News

Jeb Brown (City Center’s Pal Joey), Eddie Cooper (Parade), Andrew Durand (Shucked) and Dashiell Eaves (Broadway’s A Christmas Carol) are among the cast set for the upcoming Audible staging and recording of Dead Outlaw, a new musical from the team behind The Band’s Visit.

The musical, which tells the bizarre true story of a turn-of-the-20th-century outlaw whose corpse became a mummified side-show attraction for decades, will begin previews on Wednesday, February 28 ahead of a Sunday, March 10 opening night at Audible’s Off Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre.

The limited engagement runs through Sunday, April 7, and will be recorded and released on Audible at a later date.

Also included in the principal cast will be Julia Knitel (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Ken Marks (Take Me Out), Trent Saunders (Hadestown) and Thom Sesma (City Center’s Oliver!).

As Deadline exclusively reported back in 2022, Dead Outlaw, conceived by David Yazbek,...

Update with Meghan McCain statement: Meghan McCain says her family has not authorized a new, planned musical inspired by – and named after – her late father.

But considering that the in-development musical features fictionalized characters based on public figures, John McCain included, it’s unlikely producers need any such authorization. Deadline has reached out to a show spokesperson for comment.

In an exclusive statement to The Messenger, McCain said, “My family has not authorized it nor was aware of it. I was as surprised as everyone else to see the announcement.”

This morning, producers Quixote Productions and Max Fose announced an invitation-only industry reading later this week in New York of what they call a “provocative and zeitgeisty” new musical titled The Ghost of John McCain. The musical features a book by Scott Elmegreen and score by Drew Fornarola.

In their announcement, the producers describe the musical as “a unique psychological exploration of power,...

Click here to read the full article.

The Old Man and Leftovers actor Bill Heck is set to replace Patrick J. Adams in the second run of Second Stage Theater’s Tony-winning play Take Me Out.

Heck was announced as Adams’ replacement on Thursday, along with the news that the entirety of the remaining original cast would be returning alongside stars Jesse Williams and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. That includes Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks. Michael Castillejos, Lance Takeshi, Stephen Wattrus and Tim Wright will serve as understudies on the production.

Heck will play Kippy, the shortstop for the fictional major league baseball team the Empires and friend to Williams’ Darren Lemming, the team’s star center fielder and a Black biracial athlete who goes public about his sexuality. Kippy also serves as the show’s narrator.

Actor Bill Heck will join the return Broadway engagement of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out co-starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams.

Heck will take the role of Kippy, played in the revival’s original staging last spring by Patrick J. Adams, who announced in August that he would not be making the October return due to scheduling conflicts with his CBC original series Plan B.

With the exception of Adams (Suits), the entire cast from the spring production will return. In addition to Ferguson and Williams, the rest of the returning cast includes Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks. Oberholtzer was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance, while Ferguson won the trophy for his.

The Second Stage Theater production is produced by Barry and Fran Weissler...

A new musical written by Anna Deavere Smith and featuring music from the Ella Fitzgerald songbook is currently in development. Ella: An American Miracle will receive an Aug. 25-Sept. 21 work session, with Tony-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater and Charity Angél Dawson portraying the iconic singer at different points in her life.

The work session will conclude with a private industry presentation. A production timeline was not disclosed.

“Composers wanted Ella Fitzgerald to sing their songs because listening to her, they knew how their songs were supposed to be sung,” said Smith in a statement. “A jazz singer, a scat singer, she also famously both sang and defined the American song book. To say she had humble beginnings is a profound understatement. She sang America through some of its most discordant times. She was America’s love song. She was an American miracle.”

Bridgewater, a Tony winner for 1975’s The Wiz, will...

Some good news from Broadway: Take Me Out, the well-received revival of Richard Greenberg’s baseball play, has extended its run by two weeks at Second Stage’s Hayes Theater.

The comedy-drama, starring Patrick J. Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams, will now run through Saturday, June 11.

The extension, announced today by producer Second Stage Theater, comes just days after Take Me Out opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews on April 4.

Directed by Scott Ellis, Take Me Out also features cast members Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks.

The play charts the aftermath when a big-time baseball star (Williams) comes out as gay.

As of now, there is a lot of uncertainty around Covid when it comes to Broadway. Within the past couple of months, several shows had to suspend performances due to positive cases in their casts, some others had to close permanently, and a couple more are taking hiatuses. The American Theatre Wing also hasn’t announced key dates for this year’s Tony Awards yet.

With that being said, we are now about halfway through the Broadway season, and there are currently 11 productions of plays set to open this spring. Could we be seeing any of them contend at this year’s Tonys? Below is an overview of each play as well as the awards histories of their authors, cast, and directors, plus the opening and (where applicable) closing dates.

“Skeleton Crew” (opened January 26; closes February 20)

This new play by Tony nominee Dominique Morisseau is set in 2008 at a small automotive factory in Detroit,...

Patrick J. Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams have confirmed their return to the Broadway production of Take Me Out when the Richard Greenberg play begins performances next March.

