Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
Audra McDonald and Ariana DeBose Join Brian Stokes Mitchell for Crossovers Live! Finale
The holiday finale presentation of Brian Stokes Mitchell's talk show Crossovers Live! will feature six-time winner (and fellow Ragtime star) Audra McDonald and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose. The Holiday Finale completes the six airings of the show, which features artists who’ve made the jump from stage to film, television, or music. Previous guests have included Vanessa Williams, Daniel J. Watts, Marc Shaiman, Megan Hilty, Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, and David Hyde Pierce. The series is produced by Stellar Originals and Atomic Focus Entertainment and is created and directed by Tom Wiggin. The finale episode will premiere live December 20 at 8 PM ET, then will be available for streaming on demand along with the previous five episodes. Click here for tickets.
Goodspeed Musicals Announces 2022 Season
The Connecticut theatre will return to producing full-scale musicals to in-person audiences in 2022 at the Goodspeed Opera House. The season kicks off May 13 with the 1966 musical Cabaret, with book by Joe Masteroff, based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood, and music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The rescheduled world premiere of Anne of Green Gables: A New Musical, featuring book and lyrics by Matte O’Brien and music by Matt Vinson, will run during the summer 2022, followed by a fall production of 42nd Street, with music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dubin, book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, based on the novel by Bradford Ropes. The season will conclude with brand-new holiday show for all ages, Goodspeed’s World Premiere Holiday Event, with more details to be announced soon.
MTI Secures Rights to The Band
Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International has acquired the licensing rights to the musical The Band, written by Tim Firth featuring the songs of the 90's Manchester boy band Take That. The musical tells the story of four women who reunite to see their favorite (favourite?) band play again 25 years after their teenage fandom. The Band premiered with a 2017–2018 U.K. and Ireland tour that culminated with a West End production at Theatre Royal, and was followed by another U.K. and a German tour. A film version is also currently in the works, with production expected to begin next summer. The global rights, excluding the U.S. and Canada, will be released for licensing in early 2022 through MTI’s London office.
