The setting for Illinoise, Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury’s emotionally supercharged reinterpretation of the 2005 Sufjan Stevens concept album, is various locations across the Land of Lincoln — a cornfield, a hiking trail, a woodland clearing, the suburban home of a serial killer, a small town in the middle of nowhere, the top of a skyscraper and, of course, Chicago, with an out-of-state detour to New York City. But the real setting of this thrilling dance-musical-concert hybrid, alternately rhapsodic and shattering, is our collective youth.
Without a word of spoken dialogue, the show pulls us into late adolescence, a time when love, anguish and everything in between are felt perhaps with the greatest intensity. The book co-written by director-choreographer Peck and Drury (who won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her brilliant meta-theatrical race inquiry, Fairview) is skillfully shaped yet invisible in the best sense of undiluted physical, sensorial and elemental storytelling.
Without a word of spoken dialogue, the show pulls us into late adolescence, a time when love, anguish and everything in between are felt perhaps with the greatest intensity. The book co-written by director-choreographer Peck and Drury (who won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her brilliant meta-theatrical race inquiry, Fairview) is skillfully shaped yet invisible in the best sense of undiluted physical, sensorial and elemental storytelling.
- 4/26/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
April on Broadway, to mangle a phrase from a showtune classic, is bustin’ out all over with no fewer than 14 new plays and musicals set to open before the April 25 Tony Award eligibility cutoff date. So crowded are the final weeks of the 2023-24 theater season that three days each will see the openings of two shows, a Broadway rarity.
Check this page to see Deadline’s takes. Whether you use this page as a guide or as an invitation to argue, drop by often for the latest on Broadway’s offerings. And there’ll be plenty of offerings indeed — here’s the schedule of April openings: The Outsiders (April 11), Lempicka (April 14), The Wiz (April 17), Suffs (April 18), Stereophonic (April 19), Hell’s Kitchen (April 20), Cabaret (April 21), Patriots (April 22), The Heart of Rock and Roll (April 22), Mary Jane (April 23), Illinoise (April 24), Uncle Vanya (April 24), Mother Play (April 25), The Great Gatsby (April 25).
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Check this page to see Deadline’s takes. Whether you use this page as a guide or as an invitation to argue, drop by often for the latest on Broadway’s offerings. And there’ll be plenty of offerings indeed — here’s the schedule of April openings: The Outsiders (April 11), Lempicka (April 14), The Wiz (April 17), Suffs (April 18), Stereophonic (April 19), Hell’s Kitchen (April 20), Cabaret (April 21), Patriots (April 22), The Heart of Rock and Roll (April 22), Mary Jane (April 23), Illinoise (April 24), Uncle Vanya (April 24), Mother Play (April 25), The Great Gatsby (April 25).
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- 4/26/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
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
Pictured left to right are: Jets members Anybodys (Ezra Menas), Mouthpiece (Ben Cook), Action (Sean Harrison Jones); Jets leader Riff (Mike Faist); Baby John (Patrick Higgins); Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler); Maria’s brother and Sharks leader Bernardo (David Alvarez); and Sharks members Quique (Julius Anthony Rubio), Chago (Ricardo Zayas), Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera), Braulio (Sebastian Serra) and Pipo (Carlos Sánchez Falú).
The first look at Academy Award®-winner Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story has been revealed. An adaptation of the original Broadway musical, West Side Story explores young love and tensions between rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks on the streets of 1957 New York. The film is now in production for Twentieth Century Fox.
The cast also includes Ariana DeBose (Anita); Ana Isabelle (Rosalia); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); Curtiss Cook (Abe) and Academy Award®-winner Rita Moreno, who plays...
The first look at Academy Award®-winner Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story has been revealed. An adaptation of the original Broadway musical, West Side Story explores young love and tensions between rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks on the streets of 1957 New York. The film is now in production for Twentieth Century Fox.
The cast also includes Ariana DeBose (Anita); Ana Isabelle (Rosalia); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); Curtiss Cook (Abe) and Academy Award®-winner Rita Moreno, who plays...
- 6/17/2019
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Steven Spielberg has cast his next star for the upcoming remake of West Side Story.
Maddie Ziegler will play a member of the Jets, one of the rival gangs from the 1961 musical film. While it’s unclear who she’ll play in the film, it’s likely her dance talent caught Spielberg’s eye as Ziegler, 16, rose to fame on Dance Moms and has worked extensively with Sia on her music videos.