The trio had been set to star in the Second Stage Theater production with a pre-pandemic opening of April 2020. The cast has been expected to return for the postponed 2022 opening, but confirmation came just today. Both Adams and Williams will be making their Broadway debuts.

Take Me Out begins previews at the Hayes Theater on March 9, 2022, and will officially open on April 4.

Also returning are previously announced cast members Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks. The role of Davey Battle, which was to have been played in the 2020 production by Brandon Dirden, remains to be cast.

The casting announcement was made today by Second Stage Theater. Scott Ellis will direct.

Broadway’s Second Stage Theater has hired Khady Kamara, the managing director of Arena Stage in Washington D.C., as the New York company’s new executive director.

Kamara will join Second Stage, which also includes Off Broadway productions, part-time beginning Sept. 14, then full time on Jan. 4, 2021.

As Arena’s managing director, Kamara is responsible for all of Arena’s combined $19 million earned and contributed income streams, as well as overseeing building operations for the 200,000 square foot Mead Center campus, general management and production. A core focus of her career, according to Second Stage, is strengthening community relations and developing new audiences with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

At Arena, Kamara doubled the subscription base and built strong patron engagement, Second Stage says. She contributed to the world premieres of Dear Evan Hansen and The Originalist, both of which transferred to New York, with Hansen produced Off Broadway by Second Stage.

Producers of Broadway’s Take Me Out starring Patrick J. Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jesse Williams have set an opening date of April 22, 2021, with previews beginning March 22.

The Second Stage Theater staging of the Richard Greenberg play is the latest production targeting a Spring opening after being interrupted or postponed this year due to Broadway’s Covid-19 shutdown. Take Me Out is directed by Scott Ellis.

In addition to Adams, Ferguson and Williams, Take Me Out, at the Second Stage’s Hayes Theater, will feature Julian Cihi, Hiram Delgado, Brandon J. Dirden, Carl Lundstedt, Ken Marks, Michael Oberholtzer, Eduardo Ramos and Tyler Lansing Weaks. The production had been scheduled to begin previews on April 2, 2020 and officially open on April 23, 2020.

Also aiming for Spring 2021 openings are the Tony Kushner-Jeanine Tesori musical Caroline, or Change, The Music Man, Flying Over Sunset, American Buffalo, Plaza Suite and The Minutes. Birthday Candles,...

Blood Stripe Tandem Pictures Director: Remy Auberjonois Written by: Kate Nowlin, Remy Auberjonois Cast: Kate Nowlin, Tom Lipinski, Chris Sullivan, Rusty Schwimmer, Ashlie Atkinson, Ken Marks, Rene Auberjonois Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 9/8/17 Opens: Sept. 29, 2017 The movie industry should pay homage to women in the forefront of defending our country against its […]

The post Blood Stripe Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

What do John Rubinstein, Mary Beth Peil, Jenn Colella, Kathy Fitzgerald, Ken Marks, Josh Carpenter, Haven Burton, Roger Michelson, Walker Jones, Jennifer Smith and John Treacy Eagan have in common...

What do John Rubinstein, Mary Beth Peil, Jenn Colella, Kathy Fitzgerald, Ken Marks, Josh Carpenter, Haven Burton, Roger Michelson, Walker Jones, Jennifer Smith and John Treacy Eagan have in common...

While there have been plenty of movies about soldiers returning home from war and adjusting to civilian life, few have been told from a female perspective. However, “Blood Stripe” offers an intriguing break from the usual, and today we have the exclusive trailer for the film.

Co-written and directed by Remy Auberjonois, and starring Kate Nowlin (who also co-wrote the film), Tom Lipinski, Chris Sullivan, Rusty Schwimmer, Ashlie Atkinson, Ken Marks, and Rene Auberjonois, the story follows a woman who returns from three tours in Afghanistan.

Continue reading Exclusive ‘Blood Stripe’ Trailer: War Comes Home In L.A. Film Festival Winner at The Playlist.

Evil rises from within with lethal (and creepy) consequences in the preview video and photos for the ninth episode of The Exorcist, airing this Friday night on Fox. [Spoiler warning for those who aren't caught up on the series.]

Episode 109 synopsis (via SpoilerTV): "On the eve of Pope Sebastian's visit to Chicago, Marcus and his companions race to avert a potential tragedy. Tomas is offered a life-changing opportunity, but will the sins of the past endanger his future within the church? Meanwhile, as the Rance family attempts to recover from their most recent ordeal, a new problem threatens to tear them apart In the all-new "Chapter Nine: 162" episode of The Exorcist airing Friday, Dec. 9 (9:01-10:00 Pm Et/Pt) on Fox. (Exo-109) (TV-14 D, L, S)

Cast: Alfonso Herrera as Father Tomas Ortega; Ben Daniels as Father Marcus Keane: Geena Davis as Angela Rance; Alan Ruck as Henry Rance; Brianne Howey as Katherine Rance; Hannah Kasulka as Casey Rance...

To save her daughter's future, Angela will have to face her own haunted past in the next episode of The Exorcist, which is teased in a new preview video ahead of its November 18th premiere.

