2024 Lucille Lortel Awards winners: Kecia Lewis and Eli Gelb scoop up victories ahead of Tony Awards
Winners of the 2024 Lucille Lortel Awards, honoring outstanding achievements in Off-Broadway theater, were announced on Sunday, May 5, in a ceremony at NYU Skirball. The show was hosted by Rosalind Chao, Jen Colella, Michael Esper, 2024 Tony nominee Eden Espinosa (“Lempicka”), 2024 Tony nominee Nikki M. James (“Suffs”) and Bd Wong. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf.
It was a banner evening for Ars Nova. Not only did the theater company receive an honorary award for Best Body of Work, their show “(pray)” was also the top winner of the night. This co-production with National Black Theatre took home three trophies including Best Musical, Best Director for NicHi douglas and Best Ensemble.
Four other productions earned multiple awards, with “Buena Vista Social Club,” “The Comeuppance,” “Stereophonic,” and “Wet Brain” each claiming two prizes.
“Stereophonic” is a frontrunner for Best...
It was a banner evening for Ars Nova. Not only did the theater company receive an honorary award for Best Body of Work, their show “(pray)” was also the top winner of the night. This co-production with National Black Theatre took home three trophies including Best Musical, Best Director for NicHi douglas and Best Ensemble.
Four other productions earned multiple awards, with “Buena Vista Social Club,” “The Comeuppance,” “Stereophonic,” and “Wet Brain” each claiming two prizes.
“Stereophonic” is a frontrunner for Best...
- 5/6/2024
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Hell’s Kitchen, Alicia Keyes bio-musical, and David Adjmi’s Stereophonic, the roman a clef with music that bears more than a striking resemblance to Fleetwood Mac and the recording of the classic Rumours album received more nominations than any other production of the 2023-24 Broadway season. Each of those shows took 13 nominations this morning.
Coming in third was The Outsiders (at 12 noms), and followed by Cabaret (9) and Appropriate (8).
See the complete breakdown by number of nominations below.
The first six batches of select Tony Award nominees were announced on CBS Mornings at 8:30 a.m./Et. The remainder were announced at 9 p.m. Et on the Tony’s YouTube channel.
The 77th Tony Awards will be held on June 16 at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City, airing on CBS. Ariana DeBose will host for a third consecutive year.
Here is the complete list of...
Coming in third was The Outsiders (at 12 noms), and followed by Cabaret (9) and Appropriate (8).
See the complete breakdown by number of nominations below.
The first six batches of select Tony Award nominees were announced on CBS Mornings at 8:30 a.m./Et. The remainder were announced at 9 p.m. Et on the Tony’s YouTube channel.
The 77th Tony Awards will be held on June 16 at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City, airing on CBS. Ariana DeBose will host for a third consecutive year.
Here is the complete list of...
- 4/30/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Director and choreographer Justin Peck’s Broadway adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ seminal 2005 album Illinoise opens later this month, and today, producers Orin Wolf, Seaview, John Styles, and David Binder and executive producer Nate Koch announced the three vocalists set to help bring Stevens’ music to the theater.
Elijah Lyons, Shara Nova, and Tasha Viets-VanLear will provide vocals for the show’s Broadway debut. All three performed during recent sold-out productions at the Park Avenue Armory and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Nova, who also records as My Brightest Diamond, provided backing vocals...
Elijah Lyons, Shara Nova, and Tasha Viets-VanLear will provide vocals for the show’s Broadway debut. All three performed during recent sold-out productions at the Park Avenue Armory and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Nova, who also records as My Brightest Diamond, provided backing vocals...
- 4/5/2024
- by Jeff Ihaza
- Rollingstone.com
Illinoise, a theatrical adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album, will move to Broadway in April, slipping in under the wire for this season’s Tony Awards consideration.
The musical, which is currently playing Park Avenue Armory through March 23, will transfer to the St. James Theatre. The first performance of the show on Broadway will take place April 24 at 2 p.m. and will also be the show’s opening night. The eligibility cut-off date for the Tony Awards is April 25.
The limited engagement is scheduled to run through Aug. 10.
The production is directed and choreographed by Justin Peck, resident choreographer and artistic associate of the New York City Ballet, who also choreographed Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film West Side Story. Peck wrote the book of the show, alongside Jackie Sibblies Drury, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Fairview and Marys Seacole.
Illinoise features a full company of dancers, including So You Think You Can Dance...
The musical, which is currently playing Park Avenue Armory through March 23, will transfer to the St. James Theatre. The first performance of the show on Broadway will take place April 24 at 2 p.m. and will also be the show’s opening night. The eligibility cut-off date for the Tony Awards is April 25.
The limited engagement is scheduled to run through Aug. 10.
