Add Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss to London's The Children's Hour

On Wednesday, we wrote about Keira Knightley being in talks to star in a West End revival of The Children's Hour to be directed by Ian Rickson.  In a few days, that seems to have gone from talks to firm plans as London's Mail Online is now reporting that rehearsals start next month with previews at the end of January and an opening in February.

Also new is that Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss has been added to the cast as the second of the two teachers who are accused of being lesbians by vindictive children at a boarding school.  The play was written by Lillian Hellman and originally produced in 1934 yet director Rickson feels it has a lot to do with today's legal environment.  He told the Mail "It’s so urgent, in that it’s about the culture of suing and litigation.  You go to any school and put your hand on a child’s arm and you’re reported.  It feels very clairvoyant to me, in that the atmosphere in that school she wrote about in the Thirties is prevalent now."

In 2002, Moss was in the Off-Broadway production of Franny's Way and was on Broadway in the 2008 revival of Speed the Plow.  On television, along with Mad Men, she had a semi-regular part as the first daughter on The West Wing and played Baby Louise in the remake of Gypsy with Bette Midler.   Her films include Escape to Witch Mountain, Mumford and Girl Interrupted

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John Larroquette to Star Opposite Daniel Radcliffe in Revival of How To Succeed in Business...

Multiple-Emmy winner John Larroquette will make his Broadway debut next year as World Wide Wicket Company president J.B. Biggley in the revival of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  He will play opposite Harry Potter alumnus David Radcliffe who is taking on the lead role as J. Pierrepont Finch. 

Larroquette got his first experience in the Disney movie Follow Me, Boys! where he played a U.S. Soldier.  He found work for the next two decades in TV (Baa Baa Blacksheep, the soap Doctors' Hospital) and film (Stripes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) before landing his true breakthrough role as Dan Fielding on Night Court.  He went on to win four consecutive Supporting Actor Emmys (1985-1988) before taking himself out of contention.

Post-Night Court, he starred in The John Larroquette Show, McBride and had a recurring role on Boston Legal. 

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is being produced in 2011 for its 50th anniversary.  Its original 1961 production won the Tony Award and New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Musical along with the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the third musical to that date to take the Drama Award (after South Pacific and Fiorello!).  Since then, only three additional musicals have won (A Chorus Line, Sunday in the Park With George and Rent). 

The original production starred Robert Morse with Rudy Valle in the J.B. Bigley role.  The only revival, in 1995, had Matthew Broderick in the lead and Ronn Carroll as Bigley.

The new production is to be directed by Rob Ashford and is scheduled to start previews on February 26 and open on March 27 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

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Casting Announced for The Importance of Being Ernest

The full cast has been announced for the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.  The show plays from December 17 to March 6 at the American Airlines Theatre. 

• Santino Fontana (Algernon Moncrieff)
• David Furr (Jack Worthing)
• Dana Ivey (Miss Prism)
• Tim MacDonald (Merriman)
• Paul O'Brien (Lane)
• Brian Bedford (Lady Bracknell)
• Charlotte Parry (Cecily Cardew)
• Sara Topham (Gwendolyn)
• Paxton Whitehead (Reverend Chausible) 

Bedford also directs with sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley, lights by Duane Schuler and sound by Drew Levy.

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Chita Rivera to Be Honored With 2010 LPTW Lifetime Achievement Award

The League of Professional Theatre Women has announced that their 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Broadway legend Chita Rivera.   She will be honored at the League's Awards Luncheon in December and will be presented the award by her daughter, Lisa Mordente.

Rivera started her career as a dancer in the 1953 production of Can-Can and broke into the limelight four years later as Anita in West Side Story.  She is a two-time Tony winner for The Rink (1984) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993) and was the first person of Hispanic descent to be given the Kennedy Center Honor (2002).