Joining the cast is Tony nominee Mike Faist who will portray Riff, the leader of the Jets, opposite Ansel Elgort who was cast as the male lead, Tony.
Maddie Ziegler will play a member of the Jets, one of the rival gangs from the 1961 musical film. While it’s unclear who she’ll play in the film, it’s likely her dance talent caught Spielberg’s eye as Ziegler, 16, rose to fame on Dance Moms and has worked extensively with Sia on her music videos.
Joining the cast is Tony nominee Mike Faist who will portray Riff, the leader of the Jets, opposite Ansel Elgort who was cast as the male lead, Tony.
- 4/17/2019
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
Steven Spielberg’s upcoming “West Side Story” remake has announced a cast of Broadway alums — and a few TV dance stars — to fill out the ranks of the new Sharks and Jets.
Mike Faist will play Riff, the leader of the Jets. Faist has already starred in the Broadway productions “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Newsies.” Puerto Rican singer and dancer Ana Isabelle will play Rosalia. Maddie Ziegler, who appeared in “Dance Moms” and in a series of Sia music videos, will play a member of the Jets.
Ansel Elgort and Rita Moreno were previously announced as the two leads. Moreno will be playing Valentina, a remade version of the character of Doc, the owner of the corner store in which Tony works. And Elgort has been cast as Tony.
Casting director Cindy Tolan oversaw auditions from over 30,000 performers that included open casting calls in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Juan.
Mike Faist will play Riff, the leader of the Jets. Faist has already starred in the Broadway productions “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Newsies.” Puerto Rican singer and dancer Ana Isabelle will play Rosalia. Maddie Ziegler, who appeared in “Dance Moms” and in a series of Sia music videos, will play a member of the Jets.
Ansel Elgort and Rita Moreno were previously announced as the two leads. Moreno will be playing Valentina, a remade version of the character of Doc, the owner of the corner store in which Tony works. And Elgort has been cast as Tony.
Casting director Cindy Tolan oversaw auditions from over 30,000 performers that included open casting calls in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Juan.
- 4/16/2019
- by Daniel Nissen
- Variety Film + TV
“Dear Evan Hansen” actor Mike Faist and singer Ana Isabelle have joined the cast of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake, the studio announced on Tuesday.
The movie also rounded out its cast of the warring Sharks and Jets, the rival street gangs at the center of the musical’s story, with more than 50 actors, singers and dancers. Among them is Sia collaborator Maddie Ziegler, who will play one of the Jets.
Faist, who originated roles in the Broadway productions of “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Newsies,” will star in “West Side Story” as Riff. And Isabelle will play a colleague of Maria’s, Rosalia.
Also Read: Rita Moreno to Become 'Pegot' Winner and Receive Peabody Award for Career Achievement
Rita Moreno (Valentina), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) and Brian d’Arcy James (Sgt. Krupke...
The movie also rounded out its cast of the warring Sharks and Jets, the rival street gangs at the center of the musical’s story, with more than 50 actors, singers and dancers. Among them is Sia collaborator Maddie Ziegler, who will play one of the Jets.
Faist, who originated roles in the Broadway productions of “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Newsies,” will star in “West Side Story” as Riff. And Isabelle will play a colleague of Maria’s, Rosalia.
Also Read: Rita Moreno to Become 'Pegot' Winner and Receive Peabody Award for Career Achievement
Rita Moreno (Valentina), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) and Brian d’Arcy James (Sgt. Krupke...
- 4/16/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is casting up with over 40 performers set as Sharks and Jets, the rival street gangs at the center of the musical’s timeless love story. Leading the Jets as Riff will be Mike Faist, who is best known for originating roles in the Broadway productions of Dear Evan Hansen and Newsies. Also, Puerto Rican singer and dancer Ana Isabelle will play Rosalia, who works with Maria (played by newcomer Rachel Zegler). Dance Moms alum Maddie Ziegler has also been cast as part of the Jets.
Previously announced players include Rita Moreno (Valentina), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank), and Brian dʼArcy James (Sergeant Krupke).
Spielberg’s team conducted a wide search for performers, many with no on-camera experience, to bring together a cast with a range of musical theater experience. Filming is slated to begin this summer.
Previously announced players include Rita Moreno (Valentina), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank), and Brian dʼArcy James (Sergeant Krupke).
Spielberg’s team conducted a wide search for performers, many with no on-camera experience, to bring together a cast with a range of musical theater experience. Filming is slated to begin this summer.
- 4/16/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
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