The production is directed and choreographed by Justin Peck, resident choreographer and artistic associate of the New York City Ballet, who also choreographed Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film West Side Story. Peck wrote the book of the show, alongside Jackie Sibblies Drury, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Fairview and Marys Seacole.
Illinoise features a full company of dancers, including So You Think You Can Dance...
- 3/19/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Update, with vocalists announced: Illinoise, the acclaimed dance-musical stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 concept album Illinois, will transfer from Off Broadway’s Park Avenue Armory to Broadway’s St. James Theatre next month, arriving just a day before this season’s Tony Award eligibility cut-off date.
The musical, with direction and choreography from Justin Peck and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, begins performances with a matinee at the St. James on Wednesday, April 24, which will serve as the engagement’s Tony-qualifying opening performance. Broadway reviews will be embargoed to Friday, April 26, a day after the April 25 Tony cut-off.
In a busy late-season Broadway schedule unrivaled in memory, Illinoise becomes the 14th show scheduled to open between April 11 and April 25. Three of those dates will see not one but two shows open: Patriots and The Heart of Rock and Roll on April 22; Illinoise and Uncle Vanya on...
The musical, with direction and choreography from Justin Peck and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, begins performances with a matinee at the St. James on Wednesday, April 24, which will serve as the engagement’s Tony-qualifying opening performance. Broadway reviews will be embargoed to Friday, April 26, a day after the April 25 Tony cut-off.
In a busy late-season Broadway schedule unrivaled in memory, Illinoise becomes the 14th show scheduled to open between April 11 and April 25. Three of those dates will see not one but two shows open: Patriots and The Heart of Rock and Roll on April 22; Illinoise and Uncle Vanya on...
- 3/19/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan are heading to Broadway later this month in Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, producers announced today.
The production, which opened a sold-out run Off Broadway at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in February, is now set to be the final production of the 2022-23 Broadway season. Opening night for the limited, 80-performance run is Thursday, April 27, at the James Earl Jones Theatre.
Directed by Anne Kauffman, the revival will mark the first time the Hansberry play has been produced on Broadway in more than 50 years, and the first Bam-produced production to transfer to Broadway since The Gospel at Colonus 35 years ago.
Producing on Broadway will be Seaview, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, with Jeremy O. Harris and Bam.
The follow-up to Hansberry’s landmark 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window debuted on Broadway...
The production, which opened a sold-out run Off Broadway at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in February, is now set to be the final production of the 2022-23 Broadway season. Opening night for the limited, 80-performance run is Thursday, April 27, at the James Earl Jones Theatre.
Directed by Anne Kauffman, the revival will mark the first time the Hansberry play has been produced on Broadway in more than 50 years, and the first Bam-produced production to transfer to Broadway since The Gospel at Colonus 35 years ago.
Producing on Broadway will be Seaview, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, with Jeremy O. Harris and Bam.
The follow-up to Hansberry’s landmark 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window debuted on Broadway...
- 4/4/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor James McAvoy will finally reprise his performance in the title role of director Jamie Lloyd’s Olivier Award-winning revival of Cyrano de Bergerac, with the pandemic-delayed staging at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York now set for April 5 to May 22, 2022.
The production, which won the Olivier for Best Play Revival for a 2019 staging at London’s Playhouse Theatre, was originally scheduled to play Bam in spring 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid shutdown.
In addition to Bam, the production’s 2022 engagements also include dates at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre (February 3-March 12) and the Theatre Royal Glasgow (March 18-26).
The new version of the Edmond Rostand classic was adapted by Martin Crimp and co-stars Evelyn Miller as Roxane.
“We’re so thrilled to welcome Jamie Lloyd, James McAvoy and this incredible company to Bam for a Cyrano like no other,” Bam Artistic Director David Binder said.
The production, which won the Olivier for Best Play Revival for a 2019 staging at London’s Playhouse Theatre, was originally scheduled to play Bam in spring 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid shutdown.
In addition to Bam, the production’s 2022 engagements also include dates at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre (February 3-March 12) and the Theatre Royal Glasgow (March 18-26).
The new version of the Edmond Rostand classic was adapted by Martin Crimp and co-stars Evelyn Miller as Roxane.
“We’re so thrilled to welcome Jamie Lloyd, James McAvoy and this incredible company to Bam for a Cyrano like no other,” Bam Artistic Director David Binder said.
- 10/29/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Crown‘s Claire Foy and Matt Smith will reprise their acclaimed London stage roles for a New York production of director Matthew Warchus’ staging of Duncan Macmillan’s play Lungs.
Following its sold-out run at London’s Old Vic, Lungs will be presented at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater for a limited run from March 25 – April 19, 2020, producers announced.
