Nick Kroll and John Mulaney’s eccentric two-man comedy routine “Oh, Hello,” which was filmed at the end of its limited Broadway run, can be viewed on Netflix beginning June 13. Wearing outdated and unfashionable attire (including sandals with socks) and gray wigs, Kroll and Mulaney play Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland, who are single and out of work and have lived together for decades in a rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side.
Glenda Jackson returning to Broadway in Albee’s ‘Three Tall Women’
Glenda Jackson, a two-time Oscar winner and former member of the British Parliament, who recently played King Lear in London, will return to Broadway next year in a revival of Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Three Tall Women,” which will be directed by Joe Mantello and produced by Scott Rudin. Jackson will be joined by Laurie Metcalf, who is currently in “A Doll’s House, Part 2.” Previews will begin in late February.
‘The Band’s Visit’ to Broadway is finally set
After having been honored in recent weeks with Drama Critics’ Circle, Lucille Lortel and Obie awards, it has now been confirmed that the new musical “The Band’s Visit” will transfer to Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre in the fall. The musical, which had a short Off-Broadway run last winter produced by the Atlantic Theater Company, is based on a 2007 Israeli film of the same name. It tells the story of an Egyptian police band that gets stranded in the Negev Desert, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Itamar Moses and direction by David Cromer. The Off-Broadway cast included Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk and John Cariani.
Encores! will stage ‘Grand Hotel’ and ‘Me and My Girl’
The 2018 Encores! season at City Center will include concert-style, full-orchestra productions of “Grand Hotel,” which was directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune in 1989; “Me and My Girl,” a 1937 English musical comedy that received a smash revival in the 1980s; and “Hey, Look Me Over!,” a collection of songs from various rarely-seen musicals that Encores! has not yet produced. In November, City Center will present a short-run revival of “Brigadoon,” directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon (“An American in Paris”) and starring Kelli O’Hara, Steven Pasquale and Robert Fairchild.
Trump proposes eliminating NEA
The Trump Administration’s proposed 2018 budget, released on Tuesday, calls for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, claiming that “the Administration does not consider NEA activities to be core Federal responsibilities.” Numerous theater companies in New York and across the country rely on NEA grants in order to produce shows. Actors’ Equity President Kate Shindle issued a statement in protest, noting that “the NEA supports middle-class arts jobs in every congressional district in the country … As Congress takes up the new budget, Actors’ Equity will continue our fight to protect the NEA’s critical seed funding that helps productions get off the ground in small and regional theaters.”
‘Oslo’ and more honored at Obie Awards
J.T. Rogers’ international relations drama “Oslo” (now running on Broadway) received the Obie Award for Best New American Theatre Work, which it shared with Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard’s “Underground Railroad Game.” Bartlett Sher, who directed “Oslo,” and the entire cast were also recognized for ensemble work. The Obie Awards, which are co-presented by the American Theatre Wing and the Village Voice, recognize excellence among Off-Broadway shows. The ceremony was held Monday night at Webster Hall, and hosted by Lea DeLaria. Matthew Broderick, Bobby Cannavale and Amy Ryan received awards for their performances in recent Off-Broadway shows.
Van Hove and Paulus set for BAM’s New Wave
Belgian director Ivo van Hove, who has become known among New York theatergoers for staging strange, experimental productions of well-known plays (including recent Broadway revivals of Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” and “The Crucible”), will return to BAM’s New Wave Festival in the fall with an adaptation of Ayn Rand’s controversial novel “The Fountainhead.” It will be performed in Dutch with English supertitles. The festival will also include “Crossing,” an opera about Walt Whitman directed by Diane Paulus (“Waitress”).
Lisa Lampanelli is ‘Stuffed’
“Stuffed,” comedian Lisa Lampanelli’s play about four characters dealing with weight-loss issues, will play Off-Broadway’s Westside Theatre in the fall. Lampanelli herself will appear in the show, which has been revised since it premiered last year in a production by WP Theater. “There’s no shortage of jokes in ‘Stuffed,’ but it’s also a real play featuring women talking about a subject that’s close to my heart — our relationship with food, weight and body image,” Lampanelli said in a statement.
Spotted…
Amy Schumer at “Can You Forgive Her?”… Paul Simon at “Present Laughter”… Roseanne Barr at “A Doll’s House, Part 2”… Hugh Jackman at “Hello, Dolly!”… Bryan Cranston at “Building the Wall”… Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz at “Sweeney Todd”… Josh Groban at “Waitress”… James Corden at “Groundhog Day”… Drew Barrymore at “Dear Evan Hansen.”