The following is the biography published in the award press release:

An accomplished and versatile actress/singer/dancer, Chita Rivera has won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received seven additional Tony nominations. She recently starred in the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele.  She recreated her starring role in The Visit, the new Kander/Ebb/McNally musical at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA (originally done at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago in 2001). She also starred in the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. She trained as a ballerina (from age 11) before receiving a scholarship to the American School of Ballet from legendary George Balanchine. Chita’s first appearance (age 17) was in the chorus of Call Me Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the Broadway premiere of West Side Story (1957) brought her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is highlighted by starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, Jerry’s Girls and (original Broadway casts) Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful.  On tour: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009. She received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, DC in December, 2002 and is the first Hispanic ever chosen to receive this award.  Chita has recorded and released a new CD entitled And Now I Swing and is on a nationwide concert tour of Chita Rivera: My Broadway. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman & Mike Nichols to Revive Death of a Salesman

Director Mike Nichols has announced that he will be mounting a revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman for Broadway looking towards a Fall 2011 premier.  On board as Willy Loman is Academy Award winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman with Linda Emond as his wife Linda Loman.

Death of a Salesman has a long, colorful history including four productions in Broadway (five if you count the two separate runs in 1984).  Its premier was February 10, 1949 at the Morosco Theatre with direction by Elia Kazan and starring Lee J. Cobb (742 performances).  The show won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and six Tony Awards (Best Play, Author (Arthur Miller), Producer (Kermit Bloomgarden and Walter Fried), Supporting Actor (Arthur Kennedy) and Scenic Design (Jo Mietzeiner)). 

The 1975 revival with George C. Scott played 71 performances, the 1984 revival(s) with Dustin Hoffman played 97 and 88 and the 1999 revival with Brian Dennehy played 274.

Mike Nichols has been a part of the Broadway scene for almost fifty years, winning the Best Director Tony eight times for Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Luv, Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Annie, The Real Thing and Spamalot. 

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a two time Tony nominee for True West and Long Day's Journey Into Night and Emond was nominated in 2003 for Life (x) Three.

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Keira Knightley Considering London Revival of The Children's Hour

Word is out that Keira Knightly is in talks with a team that is planning a London West End revival of Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour.  Direction would be under Ian Rickson.  No date or theater has been announced.

The Children's Hour tells the story of an all-girls boarding school run by two women.  A vengeful student starts a rumor that the two headmasters are lesbians, ruining the women's lives.  It was based on a true life incident from Edinburgh, Scotland in 1810 and recounted in the book Scotch Verdict: Miss Pirie and Miss Woods V. Dame Cumming Gordon.

The play was first produced on Broadway on November 20, 1934 at Maxine Elliott's Theatre and played for 691 performances. The show initially was criticized because of the subject matter (any mention of homosexuality in a play at the time was against the law in New York) but the quality of the writing and production won out. A London production was staged two years later at the Gate Theatre Studio and a film version was produced in 1936 by William Wyler (known as These Three) with the story changed to a heterosexual love triangle.  Wyler himself remade the film in 1961 based on the original story.  It was revived in 1952 on Broadway with Patricia Neil and Kim Hunter.

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Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert to Play in U.S. Movie Theaters on November 17

Over 500 theaters across the U.S. will be showing the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables.  It is a recorded presentation from the October 3 concert at London's O2 Arena.

The cast for the concert production:

• Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean)
• Nick Jonas (Marius)
• Norm Lewis (Javert)
• Matt Lucas (Thenardier)
• Lea Salonga (Fantine)
• Jenny Galloway (Madame Thenardier)
• Camilla Kerslake (Cosette)
• Ramin Karimloo (Enjolras)
• Samantha Barks (Eponine)

There will be an additional cast of 300 made up of members of the current London company, the 25th Anniversary touring production and the original 1985 London cast.  Along with the concert, there will be a special performance by Nick Jonas.

The score of Les Misérables includes the songs, I Dreamed a Dream, On My Own, Stars, Bring Him Home, Do You Hear the People Sing?, One Day More, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, Master Of The House and many more.

The full list of theaters and ticket information is available at the Fathom Entertainment site.

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Donny and Marie Going to Broadway for Christmas

Donny and Marie Osmond are going to New York to present A Broadway Christmas from December 9 to 19 at the Marriott Marquis Theatre.  The show is produced by Greg Young, Jon B. Platt and Magic Arts & Entertainment in association with Eric Gardner and Greg Sperry.

Neither of the singers are strangers to the Broadway stage.  Donny had an unfortunate experience starring in the 1982 revival of Little Johnny Jones which only ran for 29 previews and 1 performance.  He returned in 2006-07 to take on the role of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.  On stage, he may be best known for his four year run in the lead of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Marie did a stint on Broadway playing Anna in the 1996 production of The King and I.  She was one of two replacements for original actress Donna Murphy (Faith Prince being the other).