The production marks the three Old Vic staging set for a New York run this season, following the current Broadway production of A Christmas Carol and the upcoming Girl from the North Country.
The synopsis for Lungs, about a young couple wrestling with one of life’s biggest dilemmas, is as follows: “The ice caps are melting, there’s overpopulation, political unrest; everything’s going to hell in a handbasket – why on earth would someone bring a baby into this world?”
“The entire production, from the stellar cast to...
Following its sold-out run at London’s Old Vic, Lungs will be presented at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater for a limited run from March 25 – April 19, 2020, producers announced.
The production marks the three Old Vic staging set for a New York run this season, following the current Broadway production of A Christmas Carol and the upcoming Girl from the North Country.
The synopsis for Lungs, about a young couple wrestling with one of life’s biggest dilemmas, is as follows: “The ice caps are melting, there’s overpopulation, political unrest; everything’s going to hell in a handbasket – why on earth would someone bring a baby into this world?”
“The entire production, from the stellar cast to...
- 12/17/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The National Theatre production of Network, produced by David Binder, the National Theatre, Patrick Myles, David Luff, Ros Povey and Lee Menzies, will extend performances through Saturday, June 8, 2019 at the Belasco Theatre 111 West 44th Street. This is the second and final extension for the limited engagement. Starring Bryan Cranston All The Way, Breaking Bad, Tony Goldwyn Scandal, Promises, Promises and Tatiana Maslany Orphan Black, Mary Page Marlowe, Network officially opened to rave reviews on Thursday, December 6, 2018.
- 2/20/2019
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Next spring’s Broadway revival of Lanford Wilson’s Burn This starring Adam Driver and Keri Russell has completed casting and set an April 16 opening date at the Hudson Theatre.
Previews begin March 15, with Tony Award nominees David Furr and Brandon Uranowitz rounding out the four-member cast, says producer David Binder. Michael Mayer will direct, with the design team including Derek McLane (Sets), Clint Ramos (Costumes) and Natasha Katz (Lights).
Burn This, which originated Off Broadway in 1987 before transferring to Broadway in an acclaimed production starring John Malkovich and Joan Allen, is set in a downtown Manhattan loft in the 1980s, as four New Yorkers are brought together after a funeral. Driver and Russell play the brother and the roommate, respectively, of the deceased.
Furr will play Burton, the longtime lover of Russell’s Anna. Tony nominated for his performance in the 2016 Noises Off revival, Furr has also appeared on Broadway in Accent On Youth,...
Previews begin March 15, with Tony Award nominees David Furr and Brandon Uranowitz rounding out the four-member cast, says producer David Binder. Michael Mayer will direct, with the design team including Derek McLane (Sets), Clint Ramos (Costumes) and Natasha Katz (Lights).
Burn This, which originated Off Broadway in 1987 before transferring to Broadway in an acclaimed production starring John Malkovich and Joan Allen, is set in a downtown Manhattan loft in the 1980s, as four New Yorkers are brought together after a funeral. Driver and Russell play the brother and the roommate, respectively, of the deceased.
Furr will play Burton, the longtime lover of Russell’s Anna. Tony nominated for his performance in the 2016 Noises Off revival, Furr has also appeared on Broadway in Accent On Youth,...
- 11/27/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Tony Goldwyn will return to Broadway in Ivo van Hove’s much-anticipated production of Network, joining Bryan Cranston and Tatiana Maslany in the stage adaptation of the 1976 Oscar-winning film.
Goldwyn will play Max Schumacher, the TV exec in the midst of a mid-life crisis played by the Oscar-nominated William Holden in the film. British actor Douglas Henshall originated the role in the West End production of the play last year.
Known to TV audiences for playing President Fitzgerald Grant in Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal and next to be seen onscreen in Netflix’s Chambers with Uma Thurman, Goldwyn has a long stage history. Among his credits: Theresa Rebeck’s The Water’s Edge, Craig Lucas’ The Dying Gaul, Holiday at Circle in the Square opposite Laura Linney, and an Obie-winning performance in The Sum of Us. He most recently appeared on Broadway in the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises.
Performances of Network begin on Saturday,...
Goldwyn will play Max Schumacher, the TV exec in the midst of a mid-life crisis played by the Oscar-nominated William Holden in the film. British actor Douglas Henshall originated the role in the West End production of the play last year.
Known to TV audiences for playing President Fitzgerald Grant in Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal and next to be seen onscreen in Netflix’s Chambers with Uma Thurman, Goldwyn has a long stage history. Among his credits: Theresa Rebeck’s The Water’s Edge, Craig Lucas’ The Dying Gaul, Holiday at Circle in the Square opposite Laura Linney, and an Obie-winning performance in The Sum of Us. He most recently appeared on Broadway in the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises.
