Week in Review 6.30.17

Casting News

  • Jake Gyllenhaal (Sunday in the Park with George) is set to re-team with his Nightcrawler collaborators, actress Rene Russo and writer/director Dan Gilroy, for an untitled film set in the art world. Netflix has already won distribution rights. Deadline has more.

  • Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) will join the cast of The Path for its upcoming third season, now filming in New York. She joins as a series regular. The Path stars Aaron Paul, Michelle Monaghan, and Hugh Dancy. Deadline has more.

  • The terrific Victoria Clark (Cinderella) will appear in the upcoming Encores! production of Assassins, starring alongside Steven Pasquale. The Tony winner (for The Light in the Piazza) takes on the role of Sara Jane Moore, filling in for the previously announce Julie White. Assassins runs July 12-15. Playbill has more.

  • Tony and Academy Award winner Mercedes Ruehl is joining the company of Torch Song, the Second Stage production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy. Ruehl will star alongside Michael Urie. Previews at the off-Broadway venue begin September 26, with opening night scheduled for October 19. Broadway.com has more.
Welcome to the Academy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that awards Oscars, invited 774 artists to join its ranks. As noted in The Hollywood Reporter, of those invited, 39% are female, and 30% are people of color, showing that the Academy is taking steps toward diversity. Among those newly invited are: sisters Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad; Colman Domingo (also a playwright, Dot); Keegan-Michael Key; Kate McKinnon; Betty White; B.D. Wong; director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine); writer and director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight); writer and director Jordan Peele; Oscar (and Tony) winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land); and Oscar nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda (Moana). Visit The Hollywood Reporter to see the full list.

In Other News

  • The Tony-winning production of Dear Evan Hansen was filmed for the Lincoln Center archives. The musical features a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, a book by Steven Levenson, and performances by Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones, all five of whom won Tonys for their work. Playbill has more. (Also, SRO tickets are now available through the digital lottery. Visit dearevanhansenlottery.com to enter.)

  • The full creative team for the upcoming revival of M. Butterfly has been announced. In addition to the previously announced director Julie Taymor, composer Elliot Goldenthal has joined the team; he'll provide original music for the production. Previews at the Cort Theatre begin October 7; opening night is scheduled for October 26. Visit Playbill to find out who else is on the team.

  • Foo Fighters will play a concert at the Acropolis, and the performance will be filmed for a PBS documentary series, Landmarks Live in Concert. The Acropolis, which translates to "city center," is famously the place where, in ancient Greece, the city gathered. It's home to the Parthenon, several other temples, and the Theatre Dionysus. Rolling Stone has more about Foo Fighters' performance.

  • Full instrumental tracks for Hamilton are now available. Check out the #Ham4Ham video (below) announcing the latest Hamilton offering, and then find the tracks on your favorite digital music platform.

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