Wake Up With BWW 3/13: Hugh Jackman in THE MUSIC MAN, Britney Spears Musical, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy hump day! Won't you spend it with us, catching up on the latest Broadway news?

First, we would like to wish a happy opening to both Vineyard's Do You Feel Anger? and WP Theater's Hatef**ck, both opening off-Broadway today!

Yesterday brought us some big news! We learned that Hugh Jackman will be returning to Broadway in The Music Man! Jackman teased the announcement with a photo on social media, and our sources say this revival may be right around the corner!

Oh baby baby! Britney is coming to Broadway! A new Britney Spears musical, Once Upon a One More Time, will have its pre-Broadway engagement in Chicago later this year.

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

1) Rialto Chatter: Hugh Jackman Will Return To Broadway In THE MUSIC MAN
by Alan Henry

BroadwayWorld has learned that Hugh Jackman will return to Broadway, starring as Harold Hill in a revival of The Music Man! Jackman posted a photo alluding to the upcoming revival on his Instagram account. No dates or theatre have been announced, but sources tell us the revival may be set for as soon as next season.. (more...)

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2) Britney Spears Musical ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME Will Have Pre-Broadway Run in Chicago This Year

Once Upon a One More Time, a new Broadway-bound musical comedy set to the smash hit music of Grammy Award-winning superstar Britney Spears, will have its world premiere this fall at Broadway In Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 W. Randolph Street). Previews begin Tuesday, October 29, 2019, with an opening night of November 13, 2019, for its limited engagement through December 1, 2019, before heading to Broadway.. (more...)

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3) BroadwayWorld Seeks Contributors in San Francisco

BroadwayWorld.com is looking for new contributors to help us grow our local coverage of theatre and support local talent and venues with our international platform! Find out more about joining the team!. (more...)

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4) Gattelli to Direct Ripley, Klena, Gehling and More in Reading Of THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

Tony winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The Cher Show, My Fair Lady, SpongeBob) will direct an invite-only, developmental reading of the new musical, The Song of Bernadette, March 14th & 15th, starring Dear Evan Hansen's Mallory Bechtel as Bernadette, alongside Tony Winner Alice Ripley (Next to Normal, Side Show, American Psycho), Derek Klena (Carrie, Dogfight, Anastasia) and Drew Gehling (Waitress, Dave).. (more...)

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5) Photo Flash: And Some for Gretchen Wieners! First Look at Krystina Alabado in MEAN GIRLS

Krystina Alabado joins the cast of Mean Girls beginning performances tonight as 'Gretchen Wieners', get a first look at her in action below!. (more...)

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Today's Call Sheet:

Vineyard Theatre's DO YOU FEEL ANGER? opens off-Broadway tonight!
In Mara Nelson-Greenberg's dazzling dark comedy, Sofia (Villarin) is hired as an empathy coach at a debt collection agency -- and clearly, she has her work cut out for her. These employees can barely identify what an emotion is, much less practice deep, radical compassion for others. As they painstakingly stumble towards enlightenment, someone keeps mugging Eva in the kitchen, and the unspoken dynamics of their seemingly blithe workplace culture become increasingly unsettling. This absurdly funny and potent new play, directed by Margot Bordelon, reminds us that change is not always easy, and may come with unexpected costs.

The cast includes Tom Aulino, Ugo Chukwu, Megan Hill, Greg Keller, Justin Long, and Tiffany Villarin.

WP Theater's HATEF**K opens off-Broadway tonight!
Passions ignite when Layla, an intense literature professor, accuses Imran, a brashly iconoclastic novelist, of trading in anti-Muslim stereotypes. But as their attraction grows into something more, they discover that good sex doesn't always make good bedfellows. Conflicting cultural identities collide in this thornily clever antidote to a "meet-cute" romance.

Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (WP's What We're Up Against), this bracingly insightful play stars Kavi Ladnier ("Just Add Magic", "Heroes") and Sendhil Ramamurthy ("Heroes", "Covert Affairs"). The four-week limited engagement will run through Sunday, March 31.

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Set Your DVR...

-Daniel Radcliffe will appear on LAST CALL WITH Carson Daly today!

-The cast of "Be More Chill" will perform on GOOD MORNING AMERICA today!

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What we're geeking out over: HILLARY AND CLINTON Stars Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow Discuss Politics on Broadway in New Variety Cover Story

Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow made the cover of Variety! In their interview, they discuss the current insurgence of political themes on Broadway. They also talked about why this play in particular may be seen as controversial, and what about it is so haunting to viewers.

Watch the above clip and read more here!

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What we're watching: The Company Of BEETLEJUICE Prepares To Haunt Broadway!

Get a quick behind the scenes peek as Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure and more prepare to haunt Broadway in BEETLEJUICE!

BEETLEJUICE will open on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on Thursday, April 25, 2019. It will begin Broadway previews March 28, 2019.

The show stars Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman in the title role, Two-Time Lortel Award nominee Sophia Anne Caruso as Lydia, Tony Award nominee Kerry Butler as Barbara, Tony Award Nominee Rob McClure as Adam, Obie Award Winner Adam Dannheisser as Charles, and Two-Time Drama Desk Award Nominee Leslie Kritzer as Delia, with Jill Abramovitz as Maxine Dean/Juno, Kelvin Moon Loh as Otho, Danny Rutigliano as Maxie Dean, and Dana Steingold the Girl Scout, in a cast of 25 that includes Tessa Alves, Gilbert L. Bailey II, Will Blum, Johnny Brantley III, Ryan Breslin, Natalie Charle Ellis, Brooke Engen, Abe Goldfarb, Eric Anthony Johnson, Elliott Mattox, Mateo Melendez, Sean Montgomery, Ramone Owens, Presley Ryan and Kim Sava.

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Social Butterfly: MEAN GIRLS Opens Auditions for Broadway and National Tour

Calling all (passable as) high school performers! Mean Girls is on the lookout for male dancers and singers to replace roles in the Broadway production and fill the national tour. Find out more details in the above post!

Mean Girls features a book by nine-time Emmy Award winner Tina Fey, based on her screenplay for the film, music by three-time Emmy Award winner Jeff Richmond, and lyrics by two-time Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin. Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs.

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See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!