Performances of Network begin on Saturday,...
- 9/27/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany will make her Broadway debut this November opposite Bryan Cranston in Network, director Ivo Van Hove’s take on Paddy Chayefsky’s great Oscar-winning 1976 film.
Maslany will play Diana Christensen, the icy network executive so memorably performed by Faye Dunaway in the movie. (She won a Best Actress Oscar for the role). Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery played the character when the play premiered in London last year.
The casting was announced today by producers David Binder, the National Theatre, Patrick Myles, David Luff, Ros Povey and Lee Menzies. Network is presented in association with Dean Stolber. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Network begins performances Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Belasco Theatre. Official opening date is Thursday, Dec. 6.
Maslany, who won a 2016 Emmy Award for her lead role in BBC America’s Orphan Black, is currently featured in Destroyer,...
Maslany will play Diana Christensen, the icy network executive so memorably performed by Faye Dunaway in the movie. (She won a Best Actress Oscar for the role). Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery played the character when the play premiered in London last year.
The casting was announced today by producers David Binder, the National Theatre, Patrick Myles, David Luff, Ros Povey and Lee Menzies. Network is presented in association with Dean Stolber. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Network begins performances Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Belasco Theatre. Official opening date is Thursday, Dec. 6.
Maslany, who won a 2016 Emmy Award for her lead role in BBC America’s Orphan Black, is currently featured in Destroyer,...
- 9/10/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Tatiana Maslany, the Emmy-winning star of “Orphan Black,” will join fellow Emmy winner Bryan Cranston in director Ivo van Hove’s upcoming Broadway adaptation of “Network,” the show’s producers announced Monday.
Maslany will make her Broadway debut in the role first played by Faye Dunaway in the Oscar-winning 1976 drama. Golden Globe winner Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) played the role in a London production that opened at the National Theatre last November and played through March.
“Network” will begin performances on Nov. 10 at Broadway’s Cort Theatre ahead of an official opening on Dec. 6. The limited run is expected to go for 18 weeks. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”) adapted Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay about a ratings-challenged news anchor who unravels on air during his final broadcast. But when ratings soar,...
Maslany will make her Broadway debut in the role first played by Faye Dunaway in the Oscar-winning 1976 drama. Golden Globe winner Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) played the role in a London production that opened at the National Theatre last November and played through March.
“Network” will begin performances on Nov. 10 at Broadway’s Cort Theatre ahead of an official opening on Dec. 6. The limited run is expected to go for 18 weeks. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”) adapted Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay about a ratings-challenged news anchor who unravels on air during his final broadcast. But when ratings soar,...
- 9/10/2018
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
A musical about the great Temptations is headed to Broadway. Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations, directed by Des McAnuff and produced by Ira Pittelman and Tom Hulce, will begin performances at the Imperial Theatre in spring 2019.
The musical, which follows the classic Motown vocalists – and their signature dance moves – from “the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where it became the highest grossing production in that theater’s nearly 50-year history. The musical later broke the single-week box office record at Washington D.C.’s Eisenhower Theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to producers.
Producers describe the show as the “story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal,” all playing out against a backdrop of civil unrest and set to Temptations classics like “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,...
The musical, which follows the classic Motown vocalists – and their signature dance moves – from “the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where it became the highest grossing production in that theater’s nearly 50-year history. The musical later broke the single-week box office record at Washington D.C.’s Eisenhower Theater in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to producers.
Producers describe the show as the “story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal,” all playing out against a backdrop of civil unrest and set to Temptations classics like “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,...
- 8/24/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Adam Driver, back on the big screen this weekend with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will lead a Broadway revival next season of the late Lanford Wilson’s ferocious drama Burn This, producer David Binder (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Of Mice and Men) announced this morning. Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Spring Awakening) will direct the planned 2019 show, at a Broadway theater to be announced. An earlier announcement of the revival, with a different producing team…...
- 12/14/2017
- Deadline
Producer David Binder Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Of Mice and Men announces today that three-time Emmy Award nominee Adam Driver Star Wars The Last Jedi, Girls will return to Broadway in the first revival of Lanford Wilson's Burn This, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Spring Awakening in 2019 at a Broadway theater to be announced.
- 12/14/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Fully realizing its underdog appeal, the cheeky musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder slayed the competition this morning with a whopping 10 Tony nominations, including nods for both of its tireless leading men, Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham. Neil Patrick Harris’ return to Broadway after a decade yielded him his first-ever Tony nomination for the celebrated revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which netted an impressive eight nods. (Had it been eligible as a new musical, Hedwig probably would have easily tied Guide, as score and book would have been slam dunks). Trailing these shows with seven...
