Wake Up With BWW 2/7: The Public Will Stage HERCULES, KING KONG in Japan, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! One day more until Friday! Power through the rest of your week by catching up on the top Broadway news!

First, we learned that the Public Theater will stage a production of Hercules at the Delacorte Theatre this summer. According to a casting notice, the role of Hercules will be played by an African-American actor.

King Kong is headed to Japan! The show has its sights set on a new Hard Rock resort in Japan, with a possibly shortened book.

We also learned that Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins will lead The Height of the Storm on Broadway! The show is slated for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2019-2020 season.

Read more about these and other top stories below! Want our morning reports delivered via email? Subscribe here!

1) Breaking: Bless My Soul! Public Theater Will Stage HERCULES at the Delacorte Theatre This Summer

Hercules is about to go from zero to hero of your 2019. BroadwayWorld has just learned that the Public Theater will present a stage adaptation of the Disney classic this summer at the Delacorte Theatre. The musical, which features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Kristoffer Diaz, will be directed by Lear deBessonet and choreographed by Chase Brock.. (more...)

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2) KING KONG Sets its Sights on a Japanese Resort
by Stephanie Wild

King Kong is currently taking Broadway by storm, but it appears to have its sights set on new land.. (more...)

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3) BWW Interview: Singers Unite! Learn About Australian Discovery Orchestra's Global Vocal Competition!

The Australian Discovery Orchestra, the world's first solely digital streaming orchestra, has just launched 16 STORIES - a worldwide online vocal competition.. (more...)

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4) Public Theater's 2019 Shakespeare in the Park Season Will Include MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, CORIOLANUS and HERCULES!???????

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced the line-up today for the 2019 Free Shakespeare in the Park season, which as BroadwayWorld reported this morning, will feature a stage adaptation of Hercules... (more...)

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5) Official: Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins Will Lead THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM on Broadway

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have just announced three productions slated for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2019-2020 season.. (more...)

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BWW Exclusive: BWW's Theatre Industry Podcast 'The OHenry Report' Goes Inside Equity Strike Against Developmental Projects with The Clyde Fitch Reports' Leonard Jacobs

On this episode of BroadwayWorld's theatre business podcast, "The OHenry Report," Broadway producer and investor Oliver Henry Roth talks with Leonard Jacobs the founder and executive editor of The Clyde Fitch Report, an online outlet that covers the crossroads of arts and politics.

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What we're geeking out over: Chita Rivera Visits Pal Patti LuPone Backstage At COMPANY!

Two legends met up in a London backstage this evening, after Chita Rivera paid a visit to pal Patti LuPone following a performance of Company at the Gielgud Theatre. Chita is in town this week to perform two solo shows at Cadogan Hall in London this Sunday.

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What we're watching: Watch Highlights of Carmen Cusack & More in Encores! CALL ME MADAM

For the second time in Encores! history-and to honor City Center's 75th Anniversary Season-the series is reviving one of its own revivals. A highlight of the second season of Encores! (1995) and featuring a memorable score by Irving Berlin and book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, Call Me Madam centers around a brassy ambassador to the fictional European nation of Lichtenberg. The show pokes fun at a far more polite and benign political world and includes standards such as "It's a Lovely Day Today" and "Something to Dance About," along with Berlin's most famous counterpoint duet, "You're Just in Love." Directed by Casey Hushion with music direction by Encores! Music Director Rob Berman and choreography by Denis Jones, Call Me Madam will run for seven performances only February 6 through 10 at New York City Center.

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Social Butterfly: Billy Porter Delivers LGBTQ State of the Union: 'Love will and love must keep us united'

Billy Porter delivered the LGBTQ State of the Union in a video on Twitter. In the video, he addressed issues facing the LGBTQ community, triumphs, setbacks, and looking ahead to 2019.

"Though darkness may seem to overshadow the progress we've made," he said. "we must not let it snuff our light out. Love will and love must keep us united."

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See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!