Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
Bernadette Peters Set for Recurring Role in Apple's High Desert
The Tony-winning stage and screen star is one of six new cast members joining the Apple series High Desert, Variety reports. The half-hour comedy stars Patricia Arquette as Peggy, an addict who decides to become a private investigator following the death of her mother (played by Peters). Other new additions to the cast include Matt Dillon, Rupert Friend, Weruche Opia, Brad Garrett, and Christine Taylor. Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford, and Jennifer Hoppe will write the script with Jay Roach set to direct the eight-episode series.
The Ridgefield Playhouse Presents Alan Menken
The Connecticut theatre will present the EGOT-winning composer in a one-night-only concert show November 6 at 8 PM ET. Menken, a Ridgefield Playhouse Arts advisory board member, will chronicle his journey from Sesame Street to premiering three simultaneous shows on Broadway in the evening of stories and songs. The beloved composer of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, and Little Shop of Horrors will accompany himself on the piano. Part of the Teed and Brown Broadway and Cabaret Series, the event is sponsored by Freixenet Mionetto USA and Mercedes Benz of Danbury. For tickets, click here.
Mandy Patinkin, Jean Smart, Ed Harris, More in It's a Wonderful Life Reading
The Ed Asner Family Center has collected an all-star cast for a virtual table reading of the classic holiday film It’s A Wonderful Life, set for December 5 at 8 PM ET. Performers slated to participate include Tony winner Mandy Patinkin (Evita); Tony nominees Jean Smart (The Man Who Came to Dinner), Ed Harris (Precious Sons), and Martin Sheen (The Subject Was Roses); Phil Lamarr (The Pee-Wee Herman Show), Rosario Dawson, Mark Hamill, Jason Sudeikis, Ron Funches, Lou Diamond Phillips (The King and I), and George Wendt (Elf). The holiday event will pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Asner, who died this past summer at the age of 91. All proceeds go directly to The Ed Asner Family Center, providing community enrichment and mental health support to neurodivergent and special needs families. For tickets to the reading, click here.