- 4/29/2014
- by Jason Clark
- EW.com - PopWatch
Leighton Meester to Make Her Broadway Debut in James Franco & Chris O'Dowd's Of Mice And Men Revival
Producer David Binder announced today that Leighton Meester ("Gossip Girl", Country Strong) will join Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner James Franco and Chris O'Dowd in Of Mice and Men on Broadway, in a new production directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro. Of Mice And Men, one of the greatest and most enduring American classics, has not been seen on Broadway in 40 years. Leighton Meester will essay the role of Curley's Wife in the period-set drama. Performances begin March 19, 2014 and officially opens April 16, 2014 at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway (220 West 48th Street, NYC). Tickets go on sale beginning January 11, 2014. This is a strictly limited engagement through July 27, 2014 only. Meester began her career performing in regional theatre before receiving...
- 12/9/2013
- by Zoë Gulliksen
- The Daily BLAM!
Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester will play Curley’s wife in Of Mice And Men, joining James Franco & Chris O’Dowd in the first Broadway stage production of the John Steinbeck tale in 40 years. This one’s directed by Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro and produced by David Binder. Meester started her career in regional theatre before getting the Gossip Girl gig. She also starred with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw in Country Strong. The play officially opens April 16 at the Longacre Theatre, and will run through July 27.
- 12/9/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline TV
Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester will play Curley’s wife in Of Mice And Men, joining James Franco & Chris O’Dowd in the first Broadway stage production of the John Steinbeck tale in 40 years. This one’s directed by Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro and produced by David Binder. Meester started her career in regional theatre before getting the Gossip Girl gig. She also starred with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw in Country Strong. The play officially opens April 16 at the Longacre Theatre, and will run through July 27.
- 12/9/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
James Franco and Chris O’Dowd have signed on to make their Broadway debuts in Of Mice And Men, the first new production of the John Steinbeck novel in 40 years. It will be directed by Anna D. Shapiro, who won the Tony for August: Osage County. Franco, who has now tried just about every outlet an actor can try, will play George, while The Sapphires star O’Dowd will play Lennie. The play will be staged at the Longacre Theatre with previews starting March 19. It officially opens April 16 and will run through July 27. They’ll start selling tickets January 11. David Binder is producing Of Mice And Men with Darren Bagert, Kate Lear and Barbara Whitman.
- 11/26/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Hollywood actors James Franco and Chris O'Dowd will appear in a production of Of Mice And Men in March 2014
Hollywood actor James Franco will make his Broadway debut in a production of Of Mice And Men beginning March 2014, a play that hasn't been performed on Broadway in nearly 40 years.
Playing the part of George, he'll be joined by Chris O'Dowd in the role of Lenny. O'Dowd initially found fame on British television in The It Crowd before successfully making the transition to Hollywood, appearing in Bridesmaids, This Is 40 and the hit HBO TV series Girls.
Franco originally announced the project in March this year, and gave details of casting and direction a month ago, but the project has been officially announced by lead producer David Binder. The play's director will be Anna Shapiro, who won a Tony for her production of August: Osage County, since turned into a film starring Meryl Streep.
Hollywood actor James Franco will make his Broadway debut in a production of Of Mice And Men beginning March 2014, a play that hasn't been performed on Broadway in nearly 40 years.
Playing the part of George, he'll be joined by Chris O'Dowd in the role of Lenny. O'Dowd initially found fame on British television in The It Crowd before successfully making the transition to Hollywood, appearing in Bridesmaids, This Is 40 and the hit HBO TV series Girls.
Franco originally announced the project in March this year, and gave details of casting and direction a month ago, but the project has been officially announced by lead producer David Binder. The play's director will be Anna Shapiro, who won a Tony for her production of August: Osage County, since turned into a film starring Meryl Streep.
- 11/26/2013
- by Ben Beaumont-Thomas
- The Guardian - Film News
For 25 years, first as still photographer and then as filmmaker, David Binder doggedly chronicled the Farrow family. The mother/wife dies … husband grieves and copes … four young sons struggle and mature … and for 25 years David Binder captures the story. Binder’s initial photo essay on the Farrow family was published by In Health magazine in 1990, and updated a decade later in Life magazine. His Farrow photographs were displayed in several major exhibitions, including at Harvard AIDS Institute and in 40 cities for the United States Centers for Disease Control. A decade later he made a short documentary …...
