"American Utopia" will return to Broadway this fall; Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf to lead a Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman"; Disney to release a filmed version of "Hamilton" on Broadway; Spike Lee to film "American Utopia"; "Sing Street" cast album comes out March 26th; Rebecca Luker reveals she has been diagnosed with ALS; Jeremy Jordan to replace Gideon Glick in "Little Shop of Horrors"; RIP Kevin Conway, Paula Kelly, Lynn Cohen, and Orson Bean
All tagged Jagged Little Pill
PODCAST: "Stage Left: The Podcast" Episode 1: Slave Play, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, and Jagged Little Pill
On the first episode of “Stage Left: The Podcast”, anchor Rob Russo is joined by Casey Mink, senior staff writer at Backstage, and Ayanna Prescod, theatre critic and founder of OurBKSocial, for a roundtable conversation about three top shows of the fall season: “Slave Play”, “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord”, and “Jagged Little Pill”.
REVIEW: Making sense of the “Jagged Little Pill” mood board
“Jagged Little Pill”, the new Alanis Morissette musical, is a moving mood board collection of disparate images, sounds, and text in search of cohesion; commendably containing an original story touching on relevant themes of today, like drug addiction and sexual assault, the musical sounds great and is well-performed, but suffers from conceptual whiplash as if composed by a committee following focus group instructions.
Jessie Mueller, Tracy Letts, Armie Hammer, and Austin Pendleton will star in Letts' "The Minutes" on Broadway; Donmar Warehouse's "City of Angels" will transfer to the West End; Lear deBessonet will replace Jack Viertel as artistic director of City Center Encores!; Katharine McPhee will return to close "Waitress" on Broadway; Ariana DeBose will play Alyssa Greene in the Netflix film adaptation of "The Prom"; Andrew Garfield will star in "Tick, Tick ... Boom!" film; Spencer Liff will direct and choreograph the premiere of "Spring Awakening" in China; "Jagged Little Pill" to release a cast album on December 6th; "Wicked" is now the fifth longest running show in Broadway history; RIP Andile Gumbi and Ann Crumb
"Mrs. Doubtfire" the musical will open at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre; the Broadway-aimed musical "Lempicka" will play La Jolla Playhouse; Tim Sanford will step down as Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons; stars of "SpongeBob SquarePants" will reunite for a new TV adaptation that will premiere on Nickelodeon; Maria Dizzia to headline “Constitution” tour; Roger Bart joins "Back to the Future" musical; Warren Carlyle to direct and choreograph Barry Manilow's "Harmony"; first look of Carolee Carmello as Dolly Levi in the national tour of "Hello, Dolly!"
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick will reunite on stage for the first-ever Broadway revival of Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite"; 2019 Theater Hall of Fame inductees; Angela Lansbury to headline one-night-only benefit staging of "The Importance of Being Earnest"; Ari’el Stachel to star "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" concert at Lincoln Center; Rupert Everett has replaces Eddie Izzard in "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"; Harry Hadden-Paton and James Frain helm North American premiere of "The King’s Speech"; Gwen Verdon documentary "Merely Marvelous" premieres on September 20th; RIP Chris March, Jeff Fenholt, P.J. Barry, and Peter Nichols
FEATURE: 2019 Fall Season Preview
The city that never sleeps also boasts a theatre scene that never sleeps. With the summer now behind us, this is an overview of all that’s coming to New York stages this fall (spoiler alert: it’s a lot).
"Hadestown", "Kiss Me, Kate", "The Ferryman", and "The Waverly Gallery" take home the top prizes at the Drama League Awards; "What the Constitution Means to Me" is among the 2019 Obie Award winners; Marisa Tomei to helm Broadway revival of "The Rose Tattoo" and Mary Louise Parker to star in "The Sound Inside" at Studio 54; Barry Manilow will hold residency at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre; Broadway-aimed "Magic Mike" musical cancels Boston tryout; "The Inheritance" and "Almost Famous" appear poised for Broadway
"The Ferryman" and "What the Constitution Means to Me" are New York Drama Critics Circle’s best plays; "Carmen Jones" tops the Lortel Awards; Broadway.com "Audience Choice" award nominees; "Jagged Little Pill" books Broadway's Broadhurst; Diane Paulus to direct a 2021 Broadway revival of "1776"; "All My Sons" extends; Vanessa Carlton to make Broadway debut in "Beautiful"; "The Prince of Egypt" to open in London; "Pretty Woman" to tour; Roundabout to present Adam Gwon's musical "Scotland, PA"; RIP Harlan Bengel, David Winters, Terry Allen Kramer, and Dave Bova
Actors’ Equity and the Broadway League reached an agreement to end five week strike; "The Height of the Storm" to play MTC's Friedman Theatre on Broadway; "The Band's Visit" wins Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album; Off-Broadway's Davenport Theatre closes; Adrienne Warren to reprise her celebrated performance as Tina Turner on Broadway; "Beetlejuice" and “Hadestown” announce Broadway casts; Laura Benanti extends run in "My Fair Lady"; Krystina Alabad to replace Ashley Park in "Mean Girls"; "Wicked" movie sets December 2021 release date; RIP Albert Finney and Cy Lee
"Jagged Little Pill" to open on Broadway this fall; "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough" will play Chicago before Broadway in 2020; "Magic Mike" will premiere in Boston before Broadway in 2020; La Jolla Playhouse to present Broadway-bound musical "Fly"; London cast of “Hadestown” announced for Broadway; "Dreamgirls" may be headed to Broadway; "Choir Boy" extends to March 10th; "Fosse/Verdon" premieres April 9th; 64th Annual Drama Desk Awards to be held June 2nd; RIP Michel Legrand and Jojo Smith
Lawsuit reveals construction damage to the August Wilson Theatre; BC/EFA’s "Gypsy of the Year" fundraiser renamed the "Red Bucket Follies"; full cast announced for Roundabout "Kiss Me, Kate"; Bertie Carvel and Jonny Lee Miller to star in “Ink”; Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" announces development lab; "The Preacher's Wife" musical likely headed to La Jolla; Rosie O'Donnell will co-star in a revival of "Funny Girl", but no Lady Gaga; Broadway community teams with March For Our Lives for a benefit concert on October 22nd; must read interview with Patti LuPone and NYT article about plays; RIP Ira Gasman and Carol Hall