are the past, present and future governors of New Jersey talking about him on YouTube? New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse, which is about to present Paul Slade Smith’s new political satire “The Outsider” (in which the unknown Ned Newley becomes an unlikely and ill-advised candidate for high office), has released a fake campaign video in which Chris Christie, Phil Murphy, Christine Todd Whitman, Jon Corzine and more are interviewed about Newley and asked whether they will endorse him. The play begins performances on Jan. 24.
Signature Theatre saves ‘Everything Sondheim’
“The Sondheim Review,” a quarterly magazine designed for Stephen Sondheim fans that was published from 1994 to 2015, was recently reborn as “Everything Sondheim.” But in October, after just three issues, publisher Rick Pender announced that “Everything Sondheim” could no longer survive financially and would cease publication. In an unexpected development, the Signature Theatre of Arlington, Virginia, (which has long championed Sondheim’s musicals) has acquired “Everything Sondheim” and will operate it as a free website with new and original content. Sondheim himself gave his seal of approval, stating that “the website couldn’t be in better hands.”
Spotted . . .
Francis Ford Coppola at “Beautiful” . . . Joel Grey at “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” . . . Parker Posey and Michael Kelly at “Mankind” at Playwrights Horizons . . . Nathan Lane at opening night of the Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater . . . Lin-Manuel Miranda at “Come From Away.”
