Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

Page to Screen Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio ( The Revenant ) is set to star in a film adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI , a David Grann novel. (Obviously, they'll have to change the title.) DiCaprio will reteam with legendary director Martin Scorsese (they collaborated on The Departed , Shutter Island , and other films) for the project, which is still in the fledgling stages. The novel is being adapted by screenwrite Eric Roth ( Forrest Gump ). Variety has more. Two-time Academy Award winner and Tony nominee Cate Blanchett ( Blue Jasmine , The Present ) is set to star in the adaptation of Where'd you Go, Bernadette? , which, BTW, is not about Bernadette Peters. The Maria Semple novel focuses on a woman who mysteriously leaves her husband and child. Blanchett will be joined on screen by Billy Crudup ( The Metal Children , Spotlight ) and Kristen Wiig . Boyhood mastermind Richard Linklater co-adapted t...

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 Fier...

Carousel   Revival to Hit Broadway in 2018 A revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel  will bow on Broadway in spring 2018, officially opening at a theatre to be announced on March 23. The production will be directed by Jack O'Brien  ( Catch Me If You Can ) and choreographed by NYCB resident choreographer  Justin Peck  ( Everywhere We Go , The Times Are Racing ). Peck's fellow NYCB dancers Amar Ramasar  and Brittany Pollack  will be among the company, figuring prominently in the act two dream ballet. The production will star Tony winner Jessie Mueller  ( Beautiful , Waitress ) as Julie Jordan and two-time Tony nominee Joshua Henry  ( The Scottsboro Boys , Violet ,  Shuffle Along... ) as Billy Bigelow. (Now this photo of Justin and Joshua has been demystified.) Opera diva Renee Fleming  will also appear in the production. In the  Playbill  announcement, Peck promises "an even more dance-and-movement-f...

Remembering Don Rickles The great Don Rickles passed away this week, and Jimmy Kimmel used the opening of Thursday night's show to pay tribute: Shakespeare in the Park Casting Initial casting has been announced for the two Shakespeare in the Park productions, Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night's Dream , and it's already an embarrassment of riches. (And in keeping with the Public ethos (diversity), both casts include actors of color and non-traditional gender casting.) Among those in Julius Caesar are Corey Stoll ( House of Cards , Plenty ) as Marcus Brutus; Elizabeth Marvel ( House of Cards , Homeland ) as Antony; Tony winner Nikki M. James ( The Book of Mormon , Preludes ) as Portia; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis ( Between Riverside and Crazy ) as Cinna the Poet; Chris Myers ( Whorl Inside a Loop ) as several characters; and Eisa Davis ( Preludes ) as Decius Brutus. Performances run May 23 through June 18, and will be direct...

Hamilton on Tour A second Hamilton national tour will launch in February 2018. Beginning with a six-week sit-down production in Seattle, the tour will also hit Portland, Salt Lake City, Costa Mesa, Las Vegas, Des Moines, Cleveland, and Minneapolis. The first national tour just began in San Francisco. It'll be there for several months (through August 5) before heading to Los Angeles for another multi-month run, beginning August 11. After the Los Angeles engagement, the company will make additional tour stops, including stints in Washington, DC, Ft. Lauderdale, New Orleans, and Memphis. Broadway.com has more, and the Hamilton tour page has a more detailed itinerary. Tony Awards The calendar of events for the 2017 Tony Award season has been announced. Herein the timeline:  (Visit Playbill for additional information about each event.) April 27—Tony eligibility cut off May 2—Tony nominations announced May 3—Meet the Nominees press reception May 23—nominee luncheon ...

Casting News Deadline  first reported that Brian d'Arcy James will return to Hamilton . The Tony-nominated actor originated the role of King George III in the off-Broadway production of the mega-hit musical, but left the production shortly after the off-Broadway opening to open Something Rotten on Broadway. In the interim, he was seen in the Oscar-winning film, Spotlight , and has a few projects coming up. A later report by Playbill stated that he will join the Broadway company on April 14. Tony and Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson will join Amy Adams in the HBO limited series, Sharp Objects , based on the eponymous Gillian Flynn novel. Deadline has more. Stage and screen veteran Paul Sparks ( House of Cards , The Night Of ) has joined the cast of Greatest Showman , the musical biopic about P.T. Barnum starring Hugh Jackman. (Pasek and Paul are writing the score.) Sparks will also be seen in the upcoming Spike TV miniseries, Waco . Deadline has more. Tony n...

Encores! Off-Center The Encores! Off-Center season, which celebrates rarely produced or under appreciated off-Broadway fare, has been announced. First up, July 12-15, is a production of Assassins , the Stephen Sondheim – John Weidman musical about the people who have attempted to assassinate US presidents. That will be directed by Anne Kauffman ( Marjorie Prime ). Next, Robert O'Hara ( Barbecue ) will direct Kirsten Childs 's Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin , which runs July 26 and 27. Closing out the season is the whimsical Really Rosie , written by Maurice Sendak (book and lyrics) and Carole King (music). The musical in which kids play pretend will run August 2-5. Theater Mania has more. Playwrights Horizons 2017-2018 Season The venerable off-Broadway company, which has produced works like the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Flick , has announced its 2017-2018 season, and it includes five world premieres, three plays by women, and one play by a person of c...