Week in Review 12.2.16

There was no Week in Review on November 25. This week's post contains news from last week and this week.

Lincoln Center Festival

Exciting news about the 2017 Lincoln Center Festival: For the first time ever, three ballet companies will perform the George Balanchine classic, Jewels, at the same performance. Members of the New York City Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, and the Bolshoi ballet will share the wings, with NYCB members dancing "Rubies"; POB members dancing "Emeralds"; and Bolshoi members dancing "Diamonds." The five-performance run begins July 20, 2017, and concludes July 23. Premium ticket packages are on sale now, and individual tickets go on sale March 29. You can expect to hear the full Lincoln Center Festival lineup shortly before individual tickets go on sale. Visit lincolncenterfestival.org for more, and watch the announcement, which was live-streamed on Facebook and includes interviews with the companies' directors, Peter Martins, Aurelie Dupont, and Makhar Vaziev, respectively, below. 


Coming Up

The latest David Byrne–Alex Timbers collaboration, Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, is coming to the Public this winter, running February 14, 2017, through March 26. Previously titled Saint Joan, the rock musical is written by Byrne and directed by Timbers, and the Public production will mark its world premiere. The duo famously collaborated on Here Lies Love, another musical about a notable woman. Tickets for Joan of Arc: Into the Fire will go on sale to Public members this month, and will be available to the public beginning January 10. Playbill has more.

The creative team for the Broadway bow of War Paint, about the women at the head of dueling cosmetic companies, has been confirmed. Scenic designer David Korins (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen); costume designer Catherine Zuber (The King and I); lighting designer Kenneth Posner (On Your Feet); and sound designer Brian Ronan (American Idiot) will all reprise their work. (War Paint played Chicago this summer; its Broadway home is the Nederlander.) War Paint stars Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole; previews begin March 7, 2017, and officially opens April 6. Tickets are now on sale. Playbill has more.

It's an Honor/End of Year Lists

Grammy Hall of Fame—25 recordings will join the Grammy Hall of Fame. Making up the class of 2017 are, among others, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; REM's "Losing My Religion"; David Bowie's "Changes"; Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues; Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me"; N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton; and Prince's Sign O' the Times. Visit Rolling Stone for the full list.

Gotham Independent Film Awards—Winners of the 26th Annual Gotham Awards were announced and honored this week in NYC. Moonlight was a big winner, taking home the top honor, Best Feature, as well as awards for its writers, Tarell Alvin McCraney (Head of Passes) and Barry Jenkins; the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Performance; and the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award. Indie Wire has the full list of winners.

National Board of Review Best of 2016—Members of the NBR have named their picks for the best of 2016. Amy Adams was named Best Actress (Arrival), while Manchester by the Sea was named Best Film and Best Original Screenplay (Kenneth Lonergan, Hold On To Me Darling), among other superlatives. Moonlight and La La Land we also named to its Top 10 Films list. The Film Stage has the full list of honorees.

Time's Top 10Time has released its Top 10 of 2016 lists. Among the magazine's theatre picks are Anna Deavere Smith's Notes from the Field; Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew; this spring's revival of She Loves Me; Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812; Dear Evan Hansen; Mike Bartlett's Love, Love, Love; and the short–lived Shuffle Along, or The Story of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. Visit the magazine's Top 10 of Everything landing page for more.

Critics' Choice Awards—Nominees for the Critics' Choice Awards (film side) were announced, and La La Land leads the pack with 12 nominations. (This is the musical from Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) that features music by Dear Evan Hansen's Pasek and Paul.) Also nominated for Best Picture are Arrival (with additional nods, including for star Amy Adams); Fences (with additional nods, including for supporting actress Viola Davis, who won a Tony for the role); Manchester by the Sea (with additional nods, including for director/writer Kenneth Lonergan); and Moonlight (with additional nods, including for supporting actor Mahershala Ali). Elsewhere on the list, Tom Ford is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Nocturnal Animals; and Lin-Manuel Miranda is nominated for Best Song, "How Far I'll Go," Moana. Winners will be announced and feted on December 11. Visit Variety for the full list of nominees.