A Broadway Christmas is being billed as "In the holiday tradition of the Osmond Family Christmas television specials.  With their trademark show-stopping Christmas production numbers, Donny & Marie - A Broadway Christmas features your favorite hits mixed with the irresistible chemistry that made them international stars."

Tickets go on sale today.

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York Theatre Company Announces Casting for I Love My Wife

The York Theatre Company has announced the cast for their three-night run of the 1977 musical I Love My Wife.  The show is their last staged concert performance in the current run of Musicals in Mufti.  Each show in the series is presented script-in-hand with minimal staging.   Per their site:

I Love My Wife is a dynamic, irreverent look at relationships and marriage during the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Grappling with the rapidly shifting spirit of the time, two New Jersey couples consider merging their marriages in this hilarious hit musical from Broadway’s 1977 season.

The show originally opened on April 17, 1977 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and played 857 performances.  Book and lyrics are by Michael Stewart and music by Cy Coleman.  The original production was directed by Gene Saks and starred James Naughton, Joanna Gleason, Ilene Graff and Lenny Baker.  The show went on to be nominated for six Tonys, winning Director and Featured Actor (Baker), five Drama Desk nominations, winning for Actor (Baker), Featured Actor (Ken Bichel) and Music, plus a Theatre World Award for Gleason.

For the York Theatre Company, Carl Andress is directing with a cast that includes Jenni Barber, Heidi Blickenstaff, Matt Castle, Josh Grisetti, Jesse Means, Adam Monley, Louis Tucci, and Scott Wakefield.

The show runs October 22 to 24 at the York Theatre Company, 619 Lexington Avenue.

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Tony Winner Tom Bosley (1927 - 2010)

Tony winning actor Tom Bosley, better known to the general public as Happy Days' Howard Cunningham, passed away today (Tuesday) from heart failure.  He had also been waging a battle against lung cancer.  He was 83.

Bosley was born in Chicago and made his stage debut in a 1947 production of Our House with the Canterbury Players at the Fine Arts Theatre.  Two years later, he began work at the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois along with an up-and-coming Paul Newman.

During the early 50's, Bosley worked in regional theater and on occasional television shows.  By the middle of the decade, he was in New York appearing in Off-Broadway productions of Mornings at Seven (1955) and The Seagull (1956) and on Broadway in The Power and the Glory (1958) and the revival of The Beaux Stratagem (1959).  His big break came on November 23, 1959 when he opened as the lead in the musical Fiorello!.  As former New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, he won raves and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. 

Bosley spent most of the 60's drifting between Broadway shows, most of which had runs that lasted less than a month, and guest spots on television shows.  In 1969, he was a regular on the short-lived Debbie Reynolds Show and, in 1972, The Sandy Duncan Show, but it was his 10-year, 255-episode run on Happy Days (1974-1984) that made him a recognized star.

During and post-Happy Days, Bosley found himself a popular guest stars in shows like The Love Boat (four appearances), Murder She Wrote (18 appearances) and many other programs.  He also returned to regular series work as the lead in The Father Dowling Mysteries (1987-1991). 

On Broadway, he originated the role of Maurice in Beauty and the Beast (1994) and taking on the role of Herr Schultz in Cabaret in late 2002 and 2003.

Bosley's final role was in the part of Arthur in the movie The Back-Up Plan with Jennifer Lopez.

Bosley is survived by his wife, Patricia, a daughter, two stepdaughters and seven grandchildren.

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New Releases for October 19, 2010

CD

• Chasing The Day: The Music Of Will Van Dyke

MP3

• Pins and Needles (Featuring Barbra Streisand)
• What Makes Sammy Run?  (1964 Original Broadway Cast)

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Preview: A Broadway Celebration at the White House (PBS Special to Air Wednesday Night)

Broadway came to the White House back on July 19 and PBS is bringing the performances into your home this Wednesday night (although, as with most PBS programs, check your local listings as local stations sometimes change nights).

The sixty-minute television special is emceed by Nathan Lane and includes Idina Menzel, Brian d'Arcy James, Audra McDonald, Chad Kimball, Elaine Stritch, Marvin Hamlisch, Karen Olivo, Tonya Pinkins, Assata Alston and a youth ensemble from the Joy of Motion Dance Center and Duke Ellington School of the Arts, with Danielle Arci and Constantine Rousouli.

