WAKE UP with BroadwayWorld - Thursday, April 17, 2014 - ACT ONE Opens, It's a WILD PARTY at 54 Below 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? For your most important theatre meal of the day, we've rounded up the big news you missed yesterday, what's on the agenda today, and a few extras to start your day off right.

The Bacon: See what's on the griddle today...

• ACT ONE, starring Santino Fontana, Tony Shalhoub and more, opens on Broadway tonight! Come back this evening for our Review Roundup...
• Speaking of reviews, OF MICE AND MEN opened last night, which means we'll have curtain call photos, opening night interviews and more later on!
• Julia Murney, Jeremy Jordan and more are set for THE WILD PARTY in concert tonight at 54 Below, backed by Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band.
• The world premiere of JACKIE AND MARILYN, a play with music, begins tonight at Theatre Row!
• Julie Halston and Patrick Kerr are headlining Wild Root's THE BEAST IN MY PANTS industry readings today.
• Tune in if you're in the UK! THE REAL THING's Ewan McGregor is narrating "Mad About The Mustang", about the history of Ford, on BBC Radio 2.

Cup of Joe: Perk up and revisit yesterday's big stories...

• Next week, Judith Light and Christopher Sieber will announce the 2014 Drama League Award nominees, with BWW live-streaming the event!
• LADY DAY, starring Audra McDonald, has extended its run through August 10 at the Circle in the Square Theatre.
• We got a first look at highlights of Stephen Spinella and Estelle Parsons in THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN!
• The new musical ATOMIC is heading from Australia to New York City for an off-Broadway run this summer.
• Don't stop me now! A follow-up to the Queen musical WE WILL ROCK YOU is in the works in the UK.
• James Barbour will lead LES MISERABLES as 'Jean Valjean' at La Mirada Theatre in California (read the news here).
• Never thought we'd see an R-rated movie musical, but Clint Eastwood's done it with JERSEY BOYS...
• Lin-Manuel Miranda's FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME just got a full season order from Pivot!
• The IF/THEN Original Broadway Cast Recording announced its tracklist; the album will drop on June 3. Plus, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY debuted as the No. 1 Broadway Cast Recording on iTunes, and Walt Disney Records released LET IT GO: THE COMPLETE SET, featuring 50 tracks of the international versions of the Oscar-winning song.
• Great news! Broadway's Valerie Harper says she is "cautiously optimistic" about her prognosis one year after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Broadway Weather Forecast: Looks like we're experiencing déjà vu from yesterday, but we're not complaining! Sunny with a high of 50 degrees.

Quote of the Day: IF/THEN star Idina Menzel is looking forward to her juiciest roles yet...

"The cool thing is that, unlike film, the theatre roles for women get better and better as you get older."
-- Idina Menzel (2013 BWW Interview)

What we're listening to: MUPPET CHRIST SUPERSTAR. That's right. Dedicated Muppets and musical theatre fan Christopher Graham voiced all of the characters in this addicting parody of the Andrew Lloyd Webber show. If you can't wait for the U.S. arena tour, check this out!

And finally, a Happy Birthday shout-out to Jennifer Garner, who turns 42 today! Garner has appeared on Broadway in Cyrano de Bergerac (2007) and A Month in the Country (1995). She was recently seen on the big screen opposite Matthew McConaughey in the Oscar-nominated drama Dallas Buyers Club. Her other recent film credits include Draft Day, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Valentine's Day, The Invention of Lying and Juno, as well as the TV series Alias.