WAKE UP with BWW 8/20/14 - Rannells Gets Glittery as HEDWIG, Three Broadway Companies Meet-and-Greet, 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: Andrew Rannells takes over the title role in HEDWIG tonight, two festivals kick off in NYC and three Broadway companies meet the press!
TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:
- It's a day of meet-and-greets! The companies of INDIAN INK, THE COUNTRY HOUSE and the KINKY BOOTS tour meet the press today, so stay tuned for all our coverage!
- Urban Stages welcomes THE LAST DAYS OF CLEOPATRA to the stage this evening...
- Two festivals launch in New York City today -- Riant Theatre's 2014 Strawberry One-Act Festival and the 2014 New York New Works Theatre Festival.
- THE BOOK OF MORMON's Andrew Rannells takes over the role of "internationally ignored song stylist" HEDWIG on Broadway tonight! (Check out both HEDWIG stars above, duking it out at the 2013 Tony Awards...)
WAYSIDE MOTOR INN
NEWS YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:
- West End's SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE could be heading to Broadway for the 2015-16 Season!
- Speaking of the West End, Traf Transformed announced its full cast for EAST IS EAST, beginning this fall.
- PHOENIX, starring Julia Stiles and James Wirt, is extending through the end of August...
- Also off-Broadway, GAME OF THRONES' Peter Dinklage and ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK's Taylor Schilling will star in CSC's A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY!
- We got a first look (right) at Signature Theatre's THE WAYSIDE MOTOR INN.
- We learned that Thea Brooks and Euriamis Losada will lead the 2014-15 national tour of I LOVE LUCY LIVE ON STAGE...
- Save the date! THE LAST FIVE YEARS film will debut at TIFF on September 7!
- And finally, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett released their full track list and album cover for CHEEK TO CHEEK.
Broadway Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 80 degrees. Is it really August? Doesn't feel like it!
Quote of the Day: Andrew Rannells reflects on his experience in THE BOOK OF MORMON...
As an actor, you generally don't get to choose what projects you are part of, so I've been very fortunate that 'The Book of Mormon' was something I got to be part of. I don't want to be lofty, but it was groundbreaking, in many ways, for musical theater, so that was really thrilling to be part of.
-- Andrew Rannells (via BrainyQuote)
What we're reading: Lin-Manuel Miranda's clever and pointed tweets about #Ferguson using lines from musicals. Here's an example from earlier in the week:
"Where are the leaders of the land? Where are the swells who run this show?" No, I'm not just quoting Les Mis. I'm seriously asking.
- Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 18, 2014
Video of the Day: In honor of Rannells stepping into HEDWIG's stilettos tonight, watch him, Megan Hilty, Laura Benanti and Neil Patrick Harris at the 2013 Tony Awards, fighting over who had it worse!
And finally, a Happy Birthday shout-out to Joan Allen, who turns 59 today!
Allen made her Broadway debut in 1987's Burn This, for which she won a Tony for Best Actress. She then starred in The Heidi Chronicles, which earned her a Tony nomination, followed by Impressionism in 2009. Allen currently appears in the Netflix original series The Killing and has been nominated for three Oscars for her roles in the movies Nixon, The Crucible and The Contender. Among her other film credits are the Bourne trilogy, Pleasantville, The Notebook and more.
Photo by Michael Brosilow.
See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!
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