Week in Review 6.17.16

Tony Awards Wrap Up

Broadway's biggest night was a smashing success, with Hamilton winning an impressive (though not record-making, -breaking, or -tie-ing) 11 awards. Herein, some fun Tony extras
Casting News

  • Ben Schwartz (House of Lies, This is Where I Leave You) has joined the cast of Blue Iguana, a dark comedy also starring Sam Rockwell (Fool for Love). Deadline has more.

  • Additional casting has been announced for the Hollywood Bowl presentation of A Chorus Line. Joining the previously announced Robert Fairchild are Krysta Rodriguez (First Date, Spring Awakening) and Mario Lopez, both of whom appeared in the most recent Broadway revival. The show will be presented July 29-31. Theater Mania has more.

  • It's official: Lin-Manuel Miranda will play his final (for now?) performance as A. Ham on July 9. Lucky for us Hamilfans, though, current alternate Javier Munoz will take over the role full time beginning July 11. (Munoz is fantastic; I saw him both off-Broadway and on. Get to know him in this Variety article.) Like Miranda, Munoz will perform the role for seven shows each week. Munoz's alternate is yet to be named. Washington Post theatre critic Peter Marks had breakfast with Miranda and Munoz, and tweeted the news. (Marks also noted that the Hamilton documentary will air on PBS on Monday, October 17. Playbill has more about that, and the Hamilton Mixtape.)

  • Brian d'Arcy James (Something Rotten, Spotlight) has joined the cast of the upcoming Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why. The series is written by Brian Yorkey (with whom d'Arcy James worked on Next to Normal) and directed by Tom McCarthy (with whom d'Arcy James worked on Spotlight.) He will also appear in the pilot of the TNT series, CivilDeadline has more.

  • David Hyde Pierce (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) will lead the cast of Adam Bock's A Life at Playwrights Horizons this fall. As previously reported, in spring 2017, he'll join Bette Midler in a revival of Hello Dolly. ABC News has more. 
2016-2017 Season Updates

With the 2015-2016 season in the books, let's look at some additions to the 2016-2017 season.
  • A Bronx Tale, a musical stage adaptation of the film, will bow on Broadway in December. Chazz Palminteri, who wrote the film based on his own life, wrote the musical's book, and Alan Menken and Glenn Slater wrote the score. Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks share directing duties, and Sergio Trujillo (On Your Feet) is choreographing the production. A Bronx Tale will play the Longacre Theatre. Previews begin November 3, and opening night is set for December 1. Playbill has more.

  • The one-man-show, The Encounter, created by and starring Simon McBurney, will play Broadway's Golden Theatre this fall. Previews for the limited engagement begin September 20, with opening night set for September 29. The run is scheduled to conclude on January 8, 2017. Broadway.com has more.
Bus and Truck News

  • Two more stops have been added to the Hamilton national tour: Salt Lake City and Denver. The tour will be part of the 2017-2018 season. Broadwayworld.com has more about Salt Lake City and Denver.

  • The itinerary for the first national tour of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been announced. The tour will begin in Rochester on September 27, and other stops include Washington, DC, in October; West Palm Beach in November; Chicago in December; Philadelphia in February; and San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles in summer 2017. Visit Playbill for more.
Dig This

  • Additional episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher will air during the upcoming Republican and Democratic national conventions. Live, 30-minute editions of the show will air on the Wednesdays and Thursdays of convention weeks, with the regular one-hour show airing in its usual Friday night time slot. (The Republican convention is being held in Cleveland the week of July 18; the Democratic convention is being held in Philadelphia the week of July 25.) Vulture has more.

  • E! Online caught up with Aaron Tveit (Next to Normal, Graceland) to talk about his new CBS show, Brain Dead, which airs Monday nights at 10.

  • Scott Ellis (She Loves Me) will direct the NBC live telecast of A Few Good Men. The broadcast will feature an updated script by Aaron Sorkin, and will air in early 2017. Broadwayworld.com has more.

  • Not so diggable: Bright Star will conclude its Broadway run on June 26. Theater Mania has details.

  • Broadway HD and Roundabout have partnered to bring fans a live stream of She Loves Me on June 30. The revival is on Broadway through July 10, and stars Laura Benanti and Zachary Levi. Playbill has more. (Pro tip: if you have a Roku or other streaming device, buy a monthly subscription for $14.99, and link your account. Buying just the stream, a la carte, is $9.99, and you can only watch on your computer.)

  • Playbill checks in with songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, whose deeply affecting original musical, Dear Evan Hansen, is transferring to Broadway this fall. In the article, Pasek and Paul talk about what changes they're making—or not making—for the transfer. Tickets for the Broadway run go on sale this Sunday. Visit dearevanhansen.com to learn more.

  • Speaking of Pasek and Paul, the original move musical La La Land will open the Venice International Film Festival in August. Pasek and Paul wrote the lyrics for the movie's original songs. La La Land was written and directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash), and stars Emma Stone (Birdman), Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March), John Legend, and Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, who worked with Chazelle on Whiplash. Playbill has more.

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