WAKE UP with BWW 5/8/2015 - Bette Midler on Tour, Lucille Lortel Awards and More!

By: Jessica Showers May. 08, 2015

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Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? This weekend's big news: The Divine Miss M heads out on tour, a new Bob Marley musical debuts in Maryland, and the Lortel Awards are set for this weekend!

THIS WEEKEND'S TOP ITEMS:

- Bette Midler kicks off her IT'S THE GIRLS tour today in Hollywood, Florida!
- A diverse production of THE GLASS MENAGERIE begins off-Broadway.
- THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, with formerly incarcerated women, plays a one-night-only benefit tonight...
- The new musical MARLEY, starring Mitchell Brunings, begins at Center Stage.
- And this year's Lucille Lortel Awards will be held this Sunday!

Bartha & Reaser in PERMISSION!

NEWS YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:

- Idina Menzel will reprise her starring role for several stops on the IF/THEN National Tour!
- Leavel, Batt, Headley and more have signed on for The Muny's 2015 season!
- The Actors' Equity Foundation announced this year's Derwent and Richard Seff award winners.
- Fiasco's reimagined INTO THE WOODS and Broadway's 'CURIOUS INCIDENT' are launching national tours next year!
- We got a first look (right) at MCC's PERMISSION.
- Mel Brooks is reworking YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN for the West End!
- A BILLY ELLIOT movie musical could be headed to the big screen...
- Jane Krakowski will host MTC's 2015 Spring Gala, while Louderman, Luker, Testa are among those set for Prospect's 'Women Making Musicals' event.
- WITNESS UGANDA, now titled INVISIBLE THREAD, is coming to Second Stage in 2015-16...
- And Neil Patrick Harris has revealed the name of his new variety show!

Broadway Weather Forecast: High of 77 and sunny today, with similar temperatures all weekend. Clouds on Saturday and Sunday.

Quote of the Day: In honor of her IT'S THE GIRLS tour, a word from Bette Midler...

"I always try to balance the light with the heavy -- a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and the fringes."
-- Bette Midler (via BrainyQuote)

What we're looking forward to listening to: Broadway's THE KING AND I revival cast album, out June 2 digitally and June 9 in stores!

Ken Watanabe and Kelli O'Hara in THE KING AND I.
Photo by Paul Kolnik

Video of the Day: Watch Josh Groban and Lindsey Stirling perform "Pure Imagination" with The Muppets!

And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Candice Bergen, who turns 69 on Saturday!

Bergen last starred on Broadway in Love Letters, and before that in Gore Vidal's The Best Man and Hurlyburly. The actress is well known for playing the title role in the series Murphy Brown, for which she won five Emmys and two Golden Globes. She was nominated for an Academy Award for 1979's Starting Over and received a BAFTA nod for 1982's Gandhi. She has also appeared on the big screen in The Sand Pebbles, two westerns starring Gene Hackman, Love Story sequel Oliver's Story, and more recently, Bride Wars, The Women, Sweet Home Alabama, Miss Congeniality and more. Bergen also had a lauded run as 'Shirley Schmidt' the TV series Boston Legal.

Candice Bergen and Alan Alda in LOVE LETTERS.
Photo by Carol Rosegg

See you bright and early on Monday, BroadwayWorld!

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