Rialto Chatter - Page 17

In what The Daily Mail calls 'very serious' negotiations, producers are in talks to bring AFTER THE DANCE to the Great White Way with Benedict Cumberbatch.

BroadwayWorld has learned that just before the 2010-2011 season comes to a close, Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart will open on Broadway at the Golden Theater starring Cheyenne Jackson, Joe Mantello and Ellen Barkin. Following an Actor's Fund benefit performance of the show starring Mantello and Glenn Close this past fall, rumors began swirling that Daryl Roth was hot to ressurect the property into a full-scale production - it's first on Broadway. Securing an available theater had apparently held up her efforts. it is believed that Mantello will reprise his role as Ned Weeks. Jackson will play his lover Felix Turner and Barkin will assume the role of Dr. Emma Brookner.

According to a report byBaz Bamigboye for Daily Mail, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, starring Keira Knightly and Elizabeth Moss has brought in £1.8?million. With a successful run at the Comedy Theatre, now the show might be heading to the Great White Way by early next year.

Former American Idol runner up and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown alum Justin Guarini revealed at the Drama League Gala last night that he will be joining the cast of American Idiot in March. Guarini did not reveal which role he would be assuming.

According to MTV, James Franco is planning a stage adaptation of ABC's old sitcom, 'Three's Company.' Last month, Franco presented an ode to the sitcom at the Sundance Film Festival, re-creating old episodes and projecting them on four walls while audience members sat in a reconstruction of the show's set.

Showbiz411 reports that James Cromwell has just signed on to star in the Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman play, You Cant Take It With You. Cromwell reveals few details of the production, only that it will open out of town this summer and is aiming for Broadway as early as the fall. Cromwell was last seen on Broadway in 1992 when he performed in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Hamlet. Prior to that, he performed with the RSC in Broadway's Othello in 1970.

Michael Reidel reports in the NY Post today that the Shubert Organization is considering renaming one of its theaters after legendary producer/director Hal Prince in the near future. As Riedel quotes, Prince collaborator Stephen Sondheim has said of the honor: 'I find it astonishing, especially now that directors play so central a role in the success -- or failure of -- Broadway shows. Harold Prince is very much alive and well, and seeing as how he has won more Tony Awards than any other individual, I'd say . . . he deserves the nod.'

Lincoln Center Theater production of Jon Robin Baitz' OTHER DESERT CITIES, directed by Joe Mantello, opened on January 13 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. The cast features Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, Linda Lavin, Elizabeth Marvel and Thomas Sadoski. Today, the New York Times suggests that the show is looking to transfer to Broadway, however, a full house on the Great White Way will prevent the show from making a spring move.

The New York Philharmonic will present Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Company, with an all-star cast led by Neil Patrick Harris, star of the hit television series, How I Met Your Mother, on April 7-9, 2011. The award-winning musical will be produced and directed by Lonny Price, who directed and co-produced last season's SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert!, and will be conducted by Sondheim specialist Paul Gemignani, with the original orchestrations for a 35-piece orchestra by Jonathan Tunick. More details will be announced at a later date.

According to Ology.com, David Fincher recently expressed interest in creating a stage adaptation of his 1999 film, FIGHT CLUB. The Social Network director is currently in talks with Trent Reznor, who wrote the score for the 2010 hit film, to possibly get the musical started.

According to a recent casting notice, the upcoming revival of BORN YESTERDAY will open in mid-April in a Broaway theatre that has not yet been determined.

It looks like off-Broadway's DRACULA, playing at the Little Shubert might have a shorter run than originally announced. The show, which just opened on January 5, was originally scheduled to close on March 13. Now, after speculation in the NY Post this morning about an early end for the revival, Telecharge.com is only offering tickets for the show through January 9.

EW.com is reporting that Big Love's Chloe Sevigny is in talks to join Katie Holmes on Broadway in the near future with William Mastrosimone's Extremities. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Holmes has reportedly been tapped to play the role of a woman who 'turns the tables' on her attempted rapist and must decide how to handle the situation. Sevigny would play her opposite.

According to the NY Times, both Jim Belushi and Nina Arianda are currently in talks to star in the spring 2011 Broadway revival of Garson Kanin's BORN YESTERDAY.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) presents Matthew Lombardo's High, starring movie and stage actress Kathleen Turner and directed by Rob Ruggiero. This riveting and powerful production will be performed on the Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Road (on the campus of Webster University), Webster Groves, October 13 through November 7, 2010. After its St. Louis run, High will move to Broadway in early 2011.

BroadwayWorld has been hearing that SPIDER MAN's Natalie Mendoza, who has been out of the show since December 2 due to a concussion she received during the first preview, could be out of the show for as long as another week. A spokesperson for the production stated that Mendoza 'would be going back into the production very soon,' in response. Reportedly, Mendoza underwent medical testing this week.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS may return to Broadway in the Spring for a repeat run just before the Tony Awards. According to the report, once THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS shutters in on Sunday, the producers are 'planning to put together a national tour for the musical and [hope] to bring it back to Broadway for a limited run before the Tony Awards in the spring.'

According to a report on Billboard.com, the Portland-based rock group, The Decemberists, are considering the possibility of writing a Broadway musical. Says vocalist/guitarist Colin Meloy: 'I grew up doing theater, so in theory, I would love to write a musical. I don't know if I have the stuff -- I always end up just writing little pop songs that stand a better chance on a record than on stage...It happens that the director Michael Mayer, who directed Green Day's 'American Idiot' musical on Broadway, is the guy that got me going about doing a musical...We're still talking and there's potential for a musical down the line, for sure.'

As BroadwayWorld reported last month, the Manhattan Theater Club was in talks to bring the Kennedy Center production of MASTER CLASS, which ran this Spring, starring Tyne Daly to Broadway in the Summer of 2011. The play is aiming for the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in June. An Equity casting notice released today a new production of MASTER CLASS with Tyne Daly is one of the projects under consideration for MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre for the Spring of 2011.

CARRIE is back, according to an Equity casting notice that was just released a few moments ago. A 29-Hour reading is scheduled for February. Exact dates will be determined based on actor's schedules once cast. The notice specifically calls for submission for the roles of Carrie and Sue Snell. Auditions will take place in mid-December.