Casting News

  • Rejoice, theatre fans: Norbert Leo Butz is coming back to the stage. After a multi-year absence (he's been in Florida for a bit filming Bloodlines), Butz (Catch Me If You Can, Big Fish) will join Maura Tierney and Zosia Mamet in the world premiere of Hamish Linklater's, The Whirligig. The New Group production begins previews May 2, 2017. The venerable off-Broadway company also announced initial casting for two of its other shows. Wallace Shawn will appear in his play, Evening at the Talk House, alongside Larry Pine (Casa Valentina) and others, and that begins previews January 31. For Eric Schmidt's All the Fine Boys, which begins previews February 14, the cast will include Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, The Miracle Worker) and Joe Tippett (Familiar). Playbill has details.

  • Annette O'Toole (A Mighty Wind, Welcome Home Dean Charbonneau) will join Tony winner Reed Birney in the New York premiere of Man From Nebraska, the latest from Tony– and Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright (and actor) Tracy Letts. Previews of the Second Stage production begin January 26, 2017. Broadway.com has more.


  • Beth Leavel has joined the cast of the Broadway bow of Bandstand. Leavel performed in the show's Paper Mill Playhouse production, and will reprise her role alongside the previously announced Corey Cott and Laura Osnes. Previews at the Jacobs Theatre begin March 31, 2017, and opening night is set for April 26. Broadway.com has more.

  • Ari Graynor (The Performers, American Hero) has joined the cast of Yen, the Anna Jordan play that will have its American premiere early next year. Graynor and others have joined the previously announced Lucas Hedges in the MCC production, which is to be directed by Trip Cullman. Previews begin January 12, 2017, with opening night set for January 30. The limited engagement is scheduled to run through February 19. Broadway.com has more.

  • Original Rent star Anthony Rapp, who most recently appeared on Broadway in If/Then, has been cast in Star Trek: Discovery, a new Star Trek series that will air exclusively on CBS All Access in the spring. Playbill has more.
In Other News

  • Town and Country talks to Michael Greif and David Korins about their collaboration on Dear Evan Hansen, now in previews on Broadway, and will celebrate opening night on December 4.

  • Tony winner and Late Late Show host James Corden (One Man, Two Guvnors) will host the Grammy Awards, set to air on CBS on February 12, 2017. Playbill has more.

  • Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) will serve as creative producer and write songs for film and TV adaptations of The Kingkiller Chronicle, a fantasy trilogy written by Pat Rothfuss. In a statement, Miranda notes the the novels are among the most re-read in his home. The Wrap has more.

  • The Les Liaisons Dangereuses revival, led by Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber, will conclude its Broadway run on January 8, 2017, rather than January 22, as originally scheduled. Broadway.com has more.

  • A final extension for Oh, Hello has been announced. Starring John Mulaney and Nick Kroll, and directed by Alex Timbers, Oh Hello will now play through January 22, 2017. Playbill has more.

  • Kids' Night on Broadway is set for February 28, 2017. On Kids' Night, people 18 and younger can get a free ticket to participating shows when accompanied by an adult who purchases a full-price ticket. Some of the participating shows include The Great Comet; Significant Other (which begins previews February 14); and Dear Evan Hansen. Visit the program's official website for more.

  • A national tour of the Tony–winning Stephen Karam play, The Humans, will launch in Seattle in November 2017. The Humans concludes its Broadway run January 15. Broadway.com has more.

  • The television adaptation of Mike Bartlett's King Charles III will air on PBS on May 14, 2017. Tim Pigott-Smith, who earned a Tony nomination for playing the title character, reprises his role for the adaptation. Playbill has more.

  • Get on your feet on New Year's Eve. The cast of the Broadway hit, On Your Feet, and Gloria Estefan, the show's subject, will perform on ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Playbill has more.

  • Sarah Ruhl (Stage Kiss) and Rajiv Joseph (Guards at the Taj) are among 25 playwrights who have been commissioned by Washington, DC's Arena Stage for its Power Plays series, which aims to create theatre about American politics and power. Playbill has more.

  • Richard Armitage is the latest actor to appear in Broadway.com's "Fresh Face" series. Armitage can be seen on the New York stage in Mike Bartlett's Love, Love, Love, playing at Roundabout through December 18. Watch below for fun facts about the actor.

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