WAKE UP with BWW 5/23/14 - BRIDGES at B&N, THE NORMAL HEART 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: Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale celebrate the 'BRIDGES' cast recording at Barnes & Noble today, and THE NORMAL HEART airs on HBO this Sunday!

THIS WEEKEND'S TOP ITEMS:

• Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale celebrate the release of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY cast recording today with a CD signing and performance at Barnes & Noble. Read our CD review here.
• The New Dramatists luncheon and the Outer Critics Circle Awards were held yesterday, so be sure to check back later for our coverage!
• Plus, Meredith Vieira visited ALADDIN last night, and we'll be bringing you photos today...
• Second Stage's AMERICAN HERO opened off-Broadway last night. Read our Review Roundup here and stay tuned for updates!
• And remember to set your DVRs for this Sunday night: Ryan Murphy and Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART airs on HBO! Check out Pat Cerasaro's FLASH FRIDAY feature here.

WHAT YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:

• Andrew Lippa and Kristin Chenoweth will star in I AM HARVEY MILK at Lincoln Center this fall!
• James Corden of ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS fame is in talks to star in a Broadway revival of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM. Please say yes, James!
• John Doyle is directing a production of ALLEGRO featuring singer-actor-musicians at Classic Stage Company this fall...
• We got a haunting and spectacular look at Sierra Boggess and Norm Lewis in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, plus new production shots from THE PAJAMA GAME in the West End.
• We learned that DOWNTON ABBEY's 'Anna' Joanne Froggatt will star in RABBIT HOLE in London in the fall, with I CAN'T SING! THE X FACTOR MUSICAL's Nigel Harmen at the helm!
• Mega-producer Cameron Mackintosh announced he is adding two more venues to his West End theatre group and renaming one for Stephen Sondheim.
• In other West End news, Matthew Warchus will succeed Kevin Spacey as Artistic Director of The Old Vic next autumn...
• Ramin Karimloo and more were recognized at the 2014 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards!
• Alan Cumming will appear at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts next month to talk about acting -- which apparently he hates to do. Should be fun!
• Andy Kelso, Katie Finneran and The Skivvies have joined the lineup for THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR ROCKIN' BC/EFA benefit at 54 Below next Monday.
• And finally, SMASH and Broadway star Christian Borle has boarded Showtime's MASTERS OF SEX in a recurring role...

Broadway Weather Forecast: Rainy with a high of 71 today, with deja vu on Saturday and thunderstorms rolling in on Sunday. Stay safe and dry, folks!

Quote of the Day: Live the story every night...

"The great lesson in theatre is that you live the story every night, and that is a wonderful vehicle for getting to the richest places in a performance or investing a character with the richest life."
-- Celia Weston (via BrainyQuote)

What we're reading and watching: 100 (MONOLOGUES) by Eric Bogosian. The book is a collection of the playwright's monologues originally performed as part of his six Off-Broadway solo shows that premiered in the '80s and '90s. The book's release coincided with last week's launch of www.100monologues.com, which features videos of all of the book's monologues, each performed by a different celebrity. We could watch these for days!

Video of the Day: In honor of THE NORMAL HEART hitting the small screen on Sunday, check out a clip from the 2011 Broadway production, which won the Tony that year for Best Revival of a Play, as well as awards for stars John Benjamin Hickey and Ellen Barkin.

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