Production of the program was by WETA in Washington in association with Margo Lion, Ltd. (Hairspray, Catch Me if You Can) and 101 Productions. The event was directed by George C. Wolfe (Angels in America, Caroline or Change) and the music director was Rob Berman.

The selections from the program:

• About In Performance at the White House
• Opening Remarks from President Barack Obama
• Broadway Baby (Elaine Stritch)
• Gimme Gimme (Assata Alston)
• Blue Skies (Brian d'Arcy James)
• America (Karen Olivo, Yanira Marin, Shina Ann Morris, Jennifer Sanchez)
• Can't Stop Talking About Him (Audra McDonald)
• Memphis Lives in Me (Chad Kimball)
• Gonna Pass Me A Law (Tonya Pinkins)
• Defying Gravity (Idina Menzel)
• Free (Nathan Lane, Brian d'Arcy James)
• Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe (Audra McDonald)
• What I Did for Love (Idina Menzel, Marvin Hamlisch)
• I'm Still Here (Elaine Stritch)
• You Can't Stop the Beat (Constantine Rousouli, Danielle Arci and the Joy of Motion Dance Center/Duke Ellington School of the Arts student ensemble)

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Broadway Grosses: October 11 - 17, 2010

The following are the top shows on Broadway for the week of October 1 through 17, 2010.  I each case, we list the top five followed by all revivals.

Top Grossing

• Wicked - $1,576,947
• The Lion King - $1,452,507
• Jersey Boys - $1,112,513
• Billy Elliot - $1,098,027
• The Adams Family - $1,020,192
• Promises Promises - $976,880
• West Side Story - $709,134
• A Little Night Music - $623,475
• La Cage aux Folles - $550,196
• Chicago - $530,213
• Mrs. Warren's Profession - $251,376

Top Capacity

• Wicked - 100.0%
• Jersey Boys - 99.92%
• Billy Elliot - 98.79%
• Mamma Mia! - 97.94%
• The Lion King - 93.34%
• A Little Night Music - 91.85%
• Promises Promises - 83.31%
• Chicago - 81.90%
• Mrs. Warren's Profession -  73.78%
• La Cage aux Folles - 72.47%
• West Side Story - 71.65%

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Elaine Stritch Receives the Town Hall "Friend of the Arts" Award

Broadway veteran Elaine Stritch is receiving the Town Hall "Friend of the Arts" Award today at the venue's 89th anniversary gala being held at the Princeton Club.  The award is given annually to "individuals in recognition and appreciation for their abiding interest in the development, enrichment and support of the arts."  Also receiving the award today is the Chancellor of the New York Board of Regents, Merryl H. Tisch.

Stritch, who is currently on Broadway in the revival of A Little Night Music, won the 1996 Drama Desk Award for Featured Actress in a Play for A Delicate Balance and the group's 2002 awards for Book of a Musical and Solo Performance for Elaine Stritch at Liberty.  She also won the Emmy for that show's TV production, one of three that she as been given (two for guest appearances on Law & Order and 30 Rock).  Overall, she has appeared in 18 Broadway productions dating back to 1946.

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Musicals Tonight Announces Cast for Three Wishes For Jamie

Musicals Tonight, the New York theater company that presents short-run productions of shows that have been neglected or forgotten, will present Three Wishes for Jamie from October 26 to November 6 at the McGinn/Cazale Theater, 2162 Broadway.

The revival is directed by Thomas Sabella-Mills with music direction by James Stenborg with a cast that will include Chad Ackerman, Rita Harvey, Steve Brady, Jody Cook, Anne Bobby, Jessica Wagner, Martin Hurt, Douglas B. Giorgis, Richard Rodgers, Roger Rifkin, Ted Sutherland, John Grieco, Maria Maloney, Matthew Roscoe, and Carly Zien.

Three Wishes For Jamie originally ran from March 21 to June 7, 1952 (92 performances) at the Mark Hellinger and Plymouth Theatres.  The show was produced by Albert and Arthur Lewis and staged by Abe Burrows with music and lyrics by Ralph Blane and book by Burrows and Charles O'Neill.  The original cast included John Raitt, Anne Jeffries and Charlotte Rae.