Episode 108 synopsis (via SpoilerTV): "As Marcus, Tomas and Mother Bernadette race against time to defeat the demon, the Rance family finds itself drawn into the conflict. With the Pope's visit only days away, the church's enemies take aggressive new moves. Angela confronts a familiar face from her past, and Kat considers a new future in the all-new "Chapter Eight: The Griefbearers" episode of The Exorcist airing Friday, Nov. 18 (9:01-10:00 Pm Et/Pt) on Fox. (Exo-108) (TV-14 D, L, V)

Cast: Alfonso Herrera as Father Tomas Ortega; Ben Daniels as Father Marcus Keane: Geena Davis as Angela Rance; Alan Ruck as Henry Rance; Brianne Howey as Katherine Rance; Hannah Kasulka as Casey Rance...

Recently, CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Elementary" episode 8 of season 3. The episode is entitled, "End Of Watch," and it turns out that we're going to see things get pretty damn intense and intriguing in this one as Watson and Holmes combine forces with the NYPD to track down a lethal cop killer, and more! In the new, 8th episode press release: Holmes and Watson will join the NYPD manhunt for a cop killer. Meanwhile, Sherlock is going to search for the creator of a "recovery bag" who is posting personal statements Holmes made in sobriety meetings. Guest stars feature: Leslie Silva as Atf Agent Hernan, Ken Marks as Moderator, Geoff Wigdor as Charlie Riggs and Kerry Butler as Astrid. Episode 8 is set to air on Thursday night, December 18th at 9pm central time on CBS.

Last night, October 28, The Public Theater officially opens Father Comes Home From The Wars Parts 1, 2 amp 3.The complete cast features Sterling K. Brown Hero Louis Cancelmi Smith Peter Jay Fernandez Oldest Old Man Jeremie Harris Homer Russell G. Jones Leader, Runaway Jenny Jules Penny Ken Marks Colonel Jacob Ming-Trent Fourth, Odyssey Dog Tonye Patano Third Runaway and Julian Rozzell Jr. Second Runaway. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from opening night below...

The Public Theater is currently presenting Suzan-Lori Parks' Father Comes Home From The Wars Parts 1, 2 amp 3, featuring Sterling K. Brown Hero Louis CancelmiSmith Peter Jay Fernandez Oldest Old Man Jeremie Harris Homer Russell G. Jones Leader, Runaway Jenny Jules Penny Ken Marks Colonel Jacob Ming-TrentFourth, Odyssey Dog Tonye Patano Third Runaway andJulian Rozzell Jr. Second Runaway. Check out a first look at the cast in action below...

As the Toronto International Film Festival gets underway with North American and World debuts of films that will hit Awards Season and beyond,a good number of seasoned films that have traveled the festival circuit are finally making their way into the Specialty Box Office. Drafthouse Films will open Cannes ’13 title The Congress starring Robin Wright and Harvey Keitel in a dozen locations this weekend, while SXSW’s Juliette Lewis starrer Kelly & Cal will open exclusively in NYC. Sundance’s Last Days In Vietnam will have a theatrical run before heading to PBS next fall and the Guadalajara Film Festival’s Frontera is taking advantage of a timely topic in the U.S. Venice financed its 2013 premiere Memphis, opening exclusively this weekend in NYC. And China Lion hopes to take a successful template for romantic dramas and apply that to But Always.

The Congress

Director-writer: Ari Folman

Writer: Stanislaw Lem (novel)

Cast: Robin Wright,...

Recently, CBS released the new,official,synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Elementary" episode 21 of season 2. The episode is entitled, "The Man With the Twisted Lip," and it sounds like things will get quite interesting and dramatic as Sherlock's brother arrives on the scene, causes tension between Sherlock and Watson, and more. In the new,21st episode press release: Tensions will rise between Holmes and Watson when Holmes' brother, MyCroft, makes a surprise return to New York. Press release number 2: When Sherlock’s brother ,Mycroft, makes a surprise return to New York, his motivations will cause discord between Sherlock and Joan. In the meantime, a missing person case is going to take Sherlock and Joan inside the world of unmanned aeronautics. Guest stars will feature: Henri Lubatti (Marchef), Jeremy Shamos (Dr. Paul Sutherland), Teal Wicks (Tess Dahl), Vincenzo Amato (Guillaume de Soto), T. Ryder Smith (Kenneth Carlson), Josh Salatin (Wyatt...

Playwrights Horizons has announced additional casting for its current 20132014 Season. The announcement includes complete casting for the New York premiere of Fly By Night A New Musical, conceived by Kim Rosenstock Tigers Be Still, written by Will Connolly performer, Once, Michael Mitnick Sex Lives of Our Parents, the upcoming film The Giver and Ms. Rosenstock, and directed by Carolyn Cantor The Great God Pan and After the Revolution at Ph, Pumpgirl, Orange Flower Water. Stage Kiss, by two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl, will also welcome Ken Marks to the cast for the final two weeks of its run.