Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
Broadway Faves Ariana DeBose and Shoshana Bean Sing Under the Stars
This summer will see a brand new concert series under the stars at Central Park's famous eatery Tavern on the Green. Broadway at Tavern from TodayTix Originals launches May 25 with a one-night-only performance from Tony nominee and original Hamilton cast member Ariana DeBose, followed by popular Wicked and Waitress alum Shoshana Bean June 8-9. The series will continue throughout the summer into the fall, with a full lineup to be announced. To allow for social distancing guidelines, tickets will be sold in two-person and four-person pods. For more information, click here.
Cherry Jones Tapped for Five Days at Memorial Series
Two-time Tony winner Cherry Jones (Doubt) has joined the cast of the Apple TV+’s limited series Five Days at Memorial, Deadline reports. Jones will star alongside Vera Farmiga in the series adapted by John Ridley and Carlton Cuse from the nonfiction book of the same name by Sheri Fink. Jones will play a hospital nursing director who becomes the designated incident commander for Hurricane Katrina in the first five days after the hurricane makes landfall.
Artistic Director of The Acting Company Steps Down
Ian Belknap, who has served as the artistic director of The Acting Company for the past decade, will step down from that role December 31 to pursue new opportunities. “The Acting Company turns 50 in 2022. It’s a good time for an influx of new energy and to give myself a new challenge," Belknap said. "Leaving is difficult as the Company has been my home. It is a magical place full of people who support the idea that actresses and actors are the foundation of the theatre.” Belknap directed and produced many national tours and Off-Broadway productions for TAC, including The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, Of Mice and Men, As You Like It, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Hamlet. The Acting Company Board of Directors is currently searching for a successor.
Tonya Pinkins' Red Pill Rakes in Film Festival Awards
The Tony winner took home Outstanding Direction of a Feature this month at the 2021 Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles for her debut feature film. Red Pill was also nominated for Outstanding Feature, with Pinkins also scoring nods for Outstanding Writing of a Feature and Outstanding Actress. The socio-political horror film takes place the weekend before the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and is currently in talks with multiple distributors for a release. While touring this season’s festival circuit, Red Pill has won Best First Feature and Best Black Lives Matter Film at the Mykonos International Film Festival, Best Black Lives Matter Feature at the Barcelona International Film Festival, Best Screenplay of a Feature Film and Best Female Director at the Five Continents International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Luleå International Film Festival, and Best Feature at the Amsterdam International Awards. Check out the trailer for the film here.
Cincinnati Playhouse Announces 2021-2022 Season
The eight-show post-pandemic season from the Midwestern regional theatre will feature three world premieres, two new comedies, and a couple of standard favorites. The season opens in October with two world premieres: Keith Josef Adkins' Cincinnati-set drama The West End, and KJ Sanchez's Little Wille John biography Need Your Love. A third world premiere, Deborah Zoe Laufer's comedy Rooted, will begin its run in February. The season also features productions of Jocelyn Bioh's Off-Broadway hit School Girls: or, The African Mean Girls Play, and Roger Harling's southern favorite Steel Magnolias. Other titles for the season include A Christmas Carol, Incident at Our lady of Perpetual Help, and Becoming Dr. Ruth. For more information about the 2021-2022 season, visit CincyPlay.com.
Plus, check out the trailer for the new film Sublet, starring Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey (The Normal Heart, The Inheritance) as a New York Times travel writer who travels to Tel Aviv after a tragedy, where the city and his friendship with his young landlord bring him back to life. Niv Nissim costars in the film from writer-director Eytan Fox.
