WAKE UP with BWW 5/22/14 - Outer Critics Circle, Susan Stroman, PRINCESS, HERO, FABLE, BIKE and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: The 2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards are tonight, Susan Stroman is the guest of honor at this year's New Dramatists spring luncheon, and A LITTLE PRINCESS, AMERICAN HERO, A FABLE and THE VILLAGE BIKE all begin off-Broadway!

TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:

• The 64th Outer Critics Circle Awards ceremony will be held tonight, so check back for our multimedia coverage!
• The New Dramatists honor Susan Stroman at this year's Spring Luncheon today. BWW will bring you photos, so stay tuned for our coverage of the event.
• It's a big night for off-Broadway! A new musical adaptation of A LITTLE PRINCESS premieres tonight; Second Stage's AMERICAN HERO, with Ari Graynor and Jerry O'Connell, opens (more here); A FABLE opens at Cherry Lane; and Greta Gerwig stars in MCC Theater's THE VILLAGE BIKE, beginning performances tonight!
• Tonight, ten casts will battle it out in the seventh and final edition of WEST END EUROVISION at the Dominion Theatre...
• And Cameron Mackintosh's MISS SAIGON revival opened in the West End last night, so check back for updates to our Review Roundup and more!

WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:

• Lots of big casting news! Alexander Sharp will lead the cast of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME on Broadway, with Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Clyde Alves joining the upcoming ON THE TOWN revival!
• Peter Lockyer and David Thaxton will star as 'Jean Valjean' and 'Javert' in the West End version of LES MISERABLES next month.
• Vassar's Powerhouse Theater announced that HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER's Josh Radnor, GREY'S ANATOMY's T.R. Knight and more will star in its 2014 season!
• The Broadway revival of TITANIC has been postponed...
• Roundabout Underground will stage Jeff Augustin's LITTLE CHILDREN DREAM OF GOD in 2015.
• On June 2, Bebe Neuwirth, Valerie Harper, Hal Prince and more will present at the 2014 Astaire Awards.
• Ramin Karimloo, Betsy Wolfe and more will compete in the Broadway Show League and New York Yankees' celebrity softball games for charity next month!
• MOTHERS AND SONS talkbacks continue this month with guests from The Huffington Post's Gay Voices section...
• The BEAUTIFUL cast recording debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Broadway Albums Chart and broke well into the Billboard 200!
• We got a look at new TV spots for Broadway's HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME (here) and ALADDIN (here)!
• And the Season XIII AMERICAN IDOL champion has been crowned! Read BWW's recap here.

Broadway Weather Forecast: Rain in the morning, followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon. High of 63 degrees. Let's hope the showers bring luck to this year's Outer Critics Circle Awards!

Quote of the Day: Opera as the origin of musical theatre...

"Opera is the original marriage of words and music, and there's a theatre element, a dramatic element. It's right up my alley."
-- Shane Koyczan (via BrainyQuote)

What we're looking forward to: Ryan Murphy's adaptation of THE NORMAL HEART, premiering on HBO this Sunday, plus Larry Kramer's upcoming sequel! Click here for new clips from the film...

Video of the Day: In honor of A LITTLE PRINCESS's off-Broadway debut tonight, watch the famous "All Girls are Princesses" speech from the 1995 film starring Liesel Matthews and Eleanor Bron!

And finally, a Happy Birthday flashback shout-out to Sir Laurence Olivier, who was born on this day in 1907!

Olivier, who passed away in 1989, is considered one of the greatest British actors, directors and producers in entertainment history. Known for his film adaptations of Shakespeare's Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III, Olivier also acted in more than 120 roles onstage, including Macbeth, Romeo, Uncle Vanya and more. He was also a prolific film and television actor. Over the years, he was nominated for twelve Oscars (with two wins for Hamlet in 1948); he also won five Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes and a BAFTA. Olivier was the founding Artistic Director of the Old Vic, followed by the National Theatre Company in 1963. The Olivier Awards -- the West End's equivalent of the Tonys -- are named after him.