The balance of the Musicals Tonight season:

• February 8 to 20 - I'd Rather Be Right (Rodgers & Hart and Kaufman & Hart)
• March 15 to 27 - Theodore & Co. (Ivor Novello, Jerome Kern)
• March 29 to April 10 - Up in Central Park (Sigmund Romberg)

Tickets for all shows are just $25.

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Chart Watch: Top Cast Albums for October 16, 2010

The following are the top original cast albums as compiled by Billboard magazine.  The top five are listed followed by all additional albums from revivals.

• 01. Wicked (Original Broadway Recording Cast)
• 02. Jersey Boys (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• 03. The Lion King (Original Cast Recording)
• 04. Rock of Ages: The Musical (Original Cast Recording)
• 05. American Idiot (Original Broadway Recording Cast)
• 06. La Cage Aux Folles (New Broadway Cast Recording)
• 07. Promises, Promises (New Broadway Cast Recording)

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Bells Are Ringing Set For Encores! Revival, November 18-21

Bells Are Ringing, the musical that gave the world Just in Time and The Party's Over, will be given the Encores! treatment from November 18 to the 21 at New York's City Center.

Written by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Greene, the show originally premiered on November 29, 1956 at the Schubert, running for 924 performances.  Jerome Robbins directed the production and choreographed with Bob Fosse.  Starring were Judy Holiday in her first musical and Sydney Chaplin.  Holiday would reprise the role in the film version with Dean Martin.  The show played an additional 68 performances during a 2001 revival with Faith Prince and Marc Kudisch.

Kathleen Marshall (Tony Award winner for choreography of Wonderful Town (2004) and The Pajama Game is directing.  The cast (veteran artists shown in bold):

• Kelli O'Harra (Ella Peterson)
• Will Chase (Jeffrey Ross)
• Dylan Baker (Inspector Barnes)
• Bobby Carnavalle (Blake Barton)
• Judy Kaye (Sue Summers)
• Brad Oscar (Dr. Kitchell)
• David Pittu (Sandor Prantz)
• Danny Rutigliano (Francis)
• Jeffrey Schecter (Carl)
• John C. Vennema (Larry Hastings)

The years other two Encores! productions are Lost in the Stars (February 3 to 6, directed by Gary Griffin) and Where's Charley? (March 17 to 20, directed by John Doyle).

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Annie Returning to Broadway, James Lapine to Direct

Annie will celebrate its 35th anniversary in late 2012 with a Broadway revival directed by James Lapine.

Lapine is a three-time Tony winner who made his Broadway debut in 1984 directing and writing the book for Sunday in the Park With George.  Since, he has worn both hats on shows like Into the Woods, Falsetos and Passions (all of which he won the Tony for writing) and directed the revival of The Diary of Anne Frank (1997) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.   Currently, he is working on the upcoming production of Little Miss Sunshine.

Annie made its Broadway debut on April 21, 1977, playing 2,377 performances before closing on January 2, 1983.  The show played an additional seven months during its 1997 revival.  It has also been made into a film (1983) and a made-for-TV film (1999).

For the 2012 production, the book will be updated by Thomas Meehan who wrote the original production.  Producer Arielle Tepper Madover recently told the New York Times "The script has never been touched since 1977, and our hope is to really make this revival for current audiences, so Tom is going to go to work on the book."  He also said that a new creative team would be looking at ways to modernize the show.

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Broadway Grosses: October 4 - 10, 2010

The following are the top shows on Broadway for the week of October 4 through 10, 2010.  I each case, we list the top five followed by all revivals.

Top Grossing

• Wicked - $1,602,698
• The Lion King - $1,544,241
• Jersey Boys - $1,166,656
• Billy Elliot - $1,131, 195
• Promises Promises - $1,116,639
• West Side Story - $727,346
• A Little Night Music - $638,134
• La Cage aux Folles - $574,186
• Chicago - $571,547
• Mrs. Warren's Profession - $246,629

Top Capacity

• Jersey Boys - 99.45%
• Wicked - 99.05%
• Billy Elliot - 98.58%
• The Lion King - 97.99%
• A Little Night Music - 94.82%
• Chicago - 85.6%
• Promises Promises - 83.3%
• La Cage aux Folles -75.2%
• Mrs. Warren's Profession -  74.0%
• West Side Story - 71.5%

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