- 7/9/2013
- by Stewart Nusbaumer
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Producer David Binder is thrilled to announce that Neil Patrick Harris will star in the Broadway premiere of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s musical Hedwig And The Angry Inch in the Spring of 2014. The remaining creative team members, additional casting, and the theatre will be confirmed at a later date. The announcement that Neil Patrick Harris will play ‘Hedwig,’ follows his recent triumphant engagement as the host of the 67th Annual Tony Awards® (the highest rated Tonys® broadcast in more than a decade). Harris said, “I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified to be stepping into Hedwig’s heels. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime role and I can’t wait to begin the journey.” John Cameron Mitchell who wrote the book and starred in the original stage and film productions of Hedwig said, “Who better to pass the wig to but the finest entertainer of his generation?” and composer Stephen Trask said,...
- 6/17/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Producer David Binder is thrilled to announce that Neil Patrick Harris will star in the Broadway premiere of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s musical Hedwig And The Angry Inch in the Spring of 2014. The remaining creative team members, additional casting, and the theatre will be confirmed at a later date. The announcement that Neil Patrick Harris will play ‘Hedwig,’ follows his recent triumphant engagement as the host of the 67th Annual Tony Awards® (the highest rated Tonys® broadcast in more than a decade). Harris said, “I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified to be stepping into Hedwig’s heels. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime role and I can’t wait to begin the journey.” John Cameron Mitchell who wrote the book and starred in the original stage and film productions of Hedwig said, “Who better to pass the wig to but the finest entertainer of his generation?” and composer Stephen Trask said,...
- 6/17/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline TV
New York -- Having made no secret of his vow to get back on Broadway, Neil Patrick Harris will make good on that promise next spring when he takes on the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. While no theater, exact dates, creative team or additional cast have yet been firmed up, producer David Binder made the announcement of Harris' eagerly anticipated return to Broadway on Monday. A 1997 cult musical with a book by John Cameron Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask, the show follows the path of an East German rocker bouncing back from botched transgender
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- 6/17/2013
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Today the New York Times announced that Neil Patrick Harris will be heading to Broadway for a stint as Hedwig, the East German transgender rocker that is the heart of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Before it became the film that would launch John Cameron Mitchell's ("Shortbus," "Rabbit Hole") film directing career, "Hedwig" was an off-Broadway musical with text by Mitchell and music and lyrics by Stephen Trask. In its original off-Broadway run, Mitchell played Hedwig. Harris, who had a career resurgence after taking a supporting role in CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," hosted this year's Tonys and is hosting this year's Emmys. Mitchell's currently working on a sequel to "Hedwig" and had a recurring role on the last season of "Girls." The one-man show, produced by David Binder ("Legally Blonde," "33 Variations"), is set to premiere in April 2014.
- 6/17/2013
- by Bryce J. Renninger
- Indiewire
Producer David Binder announced today that the critically acclaimed production of Moisés Kaufman's 33 Variations starring Jane Fonda will end its run on Thursday, May 21st, 2009. The limited engagement will close three days earlier than previously announced and a performance has been added to the beginning of the final week now playing at the Eugene O?Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street). ?Jane has had a scheduling conflict on her calendar for several months? said Binder, ?but despite many efforts to work around her schedule, we all agreed today that it is best to close on Thursday, May 21st.? Speaking on behalf of the producers, Binder said ?Jane Fonda is extraordinary. Working with her in Moisés Kaufman's new play has been an incredible thrill for us all and she is a remarkable and dedicated actress. On top of that, she is a true star whose return to Broadway after 47 years...
- 5/5/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- The first network television movie to be screened at Sundance, A Raisin in the Sun never totally transcends its origins on the stage and it's a long way from cutting edge cinema. But those who can relax into the leisurely pace and lush language will be rewarded with an earnest and moving night at the movies. After its late February airing on ABC, film should have a long shelf life in schools and on home video.
Adapted from Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking 1959 play and powered by the high-profile cast -- Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Audra MacDonald -- from the acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival, A Raisin in the Sun is a throwback to an earlier era of theater and race relations. But what's remarkable is that Hansberry's wit and vitality, the work of a 27-year-old playwright, still feels alive and relevant today.
This is American kitchen-sink drama, engaged and socially conscious, where every line has a purpose. It's the story of the Younger family set in the Southside of Chicago in the early 1950s. Hansberry was prescient enough to see that black history was at a turning point in this country and she was able to create a play that captured the changing aspirations of a new generation.
The dream of freedom, the ultimate goal for people like the matriarch of the family Lena Younger (Rashad), has been replaced by the pursuit of the American Dream by her son Walter (Combs). A chauffeur for a rich white family, he feels like he's missing out on his big chance, and he is not going to take it lying down.
While Walter chases his piece of the pie, his sister Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan) represents another strain of the black experience. She feels she can be whatever she wants to be, and that alternately includes an actor, a Nigerian dancer, an artist and a doctor. As her mother puts it, "I've seen butterflies do less flitting." As Beneatha spreads her wings to find herself, Hansberry delivers a touch of feminism before its time.
