Read on for some recent theatre headlines you may have missed in today's news.
George C. Wolfe to Direct Second Netflix Film, Rustin
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom director George C. Wolfe will follow up his directorial success for Netflix at the helm of the new film biopic Rustin, centered on gay, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. The film is one from Netflix's six-picture deal with President Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions. Joining Tony winner Wolfe on the creative team is Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for his Milk screenplay; he'll pen the Rustin script and will serve as producer. Bayard Rustin was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2013.
Casting Announced for Joey Contreras' New Musical Film In Pieces
Casting has been announced for the feature film adaptation of composer-lyricist Joey Contreras' song cycle, In Pieces. Kyle Birch, Amy Di Bartolomeo, Hiba Elchikhe, Jordan Luke Gage, Ross Harmon, Beccy Lane, Danielle Steers, and Luke Street will star under the direction of Louis Rayneau, with choreography by Rachel Sargent. Ensemble members completing the cast are Erin Bell, Millie Cranston, Jack Dargan, Megan Cerys Holland, Rhianna Richards, and Jason Leigh Winter. The musical examines the unpredictable journey of romantic lives. The film will have a limited online release beginning April 23 in support of LGBT Foundation. Tickets go on sale at the end of March.
Submissions Open for Theatre-Community Written Book When The Lights Are Bright Again
Actor Andrew Norlen (Kinky Boots tour) and photographer Matthew Murphy are collaborating to create a new coffee table book, written by the collective theatre community as a response to the Broadway pandemic shutdown. Submissions are open until March 31, and industry artists are invited to submit a "Letter-to-Self" chronicling this moment in theatre history. The book will be self-published and available on Amazon, with 90 percent of profits from the sale of each book benefiting The Actors Fund. For more information, or to submit a letter, click here.
