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FOLLIES Film IS REAL! BND + RBJ = KenCen N2N, TAKE ME OUT completes Its Team, TIME 100, T-Swizzle goes “Meow”
“Today on Broadway” is a daily, Monday through Friday, podcast hitting the top theatre headlines of the day.
Any and all feedback is appreciated:
Ashley Steves [email protected] | @NoThisIsAshley
James Marino [email protected] | @JamesMarino
Matt Tamanini [email protected] | @BWWMatt
(A) 1. A Film Adaptation of FOLLIES Is In the Works
If you were on Twitter or briefly browsing the entertainment news last night, you might’ve noticed some buzz about Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s FOLLIES. It turns out, The Hollywood Reporter ran an article announcing the news that a movie adaptation of the musical is currently in the works before pulling the article, leaving fans who caught it to speculate.
Until, give or take another hour or so, the news was back up and made official: Heyday Films and BBC Films have nabbed the film rights to the Broadway musical, which is now in the works from Dominic Cooke, the director of the 2017 West End revival at London’s National Theatre.
In a statement, Sondheim said, “Over the years, there have been many attempts to bring Follies to the screen, but not until Dominic Cooke’s brilliant production at the National Theatre of Great Britain did it seem like it could be a real movie. I’m more than delighted, I’m thrilled, that it’s finally going to happen.
Said Cooke, “James Goldman’s skillful book nods as much to the golden age of movie musicals as to Broadway, so it feels like natural material to turn into a movie.”
The London revival, which initially ran until January 2018 before mounting a return engagement this year, was nominated for 10 Olivier Awards and won two, including Best Musical Revival.
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(J) Brandon Victor Dixon Will Join Rachel Bay Jones in Kennedy Center’s NEXT TO NORMAL
Brandon Victor Dixon will join the previously announced Rachel Bay Jones in the upcoming Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage production of NEXT TO NORMAL. Michael Greif, who directed the original Broadway production, will also stage the D.C. engagement, which is scheduled to run January 29th through February 3rd at the Eisenhower Theater.
Jones will play Diana with Dixon playing her husband, Dan. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
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(J) Brandon J. Dirden, Joél Pérez, and More Join Broadway Revival of TAKE ME OUT
Casting is complete for the upcoming Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg’s TAKE ME OUT. Brandon J. Dirden, who previously starred in ALL THE WAY and JITNEY on Broadway, is among the actors who were announced yesterday.
Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Will Harrison, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, and Joél Pérez round out the cast, which will be led, as previously announced, by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Patrick J. Adams, and Jesse Williams. The Second Stage production will begin performances on April 2nd, 2020, ahead of an April 23rd opening at the Helen Hayes Theater.
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(A) Recommendations
TIME 100: Ali Stroker, Jeremy O. Harris and More Included on Time’s 100 Next List
https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/
(A) In Other News
Ann Harada, Natalie Weiss, More Join Cast of Off-Broadway Musical EMOJILAND
Taylor Swift Will Release New Cats Song ‘Beautiful Ghosts’ November 15
http://www.playbill.com/article/taylor-swift-will-release-new-cats-song-beautiful-ghosts-november-15
We’ve got more casting for the upcoming Off-Broadway musical, EMOJILAND, starring Lesli Margherita and Josh Lamon. George Abud, Laura Schein, Felicia Boswell, Natalie Weiss, and Ann Harada will join the limited Off-Broadway engagement which will play The Duke on 42nd Street from January 9th through March 8. Additional casting will be announced soon. The ensemble piece follows a diverse community of archetypes who take one another at “face value…” including a smiling face dealing with depression, a princess who doesn’t want a prince, a skull dying for deletion, a nerd face too smart for his own good, a face with sunglasses who can’t see past his own reflection, and a police officer and construction worker who just want to work together.
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And finally, if you’re listening to this on Friday, November 15th, you will be gifted today with some new music from the upcoming film adaptation of CATS. Taylor Swift will release a new single today from the upcoming movie. The song, “Beautiful Ghosts,” will be sung in the film by Victoria the White Cat (played by Francesca Hayward), but the studio recording single will play over the credits.
Swift penned the song with Andrew Lloyd Webber and it will likely a contender for this year’s Best Original Song race joining a short list of theatre-adjacent tracks such as Harriet’s “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo, “Into the Unknown” for Frozen 2, and more.
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Errata: Robb Johnston has not seen Rock of Ages 200 times. He is only at 170. 171 happens on Monday with a couple Broadway Alumns.