Hovering over the household is the ghost of Walter's father, and more specifically, his $10,000 life insurance check that is due any day. Walter wants to use the money to buy a bar with his none-to-bright friend Bobo (Bill Nunn), which makes them ripe patsies for another emerging type of black man -- the worldly hustler.
Lena is bitterly opposed to Walter's business venture and uses some of the money to put a down payment on a house in an all-white neighborhood where the family is destined to be unwelcome. What's at stake here is nothing less than the soul and the future of the black people as Hansberry sees it. It's a battleground to be sure and it plays out largely in the two-room Younger apartment.
Director Kenny Leon, who also helmed the show on Broadway, attempts to open up the action, drawing on Paris Qualles' screenplay, which in turn is adapted from a TV version of the original play by Hansberry herself. The staging remains a bit creaky and theatrical and the local saloon or the street life in front of the apartment still seems more like a set than a real place.
But that almost seems beside the point. None of this diminishes the spirit of the play or the cast's commitment to the material, which almost seems palpable. As he did on stage, Leon gets the most out of his actors and with Hansberry's words, that's what carries the film. Rashad beautifully captures the wounded pride and hopes of the older generation, while the rapper and music entrepreneur Combs holds his own in his first major movie role. Balanced between her mother-in-law's idealism and her husband's pragmatism is Walter's wife Ruth, who may be getting the worst of both worlds. MacDonald gives the role a heartbreaking dimension.
Befitting the television production it is, the music by Mervyn Warren is a bit too insistent and visual elements are straightforward without being distinguished. But as old-fashioned as it may be, it's still a provocative, powerful piece of work. In hindsight, one can only watch the Younger family set out for greener (or whiter) pastures and see the turmoil and violence of the '60s just around the corner.
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
ABC World Premiere Movie Event
A Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group production in association with Sony Pictures Television
Credits:
Director: Kenny Leon
Writer: Paris Qualles, based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry
Producer: John M. Eckert
Executive producers: Sean Combs, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson, David Binder, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Director of cinematography: Ivan Strasburg
Production designer: Karen Bromley
Music: Mervyn Warren
Costumes: Gersha Phillips
Editor: Melissa Kent
Cast:
Walter Lee Jr.: Sean Combs
Beneatha Younger: Sanaa Lathan
Ruth Younger: Audra McDonald
Lena Younger: Phylicia Rashad
Travis Younger: Justin Martin
Bobo: Bill Nunn
Asagai: David Oyelowo
Willy: Ron Cephas Jones
George: Sean Patrick Thomas
Karl Linder: John Stamos
Running time -- 131 minutes
No MPPA rating...
PARK CITY -- The first network television movie to be screened at Sundance, A Raisin in the Sun never totally transcends its origins on the stage and it's a long way from cutting edge cinema. But those who can relax into the leisurely pace and lush language will be rewarded with an earnest and moving night at the movies. After its late February airing on ABC, film should have a long shelf life in schools and on home video.
Adapted from Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking 1959 play and powered by the high-profile cast -- Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Audra MacDonald -- from the acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival, A Raisin in the Sun is a throwback to an earlier era of theater and race relations. But what's remarkable is that Hansberry's wit and vitality, the work of a 27-year-old playwright, still feels alive and relevant today.
This is American kitchen-sink drama, engaged and socially conscious, where every line has a purpose. It's the story of the Younger family set in the Southside of Chicago in the early 1950s. Hansberry was prescient enough to see that black history was at a turning point in this country and she was able to create a play that captured the changing aspirations of a new generation.
The dream of freedom, the ultimate goal for people like the matriarch of the family Lena Younger (Rashad), has been replaced by the pursuit of the American Dream by her son Walter (Combs). A chauffeur for a rich white family, he feels like he's missing out on his big chance, and he is not going to take it lying down.
While Walter chases his piece of the pie, his sister Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan) represents another strain of the black experience. She feels she can be whatever she wants to be, and that alternately includes an actor, a Nigerian dancer, an artist and a doctor. As her mother puts it, "I've seen butterflies do less flitting." As Beneatha spreads her wings to find herself, Hansberry delivers a touch of feminism before its time.
Hovering over the household is the ghost of Walter's father, and more specifically, his $10,000 life insurance check that is due any day. Walter wants to use the money to buy a bar with his none-to-bright friend Bobo (Bill Nunn), which makes them ripe patsies for another emerging type of black man -- the worldly hustler.
Lena is bitterly opposed to Walter's business venture and uses some of the money to put a down payment on a house in an all-white neighborhood where the family is destined to be unwelcome. What's at stake here is nothing less than the soul and the future of the black people as Hansberry sees it. It's a battleground to be sure and it plays out largely in the two-room Younger apartment.
