BWW Morning Brief January 4th, 2018: The Public Kicks Off UNDER THE RADAR, and More!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Scroll down for the latest news, and click HERE to learn more about how we've revamped our morning brief for 2017! Want our morning reports delivered via email? Subscribe here!

1) A CHORUS LINE Announces 2018 National Tour Launching January 20
by BWW News Desk - January 03, 2018

Big League Productions, Inc. proudly presents the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning singular sensation, A CHORUS LINE, featuring Michael Bennett's original Broadway direction and choreography. The 2018 National Tour launches in Somerville, New Jersey on January 20 with 33 cities to follow in the USA, before it embarks on an engagement in Tokyo, Japan.. (more...)

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2) Thom Sesma & Sally Ann Triplett to Take Over the Pie Shop in Barrow Street Theatre's SWEENEY TODD
by BWW News Desk - January 03, 2018

Producers of the Tooting Arts Club production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which broke the Barrow Street Theatre sales house record for the week ending December 31st, announced today that Thom Sesma (as Sweeney Todd), Sally Ann Triplett (as Mrs. Lovett), Zachary Noah Piser (as Tobias), Billy Harrigan Tighe (as Anthony) and DeLaney Westfall (as Johanna) will join current cast members Michael James Leslie (as Judge Turpin), John Rapson (as The Beadle) and Stacie Bono (as Pirelli & Beggar Woman) startingTuesday, February 27, 2018. The cast also includes Matt Leisy, Liz Pearce, Danny Rothman and Monet Sabel.. (more...)

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3) Full Casting Announced for WEST SIDE STORY at McCallum Theatre
by BWW News Desk - January 03, 2018

Complete casting has been announced for the McCallum Theatre's exclusive upcoming concert production of West Side Story, which will be presented March 9-11 in Palm Desert, CA.. (more...)

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4) BWW Morning Brief January 3rd, 2018: SPONGEBOB Cast Performs on Good Morning America, and More!
by Stephanie Wild - January 03, 2018

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: The cast of Spongebob Squarepants performs on Good Morning America, and more!. (more...)

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5) Updated: Artistic Director of Soulpepper, Toronto's Largest Non-Profit Theatre Company, Accused of Sexual Misconduct
by BWW News Desk - January 03, 2018

The Globe and Mail's J. Kelly Nestruck reports that four actresses have filed civil suits against Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company and it's artistic director Alber Schultz.. (more...)

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Today's Call Sheet:

-The Public presents the Under the Radar Festival series, beginning tonight!

-The New York Premiere of BROUHAHA, at Happenstance Theater at Theater for the New City, begins performances tonight!

-Jeffrey Kahane's return engagement conducting and performing with Alisa Weilerstein and the New York Philharmonic begins performances tonight!

-In an evening titled A FIRST VIEW, Joanna Carpenter and Town Stages present an untitled raw, unfiltered film aimed at furthering the discussion around harassment and assault in today's climate, tonight!

-Split Britches takes on aging, anxiety, and desire in UNEXPLODED ORDNANCES (UXO) at La MaMa as part of 'Under the Radar' - beginning performances tonight!

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BWW Exclusive: Watch as BroadwayWorld's Katie Chills Out #BetweenShows with MISS SAIGON's Devin Ilaw!

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What we're geeking out over: An uncensored director's cut of INDECENT is now available on BroadwayHD!

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What we're watching: Following Donald Trump's recent tweet mocking the leader of North Korea, Randy Rainbow gives the latest scandal the "Sound of Music" treatment with "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea...?"

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Social Butterfly: Laura Osnes shares her involvement with Susan Stroman-directed CRAZY FOR YOU developmental lab on her Instagram story!

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And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Jim Norton, who turns 80 today!

JIM NORTON won a 2007 Olivier Award and a 2008 Tony Award for The Seafarer. In New York he has appeared in Finian's Rainbow (Encores and Broadway), The Weir (Olivier nomination); Juno and the Paycock, Dublin Carol (Obie Award); and Port Authority at the Atlantic Theatre Company. National Theatre credits include The Veil, The Pillowman, Hamlet, Bedroom Farce, Comedians, St. Joan, Way Upstream, Tamberlaine, Playboy of the Western World and Chorus of Disapproval. At the Royal Court he appeared in The Contractor and The Changing Room. Film: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Water For Elephants, Straw Dogs, Hidden Agenda, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Driving Lessons, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Oyster Farmer, and The Eclipse. TV includes "Frasier," "Poirot," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and "Father Ted." He has played characters as varied as Stan Laurel, Pirandello and Field Marshall Montgomery. He has recorded many audio books and the complete works of James Joyce for Naxos Audio Book (Sony Award).

More recently, Norton was in The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 2013, for which he won a Drama Desk Award. Norton starred as Candy in the 2014 Broadway revival of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (alongside James Franco and fellow Irishman Chris O'Dowd) at the Longacre Theatre. In 2016, he played Giles Corey in Ivo van Hove's production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

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See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!