Week in Review 8.8.14

(Scroll all the way down for the first snippet of new Foo Fighters music.)

Side Show Coming Back to Broadway

A revival of the 1997 musical Side Show, about twins Daisy and Violet Hilton and their journey through the vaudeville circuit, will bow on Broadway this fall. Bill Condon directs the reimagined production that took shape in celebrated runs at La Jolla and the Kennedy Center. Those productions' stars, Erin Davie and Emily Padgett, will reprise their roles in the Broadway run. Side Show features a book by Bill Russell (with addition book material by Condon) and a score by Russell (lyrics) and Henry Krieger (music). The revival will play at the St. James Theatre; previews begin October 28, with opening night set for November 17. Playbill has more.

Larry David to Star on Broadway

"Pretty, pretty good." Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) will make his Broadway debut in Fish in the Dark. David has developed the play (which was previously thought to be called Shiva) with Jerry Seinfeld, though Seinfeld will not be part of the Broadway mounting. Anna D. Shapiro (The Motherfucker with the Hat) directs the new play. Fish in the Dark will open on March 5, 2015, with preview dates and a Shubert theatre to be announced. Broadway.com has more.

Casting News (and Rumors)

Broadway—Additional casting has been announced for Honeymoon in Vegas, which begins previews November 18. Nancy Opel, Matthew Saldivar (Act One) and David Josefsberg join the previously announced Tony Danza, Brynn O'Malley (Annie) and Rob McClure (Chaplin). Based on the eponymous movie, Honeymoon in Vegas features a book by Andrew Bergman and a score by Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, The Bridges of Madison County). Opening night is set for January 15, 2015. Theater Mania has more.

Off-Broadway RumorAccording to Deadline, Benjamin Walker (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) will star in the Second Stage production of American Psycho. Second Stage has not confirmed Walker's casting. Walker did, however, play the lead role of Patrick Bateman in a workshop earlier in the show's gestation. The musical stage adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel is written by Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), and will bow off-Broadway in February 2015.

TelevisionBreaking Bad alumna Betsy Brandt will return to Parenthood during its upcoming sixth (and final) season. She previously appeared as Hank (Ray Romano)'s ex-wife. She'll reprise the role in multiple episodes this season. The Hollywood Reporter has more.

BroadwayCinderella will welcome Keke Palmer (Masters of Sex) in the title role this fall. Palmer will become the youngest (at 21) and first African-American actress to play the role when she makes her Broadway debut on September 9. Joining Palmer and also making her debut will be Sherri Shepherd, taking on the role of Cinderella's stepmother. The Tony-winning revival continues its run at the Broadway Theatre. Theater Mania has more about Palmer, and Broadway.com has more about Shepherd.

Broadway—Complete casting has been announced for the Broadway revival of On the Town, and Tony nominee Phillip Boykin (Porgy and Bess) and Allison Guinn (Hair) are among those who have joined the company. (Visit Playbill for the full cast list.) Boykin, Guinn and the others join the previously announced Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Clyde Alves (the three sailors) and NYCB principal dancer Megan Fairchild, Elizabeth Stanley and Alysha Umphress (their ladies). On the Town will play at the Lyric (nee Foxwoods) Theatre; previews begin September 20, with opening night set for October 16.

Off-BroadwayTony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger (Peter and the Starcatcher, The Glass Menagerie) will star in the Lincoln Center Theater world premiere production of The Oldest Boy, a new play by Sarah Ruhl (Stage Kiss). The Oldest Boy will play at LCT's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, with previews beginning October 9. Opening night is set for November 3. Visit Playbill for more, including the full cast list.

Broadway RumorMelanie Griffith, who previously appeared on Broadway in Chicago, might return to the Great White Way in Pippin. The actress told Indie Wire she will join the Pippin company in January (presumably in the role of Berthe). I'll let you know about dates if the news is confirmed.

Television ConcertTony winner Christian Borle will appear in NBC's live telecast of Peter Pan. Though Borle won his Tony for playing Black Stache, a progenitor of Captain Hook, in Peter and the Starcatcher, in NBC's December 4 broadcast he'll be playing Captain Hook (Christopher Walken)'s right hand man, Smee, as well as Mr. Darling (that would be Wendy, Michael and John's father). Borle joins Walken and Allison Williams, who'll play the title role. Telecast producer Neil Meron confirmed the Borle news on Twitter.

Golden Globes News

Believe it or not, the Golden Globes are on their way. (Of course, the Emmys are first.) The official Golden Globes timeline was revealed this week, as were some rules and category changes. With various deadlines beginning October 31, the nominations will be announced on Thursday, December 11. Voters will have until Wednesday, January 7, 2015, to return their ballots, and the awards will be handed out on Sunday, January 11. (The ceremony will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.) In addition, the "Miniseries" category is now the "Limited Series" category, and further distinctions between series and limited series have been made, though not fully explained. Visit Deadline for more.

Michael Fassbender Loves You All

You remember several months ago when we watched the trailer for Frank, the indie flick that stars Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)? Fassbender plays a rock star who wears a mask all the time. This week, he, Gyllenhaal and company took to The Colbert Report to perform the song "I Love You All." Check it out below (or click here if the video doesn't play), and then check your local listings to see when Frank is playing in your area.


Dig This

  • The Broadway production of The Audience, starring Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, has found its home. The Peter Morgan play will run at the Schoenfeld Theatre. Previews begin February 17, 2015, with opening night set for March 8. Broadway.com has more.

  • Broadway Week, presented by the Broadway League, will last two weeks, and run September 1-14. Fans can purchase 2–for–1 tickets to participating shows, which include Cabaret, If/Then, Pippin and more. Tickets go on sale August 18. Visit nycgo.com for more information.

  • Lady Day..., the play with music that earned Audra McDonald a record-making sixth Tony Award, has extended again. The play will now run through October 5, but will be dark September 1-7. It will not extend again, and The River, the Jez Butterworth play starring Hugh Jackman that is booked for the Circle in the Square Theatre, will begin previews on October 31, as scheduled.

  • A revival of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is aiming for a spring 2015 Broadway bow. Rob Ashford (How to Succeed..., Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) will direct and choreograph. No other information has been announced, but Theater Mania has more about the show.

  • James Snyder brings you behind the scenes at If/Then in the latest installment of his Broadway.com vlog, Hey Kid

  • Fun Home, which had a celebrated run at the Public last year, will bow on Broadway in the spring. Playing the Circle in the Square Theatre, the Jeanine Tesori-Lisa Kron musical (directed by Sam Gold) will begin previews April 4, 2015, with opening night set for April 22. Broadway.com has more.

  • Broadway.com's latest vlogger is Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart, who's wowing audiences in Aladdin, playing at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Watch the first episode of the aptly titled I Dream of Genie.

  • Foo Fighters released the first eight seconds of their new album. While the scream-o Foo songs have always been my least favorite, I like this clip because it means the album is almost here!

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