Director Kenny Leon, who also helmed the show on Broadway, attempts to open up the action, drawing on Paris Qualles' screenplay, which in turn is adapted from a TV version of the original play by Hansberry herself. The staging remains a bit creaky and theatrical and the local saloon or the street life in front of the apartment still seems more like a set than a real place.
But that almost seems beside the point. None of this diminishes the spirit of the play or the cast's commitment to the material, which almost seems palpable. As he did on stage, Leon gets the most out of his actors and with Hansberry's words, that's what carries the film. Rashad beautifully captures the wounded pride and hopes of the older generation, while the rapper and music entrepreneur Combs holds his own in his first major movie role. Balanced between her mother-in-law's idealism and her husband's pragmatism is Walter's wife Ruth, who may be getting the worst of both worlds. MacDonald gives the role a heartbreaking dimension.
Befitting the television production it is, the music by Mervyn Warren is a bit too insistent and visual elements are straightforward without being distinguished. But as old-fashioned as it may be, it's still a provocative, powerful piece of work. In hindsight, one can only watch the Younger family set out for greener (or whiter) pastures and see the turmoil and violence of the '60s just around the corner.
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
ABC World Premiere Movie Event
A Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group production in association with Sony Pictures Television
Credits:
Director: Kenny Leon
Writer: Paris Qualles, based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry
Producer: John M. Eckert
Executive producers: Sean Combs, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson, David Binder, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Director of cinematography: Ivan Strasburg
Production designer: Karen Bromley
Music: Mervyn Warren
Costumes: Gersha Phillips
Editor: Melissa Kent
Cast:
Walter Lee Jr.: Sean Combs
Beneatha Younger: Sanaa Lathan
Ruth Younger: Audra McDonald
Lena Younger: Phylicia Rashad
Travis Younger: Justin Martin
Bobo: Bill Nunn
Asagai: David Oyelowo
Willy: Ron Cephas Jones
George: Sean Patrick Thomas
Karl Linder: John Stamos
Running time -- 131 minutes
No MPPA rating...
After taking a break from original movies last season, ABC is bringing back the genre with two high-profile projects next season.
The network has set premiere dates for Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day, which will air Dec. 9, and Sean Combs, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's adaptation of the play A Raisin In the Sun, which will air Feb. 25, the night after the network's live broadcast of the 80th Annual Academy Awards.
Sun, an adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's play about a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s, features the primary cast of the play's Broadway revival, led by Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, along with "ER" star John Stamos.
Kenny Leon, who staged the play on Broadway, is directing Sun, which was adapted by Paris Qualles.
Zadan and Meron's Storyline Entertainment, Combs' Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures TV are producing the movie, which is exec produced by Zadan, Meron, Combs and the show's Broadway producers, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson and David Binder.
The network has set premiere dates for Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day, which will air Dec. 9, and Sean Combs, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's adaptation of the play A Raisin In the Sun, which will air Feb. 25, the night after the network's live broadcast of the 80th Annual Academy Awards.
Sun, an adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's play about a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s, features the primary cast of the play's Broadway revival, led by Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, along with "ER" star John Stamos.
Kenny Leon, who staged the play on Broadway, is directing Sun, which was adapted by Paris Qualles.
Zadan and Meron's Storyline Entertainment, Combs' Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures TV are producing the movie, which is exec produced by Zadan, Meron, Combs and the show's Broadway producers, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson and David Binder.
- 8/17/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Stamos has joined the cast of ABC's A Raisin in the Sun, the TV movie adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's play.
In Raisin, which tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s, Stamos has been cast in the role of Carl Lindner, who represents the all-white community of Claybourne Park in its efforts to buy out the black Younger family from moving in.
The three-hour movie also stars Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, who are reprising their roles from the 2004 Broadway revival. The movie starts shooting soon in Toronto.
Raisin is a production of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Storyline Entertainment and Combs' Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group in association with Sony Pictures Television. The executive producers are Zadan, Meron, Combs, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson and David Binder.
Kenny Leon, who received a Drama Desk directing nomination for his staging of the play on Broadway, is directing the movie.
In Raisin, which tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s, Stamos has been cast in the role of Carl Lindner, who represents the all-white community of Claybourne Park in its efforts to buy out the black Younger family from moving in.
The three-hour movie also stars Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan, who are reprising their roles from the 2004 Broadway revival. The movie starts shooting soon in Toronto.
Raisin is a production of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Storyline Entertainment and Combs' Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group in association with Sony Pictures Television. The executive producers are Zadan, Meron, Combs, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson and David Binder.
Kenny Leon, who received a Drama Desk directing nomination for his staging of the play on Broadway, is directing the movie.
- 11/27/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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